Cheap Wheels: 1980 Triumph TR7 Project
The TR7 was the wedged-shaped sports car built by Triumph from 1975 to 1981. The advertising manta was “the shape of things to come” and the car sold well, though it had the kind of quality problems often associated with English cars of this era. This one has had the same owner for 12 years and has invested $8,000 in repairs along the way. And yet, he/she is willing to let it go for $1,750 here on craigslist (no I didn’t leave out a zero). The vehicle can be seen in Prescott Valley, Arizona. This bargain tip was brought to us by Tony Primo!
TR7s are powered by 1,998cc inline-4 engines with eight valves. With twin carburetors, the rated output is 92 hp for U.S. models. Naturally, a 4-speed manual transmission is typical, and the cars have anti-roll bars fore and aft with front disc brakes. Over the seven-year run, some 115,000 TR7s were built of which one out of every four was a convertible like the seller’s machine. For a time, there also was a TR8 with a V8 engine, but production numbers were small by comparison.
The seller bought this car a dozen years ago, worked on it, and drove it for four or five years. Since then, it’s been in storage waiting for the opportunity to be revived, but the seller has concluded that won’t happen on his/her watch. The little auto has seen loads of use over the years as the odometer reading is 186,000 miles. When it was in its prime, it was featured in a story in Hemmings in 2013. Some of the work done on the seller’s watch includes the cloth top, new tires and wheels, rebuilt carburetors, and some electrical work, plus a whole lot more. The clutch still needs going through.
Earlier bodywork was done poorly, so the buyer will want to sort that out and repaint it even though it looks okay in the photos. And the interior could stand some attention, as well. The seller hopes a TR enthusiast will seize the opportunity to buy this car at the seller’s loss, restore it properly, and get it back out on the road. This looks like a lot of car for the price. When was the last time you saw a $1,750 automobile that wasn’t all junk?
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Comments
A common craigslist scam is to copy a listing, change the location, change the contact info, and lower the price to a level where it’s low enough to be an irresistible deal, yet high enough to be believable. He accepts deposits from one or more buyers anxious to jump on the deal, then disappears. I’m not saying that’s what’s going on here, but it sure would be on my mind if I were interested in the car.
I live about five minutes away. Want me to go check it out? I remember seeing a pretty nice orange MGB up for sale up in that neighborhood a while back……..
What makes you think that these are not junk. There is the problem of putting coolant into these where there is a critical procedure to get air out of the system so it will not warp the head. That the doors can on very quick Hi “G” turns open up. (Been there personally on that one) and many other quality control issues. These are really fun cars I especially liked the ones with the plaid seat inserts but the design was flawed in so many ways and the looks were just off somehow. The interior was great, as was the amount of luggage it would carry. The engine and other mechanical bits not so much. Now with a great deal of time, labor and working with other owners these flaws could be corrected. (well not the cooling issue as that was built into the engine) and this could be one of those few amazing ones out there. Just too big a risk for me to jump at. I do hope it finds a good home.
Nothing more expensive than a free or cheap British car.
I like that the Zenith-Stromberg troublerators have been replaced with the more desirable Skinner Union ones.
I’ve owned one of these for 10 yrs unless you own a spare parts car have a machine shop and unbelievable mechanic and diagnostic skills run as fast as you can lol!
Ask the man who owns one! Thanks Craig-
“When was the last time you saw a $1,750 automobile that wasn’t all junk?”
Well, it sure wasn’t today.