1980 Triumph TR8

What are your plans? Eights are great cars, restored or modded.

At this point I plan to restore more than mod. I want to get it running so I can see what shape the motor and gearbox are in. Then I can start to slowly go through the hydraulics, brakes, suspension and such before I tackle the exterior and interior. Any words of wisdom on carbs and ignition stuff? The car will be more of a daily driver.

The Triumph Wedge Owners Association is a great resource: http://www.triumphwedgeowners.org/ I haven't had to do a lot of work on my "8." The paint is original and the interior is pretty rough, but mechanically it's fairly sound. I've put about 4 - 5000 miles on it with no problems yet. The late ex-husband of the previous owner was a TR racer and did a few suspension mods. He also tweaked the ZS carbs, and installed a Crane electronic ignition. A lot of guys go for the four barrel conversion; maybe after the seats I'll think about that.

Definately go with the 4 bbl and electronic ignition and store the original parts in a box in the garage. You won't regret the upgrade.

What flavor of 4 bbl and electronic ignition do you prefer? I have "unstuck" the insides of the Zenith's in hopes that I can get the engine to run for a little while. Then I can determine if the engine needs to come out or not. So far the engine sounds and tests good..it has run a little.

I have the Crane ignition in my TR8 because it came that way; the Pertronix that I installed in my TR6 is maybe a better unit. I was hoping someone else would weigh in on the 4 barrel choices because I still have my ZS carbs. Go to the Triumph Wedge Owners site; you can post a question on the TR7/TR8 forum there. Several parts suppliers are listed that will have some information for you, primary sources are the Wedge Shop and TS Imported. One issue about the 4 barrel conversion is the loss of the cold air intake; some people worry about that, some don't. It sure looks better without all that factory ducting! Ken