andyf
South West
Posts: 415
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Nov 16, 2010 18:37:48 GMT
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About time I put my long term ownership of my TR7 on here. I bought the car back in 1997. Incredibly, I knew nearly all of its original history as it was bought from new by a friend of my Dads. I thought it was the dogs danglies when I was a teenager, and it even inspired my old man to buy a coupe a few years later. But that`s another story. The poor old thing had been stuck in the back of a mechanics workshop for years whilst he restored it. One day, when I went with the missus to drop off a car for him to work on, the TR7 was sat outside looking rather shiney, and my wife took a liking to it. We were looking for a second car at the time, and the mechanic threw us the keys and said we could take it for 24 hours until our car was done. He folded the hood down and we took it out on a lovely summers evening. We then had a right laugh trying to figure out how to erect the hood in your typical summer downpour. We were sold and that was it. We ran it for years without anything in the way of problems, until the day we were moving from Bristol to Teignmouth in Devon. The clutch fork bent before we had left Bristol and the clutch siezed solid. Me and the car arrived in Devon on the back of the AA truck. I even missed most of the removal truck unloading. (Result). Anyway, got it back on the road and ran it for a few years. I then SORNed it over the winter months in 2003, and then never put it back on the road for no reason other than apathy. Then in 2005 I decided to get my ass in gear and get it back on the road. I am not a bodywork guy so I entrusted the now necessary work to a local "specialist". Two new front wings, sills and repairs to inner wings, and a respray saw it with a new mot.  At the end of last year (2009) I had an overheating problem, so took off the head and found that it was corroded (probably due to the 3 year lay up if I`m honest) so got a second hand motor, which I fitted over the Winter months. This gave me the opportunity to tidy up the scruffy under bonnet area.  This winter I intend to work on the body which is becoming a little scabby in places. However, on the way to RR, it started to run a little hot and lost a bit of coolant. On the way back it was even worse. A couple of stops to top up the water and I made it home safely. But - head gaskets gone, so I am in the process of stripping it down, so bodywork will have to wait for a while. If only I could get those last few head studs out.... Anyway, a few pictures spanning a few years. I fitted a set of 5 spoke compomotives a couple of years ago and they only foul the rear arches when driven enthusiastically.  I will sort that out when I do the bodywork.      That`s all for now. I will update more when I`ve got the damn cylinder head off. |
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1980 Triumph TR7.
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MrT
Posted a lot
Just who did Mr Hitler REALLY think he was kidding?
Posts: 1,773
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Nov 16, 2010 19:01:35 GMT
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Nice car - those Compomotives really suit it  I'm restoring my Persian Aqua FHC at the moment (when I'm not decorating, etc!) - that's wearing 7x15" Compomotive ML's, and will end up bright orange with a Sprint engine on bike carbs... Keep up the good work  Dale |
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Nov 16, 2010 19:04:50 GMT
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That is really neat.
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chris3
Part of things
Posts: 125
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Nov 16, 2010 19:26:55 GMT
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Thats a tidy looking TR. Looks very usable and a great colour.
It's been a while since I had my hard top, but I remeber being told to run some weld on the clutch fork to stop it breaking - I think around the pivot point they can be weak.
I do love the cruise lights on the TR7 if you can find some, always found the plastic insert in the rear panel a little strange.
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Volvo 440
Disco TD5
Disco V8
Jag XJ8
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Nov 16, 2010 22:33:34 GMT
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Looking good! Only miss my 7 a little....
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Nov 16, 2010 23:34:30 GMT
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very nice - I've got one the same age but in Triton Green - lovely cars |
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Currently driving a '68 Karmann Ghia as my daily. Don't ask about previous cars - there have been way too many and I stopped counting at 160!
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,309
Club RR Member Number: 170
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1980 Triumph TR7ChasR
@chasr
Club Retro Rides Member 170
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Nov 16, 2010 23:35:17 GMT
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A nice bit of history with that too . Looks great and somewhat menacing with those Revolutions on  . |
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andyf
South West
Posts: 415
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Thanks for the kind words all. Dale- Sprint engined and bike carbs - that I want to see!
Chris, I know what you mean about the side cruise lights. I intend to get some for front and rear and wire in the front ones to the indicators so I have side repeaters and still keep an originalish look.
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1980 Triumph TR7.
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Looks great on those Revos! Nice car
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Nov 17, 2010 14:47:42 GMT
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Are they compomotives and not revolutions? Not that i have been looking at this thread a lot....
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andyf
South West
Posts: 415
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Nov 18, 2010 10:57:37 GMT
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I`m almost certain they`re Compomotives but you got me doubting myself now. Will have a look when I get home.
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1980 Triumph TR7.
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MrT
Posted a lot
Just who did Mr Hitler REALLY think he was kidding?
Posts: 1,773
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Nov 18, 2010 11:26:57 GMT
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100% definitely Compomotive (MS, I think)...
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Em
Part of things
Fuel Injected? Carb Infested!
Posts: 601 
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Nov 18, 2010 13:42:50 GMT
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Lovely looking 7 you have there, agree with everyone else that the wheels really make it!
Think I remember seeing this around when I was living in Dawlish and (briefly) running one too. Mine was green and rotton as a pear. Still miss it mind....
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Nov 19, 2010 13:39:00 GMT
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Love those wheels, we are down your way at the weekend, where was the photo taken with the car on the beach mate?
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andyf
South West
Posts: 415
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Nov 19, 2010 14:08:22 GMT
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Not near me I`m afraid. That was taken at Brean Sands (Burnham On Sea area) last year at the RR South West meet. It looks lonely because I managed to go onto the wrong part of the beach and miss everyone else. |
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1980 Triumph TR7.
