Woo, and indeed, hoo.
Discussion
Wedg1e said:
Between the two Wedges (OK three, sod it let's include the Esprit as they're also supposedly unreliable), since 1995 I have only once been left stranded in such a way that I couldn't drive home.
That once was in the Tasmin; I'd just filled-up with fuel, left the petrol station and drove about 100 yards when I hit a big pothole and the car spluttered to a halt.
It didn't take long to find that the fuel pump was too hot to touch, having seized, presumably due to sediment in the tank being jolted loose and getting drawn into the pump. Pump from a scrappy for a tenner and mormal service resumed.
The Esprit did something similar: with twin tanks like the TVR there's a common take-off at the bottom, however one of the tanks' outlets was blocked with a big dollop of silicon (god knows why it was in there) and as that was the tank with the fuel gauge sender in it, when the other tank ran dry the gauge told me I still had loads of fuel! Five litres in a jerrycan was enough to get the car back.
The 390SE has had rear brake seizure twice (precipitating the strip-down with which I've been boring you all
) but was driven home (carefully) on both occasions. The only other glitch was when the alternator brushes wore out leaving me at the girlfriend's place, 70 miles from home with a flat battery. I charged the battery overnight using a neighbour's charger and drove like a nutter to get back 
So whilst there's always something to repair, adjust, clean, refurbish or just twiddle, I never feel that I have to have a Tow Vehicle Ready
- in fact I've never had breakdown cover for the Wedges either.
Well done on the continuing resurrection. 2016 for completion? Doesn't petrol eat silicone sealant? Modern petrol seems to dissolve everything else. Biggest issue with handbrake is lack of use, can also fettle pads for an easier fit and easier release.That once was in the Tasmin; I'd just filled-up with fuel, left the petrol station and drove about 100 yards when I hit a big pothole and the car spluttered to a halt.
It didn't take long to find that the fuel pump was too hot to touch, having seized, presumably due to sediment in the tank being jolted loose and getting drawn into the pump. Pump from a scrappy for a tenner and mormal service resumed.
The Esprit did something similar: with twin tanks like the TVR there's a common take-off at the bottom, however one of the tanks' outlets was blocked with a big dollop of silicon (god knows why it was in there) and as that was the tank with the fuel gauge sender in it, when the other tank ran dry the gauge told me I still had loads of fuel! Five litres in a jerrycan was enough to get the car back.
The 390SE has had rear brake seizure twice (precipitating the strip-down with which I've been boring you all
) but was driven home (carefully) on both occasions. The only other glitch was when the alternator brushes wore out leaving me at the girlfriend's place, 70 miles from home with a flat battery. I charged the battery overnight using a neighbour's charger and drove like a nutter to get back So whilst there's always something to repair, adjust, clean, refurbish or just twiddle, I never feel that I have to have a Tow Vehicle Ready
- in fact I've never had breakdown cover for the Wedges either.Wedg1e said:
Impressive install, does it run the LT77 or the R380 'box? I'd imagine with that much grunt it could easily pull a lower diff ratio and still go like hell.
Refurbished LT77 with all seals and bearings renewed. Goes like stink as others will confirm I am sure! 1st gear is hardly used but the rest of the gearing is fine with 314 FT lbs on tap it will spin the wheels in 2-3-4 if you are aggressive with the loud pedal 
Wedg1e said:
smash said:
Yes totally reliable and always start on the button 
Between the two Wedges (OK three, sod it let's include the Esprit as they're also supposedly unreliable), since 1995 I have only once been left stranded in such a way that I couldn't drive home.That once was in the Tasmin; I'd just filled-up with fuel, left the petrol station and drove about 100 yards when I hit a big pothole and the car spluttered to a halt.
It didn't take long to find that the fuel pump was too hot to touch, having seized, presumably due to sediment in the tank being jolted loose and getting drawn into the pump. Pump from a scrappy for a tenner and mormal service resumed.
