FHC on bay

FHC on bay

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Discussion

Rockettvr

Original Poster:

1,804 posts

142 months

Sunday 23rd August 2015
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http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/TVR-350i-tasmin-/131584050...
Looks like a nice car needing a little tlc. £3500 would seem a good price too
Glens next project ???

fullpull

260 posts

166 months

Sunday 23rd August 2015
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Way too cheap. One of only 52 350i FHC!

ElvisWedgely

2,714 posts

164 months

Sunday 23rd August 2015
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I spotted this a couple of days ago, as I've never owned a fixed head and it would be good to own one as a second wedge. The only problem is, in my opinion it's a bit too pricy for a project. Before you know it, you would probably need a further 3.5k to bring it to a good standard, bringing the total to around 7k. I'm not sure if I should spend that kind of money on a fixed head for just occasional use, even if it is a V8. That's just my opinion.

Tony TCB.

stevoj

798 posts

160 months

Sunday 23rd August 2015
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It has to be worth every penny, after seeing the red one at BBWF i would buy it if i had garage space, even the wife has said why not rent a garage, idea

Personally i think if you got it completed for 7k you have a bargain.

bradderztvr

364 posts

146 months

Sunday 23rd August 2015
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I'm sure I'll be corrected, but excluding the +2's, 280i fixed head and early Tasmin FH's, this could be one of the very first 350i FH's, so it should not be under rated as a significant remaining piece of TVR history. Which makes it cheap, IMHO.

mrzigazaga

18,534 posts

164 months

Sunday 23rd August 2015
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I like it...Looks a good useable car, Has the usual battle scars...Has a rumble apparently so that might put some off but anyone who knows these cars will sort it..No engine bay pics...

db800

200 posts

282 months

Tuesday 25th August 2015
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It has to be worth every penny, after seeing the red one at BBWF i would buy it if i had garage space, even the wife has said why not rent a garage,

Personally i think if you got it completed for 7k you have a bargain!!!

My red one from the BBW fest I have been advised to insure it for more than double the above price
I have thought about putting in a bid for that one myself.

mk1fan

10,507 posts

224 months

Tuesday 25th August 2015
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My OH liked the Dutch plated one at last weekends meet. A V6 sold for not a lot just round the corner from us in Bromley - it was in a bad way - with an autobox which would have suited her.

General Zod

334 posts

130 months

Tuesday 25th August 2015
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Bought it! Plan to get it well sorted and use it as much as possible. So sick of driving modern cars...

Now I just need to get it over here (Belfast). Anyone know a good transport company?

KKson

3,395 posts

124 months

Wednesday 26th August 2015
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I used Anyvan.com to get a quote and move the 390SE from Southend to Herefordshire, near the Welsh border. Lowest bid came in at £228 which I thought was a bargain. Actual company that won the bid and provided a superb service was LMATrans.

Contact details below if you want to try him direct. I'd just go on the Anyvan website and put the details in and see who provides the lowest bid. If the reviews on the cheapest aren't all 100% positive then you can always except the next price up, you're not tied to accepting the lowest bid.

Name: John Ashton
Mobile Phone: 07472228807
Email: Goatracer@hotmail.co.uk

General Zod

334 posts

130 months

Wednesday 26th August 2015
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Thanks for posting that. I'll give them a try.

All quotes have been >£500 so far so looking like a road/ferry trip. What could possibly go wrong! Seller is being great which helps.

Any advice on performance, handling and braking upgrades welcome. Going to budget about £6k to make it as good as I can.

mrzigazaga

18,534 posts

164 months

Wednesday 26th August 2015
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As always with these cars make sure that if its being loaded via a ramp that its not too steep as either the exhaust or front spoiler will suffer...We should do a poll to see how many Wedges are in Ireland as i have an idea for next year...Possibly.

I think Delilah might be going to the fair city...Which is nice...She will love Ireland....smile

General Zod

334 posts

130 months

Wednesday 26th August 2015
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Thanks for the tip! I only ever saw Wedges at my local TVR specialist over here. Rare beasts indeed.

