BizMan
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This post was originally published in November 2013. I have subsequently decided to re-purchase the car!
I never thought it would happen but I have decided to sell my cherished TR7V8.
The car has a full service history and I mean FULL. Each service since new is documented along with its corresponding receipt showing mileage and what work was undertaken. For the first years of its life it was maintained by the main dealer (PJ Evans) but since the early nineties it received an annual service from S&S Preparations regardless of the mileage it had undertaken.
I have three files containing every receipt for every item purchased for the car; from nuts and washers through to major items like a new gearbox. The files also contain every MOT and spent tax disc since new.
Today, the car has completed just over 80,000 miles but if you read the TR Register thread, you will see that almost every serviceable item on the car has been replaced, reconditioned or modified by companies considered to be specialists in their respective field. I have totalled up the receipts and the money spent on it by its first owner during his 24 year ownership was £16,180 and since I bought the car in 2006, I have a documented spend of over £60,000 (receipts to prove).
The car is amazing to drive; so much torque and BHP on tap and unlike many other cars of a similar age, there are no squeaks, rattles, buzzes or clonks. This is truly a sorted and unique car.
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Hi Michael - I am afraid I don't and I don't know anyone who has.
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The problem I had was the opposite to you; the brake pedal had too much travel. Once the pedal travel issue was sorted and the disc run out cured the brakes were just as I wanted them. The 'red stuff' pads give good initial bite even from cold and I have yet to induce brake fade on them.
Its difficult to know what to suggest on your set up as I have no experience of the type of hardware or the pads you are using. It seems an expensive experiment to bin your existing set up in favour of an alternative system without first trying them to see if they provide what you want so I would suggest that you try other 7's which have the alternatives fitted first and then you can made an informed decision.
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I agree but to get a true and consistent grading you would need each car to be inspected and judged using the same criteria.
This isn't very practical and so I would have to rely on the descriptions of the car by the person selling it. This too is not straightforward as one persons salesmanship is another persons embellishment!!
I have noticed (on several occasions) the same car being purchased at one price and sold on for a considerably higher sum only a few weeks later with no changes to the car whatsoever! In one instance, a car was resold three weeks after the original purchase for an extra £950 which was almost double the original sum!!
At the end of the day these charts are a useful guide as these are "prices paid" rather than "sticker prices" asked and I assume that buyers wont pay more than they think the car is worth.
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Then why would you class it as a TR8 and have a separate graph for it?
Its a good question!
I personally would not refer to anything other than a factory built car as a TR8 but there are those who do. The owner of this car considers it to be a TR8 as do many others (because I understand they were built from fresh shells to factory OE spec and not a later conversion from a 7 to 7V8).
I didn't think it was my place to judge or criticise someone else's car/ investment nor the opinion of those in the know....
What do others think, should it be classed as a TR8 or a TR7V8?
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"A real FHC TR8 went for 4.5k. Was it dog rough or something?"
No, it was in a good condition by all accounts but is wasnt a factory original but a Del Lines conversion.
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I have been tracking the cars put up for sale since June 2012 and keeping a record of what prices they have achieved and I thought I should share them with the community. I appreciate that I haven't been able to capture all the cars as I have only been tracking auctions, (both online and offline) and the classified adverts (online and in the national classic press) but I hope to of captured enough to give a representative overview of values.
Relative values are of course open to all sorts of interpretation linked to vehicle type, condition, location, service history, provenance etc, but at the end of the day, the market will decide how much a particular car is worth on a particular day.
I have been quite surprised at the difference between asking prices and selling prices Many cars remain unsold for months at a time, (presumably because the price asked is too high), others are bought and sold with alarming regularity (what undeclared problems must the series of owners discovered that warranted the car to be resold so rapidly) whilst other poorly described or photographed cars are bought for a song only to be resold a few weeks later for a hefty profit.
If the data is well received then I will continue to track prices and publish the data again next year, if it isn't I shall keep it to myself and to those who ask for it!
General Data
- Since June 2012, 270 cars were placed 'for sale' (83 FHC's (31%) and 187 DHC's (69%)).
- Of the 270 being placed 'for sale', 138 were sold (48 FHC's and 90 DHC's).
FHC's
- 75% were TR7 8v
- 8% were TR7 16v
- 15% were TR7 V8's
- 2% were TR8's
DHC's
- 65% were TR7 8v
- 10% were TR7 16v
- 19% were TR7 V8's
- 6% were TR8's
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All done.
The problem was that the bonnet pin was very loose and was sitting at an awkward angle in the mechanism. The bonnet cable was unable to pull the locking mechanism far enough apart to release the pin.
Before I went to see Peter, I made the simple tool shown in the photo below:
I passed the hook end of the tool through one of the wider openings in the mesh that protects the fresh air vent and guided it toward the 'post' through which the bonnet cable passes. I placed the hook end of the tool against the 'post' and pushed it toward the nearside of the car and hey presto, the bonnet release mechanism operated and released the bonnet pin.
I tightened the bonnet pin, gave the mechanism a good clean and a liberal spray with WD40 and re-closed the bonnet. One pull on the cable and the bonnet popped up.
All in all, it took me 5 minutes!
I am certain that this method would also release a bonnet if the cable were to be detached/broken. I recommend you make up one of these tools and have it to hand just in case.
I should patent it really...!!!
