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Wedge Anyone here have a TR8?

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Oh, and he is a helicopter mechanic by trade so he fully understands electricals.

I wonder if he will add a rotor, a really big rotor that is...
 
So I went and drove the car today. Here is what I found;

Body - all of the body panels held a refrigerator magnet. I didn't find any filler on the car at all. The dents the seller mentioned were really minor. There is some minor rust on the bottom sill of the drivers door, but it appears to be surface only and the metal under the paint is good still. The only serious rust I found was the driver floor pan under the clutch. There was a patch there a bit bigger than the size of a candy bar. Metal around it was OK, but the bottom 1/4 of the pan will need to be replaced to stop it from getting worse. I could probably wire brush it and slow the rust down with POR15, but it should be addressed.

Shock towers and trunk and rest of the floor were all fine.

Engine has the 4.0 block - pulls strongly and started on first try. No smoke, clean engine oil. Car needs a tune-up, but engine seems tight and supports a rebuild being relative recent.

Engine still has original ZS carbs, and the emissions controls have been taken off. It passed CA Smog with them on, and the sticker is good until 2009. The smog controls are in the trunk and look OK.

Transmission worked great - clean shifts and easy to find the gears. A slight crunch downshifting into 3rd if I didn't match RPMs at all, but OK on the way up. If I matched RPM it went in to 3rd fine.

Brakes were OK - not outstanding. Brake fluid was dirty, and might be original. No grabbing.

Suspension seemed a bit soft - might be adjustable shocks on too low of a setting or just a bad choice of shocks. Bushings seemed OK.

Steering had some play - maybe the rack????

The battery seemed a bit weak, and the ignition light was one so I'm assuming the alternator is will need to be replaced in the near term.

Fan and ventilation controls work fine - no A/C. Right hand turn signal is out, and while hazard switch works the right side signal doesn't work under that scenario either.

Pop-up lights work, but the right side light jumps up and down a couple of times before staying up. I'm assuming that it needs to be repaired or replaced in the near term.

Interior was OK - panels all intact and seats felt OK. Seat covering will need to be replaced at some point, but both that and the carpet are serviable as a driver for now.

What do you guys think?
 
Is the car DHC or FHC? Year?
Why 4.0 not 3.5? Rebuild, what was done.
Did the car have air? If so do the parts come
with it. Any rust in the trunk area?
Condition sounds typical.
Cheers
Barry
 
Hi Barry - she is a convertible. Engine was rebuilt and the original owner wanted more power (or so I am told). I'm having the rebuilt receipts and full spec faxed down to me, but don't have it yet.

The car has a right side air control with three fan settings, but I'm not sure if that is actually A/C or just a regular fan speed control????

Trunk looked solid.

It has the factory alloy rims still.
 
Don't want to malign the guy, as I'm sure it's not the case, but there is an easy way to make filler (bondo) hold a fridge magnet.

Make your own, by going to a chandler (or anywhere else you can get bulk fibreglass) - buy the resin matrix and talc, plus use 50% iron powder by volume. Works like filler, sands like filler, magnets stick.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nonono.gif
 
The rust under the clutch master is a real problem. There is a seem where the firewall and the inner fender come together. There is also a third panel inside the wheel well that joins the seem. The problem is the seem is filled with seem sealer. It acts like a sponge holding the brake fluid against the metal. I have repaired ones that I was sure would just be a scrape and paint, only to find that after sand blasting, you could pass a baseball from the engine bay to the wheel well to the cockpit. It will take about 10 hours of labor to repair this area. The rust bubbles on the lower part of the door are never just surface rust. The rust starts inside the door and migrates outward. Water settles inside the door and sits on the bottom. There are drain holes in there, but most came filled with seem sealer from the factory. The most common place for rust is wher the lower control arms from the rear end mount to the body. Water sits in a low spot behind the seats and rusts thru the floor. On the higher HP cars, we always weld in extra support there, whether it's rusty or not.
If the motor is a 4 liter, make sure it has the four liter heads. The four liter motors don't have head bolts down by the spark plugs. Most people are going away from the stock alloys because it is difficult to find good 13 inch tires. TR8's have a unique bolt pattern which drives up the price of aftermarket rims. Expect to pay $1600.00 for a set of 15 inch Panasport and new sneakers. Make absolutely sure the vin is for a TR8. The number is on the windshield drivers side as well as on the door. It should most likely start with TPVDV8.... If it starts with TPVDJ8, it is a TR7 with a V8. The car sounds like it is fairly priced, but I go back to my original advice on buying the nicest one you can afford.
 
