Discuss

[Steve-LPS-Thomas]

ROB SASS
New York Times. Published: March 18, 2007

LAST, BUT ALSO LEAST The doorstop-shaped TR7/8s were the final Triumphs. The TR7 had 14 recalls.

WHAT WAS IT? 1976-81 Triumph TR7.

WHY DID IT EXIST? By the ’70s, British sports cars were beyond their shelf life. The MGB was doddering into old age with a bad nose job. Triumph’s TR6 seemed to have been around since the late Cretaceous period. Enthusiasts begged British Leyland for a modern car.

A REALITY CHECK The debut of the up-to-date TR7 became a classic case of “be careful what you wish for.â€￾ Legend has it that the designer, Harris Mann, sketched the doorstop shape on a cocktail napkin — perhaps after too many drinks, given the chopped roofline and upswept character line. Worse was the execution. The first cars were built in British Leyland’s Speke plant, where labor tensions simmered just short of civil war. Early TR7s were among the West’s worst-assembled cars ever: pieces broke, fell off or ignited, sometimes simultaneously. Production eventually shifted to another factory, but by then the TR7’s reputation could not be revived.

THE ADS SAID The wedgy Triumph was lauded as having “the shape of things to come.â€￾

THE REGULATORS SAID The TR7 was recalled no fewer than 14 times. Serious issues included wheels that cracked and throttles that stuck open.

WHAT’S IT WORTH? Not surprisingly, collectors aren’t enamored of the TR7. Although it — and the TR8, a twin model with a Buick V-8 — represent the last Triumph sports cars, the TR7 also represents a large part of the reason there are no more Triumph sports cars. The infamous coupes from Speke are practically free. Later cars do a bit better. A nice one sold at a collector car auction last April for $7,685. ROB SASS


<ul><b><li>Ex BL Development TR8 (Rally Replica).</li>
<li>The First and Only UK TR7 "Victory Edition" (Now Sold) </li>
<li>Ex-BL/Safety Devices Development 8v Rally Car.</li>
<li>"The Shape of things to Come" Trailer.</b></li></ul>

<b><font color="blue">http://www.croyde-bay.com/triumph.htm</font id="blue"></b>

<b><font color="blue">croydebay@aol.com</b></font id="blue">

[tr8coupe]

[:D] lol i do have a speke tr8 coupe and the build quality on mine is superb[:D]

[FI Spyder]

Not worth discussing. Five minutes of internet search rehashing what other "experts" have said, throw in a few higher intensity descriptors to spice it up a bit. Obviously does not know the subject, just picked off a few bones from the carcasses of other negative reviews.

TR7 Spider - 1978 Spifire - 1976 Spitfire - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra

[Beans]

I think the article is spot on [:p]
Speke built cars really could be very bad.

<center>
<font color="blue"><i>1981 TR7 FHC Sprint (better known as 't Kreng)
1981 TR7 DHC (not very well known yet, but back on the road)
Also a 1980 TR7 DHC, 1980 TR7 DHC FI, 1981 TR7 FHC
http://tr7beans.blogspot.com/</i></font id="blue"></center>

[paul w]

I heard it all before....tell me some insult i 'aint heard
about the "shape of things to come".Like i wrote on my
profile quote...."did'nt like 'em then,don't like 'em now"
Ignorance is bliss? I LIKE BEING THE UNDERDOG! Remember -
Us dog's will have our day....2008 is the year of the eight
Sorry,rant over.

See ya. Paul
n.b.notice the spelling mistake of the authors name?
should read ROBS ASS!!!!!!!

[Rblackadar]

I absolutely love my Speke build piece of crap! Pay no attention to the cigarette pack thats was stuck to the trunk wall and painted over...pay no attention to the 12 nuts and washers rattling around in my door that were originally painted over and finally broke free from their paint hibernation slumber...pay no attention to the trunk drain holes that were plugged up with seam sealer and undercoat allowing no water to escape the trunk....pay no attention to the......LOL I love this car and will NEVER get rid of it. I told my girlfriend (wait)...fiance now, that she is going to have to bury me in it. I'm not kidding by the way.[;)]

[Henk]

My first seven has I bought in 1980, a Speke car, it was a fine car that i drove with pleasure, but the gearbox wined at 110 km/h and the headlamps came up and down independently of each other and there was a lot of rust on wings and nose, and that for a 3 year old car!
have exchanged him for a Princess. Fine car also but not verry valuable also.

Henk

1980 TR7 US Convertible
1978 Mini Clubman Estate

[Rich in Vancouver]

I am quite happy with my early Speke DHC as well. No fags in the trunk, no nuts in the door, no rust either!
That article was obviously written by some uninformed clod who was too lazy to do his research. It never fails to amaze me that these writers fail to notice that the TR7/8 sold more than any other Triumph model. I haven't checked other manufacturers figures wouldn't think that 14 is a lot of recalls for a new model of car with a new engine and a new method of body construction. Besides. who gives a rat's backside-It's a great car!

Cheers,
Richard

Forgot to mention: It was the last Triumph because the idiot management at BL managed to destroy a vibrant auto industry of which Triumph and the TR7/8 was just a very small part.


1975 TR7 ACL764U

[john 215]

Hi,
Who the h3ll is this Rob Ars3 anyway!!! On what authority does he write such rubbish,does or has ever driven or owned a TR7! I doubt it some how,so therefore he don't know what h3ll he is talking about [:(!] so Ladies and Gents IMHO i would,nt listen to a word he writes!
I will now step down off my soap box and not waste another breath on this jocker,i may need that breath the day i die [:D]
Cheers john.

