TR7, Phwoaaar,
Discussion
Ok, not a phrase you hear very often but saw one earlier today in red, similar to this,
Not seen one in years, except those mouldering in the vicinity of rural petrol stations but seeing one on the road took me back to
when I was a kid in the seventies, I so coveted them back then, so enamoured was I my dad borrowed one off a trader mate so we could have a quick go in it, might as well have been a Ferrari ! I had a couple of Corgi toy ones as well.
So, over time I have forgotten about them, since about 1990 as I worked with a bit of a plonker who spent every available penny and all his spare time on a bin of a TR7 so kind of put it out of my memory but seeing one has got me thinking, ok, I know they look a bit odd, were built badly, weren't that fast and aren't exactly blessed with a sexy image but I kind of fancy one, one with a V8, as a daily, just for s
ts and giggles, I like the oddness, kind of wilful, like a Delorean, but cheaper and almost as crap !
I reckon these are a car that will start generating more interest after decades in limbo.
Not seen one in years, except those mouldering in the vicinity of rural petrol stations but seeing one on the road took me back to
when I was a kid in the seventies, I so coveted them back then, so enamoured was I my dad borrowed one off a trader mate so we could have a quick go in it, might as well have been a Ferrari ! I had a couple of Corgi toy ones as well.
So, over time I have forgotten about them, since about 1990 as I worked with a bit of a plonker who spent every available penny and all his spare time on a bin of a TR7 so kind of put it out of my memory but seeing one has got me thinking, ok, I know they look a bit odd, were built badly, weren't that fast and aren't exactly blessed with a sexy image but I kind of fancy one, one with a V8, as a daily, just for s
ts and giggles, I like the oddness, kind of wilful, like a Delorean, but cheaper and almost as crap !I reckon these are a car that will start generating more interest after decades in limbo.
I ran a mint 1500 Spitfire in my youth, I sold it then hunted for a TR6 but missed out on a couple of decent ones needing minor restoration. I was so pissed off and desperate for a TR for the summer that went out and bought TR7 convertible, it was a TR although no TR6.
I drove it a few thousand miles that summer and then decided to make it into a quick restoration project over that winter to tidy up the bubbles of rust that I knew needed sorting.
3 years, some welding, a total respray and mechanical refurbish later it was finished.
I MOT'ed it, drove it 50 miles then sold it.
Having a 'sporty', heavy car that has the same brake pads as a mini defies logic!
Sporty with a 2 litre 4-pot that put out a massive 105bhp.
You can see why it killed the TR range off. A V8 conversion might help (there were only a handful of proper TR8's built I believe, most are conversions) but it's certainly one nasty car.
I drove it a few thousand miles that summer and then decided to make it into a quick restoration project over that winter to tidy up the bubbles of rust that I knew needed sorting.
3 years, some welding, a total respray and mechanical refurbish later it was finished.
I MOT'ed it, drove it 50 miles then sold it.
Having a 'sporty', heavy car that has the same brake pads as a mini defies logic!
Sporty with a 2 litre 4-pot that put out a massive 105bhp.
You can see why it killed the TR range off. A V8 conversion might help (there were only a handful of proper TR8's built I believe, most are conversions) but it's certainly one nasty car.
kambites said:
I've never understood the overwhelming dislike for them on here.
They're nice enough looking thing, albeit not a patch on the TR6, and for their time they were decent enough cars.
The irony is they handled better than a TR6 & were not much slower. In fact the Sprint engine car is quicker. As for looking there is a whole generation that like the & & regard the 6 as too old fashioned.They're nice enough looking thing, albeit not a patch on the TR6, and for their time they were decent enough cars.
Mroad said:
jas xjr said:
I think they were 2 ltr. 8v as standard , even though they had a 16v from the dolly sprint in house
They did a 16v 'Sprint' version, quite rare though.Headgaskets were an issue if you weren't careful due to the slant alloy head design.
ETA:
Just did some research and found out there was never a production TR7 Sprint, however it was considered and a total of 20 pre-production sprints were made.
Edited by cheesyblob on Thursday 28th April 18:01
The first Sprint produced was Registration WAC 274S with Commission number ACH1F , the next known car is WAC 253S with chassis number 20 these are in the same batch as WAC 272S,WAC 275S and WAC 276S which are TR8 FHC. These rare cars were all made at Speke in 1977. The Sprint was ready for full production but the disastrous Speke strike occurred late in 1977 causing the cancelling of this Engine option to the range.
Mroad said:
Having a 'sporty', heavy car that has the same brake pads as a mini defies logic!
Sporty with a 2 litre 4-pot that put out a massive 105bhp.
You can see why it killed the TR range off. A V8 conversion might help (there were only a handful of proper TR8's built I believe, most are conversions) but it's certainly one nasty car.
That's funny it has P16 callipers so miles bigger than a mini! But this is PH so BS rules. Sporty with a 2 litre 4-pot that put out a massive 105bhp.
You can see why it killed the TR range off. A V8 conversion might help (there were only a handful of proper TR8's built I believe, most are conversions) but it's certainly one nasty car.
As for power output look at what it is compared with & they're all pretty similar, RX7, Capri 2L & 924. I suspect compared to a standard 6 it is probably quits. It handles so well that it feels underpowered.
It certainly never killed the TR name off as it outsold all the previous models by a long margin, circa 125,000 which is the same as the Porsche 944.
It was built for the American market & the pound simply was too strong against the dollar to sell it economically in the US.
tr7v8 said:
That's funny it has P16 callipers so miles bigger than a mini! But this is PH so BS rules.
As for power output look at what it is compared with & they're all pretty similar, RX7, Capri 2L & 924. I suspect compared to a standard 6 it is probably quits. It handles so well that it feels underpowered.
It certainly never killed the TR name off as it outsold all the previous models by a long margin, circa 125,000 which is the same as the Porsche 944.
It was built for the American market & the pound simply was too strong against the dollar to sell it economically in the US.
Ahem...As for power output look at what it is compared with & they're all pretty similar, RX7, Capri 2L & 924. I suspect compared to a standard 6 it is probably quits. It handles so well that it feels underpowered.
It certainly never killed the TR name off as it outsold all the previous models by a long margin, circa 125,000 which is the same as the Porsche 944.
It was built for the American market & the pound simply was too strong against the dollar to sell it economically in the US.
It was the best selling TR ever.
Head gaskets aren't really any more of a problem than on other alloy headed OHC engines, it's the angled head studs that make it a nightmare.
Nearly five hours and still no 300bhp/ton, should we send out a search party?
PS Just had a look in classifieds ... where have all the four cylinders gone?! I vaguely considered a TR7 V8 before I bought my previous TVR and could find any 8s, now they're everywhere. Going rate for a good 4-cylinder still seems to be £2.5k ish, if you can find one, though. That's a tiny amount for a bonafide classic with an open top and a plentiful supply of parts and support. Might even be a decent investment.
Not bad for the price of a ten year old Ford KA: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2698166.htm
PS Just had a look in classifieds ... where have all the four cylinders gone?! I vaguely considered a TR7 V8 before I bought my previous TVR and could find any 8s, now they're everywhere. Going rate for a good 4-cylinder still seems to be £2.5k ish, if you can find one, though. That's a tiny amount for a bonafide classic with an open top and a plentiful supply of parts and support. Might even be a decent investment.
Not bad for the price of a ten year old Ford KA: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2698166.htm
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