Orphan cars (or, Why am I Atrracted to Rare Crapboxes)

So the XR4Ti is going to the roommate, as his Accord gave up the ghost. He'll drive the Merkur during the week, and we'll do what we can on the weekend. I'll have to push back my visions of wild-assed engine swaps, but that's probably a good thing.

Having said that, the instant I told him the XR was his (he asked how much I wanted for it, and I told him "Worry about paying the car before you pay me") I began looking over Craigslist.

I found a $600 Triumph TR8, rust repairs already done, electrics in working order, primered black and in need of a fuel pump (it runs, but leaks) and it is taking me every fiber of my being not to run off into the wilds of Arkansas and buy it, even though I know for a fact that I have the XR4Ti to fix up.

This isn't the first time this happened. There was the Saab SPG that I was going to dump the Merkur for, and before the Merkur there was an MR2 . . . hell, I didn't even have my first car running before I was looking at lowrider trucks (I will forever regret my minitruck phase) and frankly as long as cool cars show up for a week's pay on Craigslist I see myself having a wandering eye.

Any support groups?

Is it a real TR8 or a swapped TR7? I thought the real ones were pretty rare.

Oh, I'm sure it's swapped, or the seller doesn't know what he has. All I know is that it has a running Rover V8 in it.

If you don't buy it, I will come and kick your ass. Of coarse I love me some Triumph.

LordTurbonia wrote: "Orphan cars (or, Why am I Atrracted to Rare Crapboxes) "

The reason why is because you are a man of distinguished tastes, one who can find the true intrinsic value in a vehicle without the guidance of a marketing department.

(....says the guy with a Geo who is building a Datsun)

damn, we are just one screwed up bunch us lot.....

I got yer support groups right here..

http://www.vtr.org/

http://www.triumphwedgeowners.org/

Dude I suffer from this affliction, check out my garage

You need to buy a Prince Skyline.

Get the VIN and then go to this site to check it out. http://www.trdrivers.com/tr7___tr8_vin_numbers.htm Even it it's a swap using original parts, you can make some cash parting it out. Subframe, engine brackets, timing cover, bell housing, flywheel, driveshaft, front brakes, aftermarket four barrel intake, TR8 tach, and a few other TR8 specific parts are easy to sell.

I'm afraid I can't help, I don't know anything about liking E36 M3ty cars...

Dood, is that the world's crappiest tan top, or fiberglass laid over a soft top to make a hard top?

Contributing to the thread, I also am genetically cursed with the wandering eye, but I find it always dissipates when I have a worthy project underway. If the intended result of what I'm working on is both attainable and bitchin', I stop looking at other stuff.

Oh, and don't do the TR. I've owned two, so I'm allowed to talk trash. If you like the general profile, get an AW11 MR2, preferably post-update with the later suspension that handles properly. Very good car, worth messing with.

$600 for V8 hoonage? You should totally buy it.

Here's the latest rare crapbox that I'm fawning over. Reliant Rebel - fiberglass body, front engined, RWD.

I don't really want it at all actually....but I might never see another one .

Buy the TR(7?)8 and roll with it. Life is nothing if not more interesting with unique cars (says a guy with a Fiat and an XR4 in the garage)

Life is mas bueno with neat cars.

Hey, I'm the guy that bought a brand new orphan car. I have as much trouble getting parts as the guys that haven't had parts in production for a decade. Nothing wrong with orphans, ESPECIALLY when we're talking British sports cars.

m4ff3w wrote: Life is mas bueno with neat cars.

Agreed.

A simple trip to the grocery store in my daily usually involves 3-4 people stopping me to ask about it, what it is and where it comes from. The act of driving it down a busy road elicits smiles and thumbs ups and more cell phone cameras pointed at it than police brutality.

You get to be creative with parts substitutions and build your own upgrades since none other exist.

hmmm... I own a classic saab 900 and a fiat 124... nope.. nothing to add here

Have you bought it yet?

in the future you'll need a sky redline and g8 gxp to go along with the others....lol

I saw this a few weeks ago:

The side mirror is a Merkur XR4ti. Today I drove a Maserati Biturbo to work. At home (and soon for sale) is a Alfa Milano.

weeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Orphancars says do it!!!

There -- you have your endorsement/validation -- now go exchange some dead presidents and bring your orphan home...........

I'm not buying the TR. While awesome, and a car I have liked since childhood (I first read about it in one of my dad's buff books when I was 9 or 10, and I wondered why they weren't as popular as Ferraris and Porsches. No one tells 10 year olds about Joe Lucas, because their tiny brains can't handle it.) I am having a hard enough time with something made by regular old blue oval Ford. A Rover V8 will probably give me epilepsy or airborne cancer or something, and that's before I try to make the headlights work.

It has my experience that while British cars can be a pain in the ass to keep they generally aren't hard to fix plus electronic ignition will fix a lot of problems. I swear I am not trying to talk you into to it.