RE: Road-legal TVR Tuscan

RE: Road-legal TVR Tuscan

Tuesday 24th May 2005

Road-legal TVR Tuscan

PetrolTed reports on Shane Antill's road-legal TVR Tuscan


Road-legal TVR Tuscan
Road-legal TVR Tuscan

I’ve always been a fan of the Tuscan race car. Not only because of the spectacular on track action that I’ve yet to see bettered, but because it was a beautiful car in its own right.

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Originally planned as a road going car, TVR instigated the TVR Tuscan Challenge to stimulate sales. The first cars were offered at a discount to those who committed to racing for a season. Typically of TVR though, the goalposts moved and the road version never made it beyond a motor show prototype.

Pictures of that prototype show a neatly trimmed, smooth lined car, which boasted a hot Rover V8 under the bonnet. Personally I still think it would have sold like the proverbial cakes had TVR pursued the project.

Dazzled by the immense performance on track, a number of people have set about converting the race cars into road and track cars. Whilst the Tuscan race car shares the same build principles of TVR’s road cars -- space frame chassis underpinning GRP bodywork -- the task of making a Tuscan road-legal is all too often underestimated.

I’ve seen a number of these cars now and most are thinly disguised race cars, with none achieving the level of comfort and quality of trim that a factory produced road car would have achieved.

Recently I met Shane Antill who’s just finished building his Tuscan road/track car. Having toyed with various performance cars, he wanted a track car that he could push hard on track yet could drive on the road too.

He took a slightly different approach from those who’ve converted cars in the past. Having purchased a chassis and bodywork, he and Insane Racing built the car from the ground up.

The end result is the best example I’ve yet to see of a road legal Tuscan. Make no mistake, this is still a road legal racing car, but it’s very tidy indeed. A lot of work went into making the interior both usable and tidy. Neatly trimmed with full carpet, comfortable seats and -- unlike most conversions -- a dashboard that doesn’t look like it’s been retrieved from a skip.

The doors are still hollow, the indicators are operated by a switch on the dashboard, the boot still requires an Allen key to access it, but short of spending tens of thousands or more, it gets close to perfect.

Shane’s circumstances now dictate that he needs to sell the car and when I quizzed him about price, a wry smile crossed his face. He’ll be making a loss if he gets the £30,000 that he’s looking for he told me.

Frustratingly for Shane, conversations about price with people all too often lead to the “Well I saw a race car for sale for £15,000 and it will cost less than £10,000 to convert it”.

Ask any of the specialists who’ve converted these cars and you’ll soon find out that it’s not the simple process it might appear and you’ll need deep pockets to make it happen, and deeper pockets if it’s not going to be an expensive shed.

Many of the race cars have had hard lives and there’s not a single car out there that hasn’t been battered on track at some point. Bent, rusting and welded chassis are all out there waiting for the careless purchaser.

Shane bought his from ex-racer Rod Barrett and having ensured its rigidity he had it powder-coated. To the chassis were fixed new, race-spec Penske dampers, AP callipers and discs. A full fire extinguisher system has been plumbed in.  Fuel tanks in the racing cars are located to the left of the driver so a two-seat conversion requires it to be moved to the rear of the car – no small job. Protecting the fuel tank was also a concern so Shane had the already substantial roll cage extended to provide more rear protection.

Locating an engine for these conversions is extremely difficult. Quite a few Cerberas make it to scrap yards sadly but the AJP V8s rescued from them are a bit of an unknown quantity to salvage merchants. They know they’re rare and sought after but will rarely provide any sort of guarantee that the engines will run or are undamaged.

Shane held out for a long time until a 4.2 came along that came with a week’s guarantee – if it didn’t run then he could return it.  To buy the engine, have some new parts fabricated and to fit it to the car cost in excess of £10,000 alone. The AJPs fitted to road-going TVRs featured different ancillaries from the race Tuscan so there are dozens of frustrations to be overcome when fitting them. Road cars also require cooling systems that cool in all conditions, not just 50mph+, so that all has to be constructed too.

