Wong's car history.

[wongthecorrupter]

kayzee said:

None of the images are loading for me are they hosted on Facebook by any chance? Always seem to have problems with those...

Nothing on facebook, i'm not a believer

[bazza1000]

Really enjoyed reading this, you've had some cool cars. Loved hearing about the Pug 205 TT that sounded like bags of fun and a seriously quick little motor!

[wongthecorrupter]

bazza1000 said:

Really enjoyed reading this, you've had some cool cars. Loved hearing about the Pug 205 TT that sounded like bags of fun and a seriously quick little motor!

I reckon apart from the cosworth with the jue plate it has been my favourite car to own apart from the Tuscan of course. That would be a nice garage for me the old jue cosworth, the delta, the 205 turbo and the tuscan

Edited by wongthecorrupter on Thursday 12th February 20:50

[wongthecorrupter]

My most risky purchase is still to come

[wongthecorrupter]

After I sold the corrado i felt it was time to get a real toy again. I had been thinking of a tvr for a couple of years up to this point, but i didn't really think i had the balls to buy one. I had got sucked in to all the story's about them breaking down or catching fire. I started looking at chimaeras on pistonheads classifieds and the autotrader. I spotted a nice 1995 m reg 4.0 litre cooper green car on the autotrader, it was a lady owned car and it looked honest. I rang the seller and viewed the car the following Saturday, it was a glorious sunny day. I had my list of things to check, they are not that difficult to buy in all honesty. The main thing to look at is chassis condition on some particular years of chimaeras and griffs. The last thing i did was start it up, you should never hear it running first, the sound of a v8 tvr can easily cloud your vision. It was the first one i properly looked at but i had a good feeling about the car. We struck a deal and i collected it the following week, that was around 5 and a half years ago. I paid £6700 for the car, it had covered 63000 miles. That car had a lot of use over the next 2 years clocking up another 10000 miles. It was a great introduction to tvr ownership.

Edited by wongthecorrupter on Tuesday 10th February 08:13

Edited by wongthecorrupter on Tuesday 10th February 08:24

[wongthecorrupter]

I spent a bit of money on the green chimaera, rad tec alloy rad, silicone hoses and alloy cooling pipes. I also de catted it and had the exhaust sleeved, it sounded like hell. On a whole the car was very reliable over the 2 years of ownership, but one dodgy thing did happen. TVR in there wisdom decided to put the ecu above the battery with just a piece of carpet separating them. I can remember going around an island near trentham a little quick as we got back on the straight there was a small bang and sparks from the passenger footwell, then followed a puff of smoke. There was just a bit of old carboard separating the ecu from the battery, the cardboard slipped and the ecu shorted on the battery. My wife never stretched her legs out again in that car. Luckily there wasn't any other damage done apart from a blown ecu. We had 2 cracking years with that car, but the time had come for more power. I fancied another chimaera but I just wanted the bigger engine, I started looking at 4.5 and 5.0 litre v8's. I eventually found a nice looking red cherry pearl 450 with 33000 miles on the clock at a dealer in Bristol for £10750. At the time the 450's and 500's demanded a massive premium over the 400's. I paid £10000 for the car.
I put the green chimaera up for sale and it sold in no time, I sold it for £6750. Looking back it was to cheap. My wife was gutted when that car drove off down the road. Pictures to follow







The difference in performance between the 4 litre and 4.5 litre is night and day, there is just so much useable torque with the 450. The 450 is considered by many to be the best rover v8 to be put in a tvr. The car felt like it would pull a house down. I had the usual done to the car, alloy rad, silicone hoses and a set of gaz gold adjustable shocks.I liked the 450 but I didn't really get my use out of it and I had my eye on my most risky purchase to date. I always said I would never buy a speed six powered tvr

Edited by wongthecorrupter on Tuesday 10th February 19:29

Edited by wongthecorrupter on Tuesday 10th February 19:32

Edited by wongthecorrupter on Tuesday 10th February 19:34

Edited by wongthecorrupter on Tuesday 10th February 19:39

Edited by wongthecorrupter on Tuesday 10th February 19:40

[wongthecorrupter]

I will add some details about the Tuscan lata on in the week

Edited by wongthecorrupter on Wednesday 11th February 07:48

[abarth130]

Nice to read about your 130TC - I've just bought another one after many years of not having one. I've yet to collect the car but I'll start a thread on it in the Fiat/Alfa section once I have my hands on it. See the My Little Fleet thread in Readers cars for pictures.

