Thanks to 'stormbear'. Original pictures at https://www.flickr.com/photos/stormbear/sets/72157594382743019/

Original and repro decals.

New TR7 added to the fleet!

This Speke car was first registered on 2nd August 1976 by the first owner, who kept it for almost a full year before selling to his friend on the 1st August 1977 - the previous owner!

The car is in amazing condition having been resprayed some 20 years ago with the current owner only using it occasionally for local trips to the shop, and shows in its low 50k miles.

It has the original 4-speed gearbox & axle, and is a non-sunroof model in Carmine Red.

The car comes with Wolfrace wheels that were installed in 1977 and includes the original wheels & tyres that came off when the car was almost a year old.

As the photos show, it has been resprayed - but done in the early 1990's & included some changes like full colour to the sills, along with later decals. The under-bonnet bolts/nuts/fixings were also painted but this may have helped stop the water reaching parts that rust easy!

It comes with the original plug leads, spare wheel (never used), and a spotless interior. It also has aftermarket drilled/slotted brake discs.

I also like the rear deck cover that the current owner made and installed.

There are many good points to the car, including the current owners long ownership who has also been a member of the TR Register, TR Drivers & TSSC - having owned a TR6 and 3.0l Capri before the TR7.

Although the car comes with 9 months MOT & 8 months TAX there are a number of negative points that will need sorting straight away:

1. Steering rack is in bad condition, with split covers and lots of play (was mentioned on MOT) - easy job.
2. Rear axle very, very noisy and needs replacing - could be expensive!
3. Brakes not great, and vibration that could be due to steering rack
4. Slight electrical issue with indicators & rev counter
5. Some detailing needs to be reverted back to 1976 spec.

UPDATE - September 2013

As the steering was poor and didn't want to use it as it was, I decided to replace some of the parts straight away. I had an early spare steering rack in the garage so have now installed this along with new track rod ends, new bushes in the column and bulkhead, and new steering knuckles. The steering is now as expected with only a small wobble at 50! This is likely to be slight wear in the used rack but will see after other jobs done.

I have just ordered complete new suspension and rubber bushes so will be rebuilding front and rear parts over the next few weeks. This should mean the car goes as good as it looks, as it has been well cared for but all parts are still original so feel replacing them will transform the car (as it did when I did the same on my Java FHC). All parts are standard/OE that are going on as these early 4 speed cars don't get driven hard and feel any future owner would prefer to do their own upgrades.

Have now replaced and refurbished the front offside suspension and brakes. Have also painted the inner wheel arches and looking good, and already started on the nearside.

Have also replaced the window winder mechanism, winder, door handle (inside and out) & door seal.

This week I will be starting on the rear axle/diff replacement.

UPDATE - October 2013 to January 2014

Pulled the complete rear end and installed a new axle, new half-shafts, new suspension, new bushes, new rear brakes/lines/cables, refurbished links. Everything underneath painted and added a tow bar and electrics. /tr7-my-tr7-fhc-carmine/miscellaneous-photos/tef-89r/rear-suspension-everything.html

UPDATE - February 2014

Installed 'spare' stainless steel sports exhaust.

UPDATE - March 2014

Have replaced the old ignition system with a new electronic Accuspark system along with new coil & plugs. Also sorted the connections so the tacho works again (turns out someone connected the wire to the wrong terminal on the old coil).

UPDATE - April 2014

Replaced the air filter with K&N's but saving them so can easily go back to standard (the only non-standard parts will be the exhaust, air filter &electronic ignition. The wheels were installed in 1977 so happy to keep them on (have the original wheels as spares. Of course, some paint is different in parts (as well as a different shade of Carmine) but will look at this if any paint work is done in the future - like the sills for example.

Checked the tyres this week and they are quite old (at least 15 years old) and 3 are remoulds so decided to replace them all. The current ones were 185's so gone back to 175's.

Decided to overhaul the cooling system as well as a precaution as the pipes feel stiff and original, so have removed the radiator and support and have flushed and re-painted with satin smoothrite and have sprayed the radiator top mounts and fan guarge with aluminium paint. New pipes and gaskets to go back on this weekend.

