Vixen S2 For Sale - 1 Owner

[tomtrout]

Good spot. Was the owner a sheep rustler at the time?

[oliverb205]

It was probably still a damn sight cooler than sitting on those vinyl seats whilst wearing shorts - I only made that mistake once! Think it came from the Lake District (Grange over Sands rings a bell), so anything's possible.

Oliver.

[Mr Tiger]

moluag said:

The seat cushions look exactly right to me, certainly seem to be identical to my Tuscan which was also delivered in late 1971.

Thanks for putting me right. I've got lots to learn.

The warning lights in the dash seem to be arranged differently to others I've seen. Should the switch panel have a wood grain effect and the small dials look more like S4 spec although a bit hard to tell from the photo. I think the choke cable isn't the original pattern for the Triumph engine. I'm determined to find something non original now that the seats cushions are

Would you post some pics of your Tuscan please? It would be great to see your car and probably a good reference source for some of us - especially beginners like myself!

Chris

[prideaux]

The seats look like the later seats that you get in the early M where they had ditched the Vinyl cushions for fabric of some sort
A

[android]

Would be interested to hear how the 2500 stacks up compared to a crossflow engined one. Does the extra weight up front upset the apple cart and make it less chuckable ?
I know there's tuning potential with the lump,triple webers etc maybe that would make up for it,but I haven't seen many modded ones. Can't beat the sound of an on-song straight 6 IMO.

[jim3000s]

Fit a crossflow. Apart from originality issues, and a good sound, the Triumph six is not a desirable engine. IMHO of course. I have a 2500 Vixen and plan an engine swap.

[Polejoe]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8igoUQzGUI

And you want to swap it for an old 4 pot nail ? If you're going to swap Jim put something better than the 6 pot there not worse ! The six isn't that bad an engine, heavy yes but not a bad engine.

Edited by Polejoe on Sunday 14th September 12:12

Edited by Polejoe on Sunday 14th September 12:17

[hedgefinder]

well, I viewed the car in the original post on this thread it this morning along with another vixen on my return journey and it is definately a project car.
Some good points and some bad. In case anyone else is interested -


Did the factory hand engrave some of the chassis data plates ???

I have alwsys seen stamped vin number plates... this car has them engraved, and its registered on the engine number.. which all looked rather odd, and made me a tad suspicious but I am definately not an expert on early TVR vin plates..

The V5 also shows 2 owners since 75, not one, but they are father and son.
V5 also shows the car to be yellow...
No evidence of one owner from new, and virtually no paper history at all for the car to back anything up, although the owner seems a very nice genuine chap, so probably true.
The car I beleive from memory is a late s3 on an M chassis....although the owner insists its an S2.
Not been run started or even turned over for about 9 years,
body pretty good with minimal crazing or stress cracks, few minor glass repairs to door hinge mounts and front inner arch panels.
not orignal paint, s may well have been yellow...who knows without further investigation.
Both doors will require hinge replacement or refurbishment, fair bit of play in them , but doors close ok..
interior needs a bit or work and headlining will require replacement
Clutch pedal seized,no fluid either, clutch possibly seized.
brakes seized.
Dash quite nice,
all glass appears good.
Car seems very original with nothing missing that I was aware of.
Both rear bumper quarters have been drilled to mount the extra lights.. yuk..
underside shows large oil leaks from engine,gearbox and back axle.
Therefore all mechanical components are an unknown, owner wasnt aware exactly what their condition was when it was garaged.
Chassis is far better than I was expecting, with possibly only a few small repairs needed, but obviously not guaranteed until you get it up on a lift to do a proper inspection.
Has had a stainless exhaust at some point in the distant past which will be usuable again.... and doubtless will sound wonderful with the 6.
1 front wheel has a large chunk missing out of the rim.
Bonnet is not a very good fit and does not close without help.
all in all it appears to have been run with little maintenance unless something went bang or was definately required..



I might make an offer on the car, but I get the feeling it probably wont be accepted, its a project that could end up a lot more than the buyer is expecting... or they could get a pleasant surprise, but either way it would have to be substantially cheaper for me to take a further gamble on it considering what else is currently n the market around that price give or take 2k.. I ould have made an offer this morning, but was rather tired after a bad day yesterday and wary of not weighing it up with enough thought...

And also considering my drunken purchase of a couple of weeks ago without viewing. lol...

