So I've just got a line on another TR8 for sale that's going for a psalm. I'll come back bragging if this car is as good as it sounds for that price.
That would be #3 in the stable and I'm still looking for a TR8 coupe.
So I've just got a line on another TR8 for sale that's going for a psalm. I'll come back bragging if this car is as good as it sounds for that price.
That would be #3 in the stable and I'm still looking for a TR8 coupe.
wspohn wrote: Can't remember the last time I saw one with the original 260 engine (less than 10% used the 289)
We've got one in our club. Very OEM.
We have two with hotted up 302s.
TR8owner, I know where there is a cheap coupe that needs lots of put back together work. PM me and we can talk.
Thanks for the offer tr8todd. My problem is that if I purchase this other TR8 on the weekend then I'll be out of garage space. I am soon thinking of eventually building another stand alone garage on my property however.
The TR8 coupes are middling rare, but they are affected by the collector market which insists that convertibles are more desirable (I disagree - I am down to only one open car plus the race car, which doesn't really count). I like a good coupe!
Most coupe owners also own a convertible TR8. the coupes really are great driving cars. I had one for a daily driver all thru the 90s and my wife had an open TVR 280i for hers.
My TR8 vintage race car project is a coupe but apparently the convertibles were the more aero race cars. When Group 44 tested their coupes at Daytona the rear ends were lifting at high speed, hence those fugly massive rear spoilers. The coupe may have looked aero at the time but the notch top wasn't.
Jaxmadine wrote: They are worth 4k tops in my book. But I got my tr4a for 500, so who am I to talk? Still need to talk my dad into selling the silly project...
Think about what else is like $7k+ right now. 240sxs, GTV6s, etc.
If I could find a TR8 for 4k tops I would own one. All the nice ones seem to be like 7k+ as well
240sx is only 7k if its got an rb25 or super built sr20 in it. I've seen some cheap tr8s around here as well. Shoot, couple years ago someone had a race prepped tr8 for only 10k. But florida is a bit flooded with cars In decent shape. I always laugh when ia yank moves down here and then tries to sell a car for northern prices.
So I added another TR8 to the collection. This one was literally a "barn find". Somebody did a lot of work on it at some time - fitted with a modified 3.9 with Crane cam, headers, Holley 4 bbl and suspension mods to go with the 7 x 13 Panasports. Goes like stink. Move over pony cars. Absolutely no rust. The original paint was a bit faded "pantino" style on the boot and bonnet, but I've brought it 90% back with some 3M products.
One heck of a score for $4000. The only problem - its the wife's car and she tells me I can't drive it. 
Wow. Good looking car. Convince her it needs yellow stripes?:-P
LOL!! It was called "posieden green" if I'm spelling it right, a sort of off GRB, probably the rarest original TR8 color and IMO by far the best looking. The other original colors were fugly IMHO -aqua blue, silver, gold. The worst was painting the rockers and bumpers black rather than integrating them into the same color.
But they did everything else wrong with the original TR7, so why not screw up the colors on the TR8 while you're at it. B.L. management at its best once again.
Very nice score.
Jaxmadine wrote: 240sx is only 7k if its got an rb25 or super built sr20 in it. I've seen some cheap tr8s around here as well. Shoot, couple years ago someone had a race prepped tr8 for only 10k. But florida is a bit flooded with cars In decent shape. I always laugh when ia yank moves down here and then tries to sell a car for northern prices.
http://zilvia.net/f/cars-sale/517666-1995-nissan-240sx-all-original-no-accidents-no-rust-florida-car-gg.html Finally found one on the 6th page, so I guess they still exist. Earlier pages had cars that were junk selling for the same price though. It's weird when a stock car becomes a unicorn.
Still more than the $4k TR8 request.
As a former TR6 owner and current MGA Coupe owner, I believe that the Triumph TR8s are cheap because there about as ugly as a rubber door stop.
Seventies styling, interior, and accessories. They may as well be Toyotas with a worse drive-train.
Break out the plaid fashion flairs, brown turtle neck, and leather peace symbol on a gold chain . . . we're all heading to the disco in our TR8s.
Rubbish ! ! ! ! Ugly cheap-assed trash.
