TriumphTR7

Triumph TR7 V8 SJW 540S

The works TR7 V8 that won the 24 Hours of Ypres on its first event, in June 1978, and the Manx Rally that September, with Tony Pond and Fred Gallagher, and now at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon.

SJW 540S in its red, white and blue, seen from the front three-quarter in a museum hall.
SJW 540S from the front three-quarter, its lamp pods on the nose and TRIUMPH across the top of the windscreen (windshield), at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon, in November 2023.andreboeni, CC BY 2.0

Daniele Audetto ran Lancia's rally team, and a Stratos had just been beaten. After the 24 Hours of Ypres in June 1978 he told Motor Sport:

It's fantastic this car . . . maybe the best in the World for tarmac. You know, we don't think Pond needed even to drive at maximum speed to beat the Stratos… and the Escort.

Daniele Audetto, as quoted by Jeremy Walton, Motor Sport, September 1978

The car was SJW 540S, out for the first time, and its crew were Tony Pond and Fred Gallagher.⁠1​2​3

Built at Abingdon

Sources for SJW 540S

Chris Turner (credited by the club), "The Works Triumph TR7 V8 Rally Cars" and the car pages (group), TR Drivers Club⁠2; Keith Cox, "Gaydon cars with a TR7 connection", TR Drivers Club⁠3; Jeremy Walton, "Abingdon finds a new Healey called Triumph", Motor Sport, Sep 1978, p. 30⁠1; Motor Sport, Rally reports on the works TR7s (group), Jun 1976 – Jan 1981⁠4; John Davenport, "Public face, private man" (Tony Pond), Motor Sport, Apr 2002, p. 60⁠5

A red, white and blue TR7 V8 rally car, number 2, with four lamps in its nose, on a museum floor.
SJW 540S in the museum at Gaydon in June 2018: the red, white and blue the works cars wore from 1978, with its number 2 and its lamp pods.Vauxford, CC BY-SA 4.0

SJW 540S was built at Abingdon for the 1978 season, a V8 from the start. Where its shell came from is less certain: its registration is in the run Graham Fountain gives for the Sprints of BL's press garage, and the club's Sprint survey lists it, so it may have begun as a TR7 Sprint; no source read settles it.

In 1978 the V8 ran on two Weber carburettors, and Motor Sport's Jeremy Walton reported the team's V8s gaining power through the summer, from about 240 bhp to 260 for the Scottish in June and 293 at the flywheel by the Burmah in August. The rallying page describes the cars and how they changed.⁠2​6​7​1

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Ypres and the Manx, 1978

At Ypres, in Belgium, in June 1978, Pond and Gallagher beat Tony Carello's Lancia Stratos and Gilbert Staepelaere's works Ford Escort, on tarmac that suited the V8. In September they won the Manx Trophy Rally, after Hannu Mikkola, the one rival on their pace, went off the road with a puncture. In 2002 John Davenport, who had run BL's motor sport, remembered the season in his tribute to Pond:

He took on some lofty opposition on rallies like the Manx Trophy and the 24 Hours of Ypres, and came out firmly on top.

John Davenport, Motor Sport, April 2002⁠2​1​5​4
The tail of a red, white and blue rally car numbered 2, with sponsor decals, in a museum hall.
The car's tail at Gaydon in June 2018: the TR7 badge, Champion, Bilstein and Castrol decals on the rear wing (fender) and a period slogan on the back window.Vauxford, CC BY-SA 4.0

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After the Manx, 1978–79

In November 1978 the car went to the Tour de Corse, a round of the world championship, and retired when its gearbox (transmission) ran dry; the rallying page tells what was found afterwards. On the RAC Rally that month, in the British Airways colours the team wore for it, Pond and Gallagher finished 4th. It was Pond's last event for Leyland before he left to drive for Chrysler and Talbot in 1979.

In 1979 other crews had it, Graham Elsmore and S. Harrold first, then Terry Kaby and T. McMahon; the results below give their events.⁠2​4​5​8

A red, white and blue rally car coming head-on along a stage, lamps covered on its nose.
SJW 548S, another works V8, head-on along the Race Retro stage at Stoneleigh Park in March 2008, lettered for British Airways.estoril, CC BY 2.0

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At Gaydon

No source read records when it went to the museum, or its chassis number.⁠2​3

A red, white and blue rally car numbered 2 side-on, with flared wheel arches, in a museum hall.
The car in profile at Gaydon in August 2021, its flared arches and number 2 on the door.35mmMan, CC BY 2.0

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Where it has been

  1. 1978

    First used by the works team

    Built at Abingdon and "fitted from new with the V8 engine" (TR Drivers Club). The museum's notes say the SJW cars were built "from a batch of discarded production TR7s". The TR Drivers Club's Sprint survey lists this registration among the Sprints, and Graham Fountain (1991) says 23 Sprints went to BL's press garage with SJW registrations in the 520s–550s, so whether it began as a Sprint is not known. Now on display at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon

