1981 Triumph TR8

Convertible

8 - Cyl.

Manual

SATPV4584BA404883

Clear

Gasoline

It hurts me to sell this car but the wife is making me choose between it and the Lotus. I looked around for two years before buying this car, so I know its one of the nicest original condition TR8s still existing. I am just the 3rd owner if you don’t count the 63 year-old son who inherited it from his 84 year-old father for a couple years. In fact, he was a ”transfer on death benefactor” so even the title was still in his father’s name. Probably the most important thing to know about this car is that it has NO rust, and I mean NONE at all; NEVER had any rust, and NEVER had any rust repairs. That is what amazes body shop owners who’ve seen the car. It was in a temp-controlled garage in South Dakota and rarely driven from 1995 to 2009. Even the title stated “parade use” on it. There is a $2900 receipt from 2009 beginning “customer states check car over”, where more things were touched/renewed than I can count. The paint, the top, and even the tires (Goodyear GS800) are original, as when the car was delivered in 1981. As the car was stored in a temp-controlled warehouse the tires have no cracks and still have good traction and tread. In May this year I did the car’s first-ever tune-up replacing the cap, rotor, plugs, ignition wires & air filter. All the old plugs were consistently dry with very light-brown electrodes. I also replaced any rubber hoses needing renewal, mostly fuel-line hoses. I had the tires balanced a month ago and that got rid of all vibrations, so I’m assuming the car was not stored with the tires on the ground. I have all receipts from 1995 on. The mileage when it changed hands in 1995 was just 2868mi, so there can’t be too many receipts prior to 1995! If you believe that a car is only original once, and once restored it is not, this is the car for you. Mechanically the car is perfect. Everything works, and I do mean EVERYTHING. The A/C blows ice cold, and will soon “freeze” you should you keep it on long, as well it should since it came from the factory with a General Motors R4 compressor, the same compressor as large GM cars with interiors seating six. As the car is mechanically 100% solid, you can drive it anywhere; none of that “but it is a 30 year old car bunk.” When I see that statement in an add it simply indicates to me the owner is not a competent mechanic or wasn’t willing to spend the money to replace old parts. About a month ago I drove the car 800 miles to Tuscaloosa, Alabama and back in 100 degree heat with no problems, the A/C blasting all the while during the heat of the day. The interior is perfect. The car has had seat covers on protecting the fabric since day one, but I’ll remove them for the photos, so you can appreciate how nice it is. Even the steering wheel leather is nice, one of the things I always use to gauge over-all condition of a TR8. Nothing on the interior (or anywhere for that matter) falls under the category of “worn and could use renewal.” A hardtop is included. It is a Snugtop by Custom Hardtop, serial # 20608, made in Long Beach, California. This is the ONLY TR7/TR8 hardtop I’ve EVER seen, and this is the 2nd TR8 I’ve owned. It is in excellent condition with a black vinyl exterior. There are no tears or fading (looks completely new). The inside has a soft headliner in light tan made of padded, tufted vinyl. The rear window is hard acrylic which is completely clear. I clean it with Plexus plastic spray cleaner, the same I use on the convertible top. There are no scratches and no yellowing. Again, it looks new. The rubber seals are still soft, pliable & complete, and seal against the windows/body just as they did when new. The hardtop is an EXTREMELY RARE item which I didn’t even know existed, and I owned my first TR8 for 8 years! Pictures over the allowed limit of 24 are posted in this Ebay listing: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280709483820 Non-Stock Updates/Improvements: A 140mph Speedometer (the same Smith’s speedo installed on TR7/8s before the 1980-81 USA “85mph law”) replaces the government mandated 85mph speedometer. Replaced at 10,061 miles… a picture of the original repair-shop receipt stating this mileage is included in the pictures section. Thus simply add 10k miles to the mileage currently displayed on the 140mph speedo to get the car’s true mileage. Crane XR700 optical electronic ignition – As anyone with hot-weather TR8 experience knows, if you want to avoid waiting on the side of the road until the distributor cools off (so you can go another 15 miles just to repeat the procedure!), you need to install an ignition which moves the amplifier outside the distributor, as far from the engine’s heat as practical. Also, both the Crane & Lumenition, the two best TR8 replacement ignitions, are optically and not magnetically triggered, and thus last forever as there is nothing to wear out. A low temperature fan switch is installed so the fans come on earlier, keeping the car much cooler in stop & go driving. A 180-degree thermostat is installed to complement/match the