The English Corvette - Our Triumph TR8

Got together with club members to stuff the presentation pouches for BOG Sunday - 230 envelopes with programs, trinkets and memorabilia for the event - and, since picked TRouble up from the shop yesterday, I drove her over to see how she feels and be sure all is well.
Ran great!
Doug's TR250 - a very sharp car, next to TRouble.

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Yes, the TR250s were very nice. I think they were a one year deal (they were sold in UK as well) because of US emissions/safety BS. I think only available here in 68, nothing in 69, then the TR6, 70-on.
The TR250s were quite fast; in UK they got EFI and were even better.
The early TR6s were acceptable but not even close to the 250 in acceleration. Each year of production the TR6s became more anemic as the archaic Brit car industry tried to comply with our emissions requirements.

The improvement of the Offy manifold and Holley carburetor was profound!! I had acquired the parts and was going to do it but traded my British cars for a wheelchair from an Italian bike, :(
There were a very few TR8 coupes built (6?) and I think all of them had the EFI which was perhaps even better than the Holley deal. I don't think any roadsters got the EFI, or perhaps just the last year of production?

These days I get my thrills with this 48V/1,000W attachment that I fabricated; it does 36mph which is pretty scary in a wheelchair, although I'm signed up to do a TrackNight event at Limerock in my 2015 GTI next month, my first foray onto a racetrack since I wrote off my hand controlled ITB 88 GTI at Road Atlanta 22 years ago.

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We did pretty good - Good TRouble! (won Best in Class TR8s)
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170 cars pre-registered for the show, but it was cool and grey (no rain) so maybe 160 folks showed up probably a dozen registered same day.
Maybe 2 dozen TR6s, maybe a dozen or so Spitfires, lots of MGbs and B/GTs, 8 or so Aston Martins, 5 of 6 Rolls, couple Bentleys, dozen or so Lotus
4 or 5 Morgans, Lots of Jaguars, 4 Sunbeam Tigers, pretty good mix of cars ... oh, and a pair of Norton 850s, a 750 Trident and a 750 Bonnieville.
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This 1947 MG YA won 1st place in the Survivors category

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I always had a soft spot for British bikes - and I owned a '73 750 Trophy Twin circa 1976 (The Bonneville is a twin carb, the Trophy had a single carb) ... a fun ride!

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So many TR6s stacked up behind Emma!

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Many Many Aston Martins, a 4.6l V8, a 6l v12
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And for fun, a Morris Traveller
 
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We did pretty good - Good TRouble! (won Best in Class TR8s)
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170 cars pre-registered for the show, but it was cool and grey (no rain) so maybe 160 folks showed up probably a dozen registered same day.
Maybe 2 dozen TR6s, maybe a dozen or so Spitfires, lots of MGbs and B/GTs, 8 or so Aston Martins, 5 of 6 Rolls, couple Bentleys, dozen or so Lotus
4 or 5 Morgans, Lots of Jaguars, 4 Sunbeam Tigers, pretty good mix of cars ... oh, and a pair of Norton 850s, a 750 Trident and a 750 Bonnieville.
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Congrats, Heather! W00T! Good TRouble, indeed!
 
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For Heather and all the other British car enthusiasts- I don't know if you've heard of these guys. Might be a good "road trip" some time to go see.

British Transportation Museum, in Dayton Ohio:


I've been there, and it's essentially a bunch of British car nuts, who have commandeered an antique building, moved a bunch of British cars, trucks, tractors and various works-in-progress/projects into it, and started a museum plus car workshop inside. It's a wonderful place. I just wish it was near enough to me, that I could go there on a regular basis.

Regards,
Gordon.
 
for the completeness fans! Alan came to BOG Sunday with his 1981 TR8, also in a Poseidon Green Metallic, maybe the last one made in that color.
He's got the tan canvas top, and the factory Fuel injection version of the motor - a very neat configuration
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Next event is a small Cars and Coffee meetup before the BiAnnual Hollin Hills Mid-Century Modern home tour in Alexandria, VA Sat May 2nd
Hollin Hills House + Garden Tour (the tour includes 12 homes & gardens in a 450 home enclave of vintage MCM homes!)

After that is Brits By The Bay event by TRiumphs Around the Chesapeake (TRAC - a Maryland group) May 16 - TRAC
(we attended last year after Carlilse - but Triumph Wedge cars are the year's featured Marque, how could I skip this event?)

Followed by the (47th annual) Original British Car Day in Mt Airy, Md June 28th - Original British Car Day - MG T Chesapeake

There is a Scottish Games event (with a car show) near Labor Day, and then Fairfax (city) has an annual Labor Day Car show 1 mile away, so we'll be there!
 
And - a professional photographer just posted 2 galleys of pictures from the Sunday BOG event
The first galley is candid shots and the award winners -
The second galley is a massive group showing all the cars & people that attended
 
that was an interesting car. The engines were troublesome. They had head gasket problems and ruined heads from overheating.
They took one head from a Saab 99 and another that was a mirror image for its mate. If it was the Saab side it wasn't hard to find a good used one. If it was the Stag side, Katie bar the door!
The cylinder head studs were not perpendicular to the deck of the block; they were at an angle so they needed to be removed before the head could be removed!!
Of course, at least one would be corroded and impossible to remove!
One of the Brits better screw-ups!
Hence, the Rover conversion.
 
Not sure what car you're describing but the TR-7 is half a Stag motor with the angled studs and such. I think a large number had problems but it actually worked OK if you put it together right and used some nickel anti-seize on the studs. It always seemed to get a bit of air in the cooling system, so the wise owner would squeeze the upper hose a few times in the morning to be sure the thermostat was covered. Top up the carb dampers as long as the hood was up. The wise owner also knew that the transmission input shaft has a very long spin-down time on a warm day when you depress the clutch. Thus, you always count to 7 before engaging reverse, lest the small reverse gear get buggered. Recently sold mine after not driving it for 30 years. We'll see how the new owner does at fixing it up.
 
Great info on the Stag! I always assumed it used the Buick-based Rover V8, but (from a quick google) it didn’t fit in the Stag and Triumph also wanted to build their own V8 in a bit of corporate rivalry.

I remember seeing Stag’s listed for sale in Florida when I was young, but I’ve never seen one in person despite having been at or in a gazillion car shows over the years. I haven’t done any British-focused car shows, so maybe I’d see one there. Seem to be quite uncommon though.
 
My uncle was a huge fan of 50s, 60s, British sports cars.

He pretty much peaked when he bought a new Griffith in the early 60s. While not completely British it was a Frankenstein amalgamation of all things you shouldn't do when building a sports car. TVR body, Ford HiPO engine, zero safety features.

After a few years he sold it to a local "kid" but only after he had the guys father sign off on it. Lasted about a week till the kid came up a steep hill, punched it, and the car flipped over backwards onto its roof. Fortunately, only minor injuries pretty much it for the Griffith.
 
I kinda dig the Jensen Interceptor. Saw one a couple weeks back when going out to lunch, not a common sighting for sure. Besides, whats not to love about something with big block Chrysler power?
 
I kinda dig the Jensen Interceptor. Saw one a couple weeks back when going out to lunch, not a common sighting for sure. Besides, whats not to love about something with big block Chrysler power?
Is the 383 a big block? itinerant Volkswagen mechanic.
 
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