Hello Fellow Listers:
For those of you have haven't been following my ravings, I have purchased a
TR7 in order to assess whether our natural MG superiority is misplaced,
particularly when viewing the pitiful owners of Triumph automobiles - and
TR7s in particular.
Yesterday, I spent the entire day in the shop, replacing the strut
cartridges and rear shocks in the Ugly Wedgling (UW). I purchased KYB gas
units which were not cheap. The cost, for those of you contemplating the
move, was $230 Cdn.($158 US/92 pounds). The job was demanding and was
complicated by a caliper-retaining bolt which snapped off while
re-assembling. It took an hour to dig it out and replace it - not counting
finding a new metric 2 1/4" x 12mm x 1.75 bolt. The rear shock replacement
was complicated by the need to remove the gas filler cap assembly and fuel
filler hose.
The result of all of this effort is complete astonishment. The car is
transformed from possibly the worst handling/worst riding car I have ever
driven, to a very well-suspended, responsive-steering sports car. The ride
is excellent and the handling is crisp, although a note a tendency to
sudden oversteer and abrupt body roll in a hard corner. Does anyone have
any tire/wheel recommendations.
The major problem is now the horrendous noise. I have eliminated some of
it by re-hanging the exhaust and turning the muffler and tail pipe to the
correct angle. Is there supposed to be a rubber mount on the steel bracket
from exhaust pipe to transmission?
I gave the car a good run on the highway today. The engine will not pull
much over 4,000rpm and seems underpowered compared to an MGB. I sense a
potential here but it doesn't seem to deliver. Does anyone have any
experience with this? I suspect a timing problem or possibly frozen
weights in the distributor. The car has had its dual Strombergs rebuilt
and it idles and pulls smoothly up to 4,000.
With a bit more tinkering, I believe this may be a very much maligned LBC -
but unless the noise can be tamed - it can never be as enjoyable as a good
BMC car.
While out with the UW today, I found an Austin 1800 for sale. The car is
very solid and complete but has had an incredibly ugly sunroof installed in
it - made from a large trailer window. Yuck. The engine/transmission has
been changed with the new setup being a standard versus the original
automatic. However the automatic shifter is still present in the
dashboard. The owner explained that the engine was changed after his wife
hit a large rock which broke the pan and lower engine casting. He is
asking $700 Cdn. and the car comes complete with a parts car. I suspect
I'll be able to buy it for about $250. Anyone in love with the old Land
Crab?
John McEwen
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