Greetings fellow sufferer!
Have owned my '80 TR7 DHC for about 8 mos. now and yes it is a devious little
creation. You have not had fun until you've had to do the starter motor! (Hint,
wear a full face crash helmet). I am still designing my distributor wrench!
I find it odd that you've been rear ended so many times considering how
under braked the bloody thing is! I've come to believe that Triumph was
actually the first with anti-lock brakes on the TR7.
RE: parts, try Rimmer Bros. in the UK. They have about the best catalog I've
seen. There is another UK outfit called S&S that only does TR7's & 8'S.
Rimmer has a WEB site but I don't have the address (no WEB browser) but
I'm sure someone will post after reading this. S&S usually has an ad in the
Brit magazines, Classic Car, Classic & Sportscar, Pop Classics etc. Go down
to the news agent and browse!
RE: Rear bumper, the two nob type was for US spec cars and I think Rimmer
has them.
RE: Engine, one idea I've always liked was the TR7 Sprint. They only built
a few at the factory but from what I've read its not a hard conversion.
It involves fitting the 4 valve head from a Triumph Dolomite Sprint. The
Dolly Sprint used the same block as the TR7 but the head and some of the
ancillaries were different. The Sprint engine was also used in Formula 2
racing and a lot of parts were developed for it. I would think it would
be good for about 170 HP. You may be able to find a Dolly engine down there
(we never got them in the US) and rehab it. Mate it to a 5 speed box and the
later rear axle and you could have a little rocket and it would still be all
Triumph! Rimmer Bros. (yea those guys again) have conversion kits to do this
and will even sell you a complete Sprint engine!
I've always liked the idea but the smog nazis here in California would never
let it happen.
My offering for worst access, tuning the twin carbs on a Mini-Cooper!
Cheers,
Kurt Oblinger
Redondo Beach, Peoples Republic of California
'80 TR7 FI DHC "Spider"
So how do you fit 'ROO bars to a TR7?
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