TR7 Forum Opinion

[SoCalMark]

Hello Triumph junkies -- I am embarking on taking in a 1979 TR7 as my new projet vehicle. This guy blew out his knee and can't work on it anymore. He wants $3K for it --- What do you experts think?

"1979 Triumph TR-7. New engine. New Clutch. Freshly painted exterior including engine compartment, trunk and door frames. White with Red Tartan. Mohair Convertible Top. Really nice car with most of the restoration completed. New Carpet. Many new components. Needs very little to make it a great daily driver or weekend play toy. I have not worked for 6 months due to knee injury and subsequent surgery so"

[windy one]

Welcome to the forum, this is a great place to hang with fellow wedge-lovers

Now about your question.....that is kinda hard (well for me..) to answer. It all depends on the level of restoration. In my mind, it takes one heck of a nice TR7 for me to fork out $3000.00 on one. The most I have paid is $2500.00 for a TR7 (only to find out that is was not worth $2500.00). The Least Ive paid...$400.00. $500.00 is what I paid for my current TR7.

I.M.H.O, it would have to be <i>close</i> to ready for the show-ciruit to shell out 3-g's.

Johnny

[jclay (RIP 2018)]

I paid $5000 for my TR7, but it was the best one I had ever found. Since then I have spent at least that much on the car. OK, a lot more!

Now, your car; it looks nice on the outside, but loose wires and missing parts(door pulls) make me squeamish. Having just worked for two months trying to fix the wiring on my TR8, I hate any wire that I see hanging down under the dash or laying across the console.

63,000 miles is just getting broken in. I don't see any photos of the boot area or the engine. I would like to see those before I comment more.

My 2 cents!

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]

[john]

well if it's sound and a excellent paint job and as jcay says whats the engine and boot compartment look like a good shifty underneath and just maybe it is worth that sort of dosh..

[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

[RJS]

The biggest headache is normally rust.

If there is NO rust, then I would strongly consider it. Many people have started out much cheaper than that price, but then spent a lot more in then end just to get rid of the rust issues.

Good luck,
Rob

[gaz]

I install Hardwood Flooring for a living & also suffer from bad knees from time to time and belive me.......
"you havent had knee problems until you driven a TR7"
but don't let it stop ya cos the sunshine isa comin.........

It rides again..... and again wehey!!!!!!!

[prlee]

Sounds a lot of money, for that money should not need any work. One question, the guy selling it can't work on due to his knee, does this mean it needs work, if so can you do it with your knee.

I presume you want a car you can use.

Pete
81 DHC (Undergoing mionor body repair)
79 Spitfire (Current Main drive)

[gaz]

$3000 converts to just under £2000 which is what it would cost (minimum) to have a TR7 cylinder head and block re-built here in the the uk ( if you were paying for labour as well)so if that engine & clutch is new as you say and the rest of the car is good then its got to be worth it


It rides again..... and again wehey!!!!!!!

[Underdog]

Unfortunately, over here, TR7s are close to the bottom of the Brit sportscar foodchain. I've heard of decent drivers being bought for less than $1000.00 I'm sure this fellow has more than 3 grand in it. I sort of side with Johnny on this. However, a lot would depend on the quality of what has been done. Is there any sort of documentation of the engine build ect. ? And just how much work remains? In any case, you can be assured that no one is beating his door down to buy it.

Then again, a friend of mine has a pedal bicycle he paid $4500 for.

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

[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 RJS</i>

The biggest headache is normally rust ...<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
And accident damage hidden under a new paint job,
As the following two pictures of the LH front wing of my DHC illustrate.
As bought from a friend, if you look properly you can see the outer edge isn't completely smooth
(the inside of the wheel arch was completely smooth though) ...



... and this is why (after chemical dip and light shot blasting) ...



Remaining filler in the middle of the area was 1 inch thick!
Luckily in my case the body was almost rust free.

As for your possible project, first impression looks good, cared for.
But difficult to judge the car from the pictures though.
Make sure you check all known problem areas thoroughly.


<center>
<font color="blue"><i>1980 TR7 DHC (my first car, currently being restored)
1981 TR7 FHC Sprint (better known as 't Kreng)</font id="blue">
<b>[url="http://www.tr7beans.blogspot.com/"]<u><b><font size="2"><font color="red">My Weblog</font id="red"></font id="size2"></b></u>[/url]</b></i></center>

[FI Spyder]

Does he have documentation for new engine, etc. If body is good with good paint job it's worth it. It probably still needs a fair amount of fiddley work to be done. May be some room for hagling.

While I bought my '79 rust free (except for two spots) with 30,000 for $100 I paid $3,500 for my Spider and have total of just under $8,000 into it. And that's for a car that looks like new underneath (as well as trunk and engine bay). There's a Spider for sale in Pacific Northwest for $12,000 and an original owner auto trans '79 in Vancouver for 12,000.

For $3,000 should get you a rust free car with no major issues.


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

[jclay (RIP 2018)]

What to look for when [url="http://web.mac.com/jclaythompson/iWeb/Technical/Buying_A_TR7.html"]Buying a TR7[/url]

[silverseven]

a quality body and paint job with a mohair top are easily 3k right there, which would make the engine and clutch extra bonus $$$

.....any before and after pics???

You know what, If the car is straight, and the repair receipts make sense....with just a little finishing this car seems like a fair deal to me. Normally clean & sorted low end English cars should run in the range of 6 to 10 grand, considering the recession has put a strain on the collector car market, even putting 1000 to 1500$ on this car after purchase would still keep the car in the easily recouperable investment range, should you decide to move on.

Sight unseen, I'd try an offer of 2500$ , and maybe you would get the car for 2750 [?]

Ron.

[Hasbeen]

I have never been able to get a 7, even if road registered, &
running, in moderate condition, on the road, in good condition, for
less than A$8,000 all up.

If whats been done is well done, the price is great.

Hasbeen

[Underdog]

I'm sure they bring much more where you are at Hasbeen. The MGB guys in OZ are always jealous of what we but them for too. Not to say this car isn't worth the money, just that geography seems to have a big factor on prices.

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