Hey Mickey...Since I'm going to Knoxville next weekend I could drop off my TR7 project at your place since I'll have a tow dolly with me....I think you NEED another Wedge... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif
 

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[ QUOTE ]
Hey Mickey...Since I'm going to Knoxville next weekend I could drop off my TR7 project at your place since I'll have a tow dolly with me....I think you NEED another Wedge... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

As my late Uncle Paul used to say, "Are you serious, or do you mean it?"

I don't have room at the moment, but if I take out that wall over there...
 
[ QUOTE ]

Transmission worked great - clean shifts and easy to find the gears. A slight crunch downshifting into 3rd if I didn't match RPMs at all, but OK on the way up. If I matched RPM it went in to 3rd fine.

[/ QUOTE ]
The transmission might also be low on fluid. It should have ATF. Another popular fluid is GM Synchromesh fluid. These transmissions like clean fluid as well so its best to change the fluid more often than on most other cars.


[ QUOTE ]

Brakes were OK - not outstanding. Brake fluid was dirty, and might be original. No grabbing.

[/ QUOTE ]
The brakes can be made better with high quality pads and a different proportioning valve. Otherwise they are just about adequate in their original form. Fitting larger rotors and calipers will also require larger wheels.
BTW, the TR8 and TR7 share the same bolt pattern as the Herald based cars (Spitfire, GT6 etc...) but they all used 13" wheels too. The TR8 does have a different offset though because it does have bigger front brakes than TR7's.


[ QUOTE ]

Steering had some play - maybe the rack????

[/ QUOTE ]
TR8's have power steering, don't know if you realized that. Unless someone replaced it with a TR7 rack.


[ QUOTE ]

Pop-up lights work, but the right side light jumps up and down a couple of times before staying up. I'm assuming that it needs to be repaired or replaced in the near term.


[/ QUOTE ]
Could just be a grounding issue or needing to clean some of the corrosion on the headlight motor connections. There are some pretty well established checks and fixs for these.

Are you going to take the leap?
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Hey Mickey...Since I'm going to Knoxville next weekend I could drop off my TR7 project at your place since I'll have a tow dolly with me....I think you NEED another Wedge... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

As my late Uncle Paul used to say, "Are you serious, or do you mean it?"

I don't have room at the moment, but if I take out that wall over there...

[/ QUOTE ]

And if you ARE coming through Clarksville, stop by for coffee!

Mickey
 
are you sure about the offset? you could get the 7's with the alloy wheels also? I had strut assemblies side by side from my parts car with my tr7 fhc and they looked identical. the only difference I saw was the shape of the dust cover.
 
TR7 and TR8 have the same offset. The only difference is you can not put TR7 steel wheels on the front of an 8. They contact the larger TR8 brake calipers preventing the wheels from rolling. Stock size was 13X5.5 on both steel and alloys. Tire size was 175/70/13 on the early 7's and 185/70/13 on the later 7's and all 8's. Most people switch to 205/60/13, but that size is getting scarce. I used to run 225/50/13 Hoosiers on the race car, but needed serious fender lip massaging. You can get a vented rotor kit that fits under the stock alloys. One of my cars came fitted with a kit that Rimmers sells. It has steel calipers. Woody sells a kit that uses wilwood aluminum calipers. He also sells a larger kit that requires 15 inch wheels.
 
Hi guys - thanks for the additional info.

The power steering worked OK - just felt like there was some play in the wheel. Maybe it was just the power boost making it feel that way - but my hunch is that the rack will eventually need sorting. Looks like the racks are around $300 - so not cheap but not end of the world either.

I'm assuming that all the fluids need to be changed - looks like some deferred maintenance, but upside is that in my experience Triumphs respond well to this level of care and tend to 'appreciate' the care by running much better afterwards. Maybe that will take care of the 3rd gear - but to be safe I'm mentally preparing myself for transmission work in then next couple of years (not going to put huge mileage on her). I'll definitely look into the right/better transmission fluid.

TR8Todd (just Todd for short?) - your post snapped a couple of things into focus for me. The interior fender wall has paint peeling that I assumed was from the brake master cylinder - and if so then it almost certainly soaked into the floor seam and hence the rot. Makes total sense now that you clued me in. Should I be planning on a new floor pan and firewall sheet metal?

The story is that the car was imported from Canada but has been accepted into CA by DMV - and has the registration and stickers to prove it.

The VIN is TPLDV8AT213123 - which I believe indicates that she is a real TR8 and seems to back up the history I’ve been given.

T = Triumph
P = TR7/8
L = Canada
D = Convertible
V = V8
8 = LHD manual
A = 1980
T = Canley
Car number 213123

Reference: https://www.trdrivers.com/tr7___tr8_vin_numbers.htm#1979


Please please please correct me if I'm off base on any of this!
 
[ QUOTE ]
The story is that the car was imported from Canada but has been accepted into CA by DMV - and has the registration and stickers to prove it.

The VIN is TPLDV8AT213123 - which I believe indicates that she is a real TR8 and seems to back up the history I’ve been given.

