TR8 DHC – KHP 565V

This TR8 is a very early DHC car having been built in August 1979, and 1st registered for road use some 7 months later in March 1980 by BL Cars Ltd, Triumph Plant, Canley, as a “TR8 V8 Convertible”. This date coincided with the launch of the TR7 DHC in the UK. The car remained at the works for two years until September 1981, when most of the TR8 development cars, plus some experimental cars, were sold off. There are at least five other “KHP xxxV” TR8s known to the club. The car has always remained in the UK.

I have owned the car since October 1998, and the previous owner, who owned it for over 10 years, spent over £5k having it restored at Robsport in 1997. I have since fitted powder coated restored alloys from the same source, a new set of Goodyears, and fitted a set of centre boxes to the exhausts, to return these to the original twin silencer two pipe set up, and to preserve my ears. The car is very original and has a very detailed history file supporting its 80,000 miles travelled to date.

The car is used purely for recreational purposes, and is kept away from wet roads as far as possible. It has featured in a number of magazine articles. That V8 rumble and the superb performance make every drive a joy, with the very direct PAS set up. I intend to hang on to this one.

The chassis plate reads TCV 200017 UCF, yet the car left the works, as it is today, with a UK spec 9.35:1 CR twin carbs V8 engine. This is known to be a replacement carried out at the works. No catalysts or other emissions equipment is fitted. There are a number of other details that are UK market, and not American spec as the chassis number would indicate. One must also assume that the car was converted to RHD at some stage, yet if this is so there is no evidence to suggest it, even the TR7 battery tray is in the right place in the engine compartment. There are no other TCV cars known in the UK, and I know of only one other in the world