The Esprit did something similar: with twin tanks like the TVR there's a common take-off at the bottom, however one of the tanks' outlets was blocked with a big dollop of silicon (god knows why it was in there) and as that was the tank with the fuel gauge sender in it, when the other tank ran dry the gauge told me I still had loads of fuel! Five litres in a jerrycan was enough to get the car back.
The 390SE has had rear brake seizure twice (precipitating the strip-down with which I've been boring you all
) but was driven home (carefully) on both occasions. The only other glitch was when the alternator brushes wore out leaving me at the girlfriend's place, 70 miles from home with a flat battery. I charged the battery overnight using a neighbour's charger and drove like a nutter to get back So whilst there's always something to repair, adjust, clean, refurbish or just twiddle, I never feel that I have to have a Tow Vehicle Ready
- in fact I've never had breakdown cover for the Wedges either.All I'd say is there are 10's if not hundreds of threads on here that kind of show things are a little less rose tinted for a lot of people!
Genuinely glad you're not having issues tho
smash said:
That's great to hear but I was just kicking back at the 4.5 grand dig tbh.
All I'd say is there are 10's if not hundreds of threads on here that kind of show things are a little less rose tinted for a lot of people!
Quite so, and maybe there are two things at work there... firstly, people not doing their research to find out the issues and secondly, not having the skills, tools, finances or commitment to sort out the problems that do arise.All I'd say is there are 10's if not hundreds of threads on here that kind of show things are a little less rose tinted for a lot of people!
Some people get sucked in by the idea of a £4.5K sports car and then grumble when it's not the Ferrari/ Porsche/ Aston Martin they really wanted but for which they couldn't raise the cash.
I maintain that the reputation of TVRs being unreliable coincides with the spread of the internet amd young guys in the IT industry finding themselves with too much disposable income and not enough knowledge to fix the simplest things. Granted the simplest things often shouldn't happen but there isn't a make of car on the planet that is 100% reliable all the time: our office is near a Mercedes specialist and there's a virtual convoy of Mercs arriving on recovery trucks every day of the week. Personally I'd rather drive something obscure that I can fix myself than something as common as muck that needs a computer to diagnose.
And if someone was to offer me £4.5K for my car I might take it and run to the bank, laughing all the way.
I was actually talking to him about this then I went off the radar and rather rudely didn't get back in touch with him so I owe him an apology - sorry Ian.
Just ignore me - I'm being a miserable bah-humbug f
k wit at Christmas cos I bought a car I don't like, don't want and can't be arsed to sort. My problem. Imagine I'm the shouty drunk slumped in a high street doorway and walk past lol!
My brother on the other hand absolutely loves his Chim - it's in Central TVR having loads of mods, love and attention lavished and is looking fantastic.
Just ignore me - I'm being a miserable bah-humbug f
k wit at Christmas cos I bought a car I don't like, don't want and can't be arsed to sort. My problem. Imagine I'm the shouty drunk slumped in a high street doorway and walk past lol!My brother on the other hand absolutely loves his Chim - it's in Central TVR having loads of mods, love and attention lavished and is looking fantastic.
Wedg1e said:
if someone was to offer me £4.5K for my car I might take it and run to the bank, laughing all the way.
I'd say yours is worth a lot more than that Ian...Especially with all the work you have just done... mk1fan said:
Lewisham is a lot closer than 't'north'.
Black...Go nice with Tammy.....Wedg1e said:
smash said:
That's great to hear but I was just kicking back at the 4.5 grand dig tbh.
All I'd say is there are 10's if not hundreds of threads on here that kind of show things are a little less rose tinted for a lot of people!
Some people get sucked in by the idea of a £4.5K sports car and then grumble when it's not the Ferrari/ Porsche/ Aston Martin they really wanted but for which they couldn't raise the cash.All I'd say is there are 10's if not hundreds of threads on here that kind of show things are a little less rose tinted for a lot of people!
I maintain that the reputation of TVRs being unreliable coincides with the spread of the internet amd young guys in the IT industry ....