T = Triumph
P = TR7/8
L = Canada
D = Convertible
V = V8
8 = LHD manual
A = 1980
T = Canley
Car number 213123

Reference: https://www.trdrivers.com/tr7___tr8_vin_numbers.htm#1979
Please please please correct me if I'm off base on any of this!

[/ QUOTE ]

The information I have shows the same regarding the VIN, so looks like it's a genuine 8.

As for the steering rack, mine needed a rebuild; that's pretty common. I was fortunate to find one at the Wedge Shop. Woody happened to have one in stock, so I pulled mine and sent it in as a core. The rebuilt one is working great - nice and tight. I do have a slight leak, but it's coming from one of the hose connections, but that's an easy fix.

There's been a LOT of discussion about the proper transmission fluid - ATF vs. GM spec synchromesh oil. I went with the GM spec (Pennzoil brand), and it's working great. Took care of the slight "crunch" shifting into second. Speaking of transmission issues, the bushings holding the remote shifter on these cars were rubber originally, and often have deteriorated. I put the delrin bushings in, and shouldn't have to fool with them any more.

By the way, I just took mine out for a run, after replacing the stock distributor with a Mallory Unilite. WOW!! is all I can say. I'm gonna get in all kinds of trouble with this thing! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif

Mickey
 
[ QUOTE ]
are you sure about the offset? you could get the 7's with the alloy wheels also? I had strut assemblies side by side from my parts car with my tr7 fhc and they looked identical. the only difference I saw was the shape of the dust cover.

[/ QUOTE ]

I guess I assumed (dangerous, I know) that the offset was only slightly different because of the interference that Todd mentioned between the steel wheels and the alloys and the interference with the calipers. I figured the offset wasn't drastic enough to warrant a change for using the alloys on the TR7. Maybe its just the wheel design. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
I wouldn't plan on any metal work, but I would keep it in the back of my mind if I were you. At any rate, you will have to spend some time making sure that the area is cleaned up. If you need to do any metal work, you will have to fab up any patches you will need. The car is a unibody and that makes metal repairs very difficult. Much more so than a MGB for instance. I have cut up at least 20 TR7/8's and I still can't figure out how they attached the front fenders. There are so many blind spot welds on these cars. If you have a welder and some other basic tools you should be OK. The spots to look at closely are as follows. The fender lips, specifically the pinch welds where the outer and inner fenders join. The lower front fenders. The lower rear fenders. Under the battery tray. Under the masters. The floor behind the seats, specially the convertible ones. The round body plugs on the floor( they are held in with seam sealer only and will blow off when you hit a big puddle sending a fire hydrants worth of water onto your crotch, face and windshield) The seam between the front of the rear fender and the rocker panel. Body flex will cause the paint in this area to crack. Once it is cracked, capilary action takes water into the seam where it contacts virgin metal. Once these bubble, they can never truely be fixed. They will always bubble out again.
 
Todd - the passenger side right rear seem between the rear fender and top of the rear deck lid looks like it has some corrosion that hasn't bubbled yet, but will.

How concerned should that make me?

As it stands I'm looking at $4,200 as the purchase price.
 
I also have a TR8 that is almost completely restored now, my only advice is to be prepared to spend money! But in the end, as most will tell you, it is a fine driving and looking machine, that is a real head turner! I can not wait to get mine out of storage in the spring! My last project for the car is going to be a new upgraded radiator! Good Luck! Oh, as for the ground effects kit, that needs to go!


Rod
 
It sounds as thou the car is fairly priced. Provided you don't sink money into items that don't add value to the car, you should be able to recoup all or even more of your money on ebay. The seams will need attention, but that might hasten the need for a paint job. That is the single most non-recoupeable expenditure on a TR8. A decent strip and repaint will run as much as the purchase price of the car. The cars that sell the easiest are drivers that people think they can restore as they go. The hardest to sell is a finished beautiful car. I don't know what your financial situation is or how much you want a TR8. If you really want a TR8 and you can afford it, then buy the best one you can find. Don't buy this one thinking you can get it to be the nicest one around on a budget. If you just want to dip your toes into the TR8 waters, and maybe move on to a nicer one later, then this sounds to be an excellent candidate for that. If you grow to appreciate the car, the way every TR8 owner does, then you should keep your eyes open for one that is done. Trade up when possible. I will warn you, these cars are awesome. They are modern, and can be made to go as fast as anything on the road. A TR8 with a 4.6 will smoke cars that cost in excess of $100,000. Woody Cooper has about 25K into his car. It will go from a dead stop to 160MPH in under 4/10's of a mile. It turns 12.0 quarter mile times on street tires. The best part is his car handles and stops better than it accelerates. Go to www.thewedgeshop.com
 
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