General Zod

334 posts

130 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
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Car is hopefully on it's way over shortly. Any advice on sensible upgrades to running gear? Is taking the engine up to 3.9 with a rebuild kit a good idea? Looking for a healthy 200 - 240 bhp. What about gearbox? Think it needs rebuilt but I see you can maybe just replace it with a better version?

wedgemaniac456

244 posts

149 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
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mrzigazaga said:
As always with these cars make sure that if its being loaded via a ramp that its not too steep as either the exhaust or front spoiler will suffer...We should do a poll to see how many Wedges are in Ireland as i have an idea for next year...Possibly.

I think Delilah might be going to the fair city...Which is nice...She will love Ireland....smile
I,ve seen at least 11 wedges in total over here Zig !

mrzigazaga

18,534 posts

164 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
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Hi mate...Upgrades to trailing arm...Brakes and steering are always good...You could speak to Engineer1949 on here..(John Halstead) as he did what looks to be a really sensible mod to the trailing arm set up...People have fitted different brake upgrades from AP 4-pots to HI -Spec brake kits..So can't really advised on that..
More power is always good...smile


Personally i would get the car to a useable condition and do all the above over a period of time...If its a keeper that is...

General Zod

334 posts

130 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
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Cheers zig. Exactly how does the trailing arm feel? What negative effect does it have on handling?

mrzigazaga

18,534 posts

164 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
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wedgemaniac456 said:
I,ve seen at least 11 wedges in total over here Zig !
Cool...Might be planning a road trip to Ireland next year...smile

General Zod said:
Cheers zig. Exactly how does the trailing arm feel? What negative effect does it have on handling?
Hi mate...Personally i don't feel any difference between the trailing arm set up on the 280i against the now "A" frame on the 350i...However when the trailing mounts failed i had a very scary wobble at the rear end at high speed on a motorway after going over a heavy undulation ...I say again...It was bloody scary...I eventually opted for the "Superflex" type which were more expensive but were a better compound than the "New" old stock ones that i bought previously which didn't last a year!...

If you do go the super flex route then make sure you tell them that its for a TVR as i went to the trouble of sending them the correct steel inserts as the ones supplied are way too thick to allow the trailing arm pins through.

When i had the mounts replaced the guy that was doing the work cleaned up the arms as there was some bad finishings on the trailing arm fixings..He fitted new washers and also did the 4 wheel geo...The handling was improved considerably and even the odd bit of hard driving was a pleasure...

I can't say that there was any "Negative" effects on handling..The only gripe was the limited amount of adjustment to positive camber...This does involve some fiddling around with shims but when done felt very positive...Even in the wet...Unless you have soft tyres....eek

If the car has sat for a long time then its possible that the mounts have perished and cracked....If a pin has bent then thats a right mission to remove it...But once done you should have to touch them for years...Periodical 4 wheel geo is advised to keep everything in good working order...Hope this helps...Ziga

Edited by mrzigazaga on Tuesday 1st September 20:52

General Zod

334 posts

130 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
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Thanks again. So just make sure all is in good order and the car should be perfectly OK. Sounds easy....

General Zod

334 posts

130 months

Sunday 13th September 2015
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Got it delivered- the company I used were great in the end. Can recommend to anyone doing the same (mainland -> NI).

Had a 60 miles drive from the depot home and really enjoyed it despite the rumble. Gave a good spruce up.

Good stuff: engine is strong and all gauges read well; has had new manifolds; seats recently re-trimmed; body is good bar a few minor scars; radiator looks new; wheels and tyres are decent; clutch done recently; history file is huge; MOTs dating back years verifying low mileage(58,800); exhaust is new.

Bad stuff: rumble when you lift off is pretty rough; rear glass broken; rubbers round sunroof useless (so a bit damp inside); some leather is tatty; feels like it needs bushes all round.

All in all, for £3.5K it seems a steal to me.