After much work with the DVLA Shane succeeded in getting the car fully registered as a TVR Tuscan, complete with V5 and all the necessary documentation – no small task given the curious history of the model.

What’s it like to drive? Trusting enough to let me behind the wheel, we set off for a blat around the countryside around Racing Green TVR. This may be an obvious statement, but it feels just like a race Tuscan! It’s a little more compliant in the suspension department so not every undulation shakes your teeth out, but it is a firm ride accompanied by a few race car like rattles.

The steering is very direct and requires a firm grip and strong arms – again just like the race cars. If sustained road use were intended then I’d certainly recommend looking at the brakes which are clearly set up for track use. When cold they require an immense shove to provoke retardation. The throttle too is also pretty stiff on this particular car, but again that’s something easily sorted.

Guiding the car through traffic and around town you might wonder – apart from the spectacle – why you’d bother with a conversion like this. Get near some twisty open roads though and the steering lightens slightly, the torquey engine lets you balance the car with your right foot and when in the groove it’s a very rewarding car to drive.

At the end of the day though, this remains a track car and that’s where it would deliver the biggest thrills. Being road legal is a bonus, being well trimmed and looking pretty is great, but the one place I’d want to take this car more than anywhere is on a track. It needs to be taken by the scruff of the neck and give it a damn good thrashing!

Time to re-mortgage…

This car is now for sale on PistonHeads' classifieds, where the full spec can be found.

Author
Discussion

tvrolet

Original Poster:

4,251 posts

281 months

Tuesday 24th May 2005
quotequote all
very nice :) but mine will be better ;)

...but probably not cheaper :(

like the article says, doing it properly isn't cheap.

WB

Terminator

2,421 posts

283 months

Tuesday 24th May 2005
quotequote all
And mine will be much, much better, much faster and a lot cheaper! Now, where's that 12mm spanner?

tvrolet

Original Poster:

4,251 posts

281 months

Tuesday 24th May 2005
quotequote all
Terminator said:
And mine will be much, much better, much faster and a lot cheaper! Now, where's that 12mm spanner?



12mm? Yer want an engine that's in IMPERIAL units. Now, where's that 1/2" spanner?

WB

jellison

12,803 posts

276 months

Tuesday 24th May 2005
quotequote all
mine uses Imperial and SI - How much Power tvrlet?

lap_time

339 posts

226 months

Tuesday 24th May 2005
quotequote all
Drool.

morebeanz

3,283 posts

235 months

Tuesday 24th May 2005
quotequote all
Not knowing a damn thing about race cars, but what's with that exhaust route?!!

htsd

263 posts

239 months

Tuesday 24th May 2005
quotequote all
TVR's all go out forwards of the engine then back under. Its a real work of art, thats for sure. It also shows you how far back the engine is! By the looks of things its an 8 into 2 into 1 type arrangement, with the 2 mating under the passenger side.

dinkel

26,886 posts

257 months

Tuesday 24th May 2005
quotequote all
morebeanz said:
Not knowing a damn thing about race cars, but what's with that exhaust route?!!


Looks pretty funky does it?

Love the interiour too. Basic

The 360 horsies from the 4.2 look reasonable. But you can even RR it if you want more . . .

30k is a bargain . . .

V8 Archie

4,703 posts

247 months

Tuesday 24th May 2005
quotequote all
htsd said:
TVR's all go out forwards of the engine then back under. Its a real work of art, thats for sure. It also shows you how far back the engine is! By the looks of things its an 8 into 2 into 1 type arrangement, with the 2 mating under the passenger side.
I thought this was largely to get a suitable length on the pipes (to keep the pressure up). It looks such a mess because there's a lot of length to get in before it exits at the side.

tvrolet

Original Poster:

4,251 posts

281 months

Tuesday 24th May 2005
quotequote all
jellison said:
mine uses Imperial and SI - How much Power tvrlet?

a nice round 500
to start with anyway

morebeanz said:
Not knowing a damn thing about race cars, but what's with that exhaust route?!!

standard routing on a race Tuscan. Benefits include keeping it out of the transmission tunnel so you can get access to the 'box, prop and diff far easier. Also means you can get a venturi thinimyjig at the rear without having exhausts in the way. Disadvantage in a road car is a wider/higher door sill and a cooked passenger

WB

vpinto

51 posts

283 months

Tuesday 24th May 2005
quotequote all
htsd said:
TVR's all go out forwards of the engine then back under. Its a real work of art, thats for sure. It also shows you how far back the engine is! By the looks of things its an 8 into 2 into 1 type arrangement, with the 2 mating under the passenger side.