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I am going to see Peter at 11 tomorrow
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I can help Peter this Sunday and have called him this morning but I haven't yet managed to speak to him. I have not yet confronted this particular 7 issue myself so if there are any guidance notes / pictures on how to rectify/ repair the fault it would be helpful - also, what tools should I take?
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I had it fabricated - if you read post #74 it will give you the history.
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Added - thanks
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Not sure I can give you a definitive answer as it would depend if you are looking to auction it (eBay) or sell it in a classified. Also what condition do you think it is in and also where in the country you are.
Re-reading your description, it seems as if the car would fit in the 'needs some TLC' category in which case it should be in the £1000 to £2000 price range so if you were to auction it you might want to start at around £1100 to £1300 and set the reserve at a minimum price you would be happy with. If you were to sell it in the classifieds then I would start at £2200 and be prepared to come down!
Location is important as over the past few months I have seen good cars in far flung places (eg Highlands or West Wales) go for considerably less than poor cars in more accessible areas (say London or the Midlands). For example, a good condition 1980 DHC with 40,000 miles was sold in the Highlands for less than £1k whereas a comparable car with over 100,000 miles was sold in Surrey for £3500.
My best advice is to advertise it for what you want for it and the market will soon tell you if you are right or not!
Good luck!!
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Just in case you are interested in the other models:
TR7 (FHC) 27 sold @ average £1350
TR7 (DHC) 43 sold @ average £2100
TR7 Sprint (FHC conversion) 5 sold @ average £3000
TR7 Sprint (DHC conversion) 6 sold @ average £2200 (yep, DHCs sell for less)
TR8 (RHD genuine FHC) 0 sold
TR8 (LHD genuine FHC) 0 sold
TR8 (RHD genuine DHC) 0 sold
TR8 (LHD genuine DHC) 3 sold @ average £7300
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Since June of this year I have seen 44 TR7V8's for sale online and of those, 20 have sold (16 DHC's and 4 FHC's). The average selling price for DHC's was £3500 with the highest selling for £7000 for a good condition Grinnal conversion and the lowest for £300. The price band for a very good DHC V8 was between £3500 to £5000, whereas MOT'd cars requiring TLC typically go for £1800 to £2500 and the cheapest ones have sold for between £300 and £750.
FHC's have attracted far weaker money and have sold for between £1000 and £2000 for very good condition cars with the highest price paid being £3995 for an exceptional condition "Premium" specification car. Of course there have been fewer FHC cars sold than DHC's so its a little harder to establish fair market value...
The reason I know this is that I have been keeping a record of the vehicles sold and the prices paid since June 2012.
Why be such an anorak?
Good question!!
I am in the market for a good condition FHC but I was unsure of what price I should be paying. A good car through a dealer was attracting too much of a premium and the private seller market seemed to fluctuate so much that I had no real idea of what the fair value was.
I now have a record of the asking prices of most of the cars that have been advertised online over the last six months (year registered, mileage, condition, colour, location etc) and also what the selling prices have been too. This has given me the information I need to help me decide what is a reasonably priced car and what isn't and consequently I can spot a bargain if I see it.....
Its been quite an interesting little exercise even if it is a little sad!!
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I have investigated several options:
1. Fit FHC bumpers to a DHC as they are lighter (no weights for scuttle shake) and honeycomb the bumper.
2. Follow the route chosen by Racetorations (http://www.racetorat....uk/page12.html) and incorporate the 'towel rails' behind the bumper skins (they will offer minor crash protection but will do little to reduce front end flex).
3. Fit bumper bars from an E21 BMW as these are aluminium (they require a lot of fabrication to make them fit).
4. Have a set of aluminium bumpers cast from a mould of the steel ones (expensive).
5. Remove them altogether. (if your car is a DHC forget it as removal of the front bumper will not improve turn in nor reduce oversteer as the front end will flex terribly which will ruin the drive. If its a FHC flex is not so bad but you will have to supplement the rigidity in other areas by bracing the shell but all you are doing here is adding weight back into the car, admittedly, within the wheelbase).
NB> Whatever route you choose, you will have to reduce the ride height of the car as removing 30kg from the front and rear will raise it.
If you have read my thread on modifying the 7 you will see I am no stranger to making changes to the car but I have elected not to carry out any mods at all to my bumpers and this is for two very good reasons. Firstly, I do not know anyone with the right experience who can understand or simulate the effect the modifications will have in a crash and secondly, my insurance company refused to give me cover if I made ANY modifications to these safety critical items.
IMHO, if you are using your car on the public highway, leave your car as BL intended.
TR7 Modifications and upgrades
in TR7/8 Forum
Posted · Edited by BizMan
The last time I saw my car was in December 2013 when it was collected from my home on a trailer and sent to S&S for sale (see pictures) - I can't describe how sick I felt watching it disappearing up the road. However, changes in my life meant that I could no longer keep the car in top condition and I decided to sell it to someone who would look after it rather than watch it deteriorate in my own custody.
How fortunate I was that the TR7 aficionado, Christopher Smith, bought the car! He has taken great care of it and made some additional modifications that only improve on those that I made over the years. Thank you for taking such good care of it Christopher!
That was then, this is now! As I write this post in June 2019, five years on from my reluctant sale, I am in the process of buying the car back from Christiopher Smith.
The journey continues!