I came from a cobra V8 to a 4ltr chim and love it , Go for it when in a better position you wont regret it >>>
JC..

8K should get you a good 4.0 but I'd thoroughly recommend that you get a specialist inspection, in the 8k price range you could easily get caught out with huge bills, especialy if buying privately. As for oomph, if you're used to a Westfield with 330 bhp/ton then any standard Chimaera, even a 500 won't give you the acceleration you're getting from the Westy..... that said, bhp isn't everything, it's the low down torque of the V8's that makes the experience special If you can, take one out for a proper blat before you buy... Give TVR Ecosse a call if they have one in stock you might get a test drive.... There are a few TVR owners in the Aberdeen area... I work in Aberdeen but live in Norfolk, I'd let you have a drive of mine if it was up there

Hi Dave, yep chassis is the first biggy to look at. There's loads of threads on here about outrigger replacements etc, but you really don't want to be dealing with that in the first few years of ownership so buy carefully.... If you're looking at high mileage cars then service history (as with any other car) is essential. Cam ware is particularly relevant and a worn cam won't necessarily be obvious on a test drive... Coming from a Westy, and your experience of high performance cars, I'd suggest a 450 rather than a 400... although I'm sure others may disagree

Good luck and hope you find the right car

Chilli

Hi, I came from a Cossie Westy, chipped to 270bhp, completely different animals, I bought a 2000 450, at least the wife will go in it!!!, Westy handling will see a chimp off,but get into higher speeds and the chimp is better imo, there is far more of a sense of occasion in the Chimp and its more useable weather wise.
As others say buy the best you can and imo try and get the 450
Rich

Thanks guys. Outriggers easy enough to have a poke about and check for condition etc I guess.
Re. The cams...is there any logic to when they wear out or any signs that are obvious?

I don't want to be pulling the car to pieces after I get it and spending money on it.

Cheers,

Dave

Sadly not, the body has channels to accommodate the outriggers, what you can see is not what rots.

The areas that corrode first are in the corners between the body & the outriggers themselves, road debris is thrown up by the tyres & deposited in the corners where it gets trapped promoting corrosion.

The upper radius of the outrigger tubes also corrode, you absolutely can not effectively see either the corners or the upper radius of the outrigger tubes with the body in place.

Whatever corrosion you can see from below with the body on should be considered significantly worse in these hidden areas.

Beware the Waxoiled car too, it may give the impression the car is well loved but it should be viewed with equal suspicion, it's all too easy to create a good cared for appearance on a rotten chassis with a quick & cheap application of a rustproofing wax.

I would prefer to see an honest untreated chassis than one covered in wax or underseal, you just won't know what's underneath.

The real solution to all this is to buy a Chimaera that's had the outriggers replaced already, all these cars are getting on in years, if the outriggers haven't been addressed already you need to budget £1500. - £2,000 to have it done properly.

A Chimaera with the outriggers done will probably only be worth £1000 more than one that will need it doing in a couple of years, so buying one with it done will not only buy you immediate peace of mind but will immediately save you money too.


Again, sadly not.

The cams definitely wear prematurely, the problem you face is identifying it when you inspect the car.

The Rover V8 has hydraulic followers that do an excellent job of disguising cam wear, it's a tricky one.

Like the outriggers the only real way to be sure the cam is healthy is to buy a car that's had it replaced reasonably recently.

A cam, followers & timing set will cost you anything from £800 - £1200 to have them replaced by a professional, but may add as little as £300 -£500 to the price of the car.

All of this may sound a bit doom & gloom, but please don't let it put you off what is an amazing car.

In my opinion you need to view a Chimaera as you would a classic car, it just happens to be one you can use in a modern way, it's an extremely competent grand tourer with a good turn of speed.

It has all the old school charm you could ever want & provides a huge sense of occasion every time you dive it.

Above all a Chimaera is massively undervalued in today's market place.

But if you really want to bag yourself the very best value Chimaera, buy one a that's had the cam & outriggers done already.

It will likely cost you only £1000 - £1500 more, but could easily save you as much as £2,000 - £3,000 over the next three years.

Thanks guys, really helpful stuff.

Sheel...your experience is particularly useful knowing that you've come from something similar.

Being able to head away in the car for a weekend etc with the wife would be nice which simply isn't an option at the moment with the Westfield as the wife hates it.

I like the idea of getting one that's had the engine work done and a chassis with a clean bill of health.Certainly not in a hurry so will bide my time for the right car.

Cheers,

Dave

I had a Westfield - so go for the 500 IMO to ensure you are left with a smile

Handling can be improved greatly without huge budget but it won't be to Caterfield standards but they are different cars & still very capable

Sounds very interesting and with all the worrying bits taken care off, rather cheap to what I've seen so far.

Still got to sell my car anyway.

Cheers,

Dave

Have you seen this, looks very nice.

http://www.tvr-car-club.co.uk/classifieds/classifi...