(I have been using the car in between the work being done, and if not ready I have used the green FHC)

Triumph TR7 V8 Historic Rally Car

Built in the 1980's professionally by SS preperations as a period TR8 rally car, and judging by the stack of previous receipts to go with the car , it must have been maintained properly too. Looks to have all the right bits fitted. Goes and sounds very well.

Fully prepared shell, seam welded , plated and strengthened throughout . Full SD roll cage with door bars, lightweight panels , bumpers etc. finished in works colours with early tarmac arches.

Quick lift jacking points (Bilstein q/lift jack included!) large dural sump guard etc.

Rover V8 3500cc engine, 10.5;1 compression , cr pistons , heavy duty bearings, stage 3 big valve heads , double valve springs , 224 cam , crane hi rev lifters , lifter pre load kit ,cloyes duplex chain set , steel pulleys , lightened & balanced crank , rods & flywheel , competition clutch up rated oil pump large big wing sump , oil cooler , Janspeed 4 branch exhaust manifolds with stainless system , lucas sports coils and lumenition and micro dynamics rev limiter. Currently runing with a 390cfm Holley ! (more economical than 4x 48webers)

Rover 5 speed modifed comp gearbox , heavy duty mounting and single propshaft , Twin taper Fully Floating Atlas axle , alloy dural brace and diff cover , fitted with a 3.7 LSD , Bilstein front adj. platform struts with rose jointed top mounts & 350lb springs, Bilstein rear dampers with 325lb springs , rose jointed tubular top arms and poly bushed heavy duty lower arms , heavy duty x-member , uprated engine mounts, power steering , 255mm x 20 Vented disc brakes with AP 4 pot calipers front and 250mm solid disc rear with cable and hyd hand brake caliper. Bias brakes , aeroquip lines etc. Fuel tank covered in fire proof protective matting ,Interior - felt dash top (as per works cars!) bespoke centre console , battery , fuel pumps etc in the boot , New FIA seats and in date 6 point belts , period Terretrip meter , in tercom , extingusihers (plumbed & hand held) 4 x Lucas 20-20 spot lights on q/release brackets , wide tarmac Minilte wheels (both front & rear hubs have been converted to accept Ford wheels due to availability) the list goes on ....everything on this car is off the shelf and easy to obtain making this a very cheap car to run apart from the tyres and fuel bills you may get if you drive it like it was intended !

1975 Triumph TR7 Rally Car (KDU487N)

Chassis Number: ACG18
Engine Number: CG14HE
CC: 2000

Though not one of the famous Works rally TR7s, `KDU 487N' does have the same `KDU' prefix to its registration number and is understood to have been used by Triumph to test their five-speed gearbox, which became standard-fit from mid-1976. Built in 1975 and originally Dark Green in colour, the car's first private owner was Ken Wood. After 11 events, Wood and co-driver Peter Brown apparently rolled on the Devilla stage of the Bank of Scotland Rally, necessitating a complete rebuild. Triumph's Competition Department evidently supplied a brand new `Rally TR8' bodyshell that had been specially created for the Works team by Safety Devices. It was seam-welded with a full cage secured to the screen pillars and roof panel and featured heavy-duty axle location brackets, Panhard rod tower, quick-lift jacking points and lightweight panels.

Following the re-shell, `KDU 487N' won its class on the Burmah and Trossachs rallies, and came 4th on the Bowmaker and 8th on the Galloway Hills events. From 12 outings in 1979, it won the Kingdom Stages rally outright, came 4th on the Bank of Scotland and Burmah rallies and achieved another class win on the Trossachs. TheTriumph was first painted in its current Works livery in 1980 and resprayed again last year. The car is reportedly powered by a Don Moore 16-valve Dolomite Sprint unit, as supplied to the Works in 1975. It is mated to an LT77 five-speed, close-ratio Works gearbox. The remaining specification includes: a 4HA axle with limited slip differential and strengthened arms, fresh FIA compliant FT3 bag tank (with certificate), fully aeroquiped fuel system, up-to-date FIA competition seats/harnesses, plumbed-in electronic fire extinguisher system and heated windscreen. The brakes feature AP 4-pot calipers front/Girling 2-pot units rear. The handbrake is hydraulic and the pedal box is adjustable for bias. Struts and dampers are Bilstein, the anti-roll bar is heavy-duty with alloy mounting spacers. The steering rack is high-ratio.