Nice car history, by the way. I've yet to venture into TVR ownership but it's on the bucket list. I don't own anything British and I feel I need to!

[wongthecorrupter]

abarth130 said:

Nice to read about your 130TC - I've just bought another one after many years of not having one. I've yet to collect the car but I'll start a thread on it in the Fiat/Alfa section once I have my hands on it. See the My Little Fleet thread in Readers cars for pictures.

Nice car history, by the way. I've yet to venture into TVR ownership but it's on the bucket list. I don't own anything British and I feel I need to!

Yes I have had a look and have been meaning to comment on your 130 tc, they are great cars. Your new purchase looks in good order. I hope it is as good as you remember. Yes do it, get a tvr

[wongthecorrupter]

I was a little to young when I owned my 130, I took care of it but it was hard. The parts were a nitemare to get hold of. I can remember waiting 6 weeks or a new manifold and exhaust for it from Italy. In the end the exhaust fell of and most of the branches on the manifold were cracked. I was 18 so I drove it everywhere like that, it used to shoot huge flames under the car. Oh it was great at that age

[abarth130]

wongthecorrupter said:

I was a little to young when I owned my 130, I took care of it but it was hard. The parts were a nitemare to get hold of. I can remember waiting 6 weeks or a new manifold and exhaust for it from Italy. In the end the exhaust fell of and most of the branches on the manifold were cracked. I was 18 so I drove it everywhere like that, it used to shoot huge flames under the car. Oh it was great at that age

Hahaha. You find that anyone who has owned a 130TC has a story or two to tell. It's that kind of car. Parts wise, the situation is the same if not worse! A friend and I owned a succession of them years back and have amassed a fair collection of spares which we've wisely held onto. By the sounds of things, the car doesn't want for much. There are a few engine mods but it seems to have been done well (Guy Croft head etc) but everything is there and it has an MOT. The optimist in me says 'how bad can it be?!!' All will be revealed in the coming weeks I suppose!

[wongthecorrupter]

abarth130 said:

Hahaha. You find that anyone who has owned a 130TC has a story or two to tell. It's that kind of car. Parts wise, the situation is the same if not worse! A friend and I owned a succession of them years back and have amassed a fair collection of spares which we've wisely held onto. By the sounds of things, the car doesn't want for much. There are a few engine mods but it seems to have been done well (Guy Croft head etc) but everything is there and it has an MOT. The optimist in me says 'how bad can it be?!!' All will be revealed in the coming weeks I suppose!

It sounds like you haver got one of the best 130 tc's out there then. I used to gert my bits from a guy in derby, he had fiat / lancia bits all over his house. I can't remember his name

[wongthecorrupter]

wongthecorrupter said:

I will add some details about the Tuscan lata on in the week

Edited by wongthecorrupter on Wednesday 11th February 07:48

I purchased the Tuscan around 2 and a half years ago. I brought it from a guy from Clacton on sea, he was selling it to settle a divorce. The car looked amazing in the advert and it was priced very keen. I had looked at a couple before this one but they were dogs. A guy had left a deposit on the 450 chimaera so we headed down south to view the Tuscan. It was raining the whole journey down and I wasn't happy about viewing the car in the rain, luckily as we arrived the sun came out and we could dry the car off. The paint work was stunning, it has def had a full paint sometime in its life. This is not uncommon with tvr's, they suffer from stone chips badly. After viewing the car I went through all the paperwork before the test drive. Luckily the car had a full tvr power engine rebuild. The car has got its bill of sale with it and it turns out it is a factory red rose. This factory mod includes 20 more bhp and larger brakes. The bill of sale in 2001 is for £47,446. There are a couple more options on the receipt, full hide and gas discharge headlamps. a deal was done anf I left a deposit. Im not going to disclose what I paid for it, but looking at the prices I reckon its worth at least 5 grand more now, mk 1 tuscan's seem to be heading up in price a lot.

