Dave Massey's 1980 TR8 with Rover 3.5L V8 Engine
as published in British V8 Newsletter, Volume XV Issue 2, September 2007Owner: Dave Massey
City: Kirkwood MO
Model: 1980 Triumph TR8
Engine: 3.5L V8 (original)
| Intake: | the stock twin Zenith Stromberg carburetors are currently installed,
but a Rover fuel-injection conversion is in-process. |
| Exhaust: | Tri-Y headers feeding into an all-stainless-steel dual exhaust system. |
| Transmission: | Rover 5-speed manual transmission. Stock hydraulic clutch actuation.
Braided stainless steel clutch hose. Original driveshaft with CV joints. |
| Rear axle: | 3.08:1 |
| Suspension: | stock design (McPherson strut) front suspension with uprated springs,
upsized anti-sway bar, and polyurethane bushings. The stock rear
suspension is a 4-link, live-axle design. Uprated springs, upsized
antisway bar, and poyurethane bushings have been fitted here too. |
| Brakes: | the front disc brake calipers have beem modified to permit installation
of oversize pads. The TR8 came from the factory with a proportioning valve
installed on the rear brake circuit, and Dave has had it recalibrated. |
| Wheels/Tires: | stock 13" wheels with 205/60-R13 Dunlop tires |
| Weight: | 2550 pounds "wet" per Pete Mantell's scales, as weighed at British V8 2007. |
| Electrical: | Cibie headlamps, Saturn alternator, Sony AM/FM/cassette stereo with 10-disc
CD changer mounted in the trunk. Seperately amplified subwoofers are mounted
under the seats. |
| Interior: | restored with leather seat upholstery, wool carpet, and canvas convertible top. |
| Comments: | this car was extensively reworked and renovated in 2000, and has been driven
about 50,000 miles since as of the British V8 2007 meet. This car has been
driven to both coasts, to Canada, and is used as a reliable daily driver. It has
returned home on a trailer only twice: once from the body shop (sans engine,
suspension, interior, etc.) and once with a ruptered heater hose. I once drove
it 600 miles with a non-functioning alternator, but made it home safely. The
most troublesome improvement project was getting the air conditioning working,
which dragged out over two summers and cost over $1000, but it was worth it! |
Dave Massey entertaining the highlanders at British V8 2007
