1980 Triumph TR7 Beautiful Convertible TR8 Fiat Porsche Alfa Romeo Lancia

For sale: sexy Chrome Effect Red 1980 Triumph TR7, 1k miles, ew tan interior, O RESERVE.

OK, p front: solid engine, olid transmission and clutch, ew brakes, ew interior, ots of spares. Start grinning - it just gets better.

Do you remember the girl in high school, ith bumps in all the right places and curves in all the other right places? She was fresh, orgeous and flashy in every way and you still think of her with a glint in your eye. And at the 35 year year reunion, ou saw her again, nd she was still curvy and bumpy and flashy, ut had a few laugh lines and her hair was a little grey. THIS CAR IS HER! While not the young and fresh hottie she used to be, he's definitely still a cougar and is still knocking them dead.

If you know Triumphs of these years, ou'll know the old adage "There's nothing more expensive than a cheap Triumph." How well I know, fter more money in replacement and restoration parts than the car is worth. With an older car like this, ou have to worry about perhaps pricy parts, echanics who may not know how to fix them, tc. I never short changed myself with maintaining this car as "good enough," and I can back up everything with receipts and a log I've kept since my original purchase. I've found replacement parts easily and reasonably priced, nd the amound of knowledge in numerous forums supporting TR7s is heartwarming, o say the least.

Since my original purchase, his car hasn't stranded me at all. It's been solid, ependable. Awesome.

I bought this car with the intention of completely pulling it apart and restoring every weld, very bushing, very sensor, very piece of rubber and every seal, nd replacing the engine with a more modern V6, ore or less as a rolling restoration. I started with the interior replacement and some undercarriage rust repair while searching for suitable kits, ody kits, ngines, tc, nd stopped there. Having bought a fourth car, nd being notified by my homeowner's association that I have too many vehicles, have to lighten the load a little. And it kills me too - I love this little car.

So let's talk details. And BTW, have records to support the repairs and replacements I've done (no-kidding receipts). When you take delivery of the car, 'll give you a binder of receipts, ome spare parts and a manual or two.

So let's get right to it. The "goods" first:

81,000 miles and some change on the odometer. Given how well the engine and tranny are performing, 'm guessing this is original. There's no way I can support my guess of course, ut I've been around a few classic cars in my day and have an eye for what to look for (and stay away from).

Tuneup stuff: this is what I consider standard replacements when I buy a used car - new plugs (the Bosch ones I took out look frankly perfect. I'll include them in the auction because I can't bear to toss out good used parts), ew wires, ew rotor and a new cap. I can't say it made a huge difference in the way the car ran, ut new is new.

Engine: no knocks, o issues, o smoke, othing. No smoke at deceleration, o smoke at startup, o smoke at idle. Smooth power in all gears and no issues whatsoever when it's warm. The FASD is still attached and working (I think), ut I'm not convinced it's adjusted correctly. I can provide a ton of tech material on the thing, ut I've not made an attempt to pull it out or overhaul the unit. As such, use a shot of starter fluid when it gets especially cold. I could probably gloss this over, ut I feel doing so would be unethical. A prior owner had installed a Rimmer Brothers aftermarket oil pressure kit. It's been tastefully done, nd without leaks in the engine bay or a hashed up appearance in the cabin.

Interior: it's pristine. PRISTINE. Take a good look at the pics, nd I think you'll agree. The original seats were a total bag of hammers when I bought it, o I replaced them with ones from a late model Mazda Miata. See pics - these come with the speakers in the head rest. The seats have no tears, hey're very supportive, ove back and forth as you'd expect, nd are the correct height for the car. The door panels are custom one-offs, ade with material found in a new BMW. Same with the carpets. Prior to full carpet installation, he interior was lined with sound and vibration absorbent stuff, o the cabin is actually pretty quiet on the road. Even the interior door lights work. I bought some custom seat belts (tan in color), nd never installed them. What's in there right now are the stock belts, ll fully operational. I'll include the UNUSED, EW custom belts with the car. The dash is in excellent condition - no cracks or warped plastics. When you sit in the car for the first time, ou'll smile and say "Well I'll be. This is NICE"

Exterior: paint is Chrome Effect Red, ut looks varying shades depending on the light level, ow cloudy it is, tc. Sometimes it looks silver to me, ometimes red, ometimes even a russet brown, tc. It's actually a really nice effect - not something you'd see in a Los Angelas off-the-charts kind of car show, ut a tastefully done color change effect. Original color, udging from the engine bay, as silver. With the hood up, ou'll not notice a garish or eye jangling color difference though. All body panels are smooth and without oxidation, here's no peeling clear coat, tc.

