Discussion
I had to go out to W.H. Smug at lunchtime and get a copy.
A few minor errors (the engine is a John Eales not Andy Rouse but is on the whole nicely written and complimentary, there is no conclusion section (probably because the Ferrari would have won hands down on everything except affordability.
A few minor errors (the engine is a John Eales not Andy Rouse but is on the whole nicely written and complimentary, there is no conclusion section (probably because the Ferrari would have won hands down on everything except affordability.
I was contacted by Sam Dawson..(Not sure if it's this or something else) and was asked if i knew any 390SE that i could put forward..I did have a couple in mind but it was at short notice and i mislaid the email somehow so time ran out sadly..But he did explain to me over the phone that the road test was merely carried out to give a drivability report about each car..Things like feedback whilst driving..Overall handling and comfort, Not so much of a comparison...Still its all good that Wedges are getting some recognition...Sounds like you had a good day of it... 
MrPicky said:
I had to go out to W.H. Smug at lunchtime and get a copy.
A few minor errors (the engine is a John Eales not Andy Rouse but is on the whole nicely written and complimentary, there is no conclusion section (probably because the Ferrari would have won hands down on everything except affordability.
The myth of the Rouse engine(s) seems to change with every telling; I'm sure it was Roop Kent (son of factory race driver John) who told me that Rouse only built TVR one 3.9L engine - and they never paid him properly for it.A few minor errors (the engine is a John Eales not Andy Rouse but is on the whole nicely written and complimentary, there is no conclusion section (probably because the Ferrari would have won hands down on everything except affordability.
The engine made the 275bhp that TVR conveniently mentioned when referring to every other 3.9 they sold afterwards, but it used about as much oil as petrol and was undriveable off the track.
Still, never let reality get in the way of marketing eh... works for Apple
I'm confident that my engine is a John Eales engine (JE1060) and I was told that the reason for the delivery delay from the factory was that my engine was the first from a new supplier. I was also told that my 390 was the 17th built.
After running in the engine was a wee bit limp so I had it dyno-ed to find the power down on 275 BHP so it went back to the dealer and eventually to NCK (TVR Power) who had the heads off and did some work to get the engine putting out 260 BHP, they said that they could make 275 but it would be undriveable. The reason for the visit was that the distributor drive had failed because of advanced wear to the camshaft gears. The distributor drive failed because the oil was over-cooled because they had not fitted an oil thermostat but stuck the oil cooler right out front where it got rather cold on the motorway. This failed at my first Zolder where I got massive help from Tony Abrams, John Simpson, Mike Traxton and Ron Vink - but they couldn't fix it in the car-park and i had to be recovered.
The engine has always used a lot of oil unless it is being thrashed and up to "ticking" temperature when all the clearances close up and it gets a lot better.
The hardening on the cam put in by NCK failed and deposited a couple of lobes round the engine as filings, the car was out of warranty by then so I had to rebuild the bottom end by myself. The shell bearings had done their job and although there were lots of bits embedded the crank was undamaged. I also noticed that NCK had only replaced the distributor gear wheel and not the one on the cam - cheeky bu**ers!
The pistons are forged Cosworth items and do look beautiful from the bottom, I have never had the heads off.
Russ
After running in the engine was a wee bit limp so I had it dyno-ed to find the power down on 275 BHP so it went back to the dealer and eventually to NCK (TVR Power) who had the heads off and did some work to get the engine putting out 260 BHP, they said that they could make 275 but it would be undriveable. The reason for the visit was that the distributor drive had failed because of advanced wear to the camshaft gears. The distributor drive failed because the oil was over-cooled because they had not fitted an oil thermostat but stuck the oil cooler right out front where it got rather cold on the motorway. This failed at my first Zolder where I got massive help from Tony Abrams, John Simpson, Mike Traxton and Ron Vink - but they couldn't fix it in the car-park and i had to be recovered.
The engine has always used a lot of oil unless it is being thrashed and up to "ticking" temperature when all the clearances close up and it gets a lot better.
The hardening on the cam put in by NCK failed and deposited a couple of lobes round the engine as filings, the car was out of warranty by then so I had to rebuild the bottom end by myself. The shell bearings had done their job and although there were lots of bits embedded the crank was undamaged. I also noticed that NCK had only replaced the distributor gear wheel and not the one on the cam - cheeky bu**ers!
The pistons are forged Cosworth items and do look beautiful from the bottom, I have never had the heads off.
Russ
An interesting read and a good write-up on the 390. I had one of a similar vintage to the test car and it was a different character to the 350. As the article described, loads of power but on the far side of 4000rpm, I personally prefer the driveability of the 350i. Interesting comments on here too regarding oil consumption. My old 390 (an early model) went through Mobil 1 at a fairly rapid rate.
Looks like a superb 390 in the article, long may it survive !!
Looks like a superb 390 in the article, long may it survive !!
c pryor said:
An interesting read and a good write-up on the 390. I had one of a similar vintage to the test car and it was a different character to the 350. As the article described, loads of power but on the far side of 4000rpm, I personally prefer the driveability of the 350i. Interesting comments on here too regarding oil consumption. My old 390 (an early model) went through Mobil 1 at a fairly rapid rate.
Looks like a superb 390 in the article, long may it survive !!
I reckon that the engine was designed/blueprinted for 20W50 oil, Mobil 1 was just too thin.Looks like a superb 390 in the article, long may it survive !!
smash said:
Guide price - "£2200 to £7000" for a 390SE - apparently the prices have gone down rather than up! :P
Paid more than that for mine, albeit from a dealer as most probably know and it requires paintwork over the colder months to get the bodywork perfect. But then as many say on here a car is worth what it sells for!
stevoj said:
Paid more than that for mine, albeit from a dealer as most probably know and it requires paintwork over the colder months to get the bodywork perfect.
But then as many say on here a car is worth what it sells for!
I paid six and a half for mine in 2000 and that was ballpark even then - the seller had had it up for 9000 (in London) and had a couple of people interested but not interested enough to find the money.But then as many say on here a car is worth what it sells for!
Blimey aint seen a Bond Buggy since i was a lad...In fact one afternoon i was with group of mates and we were travelling up the old A2 London when one shot passed us at over 100mph closely followed by a P6 3.5 V8 cop car...They eventually stopped in the hard shoulder and us being nosey pulled in as well..(Police were more tolerant then)..Even though they were out the car like a greyhound chasing a rabbit and swiftly handcuffing the driver...We hung about to see that the Bond buggy had an RV8 as well....
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