As a teenager in Ireland, Danny Murphy has fond memories of watching (and hearing) Triumph TR7 V8s at full noise. Watching Tony Pond, Per Eklund and Roger Clark strut their stuff was quickly etched into his memory.
“They sounded awesome, and I said to myself that I would love to have one of those rally cars one day,” Murphy says.
His path strayed from British manufacturers to Japanese ones, however.
On moving Australia, he spent a long time in the ‘blue corner’, working for Subaru Motor Sport Group teams in both the World and Asia Pacific Rally Championships, as well as running his own Subarus in events throughout Victoria.
“I had a great competitive run, but that finished in 2005 when the Global Financial Crisis killed our sport.
“I’d done the Victorian championship and won the 2003 Group N title in a GC8 Impreza.”
The financial crisis put an end to the fun though, and Murphy began selling off his Subarus and the associated parts as he contemplated the next phase of his motorsport life.
“What was I to do now?
“After hours and hours on YouTube, I came up with a plan. I can’t afford a Lancia Stratos but I could build my teenage fantasy rally car, a Triumph TR7 V8, and so the project began.”
After plenty of research (and probably lots of sweet talking with his wife), he decided that he did actually need a TR7 V8 in his life.
Finding the parts for the cars because the big problem, but over the next seven years things slowly started coming together.
“The big problem is that the Chinese can make parts that look like the real thing, but there not,” he stresses.
The TR7 bodyshell was a “barn find” in late 2012. Peter Sweeney from the Melton Motor Sport Club had one his shed, after finding one in Kerang in the mid ‘90s.
“I heard about this and we did a deal and the TR7 V8 project started.
“The car has been built in my double garage at home in the Melbourne suburb of North Balwyn. The shell prep, cage and sand blasting before painting was carried out at home.
The only time the car left home was to get painted as I can’t spray paint - the car was taken to professionals to do the job.”
The car sports a Rover/Oldsmobile 3500cc V8 engine, as used by British Leyland under licence during the 1970s and 1980s.
It’s a genuine Rover 3.5 litre with alloy block and heads, and features 11.5:1 compression ratio, Keith Black flat topped forge pistons from the USA, Oldsmobile high volume oil pump, and housing, and a Seark alloy oil cooler.
Big valved ported and polished cylinder heads (with stainless steel valves), Kent H224 Cam from UK, Duplex timing chain and gears with adjustable cam timing, and chrome moly adjustable push rods are all part of the final package.
The engine also features a 6” Chrome Moly “I” beam conrods from the USA, Edelbrock inlet manifold with twin Weber 45 carburettors, and desert racing K&N filters.
The wet-sumped 7.0-litre windage tray is by Murphy’s own DMA Motorsport operation, with hand-made DMA Motorsport extractors.
The gearbox is a Leyland LT77 5-speed, wet-sumped and internally lubricated. The ‘box and its spare unit have been prepared by Glen Watson at Shift-Works (Transmissions for Motorsport).
Getting a genuine rear end in the car presented problems for Murphy.
“This was a big problem for me. I could not locate a genuine factory rear diff assembly, so I had to compromise,” he explains.
“I chose a Toyota Hilux diff, as there are plenty of ratios available. I had custom fully floating hubs and axles made, with Rover 127mm PCD hubs and a spool diff centre with a 4.6:1 final drive.”
Standard TR7 V8 mounts locate the suspension to the chassis, while a Toyota Prado telescopic tailshaft, with custom made Range Rover and Toyota Hilux uni-joints, were fabricated.
Murphy made his own custom suspension units, with MacPherson struts at the front, and independent shocks and springs at the rear.
Power is put to the road via Dunlop 205/65/15 tyres, on 15x7” Minilite replica wheels.
The car was completed for the 2018 Classic Outback Trial, but the engine suffered a problem before the rally started, so it was put back on the trailer and sent home again.
After appearing (without an engine) at the recent Rally Retro Day in Victoria, Murphy now plans to debut the car at next year’s Classic Outback Trial in Alice Springs.
“It’s been a long project, but it’s getting closer to completion,” Murphy admits.
“There are so many people to thank, and along the way we have generated some interest here in Victoria and in Alice Springs and Coober Pedy.
“We have had great assistance from the following businesses, and thank them greatly.”
• Skimbo, Talice Security (Alice Springs)
• Mike, Under ground Motel (Coober Pedy)
• Lucas,Lucas Automotive Subaru specialist w/shop (Moorabbin)
• Glen, Shift-Works Transmissions for Motorsport (Geelong)
• Andrew, Murrindindi Computers (Alexandra)
• Geoff, Nitrous Formula (Perth)
• Russell, Stuckey’s /Dunlop tyres (Melbourne)
• Tony, R-tech, (Melbourne)
• Andrew Paice
• Golly, Retro Rally Signage (Chirnside Park)
• My great lady wife, Casandra Murphy, for her never-ending and constant support and backing.
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“I had a great competitive run, but that finished in 2005 when the Global Financial Crisis killed our sport.
“I’d done the Victorian championship and won the 2003 Group N title in a GC8 Impreza.”
After plenty of research (and probably lots of sweet talking with his wife), he decided that he did actually need a TR7 V8 in his life.
Finding the parts for the cars because the big problem, but over the next seven years things slowly started coming together.
“The big problem is that the Chinese can make parts that look like the real thing, but there not,” he stresses.
The TR7 bodyshell was a “barn find” in late 2012. Peter Sweeney from the Melton Motor Sport Club had one his shed, after finding one in Kerang in the mid ‘90s.
“I heard about this and we did a deal and the TR7 V8 project started.
“The car has been built in my double garage at home in the Melbourne suburb of North Balwyn. The shell prep, cage and sand blasting before painting was carried out at home.
The only time the car left home was to get painted as I can’t spray paint - the car was taken to professionals to do the job.”
The engine also features a 6” Chrome Moly “I” beam conrods from the USA, Edelbrock inlet manifold with twin Weber 45 carburettors, and desert racing K&N filters.
The wet-sumped 7.0-litre windage tray is by Murphy’s own DMA Motorsport operation, with hand-made DMA Motorsport extractors.
The gearbox is a Leyland LT77 5-speed, wet-sumped and internally lubricated. The ‘box and its spare unit have been prepared by Glen Watson at Shift-Works (Transmissions for Motorsport).
Getting a genuine rear end in the car presented problems for Murphy.
“This was a big problem for me. I could not locate a genuine factory rear diff assembly, so I had to compromise,” he explains.
“I chose a Toyota Hilux diff, as there are plenty of ratios available. I had custom fully floating hubs and axles made, with Rover 127mm PCD hubs and a spool diff centre with a 4.6:1 final drive.”
Standard TR7 V8 mounts locate the suspension to the chassis, while a Toyota Prado telescopic tailshaft, with custom made Range Rover and Toyota Hilux uni-joints, were fabricated.
Murphy made his own custom suspension units, with MacPherson struts at the front, and independent shocks and springs at the rear.
Power is put to the road via Dunlop 205/65/15 tyres, on 15x7” Minilite replica wheels.