Brakes: brake rotors original to these cars aren't held in high regard. As such, o repair crappy/wobbly brakes, replaced the rotors and the pads with customs ones. I've also replaced the right front caliper. If you're familiar with Rimmer Brothers, ook up "green gear," a specific upgrade kit they sell - this is what I put into this TR7, nd I think I have a little more than 400 miles on it all. Thus, rakes are MORE than what you might be used to if you already own a TR7, nd fully prepared to stop you in no time flat.

Lights: if you know Triumphs, r many other cars with Lucas electrics, ou'll be familiar with known issues, uch as inop relays, rappy wiring, ad grounds, tc. This one was no exception. When I bought it, he brake lights were dim, s were the running lights and the turn signals. I spent HOURS chasing down the ground points, leaning them, enovating them, nd bringing it all up to snuff. I actually cured an inop fuel sending signal by cleaning up the contacts. This work also included renovating connections to interior lamps - they're as bright as you'd expect, nd actually dimmable. TURN SIGNALS AND BRAKE LIGHTS WERE REPLACED WITH LEDs. You'll notice the difference, nd probably thank me for doing so.

Exhaust system: From the header, ack, 've replaced it all, ncluding the muffler, ith a custom Momo system. I also replaced the manifold bolts, nd the exhaust manifold-to-engine seal. There are no exhaust leaks and the system has a sporty purr, nd is ready for a good scream down the highway.

Transmission: no issues whatsoever with all five forward gears and one reverse. Same with the clutch, he slave cylinder, tc. No hydraulic leaks or transmission whine.

Cooling: Everything I read about the TR7 and TR8 cooling systems point to the poor cooling capacity, ut I've YET to have an issue with mine. The temp gage varies between mid way and 3/4 up, ncluding when used in 100 degree Washington DC stop-and-go traffic.

Driveshaft: no issues whatsoever. No clunks, o grinds, o problems.

Rear end: also nothing to report. No whines, rowls or clunks

Steering: Very tight and very responsive. However, he firewall bushing is shot, ut I have a replacement, s well as the two washers to go with it. Outer tie rods are NEW (I have the rcpt, nd they still LOOK new).

Air conditioning: it has the complete system, ut I've never used it, nd I'm not sure it works (see below, n "the bads")

Heating system: no issues with heat exchange, ut the fresh air plenum is missing (this is a snap-on part available through various sources). See below on "bads" - the blower motor is inop (or disconnected).

Seals: all door seals and front convertible top seals are in good condition. The trunk seal has a half inch gap, ut I've got more to give you if such is a problem. Front wind screen seals are still in fantastic condition.

Rust: there is no structural rust. When the interior was redone, he wells behind the seats were rusty, ut it was repaired, nd drain plugs installed. The undercarriage had some surface rust but I sanded it all off, oated it with POR 15 (more or less galvanizing the metal and preventing rust from coming back), nd painted it all.

Engine bay: I've put almost no attention to the engine bay, ut there's no rust. There's typical Triumph oilyness, ut no rust

Trunk: no rust. None. I had planned to line the trunk with the same carpet as the interior, ut am out of time. I'll give you the carpet if you want it.

Fuel system: no issues. I've got a clear fuel filter that I used to watch religiously, ut I don't see particulates or fouling of the filter. The fuel gage reads correctly too

Body: solid as a freakin' rock. There is some paint damage on the hood, ut the pictures will show this clearly.

Convertible: fully functional, wo small tears that have been repaired. I've weathered some serious rainfall here, nd there are no leaks whatsoever, o pooled water on seats, loors, tc.

Convertible top cover: I'd call this thing a "boot," but apparently this is the incorrect term for such a thing. The one shown in the pics is custom made, rand new and color matching. I'm probably going to list it separately, ut if you buy it ahead of buying the car, 'll give you a price break. If you DON'T want the custom tan one, 'll give you the black one that I had repaired. It's also in perfect shape, ut a different color.

Sound system: fully decked out with a rockin' Pioneer AM/FM cassette player that doesn't work (see below, n "the bads"). The speakers are brand new though (Pyle is the brand), ith all wiring in place. If you decide to replace the stereo (why anyone would want to replace a 90's-era piece of awesomeness with a modern unit is beyond me), ou'll have no issues - the speaker wires are still there and hooked up to the speakers, he power harness is ready and the antenna wire is there too. a couple screws undo that part of the dash and you have full access to the radio and all the mounting hardware.

Tires: still in excellent condition with lots of tread left. No baldies here, hank you very much.

The bads:
Carb: note the lack of a plural. This isn't really a "bad," as it runs the car with grace and aplomb, ut I prefer to be honest/up front with a used car. Stock, his car came with dual zeniths, ut at some point, prior owner converted it to a single carb'ed setup. I bought the car with the unused/spare carb, nd will include it in the final sale. If you decide to to revert it back to a "normal" dual carb setup, dual intake is relatively cheap.

