The finishing touch - if only!

Not the finishing touch yet but how about these BL motorsport stickers?

I have just got them this morning and placed them in the same position on BRP as on the works cars - they look great.

It wouldn't be a bad idea though if ClubTriumph had some made up but replaced with the British Leyland "L" with the club's logo - maybe only issued to CT members in competition?

Bye bye Speakers!

Yes, the door speakers are now out of the TR7 and in my loft!

Also removed are the CDs I had in the car as they are clearly surplus to requirements. As a matter of interest I weighed the CDs and they were 2kgs alone.

Removing the radio-cassette, electric aerial, door speakers and the CDs (!) I have found a weight saving of 5kgs which can't be bad - it all counts.

What I must remember when this competiton lark gets semi serious is not to run with a full fuel tank - 12 gallons of petrol must weigh alot and have a performance penalty.

Brace yourself!

The navigators foot rest is now bolted in as can be seen here.

Each time I do something like this I can see the car getting closer to being ready - another milestone on the way.

In addition you may have noticed that the radio cassette has now been removed too. Whilst I did this I also removed the wiring to the electric aerial on the nearside rear wing.

The aerial had to go too and the hole filled with a suitable grommet.

Here are the said items and between them they weighed 2 kilos so it's a worthwhile weight saving.

I'll be keeping them tho just in case I ever get the spare TR7 back on the road.

In the meantime one thing logically leads to another in car prep - I will now be removing the door speakers as obviously they are not needed and that will be another weight saving. I have an idea for covering the holes which should work out nicely.

I also need to remove some of the excess wiring from where the radio cassette was and make up a panel - this will house the oil pressure gauge and the extinguisher pull switch in due course.

Into the interior

I have decided to leave the engine bay for a while and move to the interior for a bit of rally prep.

In the passenger footwell is an alloy navigator's footrest - or bracing panel! I need to site this properly and bolt it in.

It's essential for the navigator to be able to brace against this whilst holding maps etc on his/her knees as the car is bouncing around at high speed.

In the centre of the car in front of the gear lever is the lower part of the facia which I have plans for. At some point the stereo will have to go as it's not necessary in a rally car and adds weight but whether that is now or not we'll see.

I do need to do some modification tho so that I can get the cut off switch sorted and connected up. If the stereo goes I could make up a panel which would be a good location for the oil pressure gauge and the fire extinguisher pull switch..

Servicing a TR7 16V on the Manx rally

Oh yes! A friend who reads this blog (another Martin!) has just asked if I want to service for him on next year's historic Manx rally.

I certainly do if I possibly can - little does he know I will probably only be good for wiping the windscreen and taking videos.

I am also planning to go and spectate on the Tour of Flanders in September.

Both rallies are in my own plans for BRP in 2010.

Xmas presents fitted early

Here's my Xmas presents fitted a little early!

Actually my non existent rally budget has been hit too.

Still, I thought I would fit the Minilites I got from Chris 2 Toledos.

They are actually wider and sit further out than my others but there's still plenty of room around the wheel arches. That could be very handy when landing after a "yump" on Epynt or the Manx rally.


Those wheel arches will be filled a bit more tho when 70 series tyres are fitted (a requirement for historic rallying in the UK) as the profile will mean the tyres stand a bit taller and fatter.

In addition the current tyres on these wheels are 60 series and rather flat - I'll pump them up a bit more some time but getting them to 15PSI nearly burnt out my little compressor as it was!


I like the next photo - a nice aggressive stance to the car!

More money gone!

Here's the wheels I have now bought (thanks Chris).

I now have 14 alloy wheels for the TR7, I could probably do with buying a couple more and then I would be in a position to have full sets built up when that glorious day comes that I am competing on the Manx rally!

Of course, I'll need different tyres too.

Carb swap

Well I decided to swap the carbs over from my TR7 engine - what better way to spend an hour on a cold Saturday night?

I swapped only the front carb tonight so that I can keep the linkages in place and not disturb too much.

The car even started afterwards!


Update - the rear carbs is swapped over now.

I think it runs better but that was only on the drive - now for some work on the linkages to free them up etc