Discussion
Stupid question, but is the car company related to the motorcycle company? Just wanted to know... I've been thinking of buying a Daytona 600, and my grandma's had a TR7 convertible rotting in her garage for ten years, I might try and get it running again over the summer. So I think one way or another I'll be a Triumph driver.
Dan
Dan
I can't remember the exact history, but I'm pretty sure the car and bike company were unrelated, at least in recent times, and by that I mean several decades.
The TR7 is probably well worth getting back on the road. My personal theory FWIW is that the TR7 was always under-rated because it was too radical a departure for the flat cap wearing TR brigade, but is due to be seen as "COOL" any time now. Particularly given the fact they can easily be made into TR8 replicas by dropping in a Rover lump, gaining the performance to match the looks in the process.
The TR7 is probably well worth getting back on the road. My personal theory FWIW is that the TR7 was always under-rated because it was too radical a departure for the flat cap wearing TR brigade, but is due to be seen as "COOL" any time now. Particularly given the fact they can easily be made into TR8 replicas by dropping in a Rover lump, gaining the performance to match the looks in the process.
Triumph motorcycles is wholly owned by John Bloor and based in Hinckley. It has no connection with Triumph cars, or the old Meriden Triumph motorcycles.
see www.triumph.co.uk/
The bikes are excellent road machines and very reliable, but then I'm biased as I own two of 'em
see www.triumph.co.uk/
The bikes are excellent road machines and very reliable, but then I'm biased as I own two of 'em
chris_n said:
I can't remember the exact history, but I'm pretty sure the car and bike company were unrelated, at least in recent times, and by that I mean several decades.
The TR7 is probably well worth getting back on the road. My personal theory FWIW is that the TR7 was always under-rated because it was too radical a departure for the flat cap wearing TR brigade, but is due to be seen as "COOL" any time now. Particularly given the fact they can easily be made into TR8 replicas by dropping in a Rover lump, gaining the performance to match the looks in the process.
Originally the companies were the same, the car part was bought by Standard becoming Standard-Triumph. If you look at a lot of Triumph parts from the 60s and 70s they have "Stanpart" marked on them.
The TR7 was a fairly unpleasant car - I owned the 135th from last car. I lovingly restored it, fitted Konis, a Janspeed exhaust, uprated brakes, but it was incredibly fatiguing to drive because the 88" wheelbase lent the vehicle to have minimal straight line stability.
The only logical thing to do would be to uprate it to "Lynx" or "Broadside" which were LWB TR7 coupes with V8s and did away with the slanted doors and horrible scollop on the side.
Probably the last decent Triumphs that were modern for their day and class leaders were the TR6, last 2.5 PI and 1300 FWD with the IRS.
I owned several Triumph Dolomite Sprints - including a press car - 6th off the line - a rally car and several road cars. The car was very decent particularly if you ordered the factory fitted LSD and with a lot of power they are fun to drive. They were a successful BTCC car and a good one will make 240 ish bhp on ostensibly standard engine components. The engine sits way too far forward though so it has a dramatic transition from understeer to oversteer and the car has the aerodynamics of a brick. I loved my cars to bits but I think it's good to be realistic about their inherent design qualities. Mediocre build quality and high prices basically killed the marque. A Lynx with a Sprint or Rover V8 engine would be a tempting proposition but it's a case of woulda shoulda coulda in the case of any BL discussion. Fantastically capable Engineers let down by absmal planning, poor financial control and acceptance of poor build quality with a highly militant workforce.
chris_n said:
I can't remember the exact history, but I'm pretty sure the car and bike company were unrelated, at least in recent times, and by that I mean several decades.
The TR7 is probably well worth getting back on the road. My personal theory FWIW is that the TR7 was always under-rated because it was too radical a departure for the flat cap wearing TR brigade, but is due to be seen as "COOL" any time now. Particularly given the fact they can easily be made into TR8 replicas by dropping in a Rover lump, gaining the performance to match the looks in the process.
For all things TR7 related try...
www.ss-preparations.co.uk/
(just up the road from me).........
Disagree on the 7. Probably the most comfortable, modern British sports car. Wheelbase is actually 85", and yes straight line stability can be something of an issue. But it usually due to worn suspension components, and I'm not talking about just struts.
