The need for an engine upgrade probably goes without saying. The Dolomite sprint engine is, perhaps, closest to the car's original DNA. However, I wanted to fit a Rover T-series turbo (I already had one) but the car I bought came with a 3.5 V8 and I decided to stick with that. I upgraded to SD1 Vitesse spec with a Holly, tubular manifolds, Megajolt lost spark ignition and a Davies Craig electric water pump etc. On a good day that might make 170 – 180 hp which is plenty for me. Anyway it makes a nice sound which is the main thing! There are a couple of custom mods: a cold air intake and an automatic cold start device. More about these later.
Chassis mods are modest and include Spax shocks, polybushes and Rimmer's front brake upgrade which involves a ventilated disc and a slightly modified SD1 Vitesse 4-pot calliper. This requires slightly bigger wheels to clear the calliper. I went for 15x6 inch 5 spoke Revolutions which look reasonably period and are quite cheap. (They do require a 5mm spacer to clear the calliper.)
This car is LHD (from California, I think, so less rust). LHD because I wanted to go on a Continental road trip but so far, after ten years, I have still failed to achieve this!
For most people, classic Triumphs end with the TR6 so as far as I'm concerned it's not a serious crime to customise a TR7 a bit. Don't get me wrong, I love the Wedge and wouldn't want to turn it into something it's not – so I'm not aiming for Grinnall Ramstein style body kits (although I do think Grinnalls are fine looking cars). I'm also trying hard to suppress any subconscious Max Power tendencies.
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