TR7 Newbie from West Yorks

[Sparkyhx]

I found out over the weekend my wife has bought me a TR7 for my sixtieth.  I've not even seen it yet in person, but I know some jobs have been done already.

Looks like she has been ripped off a bit with a very dodgy MOT.  It has had several clear fail areas that could not possibly have deteriorated/happened in the couple of weeks and 100 miles since the MOT!!!  

I currently have an F32 BMW435d xdrive convertible as a daily which is a beast, and in the garage is a 20 year old E46 BMW330ci beautiful straight six convertible as a weekend and track day toy, which is now going to have to go cos I don't have the space for the TR7 when I eventually get hold of it.  Also have access to a Mini Cooper Convertible.  What can I say we like the wind in our hair.  I'm going to have to see the car soon, just to confirm I can actually get in and out with the roof up, otherwise its going to have to go and I'll keep the 330ci, which is starting to increase in value now and that sweeeeeet straight 6 noise is wonderful.

The car is 130 miles away at present being looked after by my son.  He is organising the general fixes in the meantime.  I have no idea if it's had any upgrades so I'm a bit lost what if any preventative work needs to be done.

There was one problem which happened that required an auto electrician and he said a frayed popup headlight wire had nearly taken out the loom.  He's fixed that, but left the headlights up and disconnected cos he was concerned the light loom is getting caught and needs a permanent fix.   This is what my son has told me, but I have no idea what is being referred to................ring any bels for anyone?

 Some tips on basic prevention or enhancement work would be good, so far I've got the following on my list.  However I dont know if any have already been done.

     - Timing Chain - I cannot seem to get a definitive answer to this one - what is the interval for changing?  I've read 25k to 80k  At 87k its probably worth doing anyway, unless there is some indication its been done recently.

     -  My son tells me the hood needs some attention with broken studs/snaps and a bit of loose stitching, which should be an easy fix.  Add a bit of a clean and re-proof would no doubt help.  But until I see it in person I won't be able to say exactly what's needed, or its level of repairability.

      - Lanoguard the underneath - not sure if its do-able on a jack and axle stands, plus I have a belly to jack height ratio issues limiting access 🙂

     - better brake pads (not planning on going the full brake upgrade unless the existing ones are dire), but I know from my track days how much difference they can make.

     - Halogen upgrade - may be done already - don't know.

     - Electronic ignition................how good an idea is this generally are they temperamental starters if left?

     - Polybush

Unless there is a good reason the car won't be driven in the rain, so I was wondering is storing the car with the roof down would be a bad idea or it'll be fine?

Anyway - tips and guidance gladly received.

[Colin Lindsay]

Check the subframe, mine was rotten and unusable, but the damage was on the top side and hard to spot from underneath. I was able to get much better replacements which were blasted, repainted, Waxoyled and rebushed. Straightforward and simple. I also replaced some of the rear suspension brackets in stainless and the brake pipes in Kunifer.

The front suspension turrets can be very flaky underneath, check the condition of those too. Literally anywhere where there's metal there'll be rust, but hopefully nothing too bad. The electrics are straightforward - if the headlamp loom is frayed, it's too close to the mechanism and has been eaten into and is earthing against the metalwork - probably just needs repaired / recovered and re-routed slightly out of harm's way, but if it's disconnected at least you can work on the rest of the system while it's isolated. You'll know once you see it. The rest of the upgrades, like electronic ignition and halogens may not be necessary, but easily fitted if you want them, although the distributor can be hard to access. Just make sure the oil is good and flush the cooling system, it gets really bunged up. I took loads of photos of my restoration so can probably post a few if you need them, although I left the timing chain alone on a 95000 mile engine.

[Iain T]

Welcome to the forum! Lots of good advice and never feel to ashamed to ask. I fitted Pertronix ignition to my Vitesse and it was an improvement. For me this is a must have. Mintex for brake pads. As to electrics if you don't have one your best friend is a multimeter! In 5 years I've learnt a huge amount from this forum but beware we do love to wander off piste..... The joke section is great. 

Iain 

 

[Sparkyhx]

2 hours ago, Colin Lindsay said:

Check the subframe, mine was rotten and unusable, but the damage was on the top side and hard to spot from underneath. I was able to get much better replacements which were blasted, repainted, Waxoyled and rebushed. Straightforward and simple. I also replaced some of the rear suspension brackets in stainless and the brake pipes in Kunifer.

The front suspension turrets can be very flaky underneath, check the condition of those too. Literally anywhere where there's metal there'll be rust, but hopefully nothing too bad. The electrics are straightforward - if the headlamp loom is frayed, it's too close to the mechanism and has been eaten into and is earthing against the metalwork - probably just needs repaired / recovered and re-routed slightly out of harm's way, but if it's disconnected at least you can work on the rest of the system while it's isolated. You'll know once you see it. The rest of the upgrades, like electronic ignition and halogens may not be necessary, but easily fitted if you want them, although the distributor can be hard to access. Just make sure the oil is good and flush the cooling system, it gets really bunged up. I took loads of photos of my restoration so can probably post a few if you need them, although I left the timing chain alone on a 95000 mile engine.

wow that would be very generous of you,  I might take you up on it.  I've been watching a few videos and they are incredibly helpful and understanding what/how stuff gets done.

My son has had it looked at and fully serviced - dunno about coolant flush!  I'll check receipts.  Thats when we found out about the mysterious missing bushes on certain parts of the suspension that passed an MOT with no advisories Yeh right!.  so i'm hoping it's at least had a bit of a good looking at, especially around underbody rust.  The engine bay is nice and clean (not suspiciously clean, but acceptably dirty) from the photos, bit of rust on the arches, but again until I see it, Its hard to say whether its a watch and wait, sand, treat and blow over or arch replacement territory.  

Its a curious colour combination of Red with gold wheels and tan roof and interior - I dont think i've seen gold wheels before - was that an original combination or has somebody rattle canned them??

Unfortunately gone are the days when I worked on cars (I ran a modified Nissan 200sx years ago that I'd done mostly myself) I'm just not physically capable so hoping to keep costs down in the long run.  But then maybe I'll get a bit of passion back of working on a simpler car with reasonable access.  I have most of the tools and stuff, so wouldn't be starting from zero.

 

 

Edited November 7, 2023 by Sparkyhx

[Colin Lindsay]

I removed the subframe bushes and replaced with poly, they actually weren't that bad so if you want the old ones due to having some missing let me know, cost of postage only.