TR7 Spider registry...

[GSCReno]

Has anyone started a registry for the TR7 Spider? If you own a Spider, please post your vehicle's VIN to this thread, and I'll PM you to get any other info required. I just think it'd be cool to see how many of 'em are left out there. Cheers, Scott

[davesopener]

so how many spiders were produced?
[8D]

[GSCReno]

I've never seen a firm number. I've read 1188, 1202 and in an interview with a former BL exec. the number he used was 2000 or so. Maybe if we start logging VINs we'll be able to figure that out.[:D] Cheers, Scott

[jclay (RIP 2018)]

I did a survey a couple of years ago. When my computer died, some of the pages got messed up in the topic. You can go [url="http://web.mac.com/jclaythompson/iWeb/Site/Belts.html"]<font size="5"><b>HERE</b></font id="size5">[/url] and read the results. Remember to click on the image to enlarge it.

Also, I have discovered that not all of the Spiders has serial numbers with 40XXX in them as mine didn't. There were some "Spiders" made and sold in Europe, but they didn't have the logos and stripes. They only had the seats, steering wheel and special "S" wheels.

Here are some photos of the Spider at the SC Regionals that had new seats. [url="http://web.mac.com/jclaythompson/iWeb/Site/Salt%20n%27%20Pep%27r.html"]SEATS[/url]

jclay

[url="http://web.mac.com/jclaythompson/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html"]My Triumph Site[/url], [url="http://web.mac.com/jclaythompson/iWeb/Technical/Intro.html"]Technical Stuff[/url], [url="http://homepage.mac.com/WebObjects/FileSharing.woa/53/wo/HJMTK8gsojtwKleP.1/0.2.1.2.26.31.97.0.35.0.1.1.1?user=jclaythompson&fpath=Triumph_Articles&templatefn=FileSharing4.html"]Download Page[/url]

[FI Spyder]

Although the extact number will never be known (such was the state of the British motor industry at the time) it seems to be about 1,988 or rounded out to 2,000. As the Spider was a North American special edition, apparently some where sold in Europe as "Special Editions" which were without the decal package. The question I have is did they have the Europe's 9.25 to 1 pistons or N/A 8 to 1?

About 1,200 where made in the Triumph Canley factory and about 800 made in the Rover factory at Solihull as Canley was being phased out and Solihull phased in during the Spider production cycle. California got about 10% of N/A production so about 200 Spiders were fuel injected, 80 of these made at Solihull. The first California Spiders didn't have FI and FI was an not often used option through out N/A (a $465 option on an new electronic system with no track record as yet) so the numbers would balance out about the same. If the last letter in your VIN is an "A" it was built in the Solihull factory.

The second last special edition was the "30th Anniversary Edition" who's production ended before the Spider's. These later Californian cars also had FI the switch over being sometime in late spring of 1980 paralleling the Spiders.


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

[GSCReno]

Okay, Davesopener, here's where the fun begins regarding production numbers. In the March/April 1999 edition of Grassroots Motorsports Magazine Woody Cooper's Spider V8 was featured. That article states that "just over 1200 were ever built". In The Great Book of Sports Cars Graham Robson also writes that approx. 1200 were produced. The production run lasted from May 1980 to August 1980. According to an article that I read recently Spider production began at Solihull before "regular" TR7 production was moved from Canley. By all accounts, other than the info contained in the previous post, all TR7 Spiders were built at Solihull. That said, no one is really sure how many TR7's were built in total. One article puts the total number at 112,000, another puts it at 125,000. I just thought that it would be cool to see how many Spiders we can account for. Cheers, Scott

[FI Spyder]

<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 GSCReno</i>

I just thought that it would be cool to see how many Spiders we can account for.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

We could only account for a small fraction of Spiders. Only a small fraction of TR7's owners are on this forum leave alone the small number of TR7 owners that are actually members of a TR7/8, Triumph or old English car clubs. Many people are just not joiners, many car owners don't even know there are car clubs in their area or even think to investigate if there are. Even if we could get info from the state, provincial etc. DMV's I'm sure there are more unlicenced TR7's in garages as projects, future or present, or just moldering away with the descision of what to do with them put off to some indeterminate date. Any attempt to quantify, identify or enumerate them is, I'm afraid, a fools errand and will not result in any meaningful numbers.



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

[GSCReno]

I guess it all depends on your definition of meaningful numbers. A fools errand indeed. Please pardon the interruption. Cheers, Scott

[silverseven]

fispyder or gsc, do either of you know if any were imported to Canada by the factory????

Ron.

[FI Spyder]

Good question and one I've pondered myself. I have never come across a Spider that was imported to Canada but as we got the "federal" US cars there is no reason there couldn't be although in 1980 there wasn't a big demand for convertibles with A/C in the Great White North. Still, I find it hard to believe that "all" of them were spoken for by US distributors.


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

[ObiRichKanobi]

I'd like to know the sources everyone is using for these numbers. If that 200 Spiders with EFI is accurate, then they must be incredibly rare. And I have one of them![:D]

1980 TR7 Spider, Bosch Jetronics EFI.

[FI Spyder]

<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 ObiRichKanobi</i>

I'd like to know the sources everyone is using for these numbers. If that 200 Spiders with EFI is accurate, then they must be incredibly rare. And I have one of them![:D]
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

It's strictly an intuitive numbers game. We know about 2,000 Spiders were made. We know that trditionally 10% of N/A TR7's went to California (because of their unique emissions requirements they got their own letter identifying them in the VIN number). That gives the two hundred estimate. I know the first California Spiders had carbs because I saw one on eBay (the VIN number confirmed it was indeed a Californian Spider). We know that FI was not a common option due to cost, the fact that the TR7 had doubled in price in 5 years due to inflation and valuation of the pound relative to US dollar, plus I suspect not a lot of people were comfortable with a not tried and tested electronic FI when previous systems which were mechanical had a spotty record. So substitute the odd FI option that made it into federal Spiders to sub for the initial California Spiders that had carbs and you still balance out at 200 FI Spiders. Best guess estimate short of going through Heritage paper work if that could be done. By the time all N/A TR7's switched to FI production of the Spider had ended.

Smiley face indeed....[:D]


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

[FI Spyder]

And if the last letter in your VIN number is an "A" (like mine) it was made by Rover at Solihull so you know it is one of 80, (10% of 800) even rarer.[:D][:D]


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

[PeterTR7V8]

What a tangled web you spyder owners weave. Har har.

I bet that my 77 FHC will soon be even rarer because they weren't built to last & don't have the X factor to make people want to restore them. [:p]


Never say die. At least not while you're still breathing.

[jclay (RIP 2018)]

I just sold a FI Spider that went to Kansas, so he owns two.

There is one here in Houston, Tom Marsh's Spider,


one in Austin, Sean Close's Spider



and SST had one in Wichita Falls.

There is a beautiful one in Oklahoma. Jerry & Sue Stewart's Spider.



That's six.

jclay

[url="http://web.mac.com/jclaythompson/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html"]My Triumph Site[/url], [url="http://web.mac.com/jclaythompson/iWeb/Technical/Intro.html"]Technical Stuff[/url], [url="http://homepage.mac.com/WebObjects/FileSharing.woa/53/wo/HJMTK8gsojtwKleP.1/0.2.1.2.26.31.97.0.35.0.1.1.1?user=jclaythompson&fpath=Triumph_Articles&templatefn=FileSharing4.html"]Download Page[/url]