Just found the TVR Engineering invoice
Tuscan speed six £33,627
Full hide trim £1,685
Hydratrak (diff) £361
Red rose conversion £3,574
D.A.B tuner £408
Gold badges £46
Overmats £59
Gas discharge headlamps £497
V.A.T £7,189

Total £47,446

The week i got the car home i had booked it in for a check over and service at Top Gear Automotive (TVR Lotus Specialist) .He gave the car a clean bill of health apart from the steering rack leaking in to one of the track rod end gaitors. This was to be my first big bill, the re worked rack cost we £800 fitted.

Driving the car is massive occasion every trip, it gets a lot of attention. Compared to driving the v8's it is chalk and cheese. The v8's are lazy and have massive torque low down. The Tuscan feels a little lazy until you get the revs up, the first time you are brave enough to push the throttle fully down is just nuts. The way the car pulls is awesome. The throttle travel is very long on the tuscan . Its a bit like traction control. I thought i would miss the noise of the v8 but the speed six is so more tunefull, best sounding car i have owned. It sounds very angry. I have had it de catted now to remove a bit of the under bonnet temps and it has made the car sound even angrier.

The car has been very reliable and has let me down once, the fuel pump relay let me down. TVR's are reliable cars if you look after them and keep on top of the small issues that can quickly turn in to a large issue. Servicing costs are fairly cheap considering the nature of the beast. A large service including tappet re shim usually costs me under £700. This is every 12k or 2 years from memory. I have spent a bit of money on the tuscan getting it how i want, but i would still break better than even if i was to sell it. None of this matters though as i own cars to enjoy not to make money on, plus i think i would have a breakdown if i saw somebody else driving down the road in it.

I have done 8000 miles in the car since i brought it this includes a 3000 mile trip around Europe last September. For those petrol heads who havent done a euro trip, just do it. The best thing i have ever done and for me i did it in the perfect car.

I think the tuscan is here to stay, i just cant see anything else out there with the same package as a tvr.

Edited by wongthecorrupter on Thursday 12th February 10:16

Edited by wongthecorrupter on Thursday 12th February 18:46

Edited by wongthecorrupter on Thursday 12th February 20:12

Edited by wongthecorrupter on Thursday 12th February 20:13

Edited by wongthecorrupter on Thursday 12th February 20:15

Edited by wongthecorrupter on Thursday 12th February 20:16

Edited by wongthecorrupter on Thursday 12th February 20:17

Edited by wongthecorrupter on Thursday 12th February 20:28

[wongthecorrupter]

Forgot to add a couple of cars, I have no pictures though. The cosworth's and tvr's have all been second car's. I always had a pug 309 derv as a daily smoker, great cars.. This golf gti was always our daily car, but it was just to nice to use through winters and super market trips. So now the golf is a second car also. We now have a mk 1 focus as the daily smoker.

[wongthecorrupter]

wongthecorrupter said:

wongthecorrupter said:

I will add some details about the Tuscan lata on in the week

Edited by wongthecorrupter on Wednesday 11th February 07:48

I purchased the Tuscan around 2 and a half years ago. I brought it from a guy from Clacton on sea, he was selling it to settle a divorce. The car looked amazing in the advert and it was priced very keen. I had looked at a couple before this one but they were dogs. A guy had left a deposit on the 450 chimaera so we headed down south to view the Tuscan. It was raining the whole journey down and I wasn't happy about viewing the car in the rain, luckily as we arrived the sun came out and we could dry the car off. The paint work was stunning, it has def had a full paint sometime in its life. This is not uncommon with tvr's, they suffer from stone chips badly. After viewing the car I went through all the paperwork before the test drive. Luckily the car had a full tvr power engine rebuild. The car has got its bill of sale with it and it turns out it is a factory red rose. This factory mod includes 20 more bhp and larger brakes. The bill of sale in 2001 is for £47,446. There are a couple more options on the receipt, full hide and gas discharge headlamps. a deal was done anf I left a deposit. Im not going to disclose what I paid for it, but looking at the prices I reckon its worth at least 5 grand more now, mk 1 tuscan's seem to be heading up in price a lot.