Yes there are hundreds of problem threads on here but that's the nature of things - people post to find out when things go wrong, and not so much when things go right. Do you really want me to post 10 times a week each time my wedge gets me to or from work? ;^) That would redress the balance somewhat - 600 new "success" threads a year.
adam quantrill said:
OI! I was one of them
There are exceptions to every sweeping generalisation 
However the early 90s DID coincide with youngsters going off to Uni complete with a car bought by daddy (some shonky old 205, let's say) that was fundamentally reliable so they never had to learn how to fix it by torchlight and feel whilst lying in a gutter while their girlfriend got fingered in the back seat by their best mate(s).
So when they got into IT at the ripe old age of 22 and started earning sh!tloads, the first thing they bought was a swanky sports car built in a shed and when anything rattled loose or a fuse blew they (a) didn't know what to do so (b) moaned like f
k to anyone who was within internet range.You really do wonder how TVR had stayed in business (granted,sometimes by the skin of their teeth) for the preceding decades if all their products were as bad as has been claimed - oh no, wait: their cars were bought by proper enthusiasts who had a clue and weren't sh!t-scared if a fuse blew
Biggest cause of reliability issues for any car is lack of use, also short journeys. For Wedges, add the "previous owner" as a major cause of problems.
Any car that has made it to more than 20 years old is so far past the original design life that it's difficult to blame the original manufacturer for faults. The exception for early Wedges being the trailing arm rear suspension.
Any car that has made it to more than 20 years old is so far past the original design life that it's difficult to blame the original manufacturer for faults. The exception for early Wedges being the trailing arm rear suspension.
fk me you bunch of s. I've had kit cars almost all my adult life - not one has been as unreliable as the now 3 TVRs I've had - fact.
Even when I blew part of a piston skirt off one of the cylinders in my cobra it still pulled like a train. I actually rebuilt that engine in a rented garage. Not much fun pushing pistons and rods out the top of the block from under the car with oil dripping on you. New KB Hypereutectics, Eagle forged rods, Ford racing heads, Weiand Stealth manifold, Edelbrock 600 and Innovate wideband later - I tuned that 302 well enough to match and see off a few 350 chevy engined cobs.
The cob went to Le Mans and back, The P4 went to Le Mans and back, The V8 7 went to Le Mans and back, the engine swap V6 MR2 went to Spa and back (i HAD A LOT OF FUN TWEEKING THE afm ON THAT. I think the only TVR I would have attempted that with would've been the cerbera which was actually easy to deal with with a laptop - in the end I had the pots balanced better than when it came back from Taylor TVR and had the throttle bodies spot on so much so the guy who bought it remarked that it pulled noticably harder than the other 3 cars he'd seen.
The only cars to dump me at the side of the road have been a Tasmin FHC 280 - twice with failed rear swing pin, and a Tasmin 390SE also twice. I replaced one of the heads on the 280 due to crack across valve seats letting water into one of the cylinders which also very nearly stranded me.
I have done plenty of fettling in my time.
The car wasn't cheap, everyone who had an opinion seemed to think it was a good one including those who'd considered buying it, it looked right - last owner 18 years, super clean chassis etc. and the fact I was on the rebound from an Esprit purchase falling through and all the rose tinting on here about how fantastic wedges are I bought it.
I'm nearly 50 and make no apologies for not wanting to constantly fk around with niggly problems that no one really seems to know the answers to on an archaic fuel injection system. I guess the irony is that the most troublesome part of the wedge is actually a Rover item. I tried to get it sorted by a local "specialist" who fked me around for a month.
It's great that you choose to do the stuff I used to do (and more) but now choose not to.
I'd wager only about 2 or 3% of people on here actually properly know how to sort the flapper system out (and it's generally not resoldering the ECU that gets rolled out regular as clockwork)
Anyway, load up and fire away - I'll leave you to it. You'll be glad to know I'm off.
