1980 Triumph TR7 - How to make it better?

Depends on your budget, but there are a few different engines you could swap in. The Japanese stuff could be exciting. i think the main thing that improves the experience with a sports car is the exhaust note, a good stainless system can make you fall for a car.

yep my thinking saab turbo... think theres a manual box for sale on here now from a rear wheel drive vauxhall.

its either that or an mx5 as you said then a budget turbo install?

What electric water pump did you use? I've been looking at these, but it's a lot of trust to put in a thing. I've ended up looking at the bmw jobs with a TinyCWA controller, but that works out at a hell of a cost!

Thanks for the responses guys - loads of good suggestions. I should have said however that I'm a tight-wad at heart, so cost will be a major factor.

The BMW 2.5 straight six could be a great engine for this car but I think it would need bulkhead mods. The BMW 1.9 (M44) looks good though and definitely worth considering. Ford would also be a good choice but cost is high when you consider the bellhousing adapter and sump needed. Saab turbo - from what I understand Saab made many changes to the basic Triumph block e.g. its installed in a Saab with flywheel to the front, so I think its too far removed from its Triumph roots to be an easy option. I'm thinking the MX5 1.8 option is the easiest (i.e. cheapest!) route - should give about 130 bhp in basic form, maybe 140 with a bit of tuning.

@heathrobinson - I used the Davies Craig EWP 80 (you can get it on ebay or direct from Demon Tweeks around £155) with my own-design controller. More info here and here (scroll down a bit). It works great except its too efficient. I set the pump motor to run at minimum 50% capacity. This proved too much since when driving at speed the engine runs far too cool. Need to allow the pump motor to drop down to maybe as low as 10% to keep the engine at the right temperature. In town driving in the summer (almost 30 degrees C) the temperature was near enough constant at 82 degrees and the fan kicked-in only occasionally.

Hi heathrobinson, Glad you like the blue   

Have had a quick look at the tinyCWA. Price seems reasonable for what you get - similar to Davies Craig. Will read though the site in more detail.

I set my system up with continuous power to the pump to give around 50% capacity at all times. The microcontroller can increase power from 50% to 100% using pulse width modulation (PWM). So even if the microcontroller packs in, you will always have a "get-you-home" capability. When I get around to updating the controller I have the option of either lowering the continuous power or removing it altogether and giving total control of the pump to the microcontroller - either using PWM or pulsing the pump (the Davies Craig controller does this too) or a combination of both. I still like the idea of having a continuous low-tech feed to the pump motor as microcontrollers can still go wrong, despite very good reliability nowadays. From what I can see, there's probably very strong circulation due to convection when the feed from the bottom of radiator is relatively very cold (i.e. when going at speed), so perhaps pulsing will be necessary.

I've been running the EWP since about March and added the controller around April last year and so far its never missed a beat. I was worried about reliability too but I'd say the EWP itself is an improvement over the Triumph slant-4 design. The EWP is simpler and won't wreck your engine if it goes wrong, unlike the original. And if the microcontroller fails, then you can jump-wire the pump directly to 12V. This will get you home albeit on a cool engine.

SamR380, Lotus 900 sounds interesting. You occasionally see some clapped-out Eclat/Elite/Excels going for small change. Will investigate this.

With a rear sump setup on a Toyota 1UZFE, you can get a 4.0L V8 in there. You can buy entire running cars cheap over there, pull out what you need, scrap the rest. I had that swap planned with my 1UZ and a TR7, but my Triumph was too rusted, so I let it go and chose another. But that car you have, is really nice. Best of luck either way.

ford zetec, get a 2.0, put it on carbs and electronic ignition, a ford type 9 box bolts up against it.
price wise you can get a brand spanking new 2.0 for £700 or second hand for peanuts, should produce 140ish bhp i should think.
it should sound fruity enough with a decent exhaust, also ashley competition exhausts do a exhaust manifold for escorts which could be modified to fit.
that would be my route, either that or a toyota 4AGE from a corolla or mk1 mr2, bit harder to find but they use a distributer which means easier carb conversion.

As BMW own the Triumph name a 4cyl BMW engine would be appropriate. You could even go diesel and use the 320/freelander engine....