New build, old school shell on later spec chassis - discuss?

[jellison]

GTRene said:

so then a SBF is the 'better' way to go for?

did not know the difference in SBC and or SBF

would be nice though to have such sort under the bonnet, 331/347 Street Crate 425hp



is the 408/418 Street Crate with 515hp more difficult to install under the bonnet or is it not way bigger?

also, what is the engine weight in the same dress from say a Rover 4.6/5.0 and or SBF 302/331/408 etc.

performance wise the Fords look better and I guess more reliable with those HP figures?

Most of the difference weight will be inside the lump.

The size of heads can alter things a bit (Windsor or Cleveland - not an expert).

They will be a bit more weight than an RV8 (a dn very small all alloy lump originally designed to be 3.5 litre way smaller than the original 4.2 of the sbf and the 5.3 ot the SBC.

All will go in easy.

425bhp is a nice number to start at

[Slow M]

GTRene said:

...is the 408/418 Street Crate with 515hp more difficult to install under the bonnet or is it not way bigger?...

The 351 Windsor based engines have a slightly taller deck height. This makes an already difficult packaging problem worse.

On the other hand, if you select cylinder heads with substantially raised exhaust ports, it could make routing the header primaries over the chassis rail, and forward easier.

Best,
B.

[GTRene]

best I would like to see the exhaust route goes the more 'normal' way, so direct down and not to the front of the car and then down ala Griff and Chimaera etc
saves weight and less heat under the bonnet, also a cleaner look, but I don't know what is possible with, a say, standard M chassis model or older type's..

[jellison]

If you have a silly power lump like the top fia cars or Steve ex-one you have to loose about a 1/4 of the foot well to get huge custom headers in over the rails to make the most of the power in the engine. Std stuff is very restrictive.

People in the know or serious racers of these know or this so not "revealing" anything too earth shattering. Sorry no pic's mine is highly classified!

[PUP805K]

my250gt said:

For my next project Im thinking of rebodying a later spec car (I.e. chimeara) with an early styled body shell.
Why? To get the best of both worlds, modern running gear, reliable economic v8 performance with the style and looks of an earlier car. Using a donor car means no bespoke major parts.
My thought process is to use a catD car that would otherwise be stripped and sold for parts.
The shell would consist of the inner tub of a chimeara (so it fits straight on) and uses chimeara steering column, electrics, etc.
The outer style will be based on early Griffith/wide body Tuscan.

What's your thoughts on this project?
Thanks,
Phil.

Hi everyone,

New to this forum, although I am known on the TVRCC site as Geoff Gwynne.

I read with interest the comments about an old body onto a newer chassis. I am also part way into building a similar car, mine consists of a 1997 4ltr Chimaera chassis and Vixen S4 shell. I can appreciate the comments for and against, but at the end of the day it is my project and I will do as I please. I have been castigated for 'destroying' one of 23 1600cc S4's built but mine had already been 'modified' by a previous owner. The wheel arches have been flared similar to the M series SE and the spoiler on Kamm tail has been raised to resemble one of those red Italian thingys! To restore the body to original would cost a fortune so why not use it make something different. As Phil says, the chassis dimensions are very similar and either the chassis and/or body should require little in the way of alteration. I have spoken to the guys at Surface and Design and Johny and Brian at Lawfield and their initial comment is that they cannot foresee any major snags. One of my suggestions is to graft the floor of the Chimaera body into the Vixen shell which seems a simple solution that may work. My only concerne is the relationship of the V8 to the Vixen bulkhead, but as they said at S & D, you can do anything with fibreglass and ingenuity.

Geoff G

[GTRene]

that sounds interesting Geoff any chance we might see some pictures of that car/body?
I like wider flared cars.
And many TVR's started as a kit so you can make of it as you pleased me thinks.

[PUP805K]

GTRene said:

that sounds interesting Geoff any chance we might see some pictures of that car/body?
I like wider flared cars.
And many TVR's started as a kit so you can make of it as you pleased me thinks.

Nothing of the Vixen worth publishing, but this is my Taimar being worked on by Surface and Design in Blackpool.




Geoff G.

[GTRene]

wow, already nice even if its not ready, those wheel arches blinds me a bit I think.
good colour combo also at least for what I can see in the pica.

[GTRene]

I'm also a big fan of those looks>>



and this pictures is one of my favourites, its from the same car>>

[PUP805K]

The graphics are computer generated but give an idea of the finished article.....



Geoff G

Edited by PUP805K on Wednesday 16th January 21:22

[GTRene]

when do you think your ready with it and show us the finished car, also what specs are you planning?