If you see the car advertised next year feel free to dissect/slag/criticise price all you want.
Have a smug christmas x
k me you bunch of s. I've had kit cars almost all my adult life - not one has been as unreliable as the now 3 TVRs I've had - fact.Even when I blew part of a piston skirt off one of the cylinders in my cobra it still pulled like a train. I actually rebuilt that engine in a rented garage. Not much fun pushing pistons and rods out the top of the block from under the car with oil dripping on you. New KB Hypereutectics, Eagle forged rods, Ford racing heads, Weiand Stealth manifold, Edelbrock 600 and Innovate wideband later - I tuned that 302 well enough to match and see off a few 350 chevy engined cobs.
The cob went to Le Mans and back, The P4 went to Le Mans and back, The V8 7 went to Le Mans and back, the engine swap V6 MR2 went to Spa and back (i HAD A LOT OF FUN TWEEKING THE afm ON THAT. I think the only TVR I would have attempted that with would've been the cerbera which was actually easy to deal with with a laptop - in the end I had the pots balanced better than when it came back from Taylor TVR and had the throttle bodies spot on so much so the guy who bought it remarked that it pulled noticably harder than the other 3 cars he'd seen.
The only cars to dump me at the side of the road have been a Tasmin FHC 280 - twice with failed rear swing pin, and a Tasmin 390SE also twice. I replaced one of the heads on the 280 due to crack across valve seats letting water into one of the cylinders which also very nearly stranded me.
I have done plenty of fettling in my time.
The car wasn't cheap, everyone who had an opinion seemed to think it was a good one including those who'd considered buying it, it looked right - last owner 18 years, super clean chassis etc. and the fact I was on the rebound from an Esprit purchase falling through and all the rose tinting on here about how fantastic wedges are I bought it.
I'm nearly 50 and make no apologies for not wanting to constantly f
k around with niggly problems that no one really seems to know the answers to on an archaic fuel injection system. I guess the irony is that the most troublesome part of the wedge is actually a Rover item. I tried to get it sorted by a local "specialist" who fked me around for a month.It's great that you choose to do the stuff I used to do (and more) but now choose not to.
I'd wager only about 2 or 3% of people on here actually properly know how to sort the flapper system out (and it's generally not resoldering the ECU that gets rolled out regular as clockwork)
Anyway, load up and fire away - I'll leave you to it. You'll be glad to know I'm off.
If you see the car advertised next year feel free to dissect/slag/criticise price all you want.
Have a smug christmas x
smash said:
fk me you bunch of s.
Scott...I can understand your frustration and i more than anyone feel for you as i helped you find that car...And in fact very nearly bought it...Its a real shame that it has turned out to be a bag of shyte..For you at least....And your TVR journey has come to an abrupt end.k me you bunch of s.People on here try to help even if its of no help, They just want to see you driving your Wedge and being a happy bunny and that in itself is a blessing ...I was in the same if not worst position with the 280i and if it wasn't for people on here then i would of burnt it..Yes i really would of...And forgot about TVR full stop..
I spent a total of 9K on the 280i and then sold it for £1600, Admittedly it was cheap as i sold it to a friend..Who later slagged me off but it was the heat of the moment thing and i forgave him...I haven't got a pot to piss in now but I'm still keeping my chin up and try my best to smile each day...Life's a b
h then we die so if i can get through it then its all good.I have been fairly lucky with my 350i although its not been without issues...I had to spend over 2K on it just after i bought it and still have some minor on going issues which hopefully i will sort out once i know WTF they are!...
Maybe some people say stuff that is a bit near the mark and seems like they are slagging you off but people are people..Some don't give a f
k and some care more than they need to...If we were all the same then it would be very boring...Hopefully you will find something that floats your boat and we can meet up again next year at some classic car shows and have a laugh...