From the side pic of the car you can see 2 exhausts. I guess that it is a 8 into 2, period.

Cheers,
VP

Graham

16,368 posts

283 months

Tuesday 24th May 2005
quotequote all
do people really imagine you can convert it to a road car for 10k !!!

ok mines a racer not a road car but even to fit that with a rover v8 cost about 3.5k in parts and thats not includng the engine !!!! and getting some of th parts from ebay !!!

Bell housing
Gearbox mounts
engine mounts
dry sump pump
oil pipes
prop shaft
starter motor
headers
exhaust ( from headers to side pipe)
je Alternator bracket

Then add Labour and the engine, and go back to the bank to ask for more cash....

30k for a road registered motor seems value to me...

although i do have a plan to maybe register mine, with minimal mods and only the one seat


G

tvrolet

Original Poster:

4,251 posts

281 months

Tuesday 24th May 2005
quotequote all
vpinto said:

From the side pic of the car you can see 2 exhausts. I guess that it is a 8 into 2, period.

Sort of I guess, but the 2 downpipes go in to a single silencer at the side, which then has 2 outlets. arguably its 8 - 2 - 1 - 2, but the perforated pipes in the silencer don't actually 'mate', so 8 - 2 is probably right too!

Graham said:
do people really imagine you can convert it to a road car for 10k !!!

ok mines a racer not a road car but even to fit that with a rover v8 cost about 3.5k in parts and thats not includng the engine !!!! and getting some of th parts from ebay !!!

Bell housing
Gearbox mounts
engine mounts
dry sump pump
oil pipes
prop shaft
starter motor
headers
exhaust ( from headers to side pipe)
je Alternator bracket

Then add Labour and the engine, and go back to the bank to ask for more cash....

...and lets add
engine
clutch
release bearing
gearbox
pedal box
handbrake
seat(s) & mounts
fuel tank & pump/regulator
header tank
battery
instruments
indicators
tyres
all trim
hundreds of hours on the bodywork
paint
etc

Graham said:

30k for a road registered motor seems value to me...


agree.

Have a trawl round the Ultima forum and these guys are estimating £40K+ for a build, based on a kit of around £15K. That's the starting point for a Tuscan conversion, little more than a 'kit' for the rolling chassis and body panels. Only when the Ultima boys buy their kits it's all ready to put together. With a Tuscan you have to make/refurbish half the parts yourself.

WB

GOM

1,650 posts

227 months

Tuesday 24th May 2005
quotequote all
htsd said:
2 matings on the passenger side.


'kinell!!!

stillbuzzin

15 posts

238 months

Wednesday 25th May 2005
quotequote all
mine has got a 350 chevy 420bhp easily

jellison

12,803 posts

276 months

Wednesday 25th May 2005
quotequote all
stillbuzzin said:
mine has got a 350 chevy 420bhp easily

What car are you talking about?!

Podie

46,630 posts

274 months

Wednesday 25th May 2005
quotequote all
wish I had a few more quid lying about...

darren no 7

558 posts

247 months

Wednesday 25th May 2005
quotequote all
i have a two seater tuscan for sale,fitted with a 4.5 cerb engine(420bhp)all the latest spec,car finished 3rd in championship in 2001,65lt fuel tank,can make into road car if required .£20000 call darren dowling 07958754726

ATG

20,485 posts

271 months

Wednesday 25th May 2005
quotequote all
With those side exit exhausts, just how loud is this thing going to be for someone on the pavement?? Can you BBQ pedestrians on the overrun?

dinkel

26,886 posts

257 months