33 Months Gone: 1980 Triumph TR7 Convertible – Sold?

July 22, 2022, Update – While this “Classifind” expired recently, given the seller’s past history we suspect may not actually be sold yet.  For now, we’re labeling this ride “Sold?” However, we will keep an eye out for an updated listing. In the interim, please reach out either by email or call Rudy directly if you’d like to be informed when we come across something similar.

June 9, 2022 Update – The Internet and Guys With Ride never forget a classic car for sale.  We first came across this driver-quality TR7 in the fall of 2019 when the seller unsuccessfully tried to sell the car for $8,500.  Nearly three years and one pandemic later, a fresh set of pictures with a similar description, and the same asking price have us thinking this TR7 will continue to remain in a town nearby. Unfortunately the seller’s definition of “all stock” is contradicted in his very own description as well as mismatched black vinyl seats and Tartan Plaid door card inserts.

July 16, 2021 Update – while this “Classifind” expired recently, given the seller’s past history we suspect may not actually be sold yet.  For now, we’re labeling this ride “Sold?” However, we will keep an eye out for an updated listing.

June 14, 2021 Update: Unfortunately, for this seller, both the Internet and Guys With Rides never forget. This Triumph TR7 we have been tracking the sale of since September 2019 remains unsold as the seller continues to ask the $8,500 price that continues to prove our point that this example remains priced to optimistically for a number of reasons stated below.

July 19, 2020 Update:  as we predicted last month, we came across a fresh listing for this still unsold 1980 Triumph TR7 with the price now lowered to $8,500, which finally puts it $200 under Hagerty’s #2 “Excellent” estimate.  We predict this wedge will remain parked in the seller’s driveway until he lowers the price to the $6,000 range.

June 27, 2020 Update:  nearly one more month has now passed and we confirmed this 1980 Triumph TR7 has the same listing with no updates still shown on Craigslist.  With a much too optimistic price for this final year Triumph, we won’t be surprised yet another fresh listing soon, hopefully with a much more realistic price in line with the car’s condition.

May 30, 2020 Update:  Sometimes you just have to wonder.  In this case, when we last saw this 1980 Triumph TR7, the seller had his price dropped to $7,500 with no sale.  So, they decide to store it for the winter and six months, and one pandemic later, they relist the car.  With the same pictures from last year and the price increased by $2,000 to $9,500, or $800 higher than the Hagerty Insurance #2 “Excellent” appraisal.  looks at the interior pictures and you’ll likely agree this example is at best a #3 “Good” car.  We predict we will continue to see this car sit unsold.

September 28, 2019 Update: we noticed three days ago this 1980 Triumph TR7 we featured at the beginning of September just had its asking price lowered $1,000 to $7,500.  While this is a good sign the seller is willing to negotiate, you can read the description below to learn why we believe this may still be too high.

Two towns over from the Guys With Rides office is this 1980 Triumph original offered for sale in September 2019 on Craigslist in Lambertville, New Jersey, where the current caretaker continues to have it priced at $8,500.  The Hagerty Insurance Online Valuation Tool currently lists the #2 “Excellent” value for the last year of the TR7 at $8,600, so the seller has it priced in line with what he considers the condition of his car to be in. As you’ll see below, while the exterior appears to be in excellent condition, the interior is what really holds this car back, so we would try to negotiate a price halfway between Hagerty’s “Excellent” level and the #3 “Good estimate of $4,300.

The shape of things to come.  That was Triumph’s tagline of its new TR7 as it pulled into a triangular garage in TV commercials for the wedge-shaped sports car.  Equipped with coil springs and disc brakes at all four corners, car enthusiasts considered the TR7 the first modern British sports car.  Ironically, Triumph elected to replace the TR6’s complicated independent rear suspension with a more conventional solid axle, a four-link setup that handled very well. From its launch in 1975 through 1978, the TR7 was only available as a coupe out due to the belief the U.S. Federal government would implement rollover standards that never materialized.   Unfortunately, the early TR7s built-in Speke near Liverpool earned a bad reputation as unreliable lemons due to self-destructive tactics deployed by British labor unions before production transferred to Solihull two years later.

While the private seller states his TR7 is “All stock”, the aftermarket radio, non-original steering wheel, extra gauges mounted in a homemade wood panel, and “new seats” covered in all-black vinyl that no longer match the tartan plaid cloth of the door cars have us disagreeing with that assessment.  It doesn’t help the interior is in dire need of a detail, the gas pedal needs a new cover, and there are Thrush Muffler decals in the vent windows and weird skull labels on the rocker panels.  These sticking points would be our primary negotiation tools to get the price lowered.

On a positive note, the seller reports the two-liter inline-four “runs as it should” with rebuilt carburetors. Another sticking point conflicting with the “all stock” comment is the addition of an adjustable castor kit.  He also notes the brakes and suspension have been attended to.  If the car runs and drives nicely, you can enjoy some nice fall top-down driving now and then attend to the interior over the winter months.  Good luck with the purchase!

Here’s the seller’s description:

“Car runs as it should
4 cylinders ohc
5 speed
All stock
New top
Am fm CD radio
new tires
new brakes
drums cut
rotors cut
rebuilt slave cylinder
rebuilt master cylinder
carbs rebuilt
manual choke conversion
new struts
struts covers
castor adjustment kit installed
New carpet
custom steering wheel and stock unit
paint factory color
new seats
many stock extra parts
Call to see”

Do you have a Triumph TR7 story to share?  Comment below and let us know!