Triumph TR7 V8 fixed head coupé

Please meet Harry! Sticking to the tradition of naming cars after royalties here we have Harry. I first tried and tested names like “Mrs Parker” and so on but it didn't feel right. I then saw a picture of Prince Harry in Africa with a cigarette butt in his hand and immediately it was clear to me – of course, Harry!

So, who is he? Harry started his life in 1981 as an aqua blue metallic Triumph TR7 fixed head coupe with a 105 bhp two litre, four cylinder engine. According to early receipts he had a leaky sunroof at this time, had a habit of not starting and had to be trailered to the garage on several occasions. In 1991, Classic Car Restoration and Repair in Salisbury got their hands on the car, totally rebuilt and upgraded it, and used it as a demonstrator to show their ability as a car restoration company. The rebuild and upgrade included:

• All rust cut out and replaced with new metal (the leaky sunroof is gone as well)
• Replacing the rather ghastly impact bumpers with neat spoilers
• Complete respray in black
• Complete retrim in red leather with black wool carpets
• Engine swap for fully rebuilt Rover V8 with high compression pistons, fast-road camshaft, four barrel Holley carburettor on an Offenhauser inlet manifold and tubular exhaust manifolds. Power is estimated to be in the region of 190 bhp.
• Brake upgrade to ventilated discs, bigger callipers, and braided hoses
• All suspension bushes replaced with polyurethane ones
• Lowered chassis with stiffer springs

In 1995 he was then passed on to the next owner who kept and spoiled him (there are receipts for substantial money, a new gearbox and a complete rewiring being two of the bigger bills) for ten years before passing him on to me.

The Harry Diary

After buying a new car it's time to examine what you really got. You might argue that this is something I should have done before I bought the car in the first place, but since I buy cars with my heart rather than my brain, because I want them rather than that they are good cars, this is what I have to do.

I checked over the car and discovered a few things that needed attention. The left headlight was not working, the battery was standing loose in the left corner of the boot, the right rear foglight was cracked and the rubber surrounds for the headlights were very loose.

Some WD-40 and some “exercising” of all electrical connectors cured the headlight, some washers and nuts secured the battery, some glue, a good clean, and new bolts improved the foglights. The headlight surrounds were trickier. Metal washers that used to be vulcanised into the rubber had rusted badly and completely detached themselves. I gave the surrounds a good clean and then fixated some stainless steel washers with silicone in place of the old rusty ones. Not as strong as the original method but they only need to support their own weight so I hope it will be all right.