Keep well mate....Ziga
Hey Scott, you seem to have taken this thread as some sort of personal criticism of you... it didn't start that way and it certainly wasn't intended on my part. I never felt you had to apologise for not getting back to me, we're all adults and peoples' priorities change. I mostly offer to help people out to give them a boost to persevere with the car's problems. If they/you don't want to take it any further it doesn't matter to me, I don't make my living from this.
My car's just a hobby, I can shut the doors and walk away until I'm in the mood to sort it out. Some folk put their car further up life's list of priorities and I imagine that's when persistent niggles do turn into major dramas.
It was the 'IT brigade' I was digging at; the people who wanted a performance car for a budget price, who probably couldn't drive it anyway and who couldn't fix the simplest things, not the guys who buy a 10-owner, quarter-century old car and to hell with the consequences. In my experience the long-term Wedge owners are the guys who do like fettling, tinkering, rebuilding and refurbishing. Those who bought the cheapest car they could find (and I've done it myself) without realising it'd be a bottomless moneypit are the ones who don't tend to keep them - passing the issues onto the next owner and no doubt spending the rest of their days whinging about how sh!t TVRs are. You said it yourself: the bits that usually go wrong are Rover (/Lucas/Bosch) bits, not the bits that TVR actually did make themselves. The RV8 was never intended to be a sports car engine so it shouldn't be a surprise when it breaks if you abuse or neglect it.
I suspect what annoys some guys is when they pay a 'proper' price and STILL find problems, which I imagine is the camp you're in - and me too: I paid over £6K for my 390SE and still had to rebuild the engine that previous thrash-merchants had broken. As you said about your engine with a broken piston skirt, mine still pulled like a loco. I could have feigned ignorance, flogged it quick and moved on, but I stayed. I don't care what the car's worth: £4.5K or £4.50, it's irrelevant. It's one of my toys. When the time comes for us to part company I might sell it, I might give it away... or my executors might be ringing the scrapman.
As for the Esprit: if you think the TVR Wedges can be expensive trouble, win the Lotto before you buy a Lotus, if you don't like getting your hands dirty any more
Christmas
to you too
My car's just a hobby, I can shut the doors and walk away until I'm in the mood to sort it out. Some folk put their car further up life's list of priorities and I imagine that's when persistent niggles do turn into major dramas.
It was the 'IT brigade' I was digging at; the people who wanted a performance car for a budget price, who probably couldn't drive it anyway and who couldn't fix the simplest things, not the guys who buy a 10-owner, quarter-century old car and to hell with the consequences. In my experience the long-term Wedge owners are the guys who do like fettling, tinkering, rebuilding and refurbishing. Those who bought the cheapest car they could find (and I've done it myself) without realising it'd be a bottomless moneypit are the ones who don't tend to keep them - passing the issues onto the next owner and no doubt spending the rest of their days whinging about how sh!t TVRs are. You said it yourself: the bits that usually go wrong are Rover (/Lucas/Bosch) bits, not the bits that TVR actually did make themselves. The RV8 was never intended to be a sports car engine so it shouldn't be a surprise when it breaks if you abuse or neglect it.
I suspect what annoys some guys is when they pay a 'proper' price and STILL find problems, which I imagine is the camp you're in - and me too: I paid over £6K for my 390SE and still had to rebuild the engine that previous thrash-merchants had broken. As you said about your engine with a broken piston skirt, mine still pulled like a loco. I could have feigned ignorance, flogged it quick and moved on, but I stayed. I don't care what the car's worth: £4.5K or £4.50, it's irrelevant. It's one of my toys. When the time comes for us to part company I might sell it, I might give it away... or my executors might be ringing the scrapman.
As for the Esprit: if you think the TVR Wedges can be expensive trouble, win the Lotto before you buy a Lotus, if you don't like getting your hands dirty any more
Christmas
to you too Edited by Wedg1e on Wednesday 24th December 15:19
Wedg1e said:
The RV8 was never intended to be a sports car engine
Christmas to you too
apart from the Alvis mid engined car: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=rover+alvis+v8&a...Christmas
to you too Merry Christmas
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