To my mind’s eye, the Triumph TR8 is one of the best values in the classic and muscle car market today. A few years ago, I thought we were about to see prices spike after a few high dollar sales, but it seems to have settled back down into a new reality that sees most of these limited-production muscle cars selling around $10,000, give or take a few grand. If you’re looking for a muscle car while retaining some sophistication that only the British can deliver, the TR8 may be one of the best ways to experience both car communities at a reasonable price. Check out this 1980 model listed here on craigslist for $6,500.
A few years ago, I pursued a TR8 near my in-laws in a Georgia mountain town. The car is still there and I guarantee you very few folks know about it. I did engage with the owner and he was open to selling it, but it simply wasn’t enough of a draw for me price-wise to give it a go. Still, I see him – and hear him – every now and again, and it’s such an enormously cool car with the manual transmission like this one has. I’ve also always loved the decals on the back, letting you know this isn’t a garden variety TR7. The seller reports that this example is painted Persian Blue with an amazing tartan cloth interior.
See, this is what I mean about British style with V8 grunt – it’s truly the best of both worlds. One of the best ways to experience a TR8 without actually owning it is to check out this driving video from Michael’s Motor Cars of Lancaster, PA; I know Michael personally and he always does a great job of bringing you along for the ride (note: the car in his video sold several years ago.) They weren’t the fastest sports car you could buy, but I always dig it when a manufacture decides to throw caution to the wind and drop in an engine purely for the sake of additional performance. Plus, the V8 in this TR8 is cheap as chips to service.
The Rover-sourced 3.5L V8 has a long history in the automotive universe, and one that’s built on the backbone of a mill that began its life in a Buick. The engine is a known quantity, in other words, and while not enormously powerful, it sounds incredible with a free-flowing exhaust. In stock form, the engine pushed out 133 horsepower when equipped with a carburetor like this example has, and around 165 lb.-ft. of torque. The seller notes this car will need some basic reconditioning including rust repair, interior refurbishment, and other general sorting, but the price is right for such a rare specimen. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Jack M. for the find.
Ad says $5k in the text. I’d be surprised if the car doesn’t sell this weekend.
Did Rover stick with the all-aluminum architecture of the original Buick 215 engine once they bought the design and the tooling?
Yes all aluminum.
That’s not the original carburetor. From the factory it was either L-Jetronic with a Lucas FI computer or 2 Zenith Stromberg (CD175 I think).
Drove one once in around 87. I really liked it. I was hoping to upgrade from my TR7, but my finances and the cost of the car didn’t met up.
Depending on the amount of “rust repair” needed this in fact may be a very good buy. As the seller admits these cars are appreciating quickly unlike the 4cyl variants. The blue color stands out as well. Excellent find!
Back in the 80s an elderly neighbour had one of these (not the v8 tho) in this colour combo, looked the business to me as a young teenager! Him and his west highland terrier would potter about with the roof down on those occasional sunny Scottish days lol
Nice car for the price, love those seats and the V8..with a warning. It’s a New Jersey car and it needs rust repair..eek. We all know how cars rust on the east coast, and there are no underside pictures where the tin worms would have a picnic. If this car was on my coast I would take a chance because I could inspect it.
Hey Terry, I lived in NJ up until I was 51. I have been in Vermont for last 23 years…. In NJ you dealt with some rust issues but that is nothing compared to Vermont! Yikes!! The stuff they put on the roads up here can rust a new car badly, after 4-5 years if there is no maintenance. It’s a whole ‘nother ball game up here! You don’t drive your classics up here from Nov-April!
If it’s solid, that’s a good price. Should sell quickly.
Those little BOP/Rover V8’s can be built to deliver a lot more than the stock horsepower. I’ve been a fan of the concept “drop a V8 into a British 2-seater” since getting a ride in a Tiger when I was too young to drive.
A buyer should definitely be wary of rust issues!
“In stock form, the engine pushed out 133 horsepower when equipped with a carburetor like this example ….”
In stock form, these were never equipped with “a carburetor.” They had either two Zenith-Strombergs or fuel injection. This one has an aftermarket intake and Holley 4-barrel — a popular performance mod that likely adds some HP at the expense of making the car unsmoggable in CA. It also means the ad claiming “no modifications” is incorrect.
Still, if it’s solid it could be a good buy. A really nice one with FI just sold on BaT for $19k plus fees.
True, but that four-barrel could become a Holley Sniper TBI setup in a heartbeat, helping you pass CA emissions, assuming that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has approved the Holley Sniper setup for use in CA! The CA EFI versions are the rarest of the rare of these, and very hard to find!
I’ve always liked these,but 13″ wheels just don’t work for me.
Why is the vacuum hose to the brake booster disconnected?
It’s not. That is a 90 degree fitting pointing down.
The TR7 left me cold back in the day. The styling didn’t appeal to me. Of course, with the V-8, that would have been another matter. This car would happily fit into my garage if my garage was big enough to fit it. It’s a modern iteration of a Daimler SP250, which I found entertaining in a straight line but with a flexy frame would pop its doors open on the track…and it was uglier that a five-day old dead fish. I got to drive and write one up back in the day for AutoWeek and I’ve republished it now.
I loved Autoweek, even after it went bi-weekly and then monthly. Too bad it’s gone as it was one of the best car rags.
My father-in-law gave me three of these, two as parts cars and one as a driver. Problem was, no one in the triumph club would speak to us! Guess there was a bit of snobbery or something. We converted it to a Buick V6 motor, which made it a nice, relaxed driver.
guessing you are referring to TR7’s as they look identical but have a 4 cylinder. Many got converted to V6 and V8’s over the years. But the TR8’s are rare and have some unique parts like power steering that make them different than the TR7’s. Drive a TR8 and it is a different car.
Would like to know the details of “rust repair” stated in the Craigslist ad, but this could be the deal of the week…
Good luck with this one. I tried to buy it a few weeks ago, it was $4.600 on FBM and that was a great price. The owner got lots of calls and raised the price to $6,500. I talked with her several times and all the conversations made no sense, kind of sad but just could not get any straight answers so passed on it. It is still available so that says a lot. Plus some of the pictures were not recent, so it seems to have deteriorated and the level of rust is hard to determine. Says it is stock, but the Holley says otherwise, so good luck, hopefully someone gets a good deal. I have one, mine is restored, they are still langishing price wise, they are nice cars and make all the right sounds.