Body kits yes/no/maybe

[john]

Ok whats the view on Bodykits

Blasphemous to the purist but i'm tinkering with the idea for the FHC

[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

[Wayne S]

Depends which one I think, some of those Rimmer's kits with all the ribbing effect on them look absolutley awful, but tasteful ones like the viper?? kit on Paul W's Green Monster look very nice, but also I suppose take a lot more panel working to get right.

<b>FOR SALE!!!!Purple 2.0 Litre DHC Grinnall</b>
Red 4.0 Litre V8 DHC Grinnall (with huuuuuge arches...!)

[gordon kerr]

<font color="green">I wouldn't say I'm a purist when it comes to alterations from the original spec, each to their own I'd say, but for my money the only part of a bodykit that adds anything to the original design is the Special Tuning rally type front spoiler. When fitted properly it transforms the look of the front end. In my experience it also improves the stability of the car in cross winds.</font id="green">

<font color="green">Gordon
GRD 1980 Brooklands Green 2l FHC
OVC 1980 Platinum Silver 3.9l V8 FHC
Bedford, UK.
</font id="green">

[trv8]

Ooooh yyyes! Lanocha racing bodykit [:p][:p][:p].
Yeah! In my dreams [:(].
Now where's that box of tissues [?] [:I]

[paul w]

John you allready have one of the best body kits on your v8-

-and its in metal!Mark Grinnall's sills and arches do it for me,Wayne's
Car being the ultimate,imho!The Ramsteins went a bit too far away from
the wedge shape for my taste-

If a kit is done well,you will carry it off,but done on the cheap,it
will look 'pants'!The yellow v8 i saw in Cambridge a couple of weeks
ago had a viper kit and looked wrong.The front and rear were not blended
and filled into the bodywork,they seemed to just hang there,with 5mm
gaps showing!Another kit that has to be done properly is the TR40,it
looks so wrong on a poorly built/painted wedge,but i have seen a couple
of stunners as well.The Rimmer mk2 again has to be applied properly-

and i think the right colour paint job can make any kit work.
Yes,i love my viper kit-

-but for Xmas 2009 i'd like a Huffaker kit on a 5.3 litre! Dream on...

See ya. Paul

[Beans]

<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>

Ok whats the view on Bodykits <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Original Grinnall styling still looks pretty cool,
The Lanocha Racing body kit is subzero ...
Personally don't like all the rest ... sorry [8)]

As for front spoilers, again only two options imho, the original black item or the late model rally spoiler.
They both help cooling and (a little in) stability. The others are only there for looks …


<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</font id="blue">
<font color="red">http://tr7beans.blogspot.com/</i></font id="red"></center>

[Odd]

Dads fhc got some sort of bodykit when it was built, in '91 or so.
Don't know much about it, but it looks good in all-black,
(and will look even better with the luggage rack and stripe kit...):

[FI Spyder]

The more you change it the less good it looks as a rule. Subtle changes like modest fender flares, front spoilers etc. can spiff it up but if you go too far it starts to look like any other modern wedge looking like just another car. Less is more. The exception is the Lanocha kit which is totally rad but then it is part of the little known racing dominance of the TR7V8, (remember they won 5 of the 6 Trans Am series races despite being the only car with a 400 lb. weight penalty).

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

[REPLIC8]

Don't go for body kits myself as a rule. My TR8 has a blended in front rally spoiler which I thinks looks quite subtle. However, each to their own, of the ones above I think Waynes blue Grinnal & Pauls viper both look great,as they tend to complement the original shape rather than detract from it.

Andy
1981 UK SPEC TR8

[V8Wedgehead]

Nothing says body kit....and functional as this!



Lanocha Kit

Michael
1980 TR8 FHC/Works Rally Project

If it is broken then fix it....if it is not then make it faster!"

[john]

Odd i remember looking over your FHC when you were in the UK. the interior is a stunner very well done. i think you'll find thats a viper kit.

this begs another question i'm thinking!

[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

[Odd]

John: Not me,
that was the previous owner you met = the Cambridge student who brought it to Sweden (but couldn't keep it due to no garage here).

[john]

ah

yes thats right he was a student returning to sweden as i remember he had it on ebay for around £3500 but wouldn't sale for that,

i popped up to cambridge and took it for a test spin

The interior as i say was very well done in black and red leather. just neede a bit of tyding up round the wheel arches and a good overhaul of paint on the wheels.

cool looking car and i was very tempted at the time, but couldn't justify buying another one




[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

[Wayne S]

I love the smoked effect on the rear lights. How was that done? perhaps there is an off the shelf aerosol you can get. Not sure it would suit either of my cars but I like the effect [:D]



<b>FOR SALE!!!!Purple 2.0 Litre DHC Grinnall</b>
Red 4.0 Litre V8 DHC Grinnall (with huuuuuge arches...!)

[TR7Aaron]

You can always try to 'modernize' your car by installing a HUGE aluminum wing on the back, preferably a 3 level one with the visible rivets all around.
Yep, nothin' says 'street racer' than a huge aluminum wing...

vroom vroom...........................

Aaron



Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools. I can fix it.