RVL 506R is a Speke built car (Registered 14/10/1976, VIN ACG3115) and came with full service history, which I have continued with, and had 64,000 miles (with a replacement engine at 30,000 miles). I purchased off the second owner in Sunderland, who had bought from the original owner via Simon Robinson in Darlington.

Jobs done since buying in 2010:

• New coolant hoses
• New clutch
• New wiper wheels and refurbished wiper motor
• Replacement carburettor mountings
• New rear springs
• New rear shock absorbers
• New rear suspension rubbers/bushes
• Replacement front struts
• New front discs
• New front bearings
• New front springs
• New front shock absorbers
• New front suspension rubbers/bushes
• New front ball joints
• New front TR7 logo (replaced the laurel leaf logo)
• New track rod ends
• Replacement brake calipers
• New front brake lines
• New window winders
• Replacement rear window seal
• Refurbished white roof lining
• Refurbished lower screen panel
• New battery
• Added original steel wheels and black plastic centres
• Cleaned and painted wheel arches and underneath
• Professionally had the engine taken out, skimmed head & block, and new head gaskets and water pump.
• New coil, points and condenser (05/2013)
• New Accuspark electronic ignition inc. coil & plugs (07/2013)
• Replaced exhaust (02/2014)

This car is being used daily so all work is done evenings & weekends and although there was little wrong I've been replacing all the parts that are 30 years old with new parts to ensure I can continue using every day ! It was working fine when purchased in 2010 but trying to get everything restored/renewed/refurbished to standard spec. whilst in use.

February 2013 Update:

End of last summer I had some overheating issues that turned out to be a head gasket problem. Considering the engine was new only 30,000 miles ago and also had the head off only 5000 miles ago and been serviced and looked after since was a surprise. Once the head was off again it became obvious the last garage had caused some damage to the faces of the block and head, which brought the earlier demise. I have since had the block and head re-skimmed with new water pump and housing, and all new gaskets. Car is back on the road with new MOT and tax and went to the local TR Register meet in it, being the first this year to turn up in a TR !

Summer 2013 Update:

Fortunately nothing major to note, although have been using the car whilst waiting for the V8 DHC to be completed (new engine). Drove to the TR Drivers Club at Billing in this car and ran faultless for 550 miles, including sat in very very hot temperatures for an hour on the way back. Not a budge from the temperature gauge!

Autumn/Winter 2013

Bought another TR7 so have been working on that for 3 months, but still using this one and still going good. Exhaust went at the back but I had a spare one so replaced the system with a good used one. Has now (February) just passed an MOT with no advisories but did need a rear wheel brake cylinder. Has now been re-taxed and because the other TR7 is on the road after a rebuild one has to go - and it is this one. Sad times but can't keep 4 TR7's and the other TR7 I've recently rebuilt is red (preferrable colour to me) and slightly earlier build.

Have driven the car today to work and can confirm that it is a great car to drive - these being the good bits:

• 12 months MOT (until March 2015) - no advisories
• 6 month TAX (until end of August)
• Very standard 1976 4-speed car (standard apart from the stealth electronic ignition - that has been wired so you can revert back to points without any wires having been cut)
• Got extensive service history from new
• Been on the road most years since 1976
• Low number of owners (I'm the third)
• Excellent engine (having had a lot of work over the years, the latest proper job of new head gasket and skimmed head/block should see this going for many years)
• Excellent gearbox & clutch (clutch was replaced and bedded in nicely)
• No noisy rear axle/diff
• Solid temperature, stays where it should and the heater works without any leaks
• Great brakes that stop you in a straight line without any deviation
• No speed wobble on the steering even up to the 75mph I've gone to (we all know how this can affect many TR7's, but not this one)
• New wheels and tyres
• Handbrake works!
• Good interior
• Hand a lot of work over the years I've owned it - see list above.
• Very reliable car - in fact I'd be comfortable driving the country end-to-end in this

Bad bits:

• Some bodywork requires attention around the wheel arches and rear deck - may require a full respray.
• Engine bay could do with some tidying around where some previous welding and plating has been done (needs grinding back and re-painting)
• Dashboard cracked and needs replacing.