Edited by hedgefinder on Sunday 14th September 19:05

[Cerberus90]

android said:

Would be interested to hear how the 2500 stacks up compared to a crossflow engined one. Does the extra weight up front upset the apple cart and make it less chuckable ?
I know there's tuning potential with the lump,triple webers etc maybe that would make up for it,but I haven't seen many modded ones. Can't beat the sound of an on-song straight 6 IMO.

At the TVRCC Cadwell trackday there's a chap with a 2500 Vixen (still on standard carbs) (Ed), and it goes very very well. This year we went into the same group, and we couldn't keep up on the straights with a tuned xflow (120Bhp). Corners I think were about even (until we started throwing fuel out the back, ). I certainly wouldn't discount a 2500 now, did sound great too.

[Mr Tiger]

The VIN plates all seem to be hand scratched / etched, even on modern TVRs apparently. This scared me when I bought my 2500 last year. The TVRCC put my mind at rest thankfully.

I've not heard of a car being registered on the engine number though. Doesn't the V5 show the chassis number also?

I've never had the pleasure of a drive in a 1600 Vixen so I can't really make a comparison. I did have an MG Midget for 20 years though. That weighs about the same as a Vixen and it was certainly chuckable. The 2500 isn't IMHO. It's still a lovely car with great character though.

I'm pleasantly surprised to hear of a 2500 holding its own against a 120 bhp x-flow car. I would have thought the extra weight would have hampered its cornering. The Road & Track road test of the Vixen 2500 did state the weight distribution is 50/50 front to rear though with the driver in the car and you can't get much better than that.

If this car has the M series chassis it makes it even rarer.

Does anyone know how many RHD Vixen 2500s were made BTW?

Chris

[hedgefinder]

Mr Tiger said:

The VIN plates all seem to be hand scratched / etched, even on modern TVRs apparently. This scared me when I bought my 2500 last year. The TVRCC put my mind at rest thankfully.

I've not heard of a car being registered on the engine number though. Doesn't the V5 show the chassis number also?

I've never had the pleasure of a drive in a 1600 Vixen so I can't really make a comparison. I did have an MG Midget for 20 years though. That weighs about the same as a Vixen and it was certainly chuckable. The 2500 isn't IMHO. It's still a lovely car with great character though.

I'm pleasantly surprised to hear of a 2500 holding its own against a 120 bhp x-flow car. I would have thought the extra weight would have hampered its cornering. The Road & Track road test of the Vixen 2500 did state the weight distribution is 50/50 front to rear though with the driver in the car and you can't get much better than that.

If this car has the M series chassis it makes it even rarer.

Does anyone know how many RHD Vixen 2500s were made BTW?

Chris

thats odd regarding your comment on the vin tags as the 1972 1600m I have sitting outside has a stamped vin plate.
And no, the car only had the engine numnber on the V5 log book.
supposedly the car was ordered with a ford v6, but there was a 6 month wait for more engines, so they sent it with a triumph 6 instead, but the guy insists its an S2 car as well and that it was never yellow but the DVLA didnt allow Orange as a colour on the log book, which I have never heard before..
Like I said, a few things a little odd about the car, but might be nothing, the lack of any history was the more disappointing thing for me if I am honest.

[anonymous-user]

A rare 70/71 car with a chassis not available till 1972...sounds a bit odd?

[hedgefinder]

TVRMs said:

A rare 70/71 car with a chassis not available till 1972...sounds a bit odd?

yes, the whole car seems a little odd and its history which doesnt seem to be proven or add up completely... I am sure it had a late chassis number, admittedly seen in a dark garage ,but didnt write it down unfortunately.... looking at pictures of a vixen chassis I remember it did have the tubular u shaped crossover tube behind the engine and definately had a hydraulic clutch...... which was seized solid.
I am definately NOT an expert on TVRs, so I could be wrong on a couple of points - I only used chassis number given on a website as a guide to which model . But I can assure you I am not wrong on its condition.


The guy told me that the car was ordered in 1971 with a ford v6, but there was an engine shortage and he would have to wait 6 motnhs so was offered a tr6 engine instead, he built the car from the delivered kit and had it registered by a local garage. He then worked abroad and the car was used by his father until it was laid up and left unused basically as it sits now.

Edited by hedgefinder on Monday 15th September 16:53

[hedgefinder]

the site I took the infromation said that the first 289 x 2500s were on the vixen chassis and the rest after that were on the M chassis.
with chassis numbers from 1745/6T - 2703/T.

