Postby Hasbeen » 26 Sep 2015 07:48
Dave if your steering is heavy fix it. First grease the rack, then check tie rod ends, then set the castor & camber as they should be. The factory settings are great for road use.
If it is still too heavy, enrol in a gym, perhaps you need some upper body building, as a 7/8 is only heavy if it is not in good condition & properly serviced, OR SOMEONE HAS FITTED A SILLY LITTLE STEERING WHEEL. I'm 75 & don't find mine too heavy.
Now to the wallowing. The most important thing to make a 7 really great to drive is one of the least fitted. Stiffer anti roll bars make the most important contribution to the cars, but are almost totally ignored by most owners.
You see cars with new stiff springs, heavy duty adjustable shocks, new bushes everywhere, new ball joints, anti dive & subframe lowering blocks/spacers, still running around on not only stock, but old roll bars that lost their temper back when I was a boy.
I guess this is not surprising as even most manufacturers seem to forget the things. In motor racing, back in the days when aircraft had wings & cars had springs, all those springs, wishbones coil overs etc. held the wheel more or less in place, & roll bars gave you handling. A quarter of an inch adjustment on a Brabham Repco rear anti roll bar would move the car from mild understeer to mild oversteer. They are that sensitive & important when the rest is right.
Triumph should have known this, but used the front roll bar as the front arm of a wishbone, making it hard to do anything with the thing useful with it. However if you want a car more sporty than boulevard roll bars are required.
I have my 7 basically stock, but perfect stock. All springs are original, but retempered to full strength. All bushes are polly, & steering lubrication is done. Even the shocks are only a little stiffer than stock. However the roll bars are custom made, 30% stiffer than stock. Fitting them was a bit of a pain, but they are what make my 7 a joy to drive. It is the best car I can find for a thrash through the ranges.
The 8 has 330 BHP, stiffer everything known to man including adjustable shocks, [including those roll bars] & mostly new. On smooth roads it is very quick, but in our border ranges, with not goat track, but less than smooth bitumen, the 7 will run away & hide from it. That stiff suspension is out of place on minor roads.
So first lubricate that rack, then fit some retempered roll bars as a minimum, but stiffer if you want good handling. If doing mine again I would stay at 30% on the front, but try 40% on the back. With an 8s power this may become a little tail happy at lower speeds, but should be great as the cornering speed climbs.
Good luck with getting the car you want, & really deserve after all that work.
Hasbeen
