My Interest in TR7’s and TR8’s

My fascination with the TR7/8 goes back to the late 1970s. Almost every morning, while driving my Triumph Spitfire 1500, a bright yellow TR7 would whiz past me, and each time it did, it left a lasting impression. A few years later, I finally gave in and bought my first TR7.

My brother once asked why I didn’t choose something “better,” especially as he was tearing around in a Ferrari 308 at the time. My answer was simple: the TR7/8 was the only car I had ever wanted. I still feel the same way today. I still own TRs, while his 308 is long gone and he now drives something far more mundane and ordinary.

(1) 1979 – 1979 TR7 Midas Gold DHC Tan velour trim LHD European spec

Sadly, I don’t have any photos of the car, as I hadn’t owned it for long before the engine suffered a fairly major failure and gave up completely.

(2) 1980 – 1980 TR7 Platinum Silver DHC with Blue check trim RHD UK spec

I owned this one for rather longer, until the day it all ended abruptly. While returning to barracks while I was stationed in Germany, a Dutch conscript was guiding Leopard tanks out onto the range road I was travelling along. He didn’t see me approaching and waved one straight out in front of me. In an instant, the drophead became a squash-head.

Amazingly, the doors still opened and I was able to step out unhurt—but the car was beyond saving. Sadly, there are no photographs.

(3) 1981 – Brand New – tax free TR7 Pharaoh Gold DHC with Tan check trim RHD UK spec. REG ALL14B

I owned this one well into the mid ’80s, until the unmistakable sound of the V8 persuaded me that four cylinders were no longer enough.

(4) 1987 -1981TR7 V8 Conversion S&S Preparations Black DHC with Black velour trim RHD UK spec. REG MVP148X

Sadly, its story ended in Tadcaster, when a car pulled out of a side road without looking and forced it into a wall.

(5) 1992 – 1981TR7 V8 Conversion S&S Preparations Black DHC with Black nylon early car trim RHD UK spec. REG BUA475X

This was my favourite V8 conversion—its highly tuned engine made it, without question, the quickest I had owned up to that point.

(6) 1993 – 1980 TR7 White DHC SPRINT conversion with Blue check trim RHD UK spec. REG RVR369W

Sadly, I have no photos of this one, just a model I made for our wedding cake. It was intended to be a “his and hers” car, but after Alyson attracted the attention of the police for speeding, it didn’t stay with us for long.

(7) 1995 – 1980 TR8 EFi Midas Gold DHC with Tan check trim LHD USA spec. REG BFU995W

After owning a V8 conversion, I could never quite shake the desire for the real thing—a factory-built TR8. This was my first. It might still be with me today, had I not come across an essentially new, unregistered car that proved impossible to resist.

(8) 1997 – 1981 TR8 EFi Bordeaux Red DHC with Tan velour trim LHD 600 miles from new unregistered – converted to RHD USA spec. REG DWR

LHS as found in the showroom and RHS out on the road converted to RHD

This one was essentially perfect, effectively brand new as I was the first to register and put it on the road. It won nearly every concours it ever entered, but over time it became too precious to drive. That rather defeated the object of owning it, so it was sold on and replaced with a more driveable car.

(9) 2000 – 1981 TR8 EFi Silver Leaf DHC with Blue velour trim LHD USA spec. REG LOC238X (Owned at Present)

See the full story of this car in the link below

https://www.triumphtr8.com/loc238x/

(10) 2005 – 1980 TR7 Red DHC with Blue check trim RHD UK spec. REG UGF412W

Intended as a run-around to spare LOC238X the miles from my daily commute, this one didn’t last as long as hoped. When the engine finally failed, that was the end of the road. The shell was sold on to someone who wanted to turn it into a hill-climb car—at least, that’s how I remember it.

(11) 2022 – 1980 TR8 Poseidon Green DHC with Tan velour trim RHD UK spec. REG NWK988W (Owned at Present)