The TR Drivers Club and the TR Spares Development Fund are proud to announce that the project to remanufacture the TR7/8 headlamp panel (WKC4077) has now reached fruition.
The inaugural batch of 10 units of this most complicated of all TR7 panels is now available for sale. At the time of writing, the club has retained a few in bare metal, as delivered by their chosen partners for this project, Ex-Pressed Steel Panels Ltd, and the price of these bare metal panels is £624.59 plus carriage.
Five of the panels are being held in stock at Robsport International and these have been etch-primed by Robsport, so the cost of these is therefore slightly higher. Anyone who has their Triumph Wedge booked in for restoration at Robsport International and is in need of a new headlamp panel will have one of these exceptional replacements installed on their car.
It has taken more than two years to reach this point and it is essential that all TR7 and TR8 owners support this venture. If the panels are in demand and sell, then Ex-Pressed Steel Panels Ltd. will put the TR7 headlamp panel back into full production. This means that the TRDC/TR SDF spares team can then start planning for the next TR7 panel project.
However, if there is insufficient support then the plans to resurrect TR7 panels will end with this inaugural project. It is therefore vital to the future of Triumph’s last sports cars that this venture is indeed successful and we hope to be able then to offer the other body panels such as front wings, outer sills, offside door skins, and other items currently unavailable in the coming years.
TR Spares Development Fund
Triumph dealers found out that British Motor Heritage had scrapped the TR7 press tools when a bulk order for TR7 front wings could not be fulfilled. Although nothing had ever been reported to the Triumph car clubs or dealers it is believed that the decision to sell the press tools for scrap was taken when the BMH Blackburn site was cleared out several years ago. Had advance warning been given main Triumph dealer Rimmer Brothers would have put in a bulk order to guarantee supply for many years into the future, and it’s also possible the TR clubs would have joined forces to re-site the enormous press tools.
A whistleblower within BMH notified the TR Drivers Club that the press tools had been scrapped only a month prior to Jon Burgess of Classic Car Weekly contacting the club to ascertain if there was any truth to the story leaked to him. The TRDC was able to confirm the story and advise that the club was already looking into alternative methods of manufacture and supply. Shortly after this, the TR Spares Development Fund came on board to ensure the project got over the line.
TR7/8 Panel Availability
Please contact John Clancy of the TR Drivers Club for further details or to arrange a purchase. Tel: 01579 346716 email: [email protected] web: www.trdrivers.club
