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New TR7 owner but old TR5 owner


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I've had my TR5 about 40 years and recently added a TR7 to my garage. First impressions are good. It handles well, is converted to the Sprint engine with LT77 box, and has been extremely well rebuilt by a previous owner with 15 inch wheels, Princess 4 pot calipers and poly bushes. I'm sure there is more, but I'm still learning. Currently on rally springs, but look what's in the boot - a set of standard and a set of lowered springs. I thought it might be good for track days & maybe the TR sprint & hillclimb series.

I took it to a Prescott driving school day last week and that showed up a couple of things, apart from the ten year old tyres and my poor lines. Not enough headroom with a helmet on without the sunroof open. I might be able to drop the seat a tad, but probably have to invest in a new bucket - any suggestions? The other thing was the steering. Do they all have what seems to be armfuls of lock or has mine got the wrong rack? Seems to have about 4.5 turns lock to lock. Getting round almost all the Prescott corners was 'interesting' to say the least. So what are the options? Also is the steering column adjustable? It has the early car sliding column clamp but with shear bolts at the top and nothing in the manual, I assume it was not intended to be adjusted. Am I wrong?

The Princess calipers appear to be adequate for road use, but with a solid (but drilled) disc I wonder if they will last on a circuit. A bit of wheel vibration present. Anyone tell me what the pad part number is. Lots of references on the interweb to the caliper, but not much on the pad. Or should I immediately fit a vented disc setup?

The engine seems solid but a bit tappety so the one thing I don't have amongst my library of workshop manuals is one for a Dolly Sprint, if anyone has a spare that needs a new home, you know where to send it.

Why doesn't the radio fit? The centre console is at the wrong angle in relation to the heater behind it - I can feel a customisation coming on.

Oh, and the speedo is way, way out. Tyre size or rear axle ratio.

Jerry

TR7 side.JPG

Engine bay.JPG

Interior.JPG

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According to the data I have here, standard steering on a 7 was 3.86 turns lock-to-lock. I recall from mine that with those tyres and no power-assistance, you needed all of that low gearing at parking speeds. 

The TR8 had power-assistance and was 2.8 turns lock-to-lock. (it says here...)

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Hi, nice wedge there.

The steering column isn’t adjustable.

My steering rack on an early 1980 DHC  is around 3 and a half turns lock to lock.  It’s heavy at parking speeds on 195 tyres

Ive seen vented discs inside princess callipers fitted with spacers to straddle the wider discs.  I’ve no idea if adapters or spacers are needed for the discs.  Plenty of fast Ford escorts use this set up, I’ve seen it advertised by Burton Power.  

The  centre console doesn’t lend it self to most radios, have a google or search other TR7 forums for those that do (not many).  It’s a pig for modern radios.

Has a PO fitted a higher ratio for sprinting?  The std rear axle ratio is 3.9 :1  which uses the black speedo cog in the gearbox.  Other cogs were available for different ratios.   A website like this will show the difference between different sizes of tyres https://alloywheels.com/tyreCalculatorResults  I have 195/60/14 on mine which is almost identical circumference to the std 185/70/13

Hope this helps.

 

 

 

 

Edited by BusheyTrader
Correct error
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Thanks for the info. Burton list the spacer kit and pads so that's a good start. What size steering wheel is standard, just as a matter of interest.

Will have to identify the axle ratio - I'm sure I've seen a 'how to' guide - something abouit jacking up one side and counting the turns, I shall do a search.

Wasn't planning on trailering Clem, but one might come in handy further down the line if you are selling.

Jerry

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Sorry to ask Jerry, but what is the car behind your Honda, a Dove or something ?

And welcome in TR7 world !

Best,

Chris (MFC 837G owner ;))

Edited by Chris59
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Jerry

Hope the comments in bold italics below assist.

Howard

I've had my TR5 about 40 years and recently added a TR7 to my garage. First impressions are good. It handles well, is converted to the Sprint engine with LT77 box, and has been extremely well rebuilt by a previous owner with 15 inch wheels, Princess 4 pot calipers and poly bushes. I'm sure there is more, but I'm still learning. Currently on rally springs, but look what's in the boot - a set of standard and a set of lowered springs. I thought it might be good for track days & maybe the TR sprint & hillclimb series.

Modern standard springs have a tendency to go soft after a couple of years so you are better of with one of the upgraded springs

I took it to a Prescott driving school day last week and that showed up a couple of things, apart from the ten year old tyres and my poor lines. Not enough headroom with a helmet on without the sunroof open. I might be able to drop the seat a tad, but probably have to invest in a new bucket - any suggestions?

There isn’t much room to drop the seats and most are considerably thicker than the standard TR7 seats. How tall are you as I have had a 6ft 4in chap sitting in mine without any problems.

The other thing was the steering. Do they all have what seems to be armfuls of lock or has mine got the wrong rack? Seems to have about 4.5 turns lock to lock. Getting round almost all the Prescott corners was 'interesting' to say the least.

Can’t comment on Prescot but during multiple times up and down the Stelvio and a good few other passes never found a problem with getting sufficient lock

So what are the options? Also is the steering column adjustable? It has the early car sliding column clamp but with shear bolts at the top and nothing in the manual, I assume it was not intended to be adjusted. Am I wrong?

The Princess calipers appear to be adequate for road use, but with a solid (but drilled) disc I wonder if they will last on a circuit.

Solid drilled disc sounds like an EBC aftermarket discs since the basic TR8 discs is plain (I assume that the car has been fitted with TR8 discs to go with the Princess Calipers) They make a selection of pads so should be able to find one that matches your needs. The main alternative is vented Capri discs.

A bit of wheel vibration present.

Wheel vibration is normally found between 55 & 65 mph – I solved the problem on mine when I changed to MGF 14” wheels

Anyone tell me what the pad part number is. Lots of references on the interweb to the caliper, but not much on the pad. Or should I immediately fit a vented disc setup?

The engine seems solid but a bit tappety so the one thing I don't have amongst my library of workshop manuals is one for a Dolly Sprint, if anyone has a spare that needs a new home, you know where to send it.

Why doesn't the radio fit? The centre console is at the wrong angle in relation to the heater behind it - I can feel a customisation coming on.

Modern radios are Din sized but the mounting is not.. I found a short bodied radio and fitted that with a little bit of surgery to the plastic console

Oh, and the speedo is way, way out. Tyre size or rear axle ratio.

Or the drive gear inside the gearbox…. Speedograph Richfield made me a correction gearbox & special speedo cable

 

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Howard, Thanks for all the info.

I'm 6' 1" but the crash helmet adds enough to reduce headroom so I have to sit with my head on one side. I've solved this by bolting the seat direct to the floor. Who needs runners anyway.

The steering issue is not with the lock, but it is how many turns it takes to get there. To paraphrase a Scandinavian rally driver when told that to pass a UK driving test you had to feed the wheel through your hands "That way you die".

In order to get the radio in, I've decided to cut the lower portion of the centre console out and put the radio at the base and move the switches to the top. The rheostat has already gone in the bin.

Jerry

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