Unlike a Tiger, which I own and love, and a Cobra, which I have driven dozens of and love deeply, a TR8 is a fairly modern feeling car with great ergonomics and relatively modern underpinnings. Yeah the styling is a bit controversial (but definitely cool) but there is a lot to love here. I own a nice TR6 and race a great TR3, but will concede the TR7s and 8s are some of the best driving Triumphs ever.
The early TR7s had some horrible fit-and-finish problems. Did they ever get that squared away by the time the TR8 came around? If they didn't, perhaps having to re-engineer the whole car just to get it reasonably straight might be the reason for no appreciation.
In reply to Jerry From LA:
Yes, by the time the TR8 came around, production for the Wedge had been moved and most of the quality issues had been sorted out so the cars weren't bad, at least compared to other cars of the era.
TeamEvil wrote: As a former TR6 owner and current MGA Coupe owner, I believe that the Triumph TR8s are cheap because there about as ugly as a rubber door stop.
The local Brit Car specialist, Sports Car Craftsmen has a wooden doorstop on the counter that has "TR 7" written on it. It always cracks me up.
As good as they can be, they're just not what comes to mind when someone says Little British Car. If one wants modern-ish with questionable aesthetics, there are tons of other choices.
The beauty of a TR8 can only be appreciated from behind the wheel. I'm glad so many people don't like the looks of them. It keeps the prices on a truly great drivers car reasonable. Keep on hatin fools.
I for one really appreciate the TR7/8, especially in coupe form, and it may be helped a little due to the fact that I'm just not a Triumph guy, so I don't see a problem with continuity through the model range. A clean TR7/8 really looks good to my eye and is somewhat nostalgic for a time when I first really noticed cars were cool at all (ditto for the X1/9). I'd love a Tr8 in any form. There was once a great video online I can't find anymore about a warmed over TR8 being a wiser choice over a more modern TVR. Anyone seen it?
TeamEvil wrote: As a former TR6 owner and current MGA Coupe owner, I believe that the Triumph TR8s are cheap because there about as ugly as a rubber door stop.
The local Brit Car specialist, Sports Car Craftsmen has a wooden doorstop on the counter that has "TR 7" written on it. It always cracks me up.
Why would anyone criticize a perfectly good door stop? Does it leak oil and blow headlights too?
When Triumph designed the TR3, they weren't trying for a nostalgic looking car. They were being as contemporary as they could. Yes, the car lacked certain amenities we took for granted in the '50s (like windows) but they were absent due to weight savings and style, not a nod to the past. Same with all the other TRs. They were meant to be modern.
When the TR7 debuted, everything was wedge-y. Look at the race cars of the day. Or anyone's sporting offerings for that matter. Everything had hard creases, a long nose, and a short deck. The TR7 was totally contemporary. Very few cars from that period had what one would call "timeless" styling. Most '70s-designed cars look like they were from the '70s.
Taken from that standpoint, the TR7/8 totally looks like a continuation of the triumph tradition. Especially when one considers the car was a BL parts-bin-engineered marvel. The parts Triumph could call their own was the body shape and that God-awful Dolomite engine (I come by that sentiment honestly, having rebuilt one).
The TR8 was a far better car, simply because it had a far better engine. If it is true about the TR8 having escaped most of the quality woes from the earlier TR7s, then the company pulled the plug far too soon.
mattmacklind wrote: I for one really appreciate the TR7/8, especially in coupe form, and it may be helped a little due to the fact that I'm just not a Triumph guy, so I don't see a problem with continuity through the model range. A clean TR7/8 really looks good to my eye and is somewhat nostalgic for a time when I first really noticed cars were cool at all (ditto for the X1/9). I'd love a Tr8 in any form. There was once a great video online I can't find anymore about a warmed over TR8 being a wiser choice over a more modern TVR. Anyone seen it?
tr8todd wrote: The beauty of a TR8 can only be appreciated from behind the wheel...
Which is essentially to say: "It only looks good when you can't see it" 
And I'm just torturing you because I can... I've never been in a 7 or an 8. I'd like to check out a TR8 someday. But right now, I'm in sell-off-my-little-British-cars mode. The Group 44 car looks pretty bad ass.
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