LIVE LIFE A QUARTER OF A MILE AT A TIME!
1979 3.5 FHC(STATUS PENDING!!)

1982 2.0 DHC Soon to be a 4.6 fire breather!!
Read My Blog http://www.waringstowntr7s.co.uk/blogs/ ... hp/John215

[Underdog]

Like Spyder said, just a rehash of what's been written long before. Amazeing that someone could actually get paid to write such dribble. I'm in the wrong line of work.

72 MGB BRG
80 TR8 Persian Aqua
If women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.

[john]

easy work if you can get it comes to mind. agree not worth discussing

[8 whole cylinders worth of punch to ram the world through the windshield and out the rear view mirror. Car & Driver]
1981 Grinnall TR7 v8
1981 Black FHC
1979 & 1980 Black Premium FHC(laid to rest) Sorry


John

[Urchin]

As is often the case in brief articles, the story is filled with half truths. "Enthusiasts" did not cry out for a replacement for the TR-6; they would have appreciated a TR-6 designed for the '70's market demands. BL knew that the TR-6 would fail to meet upcoming EPA, state [CA] and federal safety regulations. Triumph dealers could sell all the TR-6's they could get their hands on and they certainly wanted a new model to sell.

Their competition was not the MGB, but the newer Japanese and German cars like the Datsun 240/260 Z. the Porche 924 and the Mazda RX-7. Those cars, with their newer engines and suspensions, drove better, rode batter and seemed more reliable than the TR-6.

So the TR-7 needed to look different, drive differently, offer interior amenities and ride comfort different than the TR-6. It also needed to be designed for the yet-to-be-determined regulations of the US market.

TR-7's outsold TR-6's quickly, despite the build-quality issues that hampered sales of the early models in the US. Head gaskets did leak; Bars Leak was actually a dealer-recommended "fix" for leaky radiators and head gaskets! Compared to the excellent build quality of the competition, the TR-7 faired poorly. Many of the early cars were sold not to TR-6 enthusiasts, willing to work on their cars, but to new customers to Triumph. They were less willing to put up with the early glitches -some serious - than former TR owners.

Don't forget, too, that Triumph prices jumped quickly with the weak dollar/high pound exchange rate. So you were paying a lot of money for a potentially unreliable car. Once they were labeled as such, their used car market value dropped rapidly. No one wanted to repair or maintain them very much.

Triumph moved quickly to fix the car's defects; drop the Marina transmission and replace it with the Rover 5 speed and rear end. Build quality improved with the change of factories and with the structural improvements that came with the DHC.

The author would have done well to actually take a ride in a TR-7. Then he would see why the TR-7 won plaudits from all the US auto enthusiast publications in 1979-80. That's why I still own, enjoy and maintain my '80 Spider.

Jeff

Jeffrey Aronson
P.O. Box 90
Vinalhaven, ME 04863
USA
'80 TR-7 Spider
'66 Land Rover Series II-A [2]
'66 Corvair Monza

[ngtf]

Well said Jeff.

The trouble is and has always been, that it is easier to knock what you don't understand rather than try and understand it.

The alleged author is a no-nothing moron who needs to learn to understand the subject that he is attempting to write about, not just follow the rest of the ignoramus's!

May his next dump be a rubic cube [:D]

Gary

Eeyore rides again !!

EOR14W - Persian Aqua 2L Dhc, Now rebuilt and looking lovely - Sprint engine being prepared!

[silverseven]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by john</i>
agree not worth discussing.............................

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<b><font size="6">x2</font id="size6"></b>

Ron.

[samco]

In 1982 I was the proud owner of a 4 speed speke built car and to use a rather modern turn of phrase "I drove it like I stole it" and it never let me down in the 18 months and 20,000 miles I put on it. It never had an electrical fault it never didn't start and it was a serious bird puller when you are 19 years old.

On a more serious note it has always been fasionable to knock the TR7 and I had hoped that buy now all of those who had been having a go would of retired with their pipe, woolen jumpers with leather patches on the elbows and rather nasal speech problems. In all of this once again the whole point of owning a classic car or in fact any car has been completely missed. It is all about what that particular car means to you. At 19 mine was a bird puller and if any ladies are reading this they might think "penis extension". At 44 it is now my mid life crisis car, I will drive it around listening to 80's music grinning from ear to ear but probably laughed at by all and sundry.

In the USA, when first released I suspect they were bought by Americans who wanted something different from the norm and had a misty eyed view of what a British sports car was (much as we do about Alfa Romeos, and look at their past reputation) and wanted to stand out from the crowd. If you look at the domestic cars on offer at the time in America you can understand why, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder so it cannot be expected that everyone will love it. I suspect everyone on this forum love the way there car looks in fact depending on the day of the week I cant decide if i prefer the FHC or the DHC as I have owned both. I suspect this author has issues with imports as they are known or at least has issues that need resolving with a big stick!!

If it doesn't fit you obviously need a bigger hammer.

www.metronewquay.co.uk www.wheelintheheel.co.uk

Check out my album

http://s163.photobucket.com/albums/t299/samco_bucket/

My youtube progress http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kMDqLU1N7Y



1980 Californian import converted to right hand drive V8. Under construction.