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Wedge 1979 [Fed.] TR7 fuel tank questions

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Andrew Mace

Andrew Mace

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My son had been doing pretty well with the '79 TR7 convertible until late Sunday evening when he ran out of gas. He was able to get home and then get back to the car yesterday, get gas and -- eventually -- get going again. Trouble seems to be, though -- in a car that was stored for over 10 years -- that some sort of junk got stirred up when he ran the tank down to empty. It's made him a bit hesitant to rely on the car at the moment (understandably), so it's back in my hands.

Questions:

1. Does the fuel outlet from the tank actually come THROUGH the gauge sending unit? That's sure what it all looks like, and it means (among other things) that the new sender I'd bought won't work, since there's only the three electrical terminals and no pipe passing through. (Of course, it also came with a lock ring but without a gasket...and it came via eBay from England, so it's nearly pointless to think about sending back!)

2.a. If indeed the fuel feed is through the sending unit, any chance I can modify the new sender? I don't want to pull the old one until I've a pretty good idea what I'll need to do.

2.b. What would be the best way to drain this tank? Through that pipe out of the sender?

3.a. Where, if anywhere, is the fuel filter on a '79 TR7? I see nothing coming out of the tank and nothing up in the ol' engine bay...and pretty much nothing in between.

3.b. If there isn't a factory filter location, would it be ok to put one right off the tank, in the rubber connection between the outlet (sender) and the hard line?

This all would be much less frustrating IF the driver's door window hadn't come out of the track, and less frustrating IF I could figure out why the passenger door speaker wires aren't getting any feed (you do NOT want to know about some of the wiring in this car!) Oh, and it would be MUCH LESS frustrating if it weren't for the fact that it's easier to get maintenance and repair parts for the '62 Herald than it is for the '79 TR7!?
 
The late model 7s with fuel injection had a tank with two holes, one for the sender and one with the fuel pick up. The carb versions had a single port with the sender and fuel pick up combined. The fuel pick up had a filter inside the tank. If the tank is less than 1/4 full you can jack up the rear of the car and remove the sender without draining the tank. Take it slow though as it's been awhile since I did this and I may be a little off. Of course if I weren't a little off I probably wouldn't own an LBC, let alone two.
Sounds like your sender is one for the FI cars. The domestic supplier I checked gets $69 for that one and $39 for the one with the fuel pick up. Go figger.
Do not despair, there's a lot of TR7s out there, as Triumph built more of them (coupes and convertibles) than any other TR. I drive my 81 every day and it is as reliable as it is fun. Good Luck
 
1. The fuel outlet does run through the gauge. The sender you got was for a fuel injected TR7 or TR8.

2.a. If your going to modify it you will need to pull the old one and see what bends and lengths the tube has. I recommend buying one from a Stateside vendor and reselling the other on fleabay but make sure you find out what is really fits!

2.b. Yes run a hose from the pipe on the sender to a gas can and with a pair of vise grips use that to pinch off the line to stop the gas from coming out. I use a 12V electric fuel pump to drain the tank down and just run the wires to the battery.

3.a. The fuel filter is either between the fule line in the engine bay and the fuel pump or between the fuel pump and the carbs fuel rail.

3.b. You can put it any place you want but to change it out without killing yourself the best place would be between the metal fuel line in the engine bay and mechanical fuel pump on the engine.

When I worked for the Wedge Shop and other facilites I changed out about 50 or more TR7 & TR8 gas tanks. After the first 10 they were not so bad. This is not counting the cars I personally owned either.
 
I can post a photo of what one looks like if you need. I have a used one laying around. The fuel injection cars use a lift pump similar to the TR8 carbed cars and then a secondary high pressure pump located in a swirl pot. They use a fuel level sender that is just a sender and it does not have an attachment for the fuel line. Only the carbed TR7s use a sender/fuel pickup combo. Hence the one outlet vs. two outlet tanks. The two outlet tanks are getting very hard to come by.
 
Hi Guys, great reading/info.
Just wondering, how much of this, if any would pretain to a 1980 TR8 w/carb's.?

And for something silly, Andrew, let me know about the door
speaker, I have the same problem and I've been tracking it for a couple
of week now. Still can't find the problem..
tom
 
Will do, Tom. Odd thing is that it worked a few weeks ago, and we thought at the time that it was just a disintegrated speaker cone at fault, having temporarily hooked up a different speaker!? But there's a power amp spliced into the aftermarket radio, and pretty much any wiring on this car that wasn't "factory" was done to a...uh...lesser standard than one might hope for (I'm being generous)!
 
I can get the right speaker to work if I jiggle a wire under the steering colum
by the ignition switch. :smile:
My four day weekend is planned out a, starter, radio/speakers/6 disc changer, and cleaning off my rebuiding desk for a spiity engine.
Oh, and can't forget a nap. :smile:
tom
 
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