TriumphTR7

Triumph TR7 OOM 512R

A works TR7 that served both of the team's eras: a 16-valve car, 2nd on the Manx in 1977, then rebuilt with Rover's V8 to win the Granite City Rally in April 1978, the TR7 V8's first win, and rallied by three more crews into 1979.

About the pictureSJW 540S, another works TR7 V8, photographed at Gaydon in 2009.

A red, white and blue rally coupé in a museum, another rally car behind it.
Stand-in Another works TR7 V8, SJW 540S, at the Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon, in July 2009: a car of the type, not the subject of this page.Mark Brown, CC BY-SA 2.0

OOM 512R lived twice: it began as one of the 16-valve cars of 1977 and went out again with Rover's V8. With Tony Pond and Fred Gallagher it won the Granite City Rally in April 1978; Pond drove it once more, and then three other crews had it.⁠1​2

The 16-valve car, 1977

Sources for OOM 512R

Chris Turner (credited by the club), "The Works Triumph TR7 V8 Rally Cars" and the car pages (group), TR Drivers Club⁠1; Motor Sport, Rally reports on the works TR7s (group), Jun 1976 – Jan 1981⁠2; Jeremy Walton, "Abingdon finds a new Healey called Triumph", Motor Sport, Sep 1978, p. 30⁠3; Keith Cox, "Gaydon cars with a TR7 connection", TR Drivers Club⁠4

Its first crew, late in 1977, were Brian Culcheth and Johnstone Syer: 2nd overall on the Manx in September, then out of the RAC Rally in November with broken wheel studs.⁠1​5​2

The V8, 1978–79

The V8's public debut came first, on a Texaco rallysprint at Esgair Dafydd shown on television, where Pond was 2nd to Hannu Mikkola; Motor Sport does not say which car he drove. Two weeks on, in April 1978, the Granite City, in north-east Scotland, a round of the Castrol national championship, was the TR7 V8's first rally, and Pond and Gallagher won it by a dozen seconds from Nigel Rockey's Escort. Motor Sport's Jeremy Walton gave the engine about 240 bhp that spring.

Pond drove the car again on the Border Counties Rally in July 1978, where the team used it to try a narrower front track and Goodyear tyres. Then it went to other crews: the American John Buffum and Neil Wilson on the Burmah in August, Graham Elsmore and S. Harrold on the Wyedean in November, and in 1979 Terry Kaby and B. Rainbow, on national events; the results below give their places. No source read records what became of it.⁠1​2​3​4

Where it has been

  1. 1977

    First used by the works team, with a 16-valve engine

    Built at Abingdon. Brian Culcheth and Johnstone Syer drove it at the end of 1977. Jeremy Walton's report of the 1977 Tour de Corse names Tony Pond's car "OOM 512M", while the TR Drivers Club gives Pond OOM 513R there and OOM 512R to Culcheth only on the Manx and RAC rallies

    Chris Turner (credited by the club), "The Works Triumph TR7 V8 Rally Cars" and the car pages (group), TR Drivers Club⁠1; Jeremy Walton ("J.W."), "It's a long way to Ajaccio…", Motor Sport, Jan 1978, p. 55⁠5

  2. 1978

    Converted to a V8 and repainted in the new red-based livery

    For the first part of 1978. In April 1978 it gave the TR7 V8 its first win, the Granite City Rally, "by a margin of just 12 sec from Nigel Rockey's Escort RS1800" (Motor Sport). Later used in national rallies by Graham Elsmore and Terry Kaby

    Chris Turner (credited by the club), "The Works Triumph TR7 V8 Rally Cars" and the car pages (group), TR Drivers Club⁠1; Motor Sport, Rally reports on the works TR7s (group), Jun 1976 – Jan 1981⁠2

Results

A yellow year marks a win.

  • 1977

    Manx Trophy Rally 1977

    September 1977, Isle of Man. Brian Culcheth and Johnstone Syer (co-driver): 2nd overall⁠1​5

  • 1977

    Lombard RAC Rally 1977

    November 1977, Great Britain. Brian Culcheth and Johnstone Syer (co-driver): retired: broken wheel studs⁠1

  • 1978

    Granite City Rally 1978

    April 1978, North-East Scotland. Tony Pond and Fred Gallagher (co-driver): 1st overall⁠1​2​3​4

  • 1978

    Border Counties Rally 1978

    July 1978. Tony Pond and Fred Gallagher (co-driver): 4th overall⁠1​3

  • 1978

    Burmah Rally 1978

    August 1978. John Buffum and N. Wilson (co-driver): 8th overall⁠1

  • 1978

    Wyedean Rally 1978

    November 1978. Graham Elsmore and S. Harrold (co-driver): 2nd overall⁠1​2

  • 1979

    Peter Russek Manuals Rally 1979

    August 1979. Terry Kaby and B. Rainbow (co-driver): 3rd overall⁠1

  • 1979

    Halewood Stages 1979

    August 1979. Terry Kaby and B. Rainbow (co-driver): 1st overall⁠1

Sources

Every source the site cites is on the sources page.

  • Primarymade at the time, by the maker or by people who were there
  • Referenceserious later work: clubs, specialists, magazines, books
  1. Chris Turner (credited by the club), "The Works Triumph TR7 V8 Rally Cars" and the car pages (group), TR Drivers Club, car page, OOM 512R; car page, OOM 512R: Culcheth and Syer, the Manx and the RAC, 1977; car page, OOM 512R: the V8 and the red livery; the 1978 and 1979 events; the Texaco rallysprint. trdrivers.com/articles21/rallyhistory.html Reference
  2. Motor Sport, Rally reports on the works TR7s (group), Jun 1976 – Jan 1981, Dec 1978, p. 68, the Granite City; Dec 1978, p. 68; Jan 1978, p. 43, the RAC 1977; Dec 1978, p. 68, the rallysprint and the Granite City; the Wyedean. motorsportmagazine.com/archive Primary
  3. Jeremy Walton, "Abingdon finds a new Healey called Triumph", Motor Sport, Sep 1978, p. 30, p. 30; p. 30, the Border Counties; about 240 bhp in the spring. motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/september-1978/30/abingdon-finds-new-healey-called-triumph Primary
  4. Keith Cox, "Gaydon cars with a TR7 connection", TR Drivers Club, rally car; rally car: Esgair Dafydd. trdrivers.com/articles21/gaydoncars.html Reference
  5. Jeremy Walton ("J.W."), "It's a long way to Ajaccio…", Motor Sport, Jan 1978, p. 55, p. 55, Culcheth's Manx; p. 55. motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/january-1978/55/it-s-long-way-ajacciao-long-long-way-tow Primary