These cars benefit tremendously from decent bushes and modern performance radials. 7s corner flat, and will out handle ANY other Triumph out of the box.
What killed these cars is well known. Poor build quality at the time of release from the outdated Speke plant, the awful 4-speed box in the 75-77 models, the relative lack of power, particualrly in the U.S. and the lack of a convertible until the last three model years.
Late 7s can be had for cheap even in good shape, and are a great sports car value. Comfortable, actually fairly reliable, and the top goes down.
If you are looking for performance, by an old coupe shell and convert it to a Rover V8. For $10 to $15,000 dollars, you can have something that looks good, is reliable and will eat alive most anything this side of supercar dom.
I'm biased of course. I had an early, a 75 as a matter of fact, 7 as my first car, and presently run a TR8 in the US's club racing circuit.
These can very good cars. Collectibles? The 8s hold their value at around $7 to $10k here in the US, but 7s can be had for a song. Great deal as adriver, not a collectible.
E-mail me if you have any questions.
Jeff
These cars benefit tremendously from decent bushes and modern performance radials. 7s corner flat, and will out handle ANY other Triumph out of the box.
What killed these cars is well known. Poor build quality at the time of release from the outdated Speke plant, the awful 4-speed box in the 75-77 models, the relative lack of power, particualrly in the U.S. and the lack of a convertible until the last three model years.
Late 7s can be had for cheap even in good shape, and are a great sports car value. Comfortable, actually fairly reliable, and the top goes down.
If you are looking for performance, by an old coupe shell and convert it to a Rover V8. For $10 to $15,000 dollars, you can have something that looks good, is reliable and will eat alive most anything this side of supercar dom.
I'm biased of course. I had an early, a 75 as a matter of fact, 7 as my first car, and presently run a TR8 in the US's club racing circuit.
These can very good cars. Collectibles? The 8s hold their value at around $7 to $10k here in the US, but 7s can be had for a song. Great deal as adriver, not a collectible.
E-mail me if you have any questions.
Jeff
Thanks for all the info. The TR7 has been owned by just about every member of my family, each of whom passed it (and it's apparent problems) on to another each time it broke down. It's been sitting in my grandma's garage since 1993 when my uncle (last owner) died. My grandma has told me I can take it off her hands if I would like, because I am the only member of the family who can keep it running. Last time I checked (about a year ago) it started up, though the brakes were bad and it has a fairly large dent in the rear quarter panel (my grandma's not the best at parking anymore), it had no rust and other than the dent the exterior and interior and top seemed in good condition. I've heard a lot of things about the TR7, not all of them good, I've heard it was horribly underpowered but was one of the best handling sportscars of its time. Personally I don't think the styling looks anywhere near as bad as a lot of people say. Anyways, once I get the time to work on it I might have to consult this forum more often!
Dan
Dan
JeffYoung said:
Disagree on the 7. Probably the most comfortable, modern British sports car. Wheelbase is actually 85", and yes straight line stability can be something of an issue. But it usually due to worn suspension components, and I'm not talking about just struts.
These cars benefit tremendously from decent bushes and modern performance radials. 7s corner flat, and will out handle ANY other Triumph out of the box.
Late 7s can be had for cheap even in good shape, and are a great sports car value. Comfortable, actually fairly reliable, and the top goes down.
Jeff
My car had the full Special Tuning bush kit, springs, dampers plus an anti dive kit. I would agree that it could corner well, very well in fact, but it was nervous and that made it fatiguing on a long journey.
I would agree that fitting a V8 is a good move but it is very pricey, fitting the Sprint engine is a considerable sight easier and cheaper, they can produce an easy 160 bhp - about the same as a standard Rover V8.
I'd recommend uprating the front brakes to TR8 spec and replacing the brake lines while you're doing the job.
One of the best mods for these cars is fitting electronic ignition, SO much better than points.
Actually, the Sprint conversion can cost you more, depending on how you source your parts. All you need for the V8 coversion are a subframe, a Rover V8 (which can be had cheap), a radiator and a bell housing, plus the brakes.
I've seen people in the US pull it off for less than $3k out of pocket, but that included a lot of labor on their own. The Sprint engine from Rimmers is about the same, plus labor.