    Chris Turner (credited by the club), "The Works Triumph TR7 V8 Rally Cars" and the car pages (group), TR Drivers Club⁠2; Keith Cox, "Gaydon cars with a TR7 connection", TR Drivers Club⁠3; Jim Johnson, TR7 Sprint articles (group): "The Original TR7 Sprint", "Update June 2005", "Early TR7 Sprint Competition Cars", TR Drivers Club⁠6; Graham Fountain, "The TR7 Sprint Story", TR Driver (TR Drivers Club), 1991 no. 2⁠7

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Results

A yellow year marks a win.

  • 1978

    24 Hours of Ypres 1978

    June 1978, Ypres, Belgium. Tony Pond and Fred Gallagher (co-driver): 1st overall⁠2​1​5​9

  • 1978

    Manx Trophy Rally 1978

    September 1978, Isle of Man. Tony Pond and Fred Gallagher (co-driver): 1st overall⁠2​4​5

  • 1978

    Tour de Corse 1978

    November 1978, Corsica, France. Tony Pond and Fred Gallagher (co-driver): retired: gearbox ran dry; its drain plug was found loose⁠2​4

  • 1978

    Lombard RAC Rally 1978

    November 1978, Great Britain. Tony Pond and Fred Gallagher (co-driver): 4th overall⁠2​5​4

  • 1979

    Mintex Rally 1979

    February 1979. Graham Elsmore and S. Harrold (co-driver): retired: engine⁠2

  • 1979

    Welsh Rally 1979

    May 1979, Wales. Graham Elsmore and S. Harrold (co-driver): retired⁠2

  • 1979

    Scottish Rally 1979

    June 1979, Scotland. Graham Elsmore and S. Harrold (co-driver): retired: engine⁠2

  • 1979

    Manx Trophy Rally 1979

    September 1979, Isle of Man. Terry Kaby and T. McMahon (co-driver): 4th overall⁠2

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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. Jeremy Walton, "Abingdon finds a new Healey called Triumph", Motor Sport, Sep 1978, p. 30, p. 30, Audetto after Ypres; p. 30; p. 30, the twin Webers; 240, 260 and 293 bhp; p. 30, Ypres: Carello and Staepelaere. motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/september-1978/30/abingdon-finds-new-healey-called-triumph Primary
  2. Chris Turner (credited by the club), "The Works Triumph TR7 V8 Rally Cars" and the car pages (group), TR Drivers Club, car page, SJW 540S; car page, SJW 540S: built at Abingdon, V8 from new; car page, SJW 540S: Ypres and the Manx, 1978; car page, SJW 540S: Corsica, the RAC and 1979; car page, SJW 540S: at the museum. trdrivers.com/articles21/rallyhistory.html Reference
  3. Keith Cox, "Gaydon cars with a TR7 connection", TR Drivers Club, rally car; rally car at Gaydon. trdrivers.com/articles21/gaydoncars.html Reference
  4. Motor Sport, Rally reports on the works TR7s (group), Jun 1976 – Jan 1981, Dec 1978, p. 68; Dec 1978, p. 68, the Manx; Dec 1978, p. 62, Corsica; Jan 1979, p. 47, the RAC; Dec 1978, p. 62; Jan 1979, p. 47. motorsportmagazine.com/archive Primary
  5. John Davenport, "Public face, private man" (Tony Pond), Motor Sport, Apr 2002, p. 60, p. 60; p. 60, "He took on some lofty opposition …"; p. 60, the RAC 1978. motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/april-2002/60/public-face-private-man Reference
  6. Jim Johnson, TR7 Sprint articles (group): "The Original TR7 Sprint", "Update June 2005", "Early TR7 Sprint Competition Cars", TR Drivers Club, the Sprint survey's SJW registrations; The Original TR7 Sprint (survey of registrations). trdrivers.com/articles21/tr7sprint2.html Reference
  7. Graham Fountain, "The TR7 Sprint Story", TR Driver (TR Drivers Club), 1991 no. 2, the press garage's SJW registrations in the 520s to 550s. trdrivers.com/articles21/tr7sprintarticle-1991.html Reference
  8. Motor Sport, News, editorials and short items on the TR7 (group), Jul 1975 – Aug 1981; Apr 2002, Nov 1978, p. 69, British Airways; Pond to Talbot. motorsportmagazine.com/archive Primary
  9. Aaron Severson, "Way of the Wedge: The Triumph TR7 and TR8", Ate Up With Motor, 5 Feb 2012, pp. 1–5, p. 3. ateupwithmotor.com/model-histories/triumph-tr7-tr8 Reference

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