Stephen_Gunn

By Stephen Gunn (UK)

Story featured in Wedge Ezine, no 7, June 1998

I'm a fan of all cars, 2.8 Capri, Supra, Delta Integrale amongst my previous steeds, however a friend ( I'm due to be his Best Man in August ) had a Dolomite Sprint, 2 TR7s and a Scimitar SS1 over the last 3 years. This lead to a desire to own a small classic sports car.

Anyway I had a BMW 318 and decided after a job change to have a car change, summer was coming and the prices of small open top sports
cars was low. I decided on 4 factors, reliability ( including parts availibility ), cost, drivability and looks ( including colour ).

I checked out several cars an X19, Scimitar SS1, TVR 280 Tamsin, none really fitted the bill, either too expensive X19 ( parts can be a pain ), too garish ( purple TVR ) or underpowered ( SS1 with a Ford 1300 ).

Then I saw LSL 361X advertised in a local paper. I was excited, it was within my budget, I knew of Rimmer Bros, Moss and TR Blitz so parts were not a problem, loved the shape, it was British Racing Green ( the perfect colour ) and it had only 1 previous owner with receipts
and history. I immediately phoned the advert and made an appointment to see the car.

The day came for the test drive, I arrived seeing the car in the driveway, it looked pretty good although not quite up my own personal standards ( cleaning the car takes at least a day ). The body work looked sound and there had been a full respray done, the interior was
sound with only slight damage to the drivers seat and the old MOTs confirmed the milage at 28,000. The 2.0 litre engine fired up first time and settled to a nice purr once warm. The drive went well and the car was sound with very little complaint from the mechanicals or
noises from the interior. I decided to buy, a price of £2,000 was agreed and I arranged to pick the car up when I had the insurance sorted out.

Insurance companies are such a pain, getting all the details done took a week, too long, I wanted to be driving. Any way the insurance ended up being £198 per year fully comprehensive with no milage limitation, not bad I thought. The car was taken to its new home. I decided on a full service straight away, better safe than sorry, and apart from a new set of brake pads the car was all alright.

Over the last few months I have carried out some modifications, the start of a long list, Mountney wood rim steering wheel, Momo aluminium pedals, NRA aluminium gear knob, a fire extinguisher in the center arm rest, a Pioneer stereo mounted in the glove box ( keeps thieves away ) and fitted mats from Rimmer Bros.

There have been some problems, the drivers side window winder packed up and had to be replaced, the alloy wheels were refurbished, the boot lock has been replaced, the carbs were sticking and had to be serviced and worst of all while driving at 70 mph the accelerator cable
snapped, thanks to a spanner and screwdriver I got the car home and fitted a new cable, I now keep a spare in the car.

There is still work to be done, the clutch master cylinder is leaking and needs to be replaced and the cylinder head gasket is also leaking, an unleaded head will go on when I do this.

Long term I would dearly love a V8, one in the eye of the greenies, the handling could do with being uprated, maybe stiffer shocks and springs and I would like to see what a TR7 looks like with 15" chrome spoked wheels.

It's been an interesting 1998 so far but I have to admit the enjoyment of driving LSL 361X is excellent and the amount of heads that turn is quite extraordinary.

Happy TR Driver,

Stephen Gunn ( Stephen.Gunn@valstar.co.uk )