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Wedge HMMM what I learned today about TR7/8

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PATR8

PATR8

Jedi Knight
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As I finish up swapping the V8 from my TR8 FHC to a TR7 DHC i found some subtle but mistifying differences. The srive shafts are different. Both have the CV joints but where the shaft meets the trans tail one shaft, off of my 8, was square where it meets, as opposed to the 7 shaft which is cirlular. No idea why. Is there a preference?

Dash board... the dash out of the 7 has several differences, it has a small retangle box with 4 connections all with green wires running to it. No Idea what it even is. Any help here? The dash from the 8 works execpt for the dash lights, plug the 7 dash back in and all works.... the 8 dash worked fine in the 8. Any ideas?

What I did find, the car had been taken care of regularly, but the shocks were original. what beast to get off.
 
PATR8 said:
As I finish up swapping the V8 from my TR8 FHC to a TR7 DHC i found some subtle but mistifying differences. The srive shafts are different. Both have the CV joints but where the shaft meets the trans tail one shaft, off of my 8, was square where it meets, as opposed to the 7 shaft which is cirlular. No idea why. Is there a preference?

Dash board... the dash out of the 7 has several differences, it has a small retangle box with 4 connections all with green wires running to it. No Idea what it even is. Any help here? The dash from the 8 works execpt for the dash lights, plug the 7 dash back in and all works.... the 8 dash worked fine in the 8. Any ideas?

What I did find, the car had been taken care of regularly, but the shocks were original. what beast to get off.
Click to expand...

Regarding the drive shaft, I think there may be a difference between the 7 and 8 driveshafts in their lengths. Also, Rimmer's website catalog shows the square flange on an early four-speed/automatic TR7, and it has a u-joint at the rear.

https://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/rimmer/tr7/transprop

Not sure about the dash electricals. Maybe someone else will chime in here.

Sorry we didn't get the chance to grab a cup of coffee with you last week. On the way to VTR, we were in a caravan that was in a rush to get there. We came home a different route.

Mickey
 
I was hoping you did not get swallowed by one of PA's potholes or that you might still be stuck in the never ending road constructions, glad you made it though.

I think I will stick with my squared drive shaft since it is a known commidity, as opposed to the unknown. Will go home tonight and switch back to the TR7 Dash. I just can not see the difference on why it would not work!!!

I seems to have it mechanically back together with a few bolts to tighten then I get to start to exercise thr Lucas demons from the car.

The headlights went up and down when I brought it home and when I started it yesterday they went up and stayed up. CURSE YOU LUCAS!!!!! Gotta get the Tach working and a few other things, (like why do the turn signals work and the emergency flasher make noise but not work?)should be cruising topless this week end
 
Hey Major Scott, a little thought for you. Since you are gonna create your own TR8, you might consider doing what my buddy down here did. He took his TR8 hardtop and stripped all the stock wiring out and started over, using aircraft-grade wiring (that's his job) and rewired the car to act more like a 60's American muscle car, without all the unnecessary and redundant wiring that comes stock on the TR8. He used relays where judicious and sound but wired it like a simpler car. He couldn't be any happier with the results. I suppose you would have to have a real grip on wiring to pull this off (he does) but to look under his dash is pleasing to the eye.
And everything works as it should.
 
tdskip said:
So - is it running yet? How does it drive?

Pictures!?!?
Click to expand...


Ya gotta hold on.
TR8.jpg


Actually deleted photos I had. It does run very, very well. No glitches.
 
I have the TR7V8 (safest name to avoid confusion) running well, just one major problem and a few little problems. The major one, the Clutch is not working, spent most of the day troible shooting it and if it does not come to me tonight in a revelation I will swap it out with mine out of the 8. It seems strange that when I bled it the fluid shoot out over a foot, lots of pressure, but when hooked up the is no resistance on the pedal so I assume a not working clutch.

Next problems is the dash lights, neither the dash from my 8 nor the one from the 7 will light up. I have found the switch to increase the brightness was not hooked up and I may have blown a fuse trying to hook it up. I think that may be the issue since even the lights over the heater knobs do not work. My best guess as of 2300 tonight.

The headlights dipping is a confusing issue. first few days they worked, never and issue... but now they will neither rise or fall.

And lastly, the emergency flashers.... the turn signal works, the flasher make noise like they are working, but alas nothing.

I finally did away with the power steering, tired of it's constant leaking and making a mess. I may consider hooking it up again later but I am getting the barn in site and want to drive.

So I will be waiting for tomorrow for the smart guys on here to give me some suggestions
 
Does Advance do a panel for the 8 yet. You need to call Mike at
Call (770) 926-2213. I bet they'll put 1 together pronto and I think there is a sale on.
 
I had thought about doing a custom dash btu two things stopped me, first the skill, knowledge and time on how to do it and second the growing desire to get the wildwood brake conversion and new paint job on the 8
 
Hey Scott, what you've got going on with your clutch sounds like what is a common problem with these clutches. They stick in the engaged position and it feels like all the world like you've got no hydraulic pressure.

However, itis usually a simple fix. With the car in 5th gear, rock it back and forth until it hopefully breaks loose. This happened to me a couple of times and the rocking worked once and the other time I actually started the car in 1st gear and drove it until it broke loose. Give it a try. It sure beats a teardown.

Tom
 
I have it running but the clutch is still beating me silly, it is not stuck engaged, i partially engages enough for me to get it into first but it is pulling the entire time. It does not engage enough to go into reverse. I have to beleive I need to bleed it better.

I eneded up having to cut the shocks off of it, the nuts were rusted to the shocks.

I think I have all the Lord Lucas bugs worked out of the dash but the head lights do not want to play yet.

I definately need some new header gaskets.
 
I learned today that when the original shocks are left on the car for 27 years they do not like to come off with out being cut and that they are usually completely worn out, not able to hold up under their own weight.

I also learned that you can actually have your steering on upside down so the steering wheel is 180 degrees off. still trying to figure that one out.

After measuring I found the two drive shafts are exactly the same length.
 
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