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Wedge Thought exercise - a wedge as a daily driver?

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Often, cars produced after August were listed as the next model year. August or September used to be a holiday month and production for the next model year would follow that break.

I use my TR8FHC (built in December of 1978) on a daily basis. The five speed is easy and smooth, the clutch is not heavy, the extra room over a TR2-6 is very welcoming and the reliability of the V8, even with Strombergs on it, is quite high. My TR8 is currently pushing 172,000 miles and I just recently rebuilt the carbs (had Jeff Playa do up a set including the auto starters). Very comfortable and fun. HVAC systems are far superior to the early cars and you could even find AC relatively easily.
 
If I could, I would, but doing 30-35,000 per year in all types of weather, it's just not practical for me to do so.

HOWEVER, when I do get behind the wheel of either the TR6 or TR8, it is the best driving time that I have. And I do drive a 2010 MKZ AWD with the sports package and every option available, so creature comforts and performance are the norm for me.

Which reminds me, it's almost time to get the TR8 out of storage soon as well as getting the TR6 back out of mothballs.
 
You can make a nice daily driver out of a wedge. They were my dailys up until I needed a truck for work. I would suggest an 8 over a 7 unless initial cost is a big factor. The 8 is so much easier to understand and work on than is the 7. I know on the outside, they look the same, but they are worlds apart when you have to fix something. If you do go with an 8, get one that is nicely modified, but not over the top obnoxious. A basically stock engine with a four barrel carb and headers, better radiator with electric fan, urethane bushings, 15" wheels, up rated springs, and better shocks all make the car better. Do these mods and you will have a reliable modern fun to drive car. Anything beyond this and you start to take the car more into weekend warrior status.
 
Thanks for the information. This is something that I would probably do in a year or two. Hopefully prices won't double between now and the. That's when I won't be on the hook for transporting kids and their equipment. Hmm, does anyone know if a cello will fit in the boot of a TR8 :smile:

So is a TR8 that much better than a TR7? I was thinking there might be some benefit from the lighter car, and somewhat simpler systems (though maybe all of the mid-70's smog controls negate any of that).

I do enjoy tinkering with the car, so that isn't an issue, though it does need to be somewhat reliable (or at least predictable). On my 4A, I've had everything except the gearbox and diff apart, so I'm pretty comfortable knowing the condition of everything (ironically, that leaves doubt on my wife's part!). So I'm guess there will be a long "get acquainted" period with it (all of my other cars have been new, and taken care of themselves).
 
No real difference in complexity compared to the TR4a except for emissions controls and/or FI system. All the other systems are conventional Darrell.
 
Don't fall into the trap that the V8 is the heavier car. It is not. The Earlier TR7's were lighter with a smaller transmission and a smaller rear axle. The five speed cars (TR7 and TR8) weights are practically identical and are heavier than the early cars mostly due to the heavier rear axle and the heavier 5-speed transmission. The Buick/Olds/Pontiac/Rover Aluminum V8 is very light. Possibly a little lighter than the TR7 cast iron block and aluminum head set up. If the car has A/C, there will be more weight in front of the engine with the engine but that will hold true for both models. You're just more likely to find a TR8 with A/C attached and working than a TR7 that hasn't had it all yanked out. Coupes are also lighter (and stiffer) than the convertibles.

Recently had a chance to put my TR8FHC on some scales and compare it to a twin carb TR7 Roadster. We both had full fuel tanks and a small assortment of roadside safety equipment in the boots. No passengers when we weighed them etc... Tried to match up extraneous stuff as best as we could, even though my TR8 still has all of the A/C equipment and the TR7 did not. My TR8 was still nearly 300 pounds lighter.

The boot in a wedge is large, with the TR7 getting the larger space as the TR8 puts the battery back there. However, it is not large enough to fit a cello, you could strap one to a luggage rack though. :wink:
 
Both wedges are nice cars, the TR8 is a lot 'sportier' because of the significant power difference between the v8 and the 4 cylinder in the TR7, and I believe most TR8 had power steering, which most TR7 dont have.

if you want a "sport car" for "sport driving" and zipping around with a lot of vroom, then the 8 is nice, but as far as handling and driving, both of the wedges are very similar.

As far as weight goes, not sure what was in that TR7 shawn, but the curb weight of a TR8 is 2654lbs where a TR7 is only 2205.

I dont think a cello would fit =) (well... I KNOW a cello wont fit actually)

If you like to tinker, a TR7 might be a lot more economical for you than a TR8. TR8s certainly had higher initial quality than TR7s off the assembly line, having improved processes along the way, and having moved to a different and better plant. But if you buy a TR7 that's still driving and in good shape today, chances are any of the 'lower quality' problems from the earlier year TR7s have been long since worked out anyways, 35 years is a lot of time for problems to show up in a particular car =)

You could be happy with either a 7 or an 8, they're both very under-valued right now IMO, but unfortunately neither is likely to ever be worth all that much anyways, despite some of the low production numbers. They got a bad rap years ago for being too radical and different, and it's kinda stuck with them even though today they're not that radical and different at all, all things considered.


As noted above, the coupes are stiffer than the convertibles, and it's actually noticeable in the handling. With uprated springs, good bushings and tires, my wedge corners very very well at speed... though it doesn't corner well in parking lots, mostly due to the 13" wheels and lack of power steering combined with the smaller diameter steering wheel of the wedge relative to the earlier TRs
 
I drove a '79 TR7 as a daily driver for about two years, and I drove it all over the place--in town and long distances. I loved that car. I sold it only because I was in graduate school, the water pump failed (they're at the back of the engine), and I didn't have the tools or moxy to replace it myself. I sometimes pine for a TR7 to replace it, and I still have a lot of love for the wedge.
 
Yesterday, I drove my TR7 to work, and then to the car club meeting. Top down 72F, one stop for a green beer in honor of the day, perfect! :driving: I had planned to drive it today, but it wouldn't start... :madder:
 
justin_mercier said:
As far as weight goes, not sure what was in that TR7 shawn, but the curb weight of a TR8 is 2654lbs where a TR7 is only 2205.
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The 2205 quoted for the TR7 is for the early coupe with the lighter 4-speed and lighter rear axle. The 2654 quoted for the TR8 is for a fully optioned (including A/C) TR8 in Roadster form. The TR7 Roadster weight is right up there with the TR8. Coupes with the five speed and heavier rear axle, both V8s and 4 cylinders, are closer to the 2400lbs mark. Automatic transmissions tend to be heavier than manuals so your coupe may weigh a bit more but not enough to worry about it.

All TR8's came with power steering, all TR7's came with rack & pinion.

The torque difference and the power steering are the biggest driveability differences. The V8 rumble is a bonus.
 
I weighed my '81 TR7V8 at the logging scales last year with a full tank, tool box in the trunk and me inside it weighed 2600lbs.
 
The heaviest TR8 I've ever weighed was 2550 and that was with two small children sitting in the car. It was fully loaded with a spare tire, half tank of gas, luggage rack. FWIW the TR8 race car needed to weigh 2430 at the end of the race to be legal. The only way I could hit that mark was with the max load of 100lbs of ballast, a battery box made from plate steel, way to many bars in the roll cage, and another 50 to 100 lbs of lead poured into some of the roll cage tubing. Just weighed my wife's TR8 and it came in at 2375. It has had your basic weight reduction- headers, four barrel, AC delete, aluminum rad with electric fan.
 
tdskip said:
So Darrell - convinced yet?
Click to expand...

Yep! Still need to wait a couple of years. If I could have gotten a cello in one, there might have been a shot at getting it sooner.
 
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