350SE 3.9 in the classifieds

[DIB350]

Anyone know anything about this car? http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/t...

The owner, who is a very nice chap, was telling me it was a factory special order rather than a genuine 350SE. I am in the market for a big wedge so it is of interest.

[ElvisWedgely]

It is a copy of my 350SE rather than a factory special order, and must have been converted some time after my car was produced. The reason I know this is because when that car was registered, 350SE's were not yet in production. In other words it's too early to be a 350SE. It would probably have been more convincing to copy a 390SE as they were registered earlier. I own the original 350SE No20 and have the original purchase invoice as proof. It does however look like a nice car but the danger of buying such a car is to make sure that it actually is a 3.9 and not a converted 3.5i with the 3.5 still in it.

Tony. TCB.

Edited by ElvisWedgely on Monday 21st July 22:24

[DIB350]

Thanks Tony. Good information and to be fair to the seller he is not trying to put it forward as anything else. I suppose this is reflected in the price.

[Furgie]

In reply to your comments about my 350SE. It is not a copy of your car and was a special order. Having found the first owner (now a company director in London), he confirms that having written off his 350i in 1989 he was able to made a special order for a 350SE Grey with a black roof for his company car. Also the TVR Club activist confirms that the club records state it has a 3.9 engine and it is a SE. I know is doesn’t make it one of the twenty-five 350 SE but it not a copy or a fake and might just be unique or the start of the idea for the twenty five.

[DIB350]

Sounds about right for TVR. They would make anything if you paid for it! You might just have something really special there. I was going to call you about but assumed it was sold as the advert was deleted.

[ElvisWedgely]

Furgie said:

In reply to your comments about my 350SE. It is not a copy of your car and was a special order. Having found the first owner (now a company director in London), he confirms that having written off his 350i in 1989 he was able to made a special order for a 350SE Grey with a black roof for his company car. Also the TVR Club activist confirms that the club records state it has a 3.9 engine and it is a SE. I know is doesn’t make it one of the twenty-five 350 SE but it not a copy or a fake and might just be unique or the start of the idea for the twenty five.

I apologise if I have caused offence by using the term 'copy' as no offence was intended. I was not trying to put your car down, as it looks in really good condition and is worth every penny you're asking. However, I have done a thorough research and spoken to people with far greater knowledge than me, on the history of these cars, and it is obvious that your car is not one of the twenty five originally produced as you have stated yourself. Mysterious things have happened with TVR's in the past and how yours came to be very similar to my No.20 is a matter of debate.

If you have spoken to the original owner who claims to have ordered a replacement from the factory to 350SE specifications, he did in effect buy a new car and should therefore have a purchase invoice. It would be a good idea for you to source the original rebuild invoice as this would clear the mystery of how your car came about.

When I purchased my car, I asked the owner for proof that the car he was selling me was genuine No.20 and he produced a copy of the original purchase invoice with chassis no's etc. which I still have today.

Did you manage to sell your car or do you still have it? I've been trying to sell mine for a while now and though there has been good interest, it still hasn't sold.

Four litre Wedges in good condition are a rarity these days, and are, and will be, fetching good prices. I am very pleased with my car as it runs really well and has never given me any problems over the one year I have owned it. If it doesn't sell, I'll just keep using it and enjoying every minute until the right person comes along.

Tony. TCB.

[Furgie]

Yes its still for sale but not advertised anywhere at the moment , come and have a look if you like. I will contact the first owner and see if there is any chance of finding the bill of sale as well.

[richard sails]

Hi All

TVR did build a number of 350SE's (approx 8, I can't be exact as I can not access the club database while at work) before they decided to market the 25 numbered special edition cars. This car is not the first or last of these un-numbered 350SE's but is somewhere in the middle.

It does look a great car in the photos, if I had the space I would be tempted to buy it myself.

Cheers

Richard

[gmw9666]

richard sails said:

Hi All

TVR did build a number of 350SE's (approx 8, I can't be exact as I can not access the club database while at work) before they decided to market the 25 numbered special edition cars. This car is not the first or last of these un-numbered 350SE's but is somewhere in the middle.

It does look a great car in the photos, if I had the space I would be tempted to buy it myself.

Cheers

Richard

top insights Richard :-)

[Furgie]

That's good news. Thanks Martin