Should I or should'nt I ??

[SEASPANNER]

Hi there,
I am new to this forum and am looking for some TVR advice.
I am thinking about buying a 4.0L Chimaera(96'ish)and taking her to Italy with me for 6 months.
Was there many made in Left hand drive,and many with aircon???
I am a little concerned about the reliability,heard lots of negative stories,but I don't believe everything I read or hear.
What are the parts availability and costs like?
Do you think a long run to Italy is a good idea?
Any TVR wisdom and encouragement from you learned chappies will be much appreciated.
Hope to join your ranks very soon.
Cheers
Seaspanner

[Big Al.]

and a big welcome to PH. OH

Probably be better placed over in the Chim forum, I'll move it and see how we get on.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Luck of the draw mate. Buy a ten year old car & it's in the lap of the gods whatever the marque. Spares may (depending on exactly which) & knowledge will be scarce in Italia.

[aerospoke]

Hi there

There are not too many lhd hims around and they are much more expensive than the rhd cars. Expect to pay 28 to 30k € for a good 400 Chim ca 96-99 vintage!
There is a TVR dealer in Italy ithink in Milan.

Cheers Jens

P.S.: Do it anyway!

[Cider Andy]

SEASPANNER said:

Was there many made in Left hand drive, and many with aircon?

I don't know the numbers, but there were certainly left hand drive models made, in fact there was one for sale on Ebay a few months ago in Italy, LHD. Whilst there were more cars made without air con, there's a few out there with it.

SEASPANNER said:

I am a little concerned about the reliability, heard lots of negative stories, but I don't believe everything I read or hear.

That's just as well because they're no less reliable than any other car. In fact I'd say they're more reliable.

SEASPANNER said:

What are the parts availability and costs like?

Well the engine and ancillaries are straight out of a Range Rover (albeit with a different camshaft and a few other parts). Other electrical parts are from Ford and Vauxhall parts bins and other parts are made by TVR. More or less all the parts you could need are widely available in the UK; the TVR specific parts will not be widely available in Italy.

SEASPANNER said:

Do you think a long run to Italy is a good idea?

No. It's an excellent idea!

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Cider Andy said:

In fact I'd say they're more reliable.

Steady on old boy!

Edited by 2 sMoKiN bArReLs on Friday 6th October 18:56

[Rum Runner]

As much as a TVR fan as i am , its prob not the best vehicle for you in Italy , especially if you are off on charter or owner time for a few weeks at a time , unless you have a garage and some power supply / solar panel.
Not sure how the interior / roof etc will stand up to being cooked on a daily basis if left outside .
What type of boat you on ? Sail or Power ? . Used to to be a skipper/ engineer myself , mostly Caribbean thought Sail & Power.
Best of Luck

[toma500]

Hi there look in the griffith section of the classifieds theres a nice looking griff for sale . Dont know if that would do for you.

[macdeb]

This TVR reliablility thing really ticks me off! On my fourth, went to Italy in one during heatwave. No problems whatsoever, with any of 'em. Just keep on top of it and serviced well.

Edited by macdeb on Friday 6th October 21:19

[SEASPANNER]

Thanks for all the positive input folks,pretty much what I wanted to hear.
RumRunner,I am eng on a 52m Perini Navi,in Croatia now.

[andy11]

[quote=macdeb]This TVR reliablility thing really ticks me off! On my fourth, went to Italy in one during heatwave. No problems whatsoever, with any of 'em. Just keep on top of it and serviced well.

Edited by macdeb on Friday 6th October 21:19

[/quo

Well said mate, fed up with hearing the same thing aswell, get it serviced and look after it and it will be no problem. If you are that worried buy a stepper motor, drive belt etc. That's all you are going to need.

[Rum Runner]

SEASPANNER said:

Thanks for all the positive input folks,pretty much what I wanted to hear.
RumRunner,I am eng on a 52m Perini Navi,in Croatia now.

52m Perini hey ! well i have now doubt that will keep you busy ,and TVR owners think there wiring diagrams look complicated !!, does its name begin with a the letter L ( just guess ).
The positive thing i forgot to say was , if you do have storage for the TVR then i sure it will be fine . Not the thing to leave in the marina car park or at the end of the dock.

[SEASPANNER]

Hi Rumrunner,
yes her name did begin with "L" but was changed during newly finished huge refit(10months).And yes you are correct about the wiring diagrams,thats a relief i thought it was just me...haha.You been on here?Was in a bad way before refit.
Yes i will have a safe place to hide the Chim..i hope.
cheers

[Don]

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

Cider Andy said:

In fact I'd say they're more reliable.

Steady on old boy!

Brand loyalty is one thing. Errrmmm...then there's being utterly deluded. Or possibly owning the very finest example of the car ever made!

Are Chimaeras reliable? Yes and No. Ours has gone through extended periods of being reliable. Then we've had the odd year from hell when everything goes wrong at once. For example: This year the car has done 500 miles - and all that has been to and from the garage to get it fixed.

Hopefully once past this current crop of problems it will be great again.

One has to remember that if you are getting and eight to ten year old handmade car it cannot possibly be as reliable (statistically) as a one to two year old mass-manufactured, modern high quality repmobile.

Still - to the OP. If you want to do it: WHY NOT!

[Don]

andy11 said:

get it serviced and look after it and it will be no problem. If you are that worried buy a stepper motor, drive belt etc. That's all you are going to need.

Err.. stepper motor, drive belt, starter (and hot start fix kit maybe), a range of gaskets, some spare HT leads a toolkit, plenty of spare coolant and oil and a copy of the Steve Heath bible.

I'm constantly gobsmacked at people who get from one service to another and claim they've had nothing fixed in between... its never happened to us!

However: go into ownership with eyes wide open and there's no reason why the car won't be great! Just be prepared to deal with the minor problems that inevitably crop up...

[snorky]

"I'm constantly gobsmacked at people who get from one service to another and claim they've had nothing fixed in between... "

Continue to be gobsmacked - it's true...mine went off to Automedon today for service after 5,500 trouble free miles, for the 2nd time running....

[Monkeylegend]

Go kick some Ferrari a--e

[Rum Runner]

SEASPANNER said:

Hi Rumrunner,
yes her name did begin with "L" but was changed during newly finished huge refit(10months).And yes you are correct about the wiring diagrams,thats a relief i thought it was just me...haha.You been on here?Was in a bad way before refit.
Yes i will have a safe place to hide the Chim..i hope.
cheers

Hi Mate
Know of the boat , not worked on though ,Had I Taiwanese boat once not once twice even that had interesting wiring / manuals. Of course in the Carib where you do everything yourself, as i am sure you know . Nightmare !!!. ( Love the Carib though !! )
Best of luck with boat and TVR ,good tip order the Steve heath manual it has buying guide etc well worth it

[Cider Andy]

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

Cider Andy said:

In fact I'd say they're more reliable.

Steady on old boy!

Edited by 2 sMoKiN bArReLs on Friday 6th October 18:56

OK, I might have used just a little bit of licence there, but four years ago I bought a brand new 'quality' German car. Three years later on the day the warranty expired it was in the garage (again) for an electrical repair that was a fault from day one.....

[Don]

snorky said:

"I'm constantly gobsmacked at people who get from one service to another and claim they've had nothing fixed in between... "

Continue to be gobsmacked - it's true...mine went off to Automedon today for service after 5,500 trouble free miles, for the 2nd time running....

I guess by the time you've covered 50,000 TVR miles in a Chimaera over seven years of ownership there has been plenty of opportunity for stuff to go wrong...