I just came across this build.
how much hp has yours Jon? this one goes for 825hp

he says

said:

Here's a car I'm working on now, TVR with a slightly modified small block ford.
Puts out 825hp.... Car weights in at 2200lbs...... Probally could take an Enzo..

a bit silly power but nice to see what its becoming.





http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=32693.8175

[PUP805K]

GTRene said:

when do you think your ready with it and show us the finished car, also what specs are you planning?

I assume you mean the Taimar?

Specs so far....

JW Developments engine. Lightened, balanced, usual head mods, cam, etc, etc... about 180bhp.

16x9 Minilites, 245/45x16 rears, 16x7, 205/55x16 fronts, all on Toyo T1R's

Four pot calipers and Green Stuff pads. Minifin alloy drums and Ferodo linings.

Limited slip diff.

Flares as per photo's.

Adjustable dampers.

poly bushes throughout.

Etc, etc....

Should be back within the next four weeks, hopefully, it has been in Blackpool since last August!!!

Geoff G.

[GTRene]

sounds good, so its going to be a road and some trackday car I guess?
a bit more power also.

I was reading some older tests about the 3000M and Taimar cars and the weight TVR says and the real tested weight was mostly a lot more...about 100kg or so?
also the Taimar was more heavy then I thought, I mean the difference in 3000M and Taimar that I was wondering a bit about that, others say its just 30kg?

[Slow M]

GTRene said:

best I would like to see the exhaust route goes the more 'normal' way, so direct down and not to the front of the car and then down ala Griff and Chimaera etc
saves weight and less heat under the bonnet, also a cleaner look, but I don't know what is possible with, a say, standard M chassis model or older type's..

True, but there is an optimum length for header primaries, for extracting the maximum power from an engine. In the case of mine, it should be between 16" and 18", and that'll be nearly impossible to achieve by routing along side the block. I don't know what the losses are for having less length than ideal, we haven't bothered to run that through the software. In the end, I'll fit what I can. My passenger's side footwell will be 6" shorter as that's a good place for an oil tank.

Best,
B.

[Slow M]

PUP805K, welcome.

B.

[my250gt]

GTRene said:

a bit silly power but nice to see what its becoming.





http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=32693.8175

Blimey and I thought I was being radical!

Geoff - I'm at the stage of glassing the two halves together, I went for retaining the chim bulkheads front and rear and split along the top of the outriggers on both tubs. Fingers crossed it should fit well.

[jellison]

GTRene said:

when do you think your ready with it and show us the finished car, also what specs are you planning?

I just came across this build.
how much hp has yours Jon? this one goes for 825hp

he says

said:

Here's a car I'm working on now, TVR with a slightly modified small block ford.
Puts out 825hp.... Car weights in at 2200lbs...... Probally could take an Enzo..

a bit silly power but nice to see what its becoming.





http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=32693.8175

OMG

Noot for me. I like it to look original, even if a big of more uptodate creeps in I don't want it on show.

Poke er not that much!

Lets say the spec I have (trick modern alloy head (load of brands out there but from my research I think the one I have are the best), should give over 100bhp/ltre.

It is the heads that do it. Bottom ends as long as really well done are the base point for the rest of the lump (cam, heads, induction, etc) to make the grunt (you need a bombproof bottom end that can be rev'd into the range that those other bits "wants" to makes it power at).

Original HiPo heads even when worked by the best can only make you so much bhp / litre. If not fia you can do other bits like rolloer rockers, etc, etc.

A top spec full race fia 289 HiPo (built to the letter of the fia regs) would make about 430bhp. In period you would be talking 350-360ish.

Mine is a proper race engine - not something you can order in a box (though these can be good), built as an Enduro Engine (so not going to need rebuilding very often, but will still make a good bit more power than say a fast road engine.

[GTRene]

I think that from 350hp you already have a good feeling of power in such car like Grantura/Griffith or Vixen/Tuscan types.
about 550hp would be max and everything between 400 and 500 would be more then satisfying

I'm also a fan of the more original looks (so not like that 800hp monster) but I love them with wider wheel arches, some better then others though.
Also some nice wheels with wide tires that fit the car but a bit period looking ala minilites and the sorts.
Those are the more items which are in 'first' sight.

a bit like this Dutch car, very nice me thinks.





pretty wide at the rear to, although I'm not a fan of the roof-window or open roof, I like a one part closed roof, although you have to have some cabin pressure vent relieves, but you can ad those elswere.

[jastx]

That car 01 is beautiful!

Edited by jastx on Thursday 17th January 15:14

[heightswitch]

PUP805K said:

Nothing of the Vixen worth publishing, but this is my Taimar being worked on by Surface and Design in Blackpool.




Geoff G.

What size wheels and tyres have you used Geoff??
N.