The Sprint makesa bout 135 hp stock, and can do 160-170 no problem with head work, decent carbs and headers. The V8 made 135 stock in the US with 8.1 compression, with 9.35 and better carbs in the UK it made 148. Most US rebuilds use the 9.35 pistons, and if you put on an Offy/JWR/Edelbrock manifold and a Holley 4-barrell, plus the headers, you easily make 200 hp for not much dollars. Sprint motor can't do that.
And what the Sprint motor can't do at all is the 300 hp that is reliabily obtainable from the V8, although this admittedly involves larger displacement, head work and a cam. It is the heads on the V8 that become the choke point over 200 hp.
Still, the Sprint is a great little motor and what should have come in the car initially. In some ways, it is more keeping with the car's character of an LBC (little British car) than the 8. I race a V8 TR8, but probably one day will build a nice TR7 Sprint with the works for the road.
Imagine if BL had put that car, with 135 hp (the Sprint) on the road in 1975? With decent build quality, it would have been a hit.
Have to agree to disagree with you on the ride quality. I find the car no more nervous (and I've owned two, a 75 7, and an 80 8) at speed than most sports cars. They all did have the 55 mph Triumph shimmy though. Didn't get rid of that until I convereted the 8 to a full out race car and lowered it and put on some nasty hard springs (600 lbs in teh front, 400 lbs in teh back).
I've seen people in the US pull it off for less than $3k out of pocket, but that included a lot of labor on their own. The Sprint engine from Rimmers is about the same, plus labor.
The Sprint makesa bout 135 hp stock, and can do 160-170 no problem with head work, decent carbs and headers. The V8 made 135 stock in the US with 8.1 compression, with 9.35 and better carbs in the UK it made 148. Most US rebuilds use the 9.35 pistons, and if you put on an Offy/JWR/Edelbrock manifold and a Holley 4-barrell, plus the headers, you easily make 200 hp for not much dollars. Sprint motor can't do that.
And what the Sprint motor can't do at all is the 300 hp that is reliabily obtainable from the V8, although this admittedly involves larger displacement, head work and a cam. It is the heads on the V8 that become the choke point over 200 hp.
Still, the Sprint is a great little motor and what should have come in the car initially. In some ways, it is more keeping with the car's character of an LBC (little British car) than the 8. I race a V8 TR8, but probably one day will build a nice TR7 Sprint with the works for the road.
Imagine if BL had put that car, with 135 hp (the Sprint) on the road in 1975? With decent build quality, it would have been a hit.
Have to agree to disagree with you on the ride quality. I find the car no more nervous (and I've owned two, a 75 7, and an 80 8) at speed than most sports cars. They all did have the 55 mph Triumph shimmy though. Didn't get rid of that until I convereted the 8 to a full out race car and lowered it and put on some nasty hard springs (600 lbs in teh front, 400 lbs in teh back).
hi ya said:
Gavin, if you owned the 6th Dolomite Sprint, its chassis number would be VA6.
That car is currently being restored by a friend of mine in the midlands!
What a co-incidence!!
Your friend would be Ian Hazlehurst then? And he would have picked the vehicle up on 6th March this year?
>> Edited by GavinPearson on Wednesday 2nd June 03:25
I'll agree with defending the TR7.... completely off-the-wall looks that somehow look more modern now than they ever did in the '70s.... any bad-handling TR7 traits can be attributed to worn suspension components or (in extreme cases) rot/flexing in the suspension mounts as the car ages..... I had my suspension tweaked a few years back and the car has been able to hang onto Mitsubishi Evos (early ones) on a twisty mountain pass, and that's with only about 125bhp from a tweaked 8-valve four.... the car is phenomenal round corners (mind you the wheels I'm running allows far superior rubber to anything that'll fit on a standard TR7 13" rim). To me, the TR7 is one of the better mainstream brit sportscars ever made, the trick is to just get one that's built right..... I can see why at the time people bemoaned them after the beefy TR5/6 that went before them, but sit in a TR6 and then a TR7 and you'll realise that the TR6 was way past its sell-by date.... (you can't sit two people in a TR6 without being shoulder-to-shoulder, compare that with the amazingly roomy 7). Also, as stated, (on a dry road at least, the wheelbase makes it EVIL in the wet) the TR7 will outhandle ANY other Triumbph out of the box.
I love my 7 and will never part with it
I love my 7 and will never part with it
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