How to make a real mess of a TR7
Discussion
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=29750&item=4520220066&rd=1
This thing must look horrid in the flesh
This thing must look horrid in the flesh
Frik said:
Can't really understand the appeal of owning something like that.
Well, because it's different.
With a V8 tuned to some silly HP, it might not be so bad.
Thing with Ebay, he should have shown a picture of the actual kit as well.
If I was into V8 TR7's I might go for it !!
Lucky I'm not.
Now where has the calibre kit gone for my mk2 cav.
Yep, terrible. No point in a replica that gets the design fundamentals completely wrong IMO (it's a mid-engined car, the F40!), but to add styling as bad as that and pass it off as a 'replica' is a bit daft really.
Nothing wrong with 'proper' replicas of course - that is, ones that look exactly the same as the original, but that's just a mess.
However, before Robin Hood made 7-a-likes, they did rather realistic-looking TR7-based Ferrari Daytona Spider replicas with Rover V8s. Now that makes sense as it's front-engined - why didn't they do something like that instead of destroying the company credibility on an 'F40' replica.
Same goes for those Banham RS200s based on Austin Maestros (although they did get the bodyshell right)
Nothing wrong with 'proper' replicas of course - that is, ones that look exactly the same as the original, but that's just a mess.
However, before Robin Hood made 7-a-likes, they did rather realistic-looking TR7-based Ferrari Daytona Spider replicas with Rover V8s. Now that makes sense as it's front-engined - why didn't they do something like that instead of destroying the company credibility on an 'F40' replica.
Same goes for those Banham RS200s based on Austin Maestros (although they did get the bodyshell right)
jacko lah said:Difference, like ignorance is not a defence
With a V8 tuned to some silly HP, it might not be so bad.
Thing with Ebay, he should have shown a picture of the actual kit as well.
If I was into V8 TR7's I might go for it !!
Lucky I'm not.
Now where has the calibre kit gone for my mk2 cav.
As strange as this may sound I can't help feeling you'd effectively be taking a TR7 and turning it into a joke of a car. It's about as far and away from a replica as you can get so what is the point (serious question)?
tinman0 said:
it was unfair because however built the car enjoyed doing it. who are we to suddenly judge his creation?
at the end of the day, he is still part of the wider community that we all belong that are petrolheads. albeit with questionable taste.
Who are we to judge the work of Picasso or DaVinci then?
alexkp said:
anonymous said:[redacted]
it was unfair because however built the car enjoyed doing it. who are we to suddenly judge his creation?
at the end of the day, he is still part of the wider community that we all belong that are petrolheads. albeit with questionable taste.
Who are we to judge the work of Picasso or DaVinci then?
but they werent petrolheads.
tinman0 said:
it was unfair because however built the car enjoyed doing it. who are we to suddenly judge his creation?
at the end of the day, he is still part of the wider community that we all belong that are petrolheads. albeit with questionable taste.
Are we not entitled to our own opinions?
Personnally I think the TR40 looks cack and anyone who spends loads of time money and effort to build it is possibly a couple of sandwiches short of a picnic. IMHO! If I saw one on the road I would probably crash while laughing
There is one benefit to it and that is it makes the TR7/8 look better somehow
anonymous said:
[redacted]
I thought I had seen one of these before
Top Gear Carbage
www.topgear.com/content/fun_stuff/carbage/carbages/74/05/
I remember the TR40 being launched, they had one at the Bristol Kit Car Show, in the flesh it was actually quite pretty! the manufacturers made it very clear that it was not a replica (and in the flesh you would have to say that only a complete muppet would think it was a real F40 because it really did not look like one at all!).
It was a basic rebody for a TR7 (they rust you know!) and was a way to extend the life of not too bad a car and make it look a bit different, the Kit Car press at the time thought it was pretty good as it was well made, looked respectable and meant that, as a rebody, you had a fairly modern , comfortable car without it costing the earth.
We all have to start somewhere don't we?
It was a basic rebody for a TR7 (they rust you know!) and was a way to extend the life of not too bad a car and make it look a bit different, the Kit Car press at the time thought it was pretty good as it was well made, looked respectable and meant that, as a rebody, you had a fairly modern , comfortable car without it costing the earth.
We all have to start somewhere don't we?
As a past owner of a TR7, I can state that they are like poo.
By bolting on a plastic kit, you are merely polishing your poo.
The only model that was any good asthetically was the drop top. Even then, it's mechanicals were still poo.
The best thing to do with a TR7 is to drop in a V8, an AJPV8 would work quite well.