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andyf
South West
Posts: 415
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Time for an update. When I tried to get the head off, I only managed to remove two of the five studs and snapped one other.  Whilst I decided what I was going to do, I thought I would start tackling the rust bubbles appearing on the rear arch, doors and sills and the front wing dent that magically appeared in Tescos car park. Once exploration started, they were all worse than they looked, but once ground back the metal was still solid enough so some filler was called for.   So, back to the engine. I struggled for a couple of days trying to remove the studs and head, then I decided to cheat. I managed to get another engine off of the TR7 forum (foc! - I love retro car owners) from a guy that converted to V8 a year or two ago. So, with the help of my son and my daughters boyfriend, out with the old....  Then after cleaning and painting the engine, and fitting a spin on oil filter conversion (been meaning to do this for years), in with the new. Well, second hand....   Then bolted everything back together, fluids in and battery back on. I then span the engine over with the king lead disconnected to get the oil pressure up, then plugged it back in, then the big moment. First turn of the key and she started! Ran her up to temperature fine and no leaks. The only thing is, as I knew the clutch was good I didn`t look closely at it, maybe I should have checked it wasn`t stuck before I put the engine in, particularly as I separated the motor and box. Still, I will soon free that off. Next on the agenda is to refit the front bumper and get an mot so at least I can drive her about even if she does look tatty. I will carry on with the bodywork to the best of my limited abilities over the next couple of months. |
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1980 Triumph TR7.
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andyf
South West
Posts: 415
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Bit more of an update. I got the car through its mot ok and have been driving it round, but it is a bit multi coloured and much of the trim is missing where I have taken it off due to the bodywork. Recognising my limitations when it comes to bodywork (I`m curse word at it) I decided to bite the bullet and take it into the bodyshop next door to my unit to sort it properly. The only proviso was that it had to be ready for RR weekend but as that gave us nearly 3 weeks it wasn`t a problem. Or so we thought. Firstly, the rebuild that it received back in 2003 was not as good as it could have been, with more use of filler and less use of metal than was good. Secondly, I came into work one morning and my unit smelt of petrol. It was worse at the dividing wall between my unit and the bodyshop. Reminds me of the smell when I found that pinhole leak in my petrol tank last month thinks I. Then realisation dawned.... It was confirmed when the bodyshop opened. A couple of gallons of petrol under the car and a fubar`d petrol tank. A few hundred pounds later saw me in possession of a new tank, which I then had to pay the bodyshop to fit as the car was going nowhere. Oh how I laughed.... Anyway, some pictures. Rear arch cut away ready for a new section to be welded, and the rear axle out for access to the petrol tank.    New tank in and wheels on and axle back in, then into the spray booth ready for paint. I didn`t manage to get any pics of it in its primer coat.      Nice and shiny top coat.  I finally got the car back the Friday before RR. Saturday morning was spent working and Saturday afternoon was putting everything back on the car, including US style side marker lights to replace the standard plastic blanking plates UK cars had, and new decals etc ready for the Sunday morning run. That`s how close it was. Much respect to the bodyshop who pulled out all the stops to get it done despite the car doing its utmost to balls it all up. A few pictures from the Sunday at Prescott that shows it was all worth while.     |
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1980 Triumph TR7.
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That looks cool, it has a better look than the Porsche
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Em
Part of things
Fuel Injected? Carb Infested!
Posts: 601
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Looking good there Andy! Good effort in getting everything done for the Gathering! Your petrol tank story is strangely familiar: Making coffee one morning at my Mums (TR7 parked a little way up the road) I noticed through the kitchen window a female Police officer in the road. “Odd..” I thought, “don’t often see the Police round here…” Next moment she walks up to the door and knocks. “Is that your old Triumph up the road?” she asks. “Yes,” I say, “is there a problem?” “You could say that, “ she says and shows me a stream of petrol, running down the road like a small, flammable river. Naturally, it’s source is the underside of my TR…. Ah, Happy Days…! |
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andyf
South West
Posts: 415
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Well overdue an update methinks, although not too much to add. I fitted some richer carb needles a few months ago as I have a free flow exhaust and some K&N`s fitted and it made a great difference in top end response, revving much cleaner. However, on the MOT a few weeks ago emissions were too high and the garage could not get them down. In the end, I put the old needles back in and it scraped through but there was clearly something wrong as I could not adjust the front carb. When revved, the carb piston would barely move compared to the rear carb. An air leak was one possible suggestion that may cause this problem, so after investigating, I spotted that the rubber block between the carb and manifold had split. It looked fine, but if you put weight on it, the rubber was coming away from the metal. Changed both and problem solved! Then Sunday just gone, I was driving back from Torquay and there was a ticking noise and a misfire that got louder and louder. All sorts of things were going through my head, from exhaust valve to spark plug lead. I pulled over and the exhaust manifold gasket was blowing on number 1 cylinder, but when I tightened the bolts, BOTH had stripped the cylinder head threads (no wonder it was blowing). I got home and due to a lack of a tap set and needing the car Monday morning, I rummaged through my box of bits and found two slightly larger bolts with a coarser thread, and with much WD40 and going careful, managed to get the bolts to cut their own thread and they are holding. There is still a very slight blow so I need to get some new gaskets but in all honesty it is so slight it can wait. That`s about it. It`s given me 2-3000 almost trouble free miles in the last year (famous last words ). |
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Last Edit: Jul 18, 2012 7:00:30 GMT by andyf
1980 Triumph TR7.
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I will sort that out when I do the bodywork.
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