RE: SOTW: Bargain British Cabrios
Discussion
that tr7 is a very, very late manufactured car - and also in a rare colour, "champagne beige", i know, as i have one almost identical barring wheels and reg (mines on an "x" plate).
ignoring the rust (and dents visble on some photos), that's probably a good base for a project - esp given the ziebart treatment given early on in its life.
possibly hearsay but i've been led to beleive that the later "solihull" cars are far superior in many ways to the "speke" or "canley" builds.
in summer mine is used almost daily on an 80 mile commute and keeps up with traffic no problems, has let me down once on the m62 with a failed coil (which took 2hrs roadside diagnostic).
can see why they're maligned, but owning one, i can also see why they're loved...
ignoring the rust (and dents visble on some photos), that's probably a good base for a project - esp given the ziebart treatment given early on in its life.
possibly hearsay but i've been led to beleive that the later "solihull" cars are far superior in many ways to the "speke" or "canley" builds.
in summer mine is used almost daily on an 80 mile commute and keeps up with traffic no problems, has let me down once on the m62 with a failed coil (which took 2hrs roadside diagnostic).
can see why they're maligned, but owning one, i can also see why they're loved...
I think some people need to realise there is a place called 'outside', where you can go to drive and see real cars. Instead of sitting infront of a computer pressing F5 to make pointless arguments and to state facts no one really cares about. Let's be honest, if you were given a grand would you go out and buy either of those 3?
XJSsometimeSoon said:
I think some people need to realise there is a place called 'outside', where you can go to drive and see real cars. Instead of sitting infront of a computer pressing F5 to make pointless arguments and to state facts no one really cares about. Let's be honest, if you were given a grand would you go out and buy either of those 3?
I'd buy a Jag, but I like Jags so that would be my answer every week. 
I do think the TR7 is good looking though, and really quite cool.
XJSsometimeSoon said:
I think some people need to realise there is a place called 'outside', where you can go to drive and see real cars. Instead of sitting infront of a computer pressing F5 to make pointless arguments and to state facts no one really cares about. Let's be honest, if you were given a grand would you go out and buy either of those 3?
Some people would and do. Although maybe not the whole £3k on the Escort. 
dbdb said:
I'd buy a Jag, but I like Jags so that would be my answer every week.
I do think the TR7 is good looking though, and really quite cool.
I would buy a jag too. When it stopped working I would sit in it and pretend I was Dick Dastardly.I do think the TR7 is good looking though, and really quite cool.
The TR7 does have a certain appeal for it being different and slightly unloved by the general public. It would be like pulling the ugly girl at a club, you hope the ride is better than the looks.
Had a couple of TR7's, fell in love with them only to have my heart ripped out by both of them. I heaped money and love onto them and they constantly let me down. Still have very fond memories of the red DHC blasting down the cotswolds lanes on a frosty morning with the roof down on the rare cols morning it decided to start.
I now fuel my love of red DHC's with pop up lights with an mk1 MX5, get in, start & drive, not a sign of lucas smoke from under the dash...
I now fuel my love of red DHC's with pop up lights with an mk1 MX5, get in, start & drive, not a sign of lucas smoke from under the dash...
andy43 said:
TR6----> TR7
MGB----> MG-F
Two decisions both displaying complete lunacy on the part of motor companies that explain why we don't have much of a mass market car industry any more.
Oh, and a FWD Escort. Give me strength.
No I don't think so.MGB----> MG-F
Two decisions both displaying complete lunacy on the part of motor companies that explain why we don't have much of a mass market car industry any more.
Oh, and a FWD Escort. Give me strength.
TR7 = the best selling of all the TRs combined. If they seriously offered TR8s and the 16v sprint in the UK I'm sure we would be revering this car as a classic
MGF = outsold (in the UK) the MX5 for most years of its life. Yes it had its flaws and styling I never liked but by no means was this a bad car
Easier to find a good MGF at under £1000 than a MX5, looked at both a few months ago and have been very happy since with my vvc model.However if it were just for summer fun then the TR7 gets my vote, having loved them from their original release. Compared to the TR6 now they may not look that good as far as classic TR's are concerned, but at the time the TR6 was seen by many (in the motoring press ) as just too outdated.
Lord Flathead said:
Oh dear. I open PH and look forward to reading SOTW covering cars from my era and it's turned into a slagging match.