I beleive that the car in question has a chassis number of just under 2100.
therefore if the that information is correct the car should be on an M chassis...???

[android]

Cerberus90 said:

At the TVRCC Cadwell trackday there's a chap with a 2500 Vixen (still on standard carbs) (Ed), and it goes very very well. This year we went into the same group, and we couldn't keep up on the straights with a tuned xflow (120Bhp). Corners I think were about even (until we started throwing fuel out the back, ). I certainly wouldn't discount a 2500 now, did sound great too.

All good info from all of you,thanks. Still no closer to getting the answer though. With Tivs it can be down to the car itself as well i guess,sorted/dog. Not that there are that many around to pick and choose. Whatever happened to Exchange & Mart ?!!

[anonymous-user]

hedgefinder said:

the site I took the infromation said that the first 289 x 2500s were on the vixen chassis and the rest after that were on the M chassis.
with chassis numbers from 1745/6T - 2703/T.

I beleive that the car in question has a chassis number of just under 2100.
therefore if the that information is correct the car should be on an M chassis...???

Car was registered 1970-71 before the m chassis was manufactured so something not right.

[prideaux]

android said:

Whatever happened to Exchange & Mart ?!!

Those where the days when you really could pick up a bargain as sellers who had a car sitting around for years in the garage who decided to sell just priced it at what they thought and thought it was worth based on what they where happy to accept however now with the internet and webb sites etc most sellers are more aware even to the point where they think its worth even more than they really are.
Andrew

[hedgefinder]

prideaux said:

Those where the days when you really could pick up a bargain as sellers who had a car sitting around for years in the garage who decided to sell just priced it at what they thought and thought it was worth based on what they where happy to accept however now with the internet and webb sites etc most sellers are more aware even to the point where they think its worth even more than they really are.
Andrew

so what would you value the car at then?
I feel that I really do not have enough indepth knowledge of TVRs to be 100% about what I would be getting into at anywhere near the sellers asking price...

[prideaux]

hedgefinder said:

prideaux said:

Those where the days when you really could pick up a bargain as sellers who had a car sitting around for years in the garage who decided to sell just priced it at what they thought and thought it was worth based on what they where happy to accept however now with the internet and webb sites etc most sellers are more aware even to the point where they think its worth even more than they really are.
Andrew

so what would you value the car at then?
I feel that I really do not have enough indepth knowledge of TVRs to be 100% about what I would be getting into at anywhere near the sellers asking price...

Well 5 years ago a car in far worse state sold for £4k and the buyer who has done a fantastic restoration thought he had paid a lot but not anymore.
There have been cars in bits in the last 18months have sold for 5k plus and this car is far from that however you have seen it and have more knowledge than those of us that don't.
If its all there and requiring a full restoration its worth what someone would pay so from that point if I was looking for a car to fully restore I would pay between 7 and 8.5k however its a case of supply and demand and if the seller waits for that keen byer then he will probably achieve 9k but unlike a dealer who has a price it stands him and a margin to achieve this is not the case here.
As anyone who has done a full restoration what you pay for the car and what you spend to restore is miles apart and there is a big difference between a restoration and a refresh and many cars claiming to be restored are simply a refresh so byers beware
Andrew

[anonymous-user]

prideaux said:

hedgefinder said:

prideaux said:

Those where the days when you really could pick up a bargain as sellers who had a car sitting around for years in the garage who decided to sell just priced it at what they thought and thought it was worth based on what they where happy to accept however now with the internet and webb sites etc most sellers are more aware even to the point where they think its worth even more than they really are.
Andrew

so what would you value the car at then?
I feel that I really do not have enough indepth knowledge of TVRs to be 100% about what I would be getting into at anywhere near the sellers asking price...

Well 5 years ago a car in far worse state sold for £4k and the buyer who has done a fantastic restoration thought he had paid a lot but not anymore.
There have been cars in bits in the last 18months have sold for 5k plus and this car is far from that however you have seen it and have more knowledge than those of us that don't.
If its all there and requiring a full restoration its worth what someone would pay so from that point if I was looking for a car to fully restore I would pay between 7 and 8.5k however its a case of supply and demand and if the seller waits for that keen byer then he will probably achieve 9k but unlike a dealer who has a price it stands him and a margin to achieve this is not the case here.
As anyone who has done a full restoration what you pay for the car and what you spend to restore is miles apart and there is a big difference between a restoration and a refresh and many cars claiming to be restored are simply a refresh so byers beware
Andrew

But what are you restoring?