By bolting on a plastic kit, you are merely polishing your poo.
The only model that was any good asthetically was the drop top. Even then, it's mechanicals were still poo.
The best thing to do with a TR7 is to drop in a V8, an AJPV8 would work quite well.
www.topgear.com/content/fun_stuff/carbage/carbages/74/01/
this hilarious, "wooden handling"
As for the TR40, I saw one at the kitcar show years ago, and thought it looked quite good as a stand alone vehicle, sure the F40 provided styling clues, but that can be no bad thing IMHO
As for the Robin Hood Daytona replica, they were SD1 Rover based, the SD1 stylist (Bache? IIRC) again took the styling clues from the real Daytona, the groove down the side and the frontal treatment are very close. Some of the Robin Hoods had Jag V12 power.
Off the back of that, theres a firm in the States who were (are) taking 330gtc and 400 series fezzas to make 250gto reps!!
this hilarious, "wooden handling"
As for the TR40, I saw one at the kitcar show years ago, and thought it looked quite good as a stand alone vehicle, sure the F40 provided styling clues, but that can be no bad thing IMHO
As for the Robin Hood Daytona replica, they were SD1 Rover based, the SD1 stylist (Bache? IIRC) again took the styling clues from the real Daytona, the groove down the side and the frontal treatment are very close. Some of the Robin Hoods had Jag V12 power.
Off the back of that, theres a firm in the States who were (are) taking 330gtc and 400 series fezzas to make 250gto reps!!
Tr7's in actual fact are great so long as you didn't get a bodged one or one sabotaged at the speke factory. The potential for mods is endless and the engine bay is cavernous. Most engines and gearboxes will fit in there.
The body kit above was just that, a kit. It was never meant to be a replica and I agree it's quite hideous from the rear. From the front it's very good, being smooth, wide and modern looking. I reckon the designer started off full of enthusiasm at the front but tired towards the rear
Boosted.
The body kit above was just that, a kit. It was never meant to be a replica and I agree it's quite hideous from the rear. From the front it's very good, being smooth, wide and modern looking. I reckon the designer started off full of enthusiasm at the front but tired towards the rear
Boosted.
Byff said:
As a past owner of a TR7, I can state that they are like poo.
By bolting on a plastic kit, you are merely polishing your poo.
The only model that was any good asthetically was the drop top. Even then, it's mechanicals were still poo.
The best thing to do with a TR7 is to drop in a V8, an AJPV8 would work quite well.
I don't think the old TR7 was that bad, they certainly sold a shed load of them so I am not alone. My mum had one in the late 70's and it was a hoot to drive and handled well compared to cars of the era. By the mid 80's it had started to rust and a hasty makeover with new wheelarches was completed before selling it. Hers was a very early 77 Liverpool built car but it never let her down.
Sure the drophead looks nicer than the FHC, a v8 gives it a little more urge and some of em may be poo as you say but on the whole the TR7 is still a worthy car of the era.
I have to admit, it was a hoot when it worked. The oversteer possibilities were limitless and it was quite fast, certainly kept up with the XR3i's and GTE's my mates had.
It's main problem was it's engine - the cylinder head warped if it saw a candle. I changed the cylinder head gasket twice, and put a brand new head on it the second time. When I sold it, the bloke got 30 miles down the road and the head gasket went again - he wasn't very happy when I told him he wasn't getting his money back.
The clutch broke, the slave cylinder broke, the master cylinder broke - even the pipe that joins them split. I needed a new steering rack, wheel bearings, exhaust and a radiator.
The poppy up headlights had a lazy eye, one would sort of peek half way up.
Then of course there was the rust.
I learnt so much from that car, cut my mechanics tooth so to say, then I learned it was much better to sell it while it worked and run away.
Despite having all that trouble, I still look back fondly.
It's main problem was it's engine - the cylinder head warped if it saw a candle. I changed the cylinder head gasket twice, and put a brand new head on it the second time. When I sold it, the bloke got 30 miles down the road and the head gasket went again - he wasn't very happy when I told him he wasn't getting his money back.
The clutch broke, the slave cylinder broke, the master cylinder broke - even the pipe that joins them split. I needed a new steering rack, wheel bearings, exhaust and a radiator.
The poppy up headlights had a lazy eye, one would sort of peek half way up.
Then of course there was the rust.
I learnt so much from that car, cut my mechanics tooth so to say, then I learned it was much better to sell it while it worked and run away.
Despite having all that trouble, I still look back fondly.
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