I totally agree and I wonder if the "Hamsters on crack" could engineer the rating system to incorporate an age flag just for these SOTW threadsMy gut feel says whenever anything comes up from our era
1. anyone older than 35 would rate it based on appreciation of other vehicles avaliable at the time ie fairly and probably above 5
2. anyone younder than that is going to go "plastic dash, tartan seats, hearing aid beige and 105 bhp (probably only 80 bhp now)" having never driven one or had any appreciation of it at all and bosh a less than 5 in the pot
Maybe I'm wrong.............
Lord Flathead said:
The TR7 does over 50mph in first gear.. find me another modern day car in that class that can do that. Yes these older cars are different but you cannot compare them with modern day MX5's et al. The 80's was an exciting time for British car manufacturer's with historic entries in the form of the XJS, Lotus Esprit and the TR7/8 to name a few. They are motoring history and are present here also for nostalgic reasons. It's not just performance that makes these attrative, but also the memories you hold when you 'were there'.
Agreed - friend of mine locally has a soft top TR8 and I must admit it was a pretty shed when he got it and it's a pretty shed that now runs nicely and makes a lovely noiseSure it's not something my heart aches for but it's not something that I can even remotely dislike
Lord Flathead said:
The TR7 does over 50mph in first gear.. find me another modern day car in that class that can do that. Yes these older cars are different but you cannot compare them with modern day MX5's et al. The 80's was an exciting time for British car manufacturer's with historic entries in the form of the XJS, Lotus Esprit and the TR7/8 to name a few. They are motoring history and are present here also for nostalgic reasons. It's not just performance that makes these attrative, but also the memories you hold when you 'were there'.
And the 80s was the decade which killed the UK motor manufacturing industry.
I'm always vaguely amused by those who seem to have failing memories about just how bad British cars were back then.
No-one seems to have noticed that the rust in 7's wings is likely to be an expensive fix. A nasty mud-trap inside the suspension turret means lots of welding will probably be needed. When I got my first 7, I scraped out handfuls of mud from inside the turrets.
Having said that, they are nice to drive, and the engine is torquey rather than peaky. The 105 bhp just sounds low compared to modern multi-valve engines. The driving position is great and the Rover 'box is a delight to use.
The basic design was sound, but BL never had the money to develop it properly. Shame.
Having said that, they are nice to drive, and the engine is torquey rather than peaky. The 105 bhp just sounds low compared to modern multi-valve engines. The driving position is great and the Rover 'box is a delight to use.
The basic design was sound, but BL never had the money to develop it properly. Shame.
It does amuse me, this MX5/TR7 ’which is better’ nonsense.
The TR7 had quite an image even in the ‘eighties, or at least it did round here.
The TR7 had a very similar buyer profile to the MX5 back then. My hairdresser had one. It was black with orange seats. She was a slightly eccentric lady who only really did two haircuts: buzz cut or ‘Billy Idol’. I chose the latter. As a natural worzel the ‘Billy Idol’ never really suited me but I soon had it looking right from simple neglect.
Looking back she was a bit crap really, but she did have a really cool car.
The TR7 had quite an image even in the ‘eighties, or at least it did round here.
The TR7 had a very similar buyer profile to the MX5 back then. My hairdresser had one. It was black with orange seats. She was a slightly eccentric lady who only really did two haircuts: buzz cut or ‘Billy Idol’. I chose the latter. As a natural worzel the ‘Billy Idol’ never really suited me but I soon had it looking right from simple neglect.
Looking back she was a bit crap really, but she did have a really cool car.
sunsurfer said:
andy43 said:
TR6----> TR7
MGB----> MG-F
Two decisions both displaying complete lunacy on the part of motor companies that explain why we don't have much of a mass market car industry any more.
Oh, and a FWD Escort. Give me strength.
No I don't think so.MGB----> MG-F
Two decisions both displaying complete lunacy on the part of motor companies that explain why we don't have much of a mass market car industry any more.
Oh, and a FWD Escort. Give me strength.
TR7 = the best selling of all the TRs combined. If they seriously offered TR8s and the 16v sprint in the UK I'm sure we would be revering this car as a classic
MGF = outsold (in the UK) the MX5 for most years of its life. Yes it had its flaws and styling I never liked but by no means was this a bad car
5charlie46 said:
Not sure that escort deserved that much of a slating, imp blue is a lovely colour and with some silver wheels I don't think it would look any worse than the other 2 and 130bhp, roof down and more reliable than the other 2 would make it my choice.
To be fair, that's quite a sensible post.That shape Escort fixed all the problems from the MkV launch, but they still do suffer with rust. However, that one looks clean, the interior looks very comfy, and with the electric roof, it makes a pretty decent summer cruiser.
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