Cold starts: As noted above, he engine doesn't like to start easily on cold days. However, fter a small shot of starting fluid, he engine fires up very quickly. Even at cold, he car runs well, nd once warm, eally well. If you stop by to take a test drive, promise not to pull any shennanigans and warm it up before hand. Come to think of it, his TR7 runs a helluva lot better when cold than my '72 Fiat does... At any rate, f you decide to convert this to a manual choke setup, 'll provide you with some vendor info and part numbers.

Driver side inner tie rod: the inner tie rod joint is fully functional without any issues, ut the rubber bellows is in poor condition. I bought a replacement pair but haven't installed them yet. I'll include them with the car, nd yes, them" means I have two new ones not yet installed.

Sound system: the rockin' 90's Pioneer AM/FM cassette awesomeness radio is inop. But as noted above, ll the wiring to speakers, he antenna wire and a hot power lead to the fuse block are ready for something less rockin/more modern.

Headlamps: light up without any issue, ut a prior owner installed seperate toggles to raise/lower them. Apparently a controller has gone bad, ut the repair/replacement isn't tough and is well documented in numerous areas. I'm not hugely mechanically inclined, o was planning to leave that fix for last.

Convertible top: just reiterating the two small tears thing that I noted above. Again, o issues with weather intrusion, ut I consider myself an honest man and don't want to pull any fast ones on a buyer.

Trim: not a "bad," not really, ut something to note. The windshield trim, s you can see in the pics, as removed by a prior owner, s were the side window gutter trims, 'm assuming for aesthetics purposes. I have all that and will include it with the sold car.

Undercarriage: also not a "bad," but worthy of mention. There is surface rust on some of the undercarriage bits, ike sway bars and the like. THERE IS NO STRUCTURAL RUST. THERE IS NO STRUCTURAL RUST AT AND CHASSIS MOUNTING POINTS.

Air conditioning: the system is complete with no missing components, ut I'm almost positive it doesn't work. The blower motor is also inop, hough I'm just about certain this is from an electrical connection I either missed or a crappy connection to a fuse. Triumphs weren't generally known for blower motors going bad and taking apart the dash is an hour's worth of a job.

Again, have receipts for all of the following:
"tuneup" stuff (plugs, ires, ap, otor)
front rotors and pads
right front caliper
right front brake hose
Exhaust system replacement and installation
TR7 maintenance manual
Battery tiedowns

I have the following spares, nd will include them with the auction:
carb sync tool
Bosch platinum spark plugs
thermostat
temp sensor
second carb
windshield chrome trim
inner tie rod rubber bellows
ball joints
firewall nylon bushing
two door windows
your choice of custom convertible top cover (= extra cost) or the standard black one
NEW, NUSED custom seat belts
firewall bushing replacement kit
I've got some replacement interior stuff too (extra door skin material and tan carpet). I'll give it to you for free if requested.

I trailored this car home when I bought it, ut could have driven the thing (assuming the exhaust system was still good) from Missouri to Southern Maryland without issue. Since buying this car, 've gone from home to Washington DC (a 100 mile drive round trip) numerous times, ome to Baltimore (about the same distance) numerous times, nd all over hell and creation locally. This is not a "barely driven," "Sunday-only driven," "grandma goes to the library" or "low low low miles only" kind of car. It's been driven with the respect, ove and adoration that a semi hot-footed Navy retiree like me SHOULD drive it. It's not a museum piece and will only win third place at the Southern Maryland Amish MotorCar Invitational British Division, ut attractive members of your favored gender will look at you with envy and want to sleep with you when they see you in it.

My number is 831-601-2313. Feel free to call with any questions. If you want close-up pics, et me know. The car comes with a clear Maryland title. You come to my house, ou give me cash, give you a packet of info and the signed title. $500 due upon close of auction. If you're active duty Navy and have an ID card to prove it, 'll give you a discount. Seriously. We sailors have to stick together.

As with any classic stunner, his car is bound to have issues that I've not seen, r don't count as issues. I've tried my best to describe in detail this really good deal, nd offer time or more pics if you need to see something particular.

You are no-kidding getting a solid runner, true survivor, safe buy. Whether as a platform for a reasonably cheap investment, r because you know what a good buy this is, ou'll leave grinning and will be bragging to coworkers how you almost STOLE this thing, eing it was such a good buy. Now that you're dazzled and asking the spouse why you SHOULDN'T be allowed to buy the car, ou'll be asking yourself why on earth I'm selling it. You should ask, ut beware - I can't be held responsible for your injury from ear-to-ear envious grins and such.

This is a NO RESERVE auction. I've listed this car locally though, nd I reserve the right to close the auction early.