Short vid of driving to work this week - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAk1kiEM33k

(Pictures at bottom of page)

Brief History

I have owned my Triumph TR7V8 since 1990 when it was just a normal 2.0L car in persian aqua with blue check seats and 75,000mls under its belt. After a couple of years of daily use I decided to get some work done on the inner wheel arch & turrets. I started to strip down the engine bay and before I knew it, I was left with a rolling shell! At this point I bought another TR7, a FHC just to get by whilst the DHC was being restored.

Every bit of rusty metal was then cut out and new metal welded in using a mixture of second hand original parts, original new parts and many repair panels from Robsport. This was all done around 1995 by a local bodyshop. The body was then painted in BMW Orient Blue (Pearlescent). Since I had had the car 12 months between getting it back from the bodyshop, rebuilding the car and taking it back for the final polish, the shine does not last as long as I would have hoped, but 6 years on I can't complain too much. As for the rest of the rebuild, that was down to me.

Jobs Done

1. New front rally spec spoiler (from S&S Preparations)
2. Uprated front springs (140lb and -1")
3. Uprated rear springs (200lb and - 1.5")
4. New hardened bushes all round
5. All undercarriage parts blasted and powder coated inc. suspension, axle, drums, subframe
6. Larger front calipers and vented discs
7. Adjustable shock absorbers all round
8. Standard 3.5L V8 from a Rover SD1 SE
9. New USA bumpers front and back
10. Uprated servo from a Rover SD1 SE adapted to fit
11. Rare right-handed expansion tank for cooling
12. Electric fan from a Nissan
13. 4 core radiator tapped with a Ford screw-in temperature sensor
14. Battery moved into the boot
15. 3" shortened gear lever and leather knob
16. Central door locking (from Austin/MG Montego) with remote alarm
17. Keyless door handles (from rear doors of Land Rover Discovery)
18. Bespoke leather Interior
19. Grey matching carpet
20. Door handles, winders, openers from Austin/MG Montego
21. TR8 leather steering wheel
22. Heavy duty Rover SD1 gearbox
23. Holley Carburetor
24. Offenhauser Manifold
25. Optical distributor from Rover SD1 SE
26. Additional switch on dash which illuminates all interior lights at once
27. Facet Silvertop fuel pump mounted on rear bulkhead
28. All new nuts and bolts, stainless where applicable
29. BL rally spec exhaust, 8-4-2-1 (2.5" outlet) with only 1 silencer (v loud)
30. Small rear mounted brake light
31. New blue mohair roof and new frame
32. Screwless rear AND front cruise lights (darkened)
33. Darkened front side light lenses (with high intensity bulbs)
34. Darkened rear light lenses
35. KN Ditec 15" wheels with 205/55 tyres.
36. Front small driving lights
37. Citroen interior door lights
38. Replaced metal side trim with wider rubber trim

I think that is it so far......

New Jobs completed since 2013:

1. Recon. 3.9 V8 engine
2. Uprated front cover/oil pump
3. New set of hydraulic lifters
4. Rear coil-over shocks/springs (Hamilton Motorsport)
5. Alloy oil catch tank
6. Oil cooler
7. Alloy radiator
8. Strut brace (across the turrets)
9. New electric fan
10. Tow bar fitted!
11. Blue LED lights in dash and console
12. Replaced the gearbox with another ex-SD1
13. New Hi-Spec alluminium front brakes
14. Replaced the brake bias with a Wedgeshop proportioning block
15. Added manual SSBC inline proportioning valve
16. Filterking fuel filter and pressure regulator
17. New door cards

Restoration pictures here - http://www.tr7.co.uk/tr7-misc-photos/my-tr7-dhc-mwu556v-restoration.html