Item Subject: Text_1
Hello to Tim and the list from another lurker.
I too own two TR8's and haven't noticed much TR8 traffic here. I suspect it
may be because of the existence of the TR8 list. I have misplaced the address
and would love to join it. I'll bet Tim would too! Please post or mail the
info on the list.
I have had problems with the rear of one of "the twins". The trailing arm
bushings self-destructed and made a noise under hard acceleration, and clunked
the rest of the time. I made new ones out of Delrin and installed them. They
don't cushion like the originals, but the torque-steer and noises from the rear
decreased. Before this the differential failed while under warranty and used to
growl all the time. The dealer mechanics couldn't hear it so they wouldn't fix
it. I must have forgotten to turn the stereo down when I dropped it off. I
drove it until it spun a carrier bearing and destroyed the case. After I
disconnected the stereo and took it in they had to replace the whole rear-end
assembly. :-( I do all the work on my cars myself unless they are under
warranty and sometimes even then!
Somewhat long TR ownership history and a TR8 parts request follows:
I remember when Triumph introduced the TR8. I had told my friends I would own
one someday. As a joke I bought a model and began talking about it as if it
were the real thing. When friends stopped by I'd show 'em the model. Funny
thing was, when I brought the first real one home nobody would believe me.
Imagine that!
I bought my first TR8 new from a dealer in Lenexa, Kansas on my way through
after visiting my folks in Southern Missouri. I was looking for a good used TR6
to replace the '72 I stupidly sold in a fit of anger after having a rash of
problems with it (cracked frame at shock mount holes, blown clutch,
disintegrating plastic interior, major hailstorm, exploding window, etc.). TR8
#1 was almost 2 years old and had never sold. The dealer had picked up a few
TR8's as excess inventory because he liked the cars. One was a Black TR8
"Spider" custom spoilered job that had bit a curb with the front air dam. (If
you know who owns this car, I have some pictures of it on the dealer lot!)
TR8 #1 looked like it needed a loving owner so I bought it on the spot and flew
back the next week to pick it up. The car was almost 2 years old and had never
sold!
Before I even left town the day after picking up the car, the oil light began
coming on at hot idle. Off to the dealer. They replaced the warning light
switch and swore the oil pressure was good. On my way home (to Loveland,
Colorado) the hood (bonnet?) latch came loose and the hood tried to fly up as I
was passing a semi. Luckily I had the foresight to bring a small tool kit with
me and repairs were made on the roadside. Once home with the car all was well
for a while. Then the oil light started coming on again. Then the rear end
started to growl. Then the lifters started to stick. Then the starter wouldn't
crank when a passenger was in the car. (I'll tell you what caused this at the
very end of this post.) The car spent 6 months at the dealer in Denver one
year! The dealer put off doing anything about the growling rear until the diffy
housing was trashed by a spun bearing and they had to order the whole assembly
from the U.K.. I got so sick of talking to the Triumph rep and the dealer about
the lifters and oil pressure I just brought the car home. I had at this time
owned it almost two years and had not succeeded in getting them to complete
repairs on problems that had occurred under warranty. Remember too, the car was
almost two years old when I bought it!
Once the car was safely home (it had been sitting OUTSIDE in Denver! Gasp!) I
dropped the motor out (if you ever owned a TR8 you know why I say dropped) and
tore it down. I found defective cam bearings with large chunks gouged out of
them. How could the factory put in bearings so visibly defective? I checked
everything out, and other than the rod bearings and cam suffering from the low
oil pressure the engine was fine. I checked everything twice to be safe. I
blueprinted the oil pump. Then I called the Triumph rep (his name was Scot
Savage) and asked him to stop by my house so I could show him what I had been
"whining' about all those months. Amazingly he agreed and came to my house.
He was surprised to see obviously defective parts. He asked me for a list of
parts to "put it right" and two weeks later a new cam, lifters, bearings, gasket
set, and miscellaneous other parts arrived. I carefully reassembled the engine
and reinstalled it. First time I'd been through a motor with less than 15,000
miles on it.
The car ran fine. I mounted an oil pressure gauge discreetly under the dash,
fired it up again and all was well. Until the engine got hot, that is. Idle
oil pressure was about 10 -15 lbs. Damn. What did I miss? I did everything
but examine the oil galleys for a hole in the casting (I'll do that next time).
I drove the car about another 3500 miles. The idle oil pressure was down to
7-10 lbs hot ( it was summer now). I decided to park the car until I had time
to go through the motor again. That was 4 years ago. Time flies when your not
having fun, too.
TR8 #2 was wholesaled from a dealer in Boulder as a potential motor donor. I
was looking for a motor for TR8 #1 so I could build a slightly warmed up one for
the car and repair the original motor later. Then I could easily put the car
back to original condition at a later time. A friend called me and I agreed to
buy it sight unseen from a Boulder dealer that couldn't find a wholesaler that
was very interested in it! I originally intended to use it as a motor donor.
When I went to pick it up and saw a beautiful body and top, then drove it the 45
miles home, I couldn't bring myself to part it out. It's damn near as nice as
my other one. I realized this car is a set of cats and an air pump away from a
dandy little tire-chirping driver. The tranny and rear gears are a little
noisy, but hey it's an LBC! So there goes my spare engine idea and in comes
another TR8 repair project, although hopefully a short duration one.
So, there's a long story of my limited triumph ownership. I have to fix TR8
#1 soon. If you've ever cruised Big Thompson Canyon and Trail Ridge Road in an
LBC with the top down you know what I'm missing and dying to do. By the way TR8
#2 is destined to become HER car and thus is a close second priority!
Now to the passenger= no starter problem. It always happened when I was
trying to impress a date with my beautiful blue LBC. My date would get
impatient while I desperately searched for the explanation with the voltmeter.
After the third time my date had bailed out of the car and the starter
immediately started working I realized the events were related and pulled up the
carpet to find a connector by the transmission hump. Foot pressure on the
carpet was enough to cause a loose connection to open up! Easy fix after I
found it. And I'd begun to think the car didn't like my taste in women!
So if you have any TR8 cats, air pump, exhaust manifolds, and/or plumbing
lying around I am very interested. The Colorado front-range has an emissions
fixation. I'd still like to find a spare motor, too. I've got a couple GM
215's I'll trade! I'm also looking for pointers to TR8 performance engine
parts suppliers. Is Kenny-Bell still in business? They had performance parts
for the Buick 215, and of course some parts will interchange.
Clay_Scott@HP-Loveland-om10-om.hp.com
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