Wearing a half-wink look that unfortunately can be a common ailment of the model (I know just where to jiggle the relay under the hood to make the lights move when this happens), this first year Triumph TR7 is unusually original and unaltered. It’s available here on eBay, where bidding has just passed $2,000 and there’s no reserve, and the wedge is located in Queen Creek, Arizona.
The seller tells us that it’s been an Arizona car all it’s life. The French Blue paint (code JAA, only available in 1975) looks gorgeous, but I think it’s a respray (I’m not sure, but I think I see a line in the trunk channel in the open trunk picture). An aftermarket exhaust system and a rubber antenna are the only two external alterations from stock, and given the lack of early TR7’s that are still on the road, I find this one’s rust-free condition (as claimed) very unusual.
The early Honda Civic and C4 Corvette in the background have me thinking that this is the garage of an eclectic collector, to say the least. I’m also noticing the lack of a luggage rack; it seems like all Triumphs and MG’s of this vintage were fitted with one, and I prefer the clean look without it. The seller has just returned the car to the road after having their mechanic clean out the fuel system and change the oil–perhaps this is their shop?–and has driven it ten miles. According to them it drives well and is surprisingly powerful. That’s two words I’ve not heard often about an original TR7!
One thing you hardly ever see on TR7s and TR8s is cracked dashboards–this is due to the rigid plastic that was used. However, that does mean a lot of plastic on plastic creaking as you travel over bumps. The coupes are better than the convertibles, though. As far as I can tell, this is the original upholstery; no tartan plaid from the newer cars here. The radio is obviously non-original, and I’m hoping that’s why there are some wires showing on the right hand side of the transmission tunnel. The seller does tell us that some accessories aren’t working; that doesn’t surprise me at all given my experience with Wedges, however, most of the time those problems aren’t hard to diagnose or fix, given a little patience.
Somewhat surprisingly, the air conditioning compressor and hot air hose as well as the original green spark plug wires are still in place. I suppose with only 59,250 miles I should expect that, but this is truly one of the most unmolested early TR7s I’ve ever seen. Even with the four speed (versus the later five speed) transmission, I think this is well worth the current bid amount and them some. I hope an enthusiast purchases this car and preserves it for the future–I wish it were going to be me! Interested?
Jamie — first off, the Honda in the background is an AZ600, not a Civic! Ask the man who owned one…and wishes he still did!
As for the TR7: these were never favorites of mine, new or now (I’m an Austin-Healey guy). But if I were going to go after one, this would be a top contender. No matter what problems it has — and I’d expect a few generic issues, just because of its age — it is far easier to fix an original car than deal with someone else’s fiddling. And I’m guessing the finish has just the right amount of “patina” for my taste.
I do hope whoever gets its puts plenty of miles on it…and maintains it carefully!
Thanks, Ray–I generally leave the Honda ID for other folks 😀 Should have known better!
Like I mentioned on one of the convertible posts a while back,( there have been quite a few TR7’s here) and someone so aptly said “this car had TR6 followers crying in their warm beer”, and it was true. THIS was the replacement for our beloved TR6? Just the fact that you should have to “jiggle” anything to get it to work, would make me nervous. My MGB ( and a TR6) are pretty straight forward cars, but these things on this car ( jiggling relays, and such) exasperate the repair issues. I hated the car when it came out, but looking at it today, it really is a cool looking car. I bet it’s really fun to drive, however, I wouldn’t touch it with a 10 foot pole. Sorry, old school for me ( and many others, I’m sure)
Yes Howard, that would be a 3 metre pole up here in Toronto. BTW, I have never seen a TR7 with air conditioning. Didn’t even know it was an option.
Had a 76 tr7 with factory accessories. Worked so well it flooded the passenger foot well. Pulled the plug out of the bottom of the well for the balance of that trip. Siliconed straps around the pan on top of the tyranny to catch the water and send it out.
You ,mean factory A/C, not accessories flooded the passenger foot well ?
meant factory a/c, spell check did me in
My 75 had a/c and a four speed manual trans. Java green. Never should have sold it. Was flawless for the 4years I owned it. Better car then the reputation.