fan-switch temperature. Three shift knobs included: A $100 Italian MOMO ergonomic Burlwood shift knob is currently attached. I personally like this one best, as it is without contest the highest quality. Ever since owning a Maserati I’ve had a thing for fine wooden shift knobs. Another shift knob is a light brown interior-color-matched wood unit with the Triumph “open-book” logo. The original shift-knob is included with sale and I’ll happily put it back on if that’s your choice. I’ll include a shot of all three in one of the pictures. Unique Factory Features of the 1981 TR8 vs 1980 TR8: Only 393 USA 1981 model-year TR8s were made (compare that to around 2375 1980 TR8s), as 1981 production started late due to the relocation from Canley to Solihull. Of those only 151 cars had A/C installed. This car has a build date of 2 APR 1981 and is the lowest-mileage Pharaoh Gold TR8 in the world. Only sixteen (16) TR8s were painted Pharaoh Gold Metallic in all years of TR8 production. I have and will give you the complete TR8 VIN list which includes information such as interior & exterior color. I’ve updated the list for all 1981 TR8s to include the most recent mileage reported and last known location, which took me several nights of “CARFAXING” VIN numbers but was an excellent tool to use whilst shopping for a TR8. Multi-Point Fuel Injection replaced carburetors. Albert Tingay, the engineer at Lucas who designed the TR8’s fuel-injection, was proud enough of his work that he bought a 1981 US-spec TR8 in Nevada and had it exported to the UK. He still owns and drives it today, 30-years later! I owned a 1980 TR8 for 8-years and drove it 80k-miles between 1988-1996. The 1981 FI TR8 has smooth, perfect drivability from the second you start it cold, unlike carbureted TR8s. The 1981 TR8 performs & drives like a modern car. A Taller 5th gear was installed for increased mileage, ratio .74 VS .83. That results in a calculated increase of 7mph at redline, and in actual driving gives a much quieter & more comfortable cruising experience on interstate trips. Together, the gearing & FI change increased highway mileage from 22mpg to 26mpg. Stated another way, top speed is up and fuel-consumption is down. The TR8 only requires regular fuel, not premium. A proper Triumph laurel-wreath badge replaced the “TR8” decal on the nose. Intermittent wipers are installed for the first time. Interior door lock buttons are changed to a recessed type, and a new type of interior door handle is installed. New stamping/tooling allows the installation of a flush, push-button trunk-lock. Color-keyed blue or tan soft-tops are used, although black can still be specified. The 1980 tartan plaid interiors are replaced with solid, single-color interiors. A truly reliable quartz clock replaced the poor-quality 1980 clock. It keeps great time and is still ticking away quite accurately, enough so that I actually rely on it to be on time to places. Problems: There are NOT paint dings/ rock chips on the front of the car, befitting a car with such low mileage. The paint is original and still shiny as-new. There is one small tear about an inch long in the convertible top where one of the snaps is on the very bottom. The picture of it is much larger than the actual size. It doesn’t leak or cause any problems. The convertible shop said they could put a patch behind it. Otherwise the original top is in perfect shape. Even the windows are PERFECTLY clear with no hazing or scratches, probably due to the fact that the hardtop was on it continuously until two months ago. Pictures: Ebay pictures are pathetically small. Send me your email address along with which pictures you'd like to see in higher resolution and I will send you back "large" (1024 x 768) pictures. Payment: I require a bank-to-bank wire transfer. This is simple enough to do, just go to your bank and give them my account information, and they will handle the rest while you sit in front of their desk. A $2000 deposit transfer is required within 48 hours of the auction ending, with the remainder transferred within 7 days. Shipping: You may pick up the car in person or have it delivered by a transport company. That is totally up to you and whatever you decide is OK with me. I will pick you up at the airport if you choose to fly in.On Jul-15-11 at 10:47:16 PDT, seller added the following information: I was asked why my "Buy it Now" of $11,900 disappeared. After a little reading I learned that Ebay removes it once an Ebay Motors add reaches the reserve price. I didn't expect that to happen, and I was taken by surprise as well. As such, if someone wants to meet that price ($11,900) and it seems like you are a solid Ebayer and reliable buyer/person, I will work with you to end the auction once you place an $11,900 bid. This offer will stand through Monday, July 18th. Once the Ebay date reaches July 19th I will let the auction end naturally, as otherwise I think confusion might result in some honest, "play by the rules" buyers feeling like the car was sold out from under them. I hope this meets with everyone's approval, -Matt 7/15/11 16:12 PDT