Just found the TVR Engineering invoice
Tuscan speed six £33,627
Full hide trim £1,685
Hydratrak (diff) £361
Red rose conversion £3,574
D.A.B tuner £408
Gold badges £46
Overmats £59
Gas discharge headlamps £497
V.A.T £7,189

Total £47,446

The week i got the car home i had booked it in for a check over and service at Top Gear Automotive (TVR Lotus Specialist) .He gave the car a clean bill of health apart from the steering rack leaking in to one of the track rod end gaitors. This was to be my first big bill, the re worked rack cost we £800 fitted.

Driving the car is massive occasion every trip, it gets a lot of attention. Compared to driving the v8's it is chalk and cheese. The v8's are lazy and have massive torque low down. The Tuscan feels a little lazy until you get the revs up, the first time you are brave enough to push the throttle fully down is just nuts. The way the car pulls is awesome. The throttle travel is very long on the tuscan . Its a bit like traction control. I thought i would miss the noise of the v8 but the speed six is so more tunefull, best sounding car i have owned. It sounds very angry. I have had it de catted now to remove a bit of the under bonnet temps and it has made the car sound even angrier.

The car has been very reliable and has let me down once, the fuel pump relay let me down. TVR's are reliable cars if you look after them and keep on top of the small issues that can quickly turn in to a large issue. Servicing costs are fairly cheap considering the nature of the beast. A large service including tappet re shim usually costs me under £700. This is every 12k or 2 years from memory. I have spent a bit of money on the tuscan getting it how i want, but i would still break better than even if i was to sell it. None of this matters though as i own cars to enjoy not to make money on, plus i think i would have a breakdown if i saw somebody else driving down the road in it.

I have done 8000 miles in the car since i brought it this includes a 3000 mile trip around Europe last September. For those petrol heads who havent done a euro trip, just do it. The best thing i have ever done and for me i did it in the perfect car. Our Euro trip stop destinations
Reims
Chamonix
Grenoble
Monaco
Maranello
Lake Garda
Davos
Lucerne
Freiburg
Baden BadeN
Nurburgring
Spa




I think the tuscan is here to stay, i just cant see anything else out there with the same package as a tvr.

Edited by wongthecorrupter on Thursday 12th February 10:16

Edited by wongthecorrupter on Thursday 12th February 18:46

Edited by wongthecorrupter on Thursday 12th February 20:12

Edited by wongthecorrupter on Thursday 12th February 20:13

Edited by wongthecorrupter on Thursday 12th February 20:15

Edited by wongthecorrupter on Thursday 12th February 20:16

Edited by wongthecorrupter on Thursday 12th February 20:17

Edited by wongthecorrupter on Thursday 12th February 20:28

[wongthecorrupter]

I have got one more car to post, I just need to get a picture of it first

[Pixelpeep7r]

Great write ups - thank you OP.

I have a TVR itch to scratch but i don't have enough 'spare' cash to do one justice at the moment and i would cry to see it going unloved with small jobs needing money.

the 6 would be the one i would want too, ever since seeing that green and purple flip paint in the flesh.

[wongthecorrupter]

Pixelpeep7r said:

Great write ups - thank you OP.

I have a TVR itch to scratch but i don't have enough 'spare' cash to do one justice at the moment and i would cry to see it going unloved with small jobs needing money.

the 6 would be the one i would want too, ever since seeing that green and purple flip paint in the flesh.

Yeah they are cracking cars, suprisingly reliable when they are sorted. Save your cash and get one purchased

[FlukePlay]

I ran a TVR Chimaera 4.0 for 12 months and it was almost faultless. I did around 6,000 miles and one trip was a Euro trip...down to the Adriatic side of Italy. I serviced it in Belgium, it was a 400 euro bill (£246 at the time) and that included rear suspension bushes and any other work that could be carried out before getting the ferry home. It was a pleasurable experience, it was a 3 year old car and I paid £18K at the time...I then sold it 12 months later for £16,500.

[wongthecorrupter]

FlukePlay said:

I ran a TVR Chimaera 4.0 for 12 months and it was almost faultless. I did around 6,000 miles and one trip was a Euro trip...down to the Adriatic side of Italy. I serviced it in Belgium, it was a 400 euro bill (£246 at the time) and that included rear suspension bushes and any other work that could be carried out before getting the ferry home. It was a pleasurable experience, it was a 3 year old car and I paid £18K at the time...I then sold it 12 months later for £16,500.

That sounds like a good trip.