Looks nice, but not one I’d chase. I’ve had my 60’s Triumph years, a lot of rust and headaches involved with that one. I admit this one looks a lot better than what I had. Unfortunately one prominent issue with mine was the heater only worked in the spring months, not in winter.
A friend of mine bought one of the very first TR7’s. I thought it was just about the ugliest car I’d ever seen. He was not at all mechanically inclined. He didn’t keep the car long, because there was always something wrong with it, and he had no ability to fix it himself. Eventually, British Leyland cut the roof off of the TR7, making it a much more attractive car, though they were still poorly made.
In the early 80’s, I crewed for a friend who raced a Corvette in SCCA GT-1. One of our main competitors was a guy with a yellow TR8 roadster. With a cut down racing windscreen, that thing was almost a perfect wedge shape, and very aerodynamic. Next to it, our Corvette looked like a brick! He towed it in a trailer that was wedge shaped too, that said “Trimph TR8 – The shape of things that win!” down the side of it.
That was Ken Slagle. He won the SCCA championship in 1981. My friend Vern Brannon now owns the car (it had to be completely rebuilt after a major wreck) and Ken’s previous TR8 racer and runs them in vintage racing. He has the trailer, too! Still wears it’s original paint :-)
Yep, it was Ken Slagle. GT-1 was a tough class back then, here in the Northeast. Besides Ken and his TR8, we also had to race Paul Newman & Jim Fitzgerald in their Bob Sharp factory backed Datsun Z’s, Paul Miller in his Herman-Miller Porsche 924/944, and a number of fast Corvettes and Camaros. The Northeast was probably the toughest division in the SCCA at the time.
I knew that Ken had kept the car, but had no idea that it was put back together. From what I remember of the Runoffs wreck at Road Atlanta (1984?), that car was destroyed!
In 85, we built a tube frame Camaro to race in Trans-Am. Before moving up to TA, we ran a few GT-1 races to sort it out. One race we ran was at Summit Point WV, where we broke the GT-1 track record, which had previously been owned by Ken and his TR8!
Do you know if the car is being vintage raced? I crew for a vintage racing team, but have never seen Ken’s TR8 at any races.
Thanks for the update on Ken’s car, it’s good to hear that it’s still around!
Yes, Vern does vintage race the car, although his work keeps him from doing it as much as he’d like. And you are correct about the severity of the wreck–it took A LOT of work to fix it!
The picture is of Ken being reunited with the car in 2014, and you can see the trailer in the background! One trivia note: as the paint has faded on the trailer, you can see where Ken updated the trailer from “TR7” to “TR8”.
I had a TR7 identical to this one in 1987, right down to the french blue color and the lazy left headlight, but it was titled as a ’76. (It wasn’t a repaint.) I know sometimes model years weren’t an exact science back then like they are now, so I guess it’s possible it was really a ’75.
It was a sad day when Triumph decided to retire the stylish TR6 for this doorstop design. The slogan that they used in their commercials “The shape of things to come” was the equivalent of saying “Better get your TR6 now before you’re left with no attractive alternatives”. I know, I know . . . To each their own, but I am not alone in my bewilderment that a car company would abandon a classic and stylish design for such a nondescript alternative. I’ve known several TR6 owners (one with a yellow ’74 with wire wheels, and two others with red ’73s) who visibly cringed when the TR7 was introduced, followed by letting out a sigh of relief that they had staked their claim on the 6.
British Leyland were planning the future at a time of popular science fiction shows on TV. Star trek and whatever else followed
These early TR7 engines had a habit of slowly leaking coolant into the head stud holes in the aluminum head. Left undiscovered the studs would then corrode to the head making removal of the head quite a chore! You’d need to fight the head up far enough to get a hack saw in to cut each stud far enough above the deck to remove the head and, hopefully, be able to get enough purchase on the studs to worry them out. A dreadful job as I did it many times at my British Car Service shop.
Bargain!!! Sold at $2,225!