The results may have confirmed my suspicion that something failed, causing the car to be parked. With my wife in the driver’s seat and her foot pressing the accelerator into the carpet, she twisted the key and we tested each cylinder. They were black and wet, not a good sign. The Bosch spark plugs showed the TR7 had at least one tune-up in its life.
Next it was time to pull the spark plugs and test the compression. Instead of being mounted in front of the engine (you know, the normal, conventional way) the gear-driven pump sits in a vertical position with the impeller facing up. The TR7 has one of the strangest water pumps ever used on a production vehicle. The test also showed the radiator and hoses to be in good condition. That tells you a few things: The car didn’t overheat, causing the head gasket to blow and likely warping the aluminum cylinder head. It was a minor relief to connect the pressure testing kit and pump up the system to about 15 pounds and see the pressure hold steady. The overheating issues are supposed to be greatly reduced on the Canley TR7s. Project: TR7 was built in October 1978 and is one of just 883 TR7s made in calendar year 1978 at Canley. More than 200 changes were made to the car. By the time TR7 production resumed at Triumph’s Canley, Coventry, plant, the car had a new, more efficient cooling system, redesigned electrics and a stronger rear axle and beefy five-speed transmission from the new Rover 3500 SD1 to replace the weak units used in other cars, such as the Austin Marina and the Triumph Dolomite 1500 sedan. During that downtime, Triumph engineers went to work. A strike at the plant lasted from October 1977 to March 1978.