The journey to owning a TVR Chimaera 400...
Discussion
Bit of a long one, but I don't really do short posts.
Where to start.
I'd wanted one of these for around 10 years, I first seriously considered one when I qualified back in around 2009/10, but back then it would have been my only car- so I bottled it and purchased my DC2 Integra instead (interestingly there wasn't a huge disparity in price back then). This set me down a 5 year path of (hugely enjoyable) Honda Type R-dom, but every summer without fail I'd find myself wistfully looking at the Chim classifieds- in the way that one might look back at messages from a girl that things never quite happened with. Or something equally 'angsty'.
Anyway, the general theme every year was- 'ouch these are a lot more expensive than they were 12 months ago'.
So eventually, on New Years Eve last year, a plan was hatched. I needed a TVR, but due to the breakup of a long-term relationship I also needed a house- which, as stumbling blocks go, was bit of a kicker. Particularly as a single guy living in the South East, where a Euromillions win will just about buy you a garden shed in need of renovation. Having peed away lord knows how much in rent over the previous few years I was determined to buy in some fashion, but also to get a place with decent parking- so 31st December 2015 I decided that whatever happened, I would have my own house by 31st December 2016. This would allow me to get a TVR in the new year, ready for summer 2017. As new years resolutions go, s
t had just got real.
I set to work setting up meetings, sorting out finances etc, and got everything moving extremely quickly. Then through a combination of good fortune and sheer bloody persistence, I was accepted for a 50% shared ownership property in a fantastic village, just 20 miles from work- but most importantly it was a semi-detached with a driveway up the side with space for two (and a bit) cars...
I'd already sold my previous Accord Type R in October last year, as due to the expansion of a side-business running mobile discos for weddings, I'd had to switch to a big estate car- in this case a 2.2 petrol Accord Executive. So I already had the perfect companion for a TVR.
The house move went through in the last week of June, so I found myself 6 months ahead of schedule, with a couple of months of summer left. Not to mention a lot more disposable income each month (it turns out mortgage/rent/bills is actually a heck of a lot cheaper than saving for a bloody deposit) The itch was real.
A chance discussion with PH member Paul (plfrench) on another thread on here led us both to convincing each other that buying a Chimaera immediately was the only sensible thing to do- and in fact, through a combination of rising Chim prices and rock-bottom interest rates, it would actually be financially negligent not to... Got bless Pistonheads.
I started a thread in the Chimaera section on here, asking for general advice and the merits of buying one at my available budget, and quickly decided I needed to go and look at a large selection to see exactly what was what. At this point, I had still never even sat in one- let alone driven one... So a weekend was set aside to go and look at as many as I could, to give me an idea of exactly what I was after- part of which included a trip up to Tony Gilbert cars, who had 6 Chimaeras in stock- one of which he had sold a couple of times before and had just been sold back to him again a couple of days before I went up there...
This particular car, obviously the first one I looked at, seemed to tick every single box- decent mileage, full history, a load of recent work including outriggers, one of my favourite colour combinations, and would come with a 12 month warranty. Being well versed in the purchase of second hand cars, there was no way I was going to buy the first car I looked at- we all know where that path leads. So, bravely putting on an air of complete impartiality (whilst inside fighting every urge to hand over my entire budget there and then), I said I'd get back in touch if I was still interested after viewing all the other cars I'd lined up.
These turned out to cover the entire spectrum of 'generous' advertising, and whilst a couple were promising, I was still fixated on the burgundy 400. So first thing Monday morning I call up and arrange a decent length test-drive for the Wednesday evening- this rolls around and after a hugely entertaining drive in absolutey perfect weather, I hand over a deposit and agree to collect just over a week later, giving time for the car to have another fresh service.
It's worth pointing out that at this point I had only been in the house less than a month, and was still living out of removal boxes and had yet to procure much in the way of living room furniture- a kitchen chair and a deckchair doing brave stand-in work for the as yet to be acquired sofa. The TVR had taken priority in a big way!
So finally the car;
It's a 1995 Chimaera 400, although confusingly sporting a 400hc badge on the plenum. The dealer was convinced it was just a normal 400, and it was sold as such, but it's something I may look to find out in the future.
It had done just under 74,000 miles, with a mere 18k of those having been done since 2006. It has a fully stamped service book, original hand book, and a load of receipts for recent work. The previous owner had done just over 2,000 miles in the previous 3 years, and half way though his ownership had taken the car to Central TVR where it received the following;
-Outrigger replacement
-Gaz Gold shocks
-New clutch
-Roof re-covered
-New carpets
-Doors re-trimmed
-'Afterburner' LED rear lights
-Carbon dash
-Full wheel alignment
At a total cost of around £5k...
Aside from the above, and being pre-wired with an Accumate trickle charger, it is completely standard. The ad had the colour listed as Crimson Starmist Metallic, with doe-hide interior- but I need to check the paint code to confirm. Either way, it looks superb.
It was £5 short of the very top of my budget, but the recent work, and easily the cleanest 10yr MOT history of any car I've ever checked, helped convince me it was worth it.
The intention is that this is going to be a very long-term keeper (it's taken me 10 years to get one after all!), and I do have a few things I intend to get done before long, including:
-Sleeved exhaust whilst leaving the cats in place
-Leven switch gear / indicator stalks
-Silicone hoses, first priority is Plenum to AFM elbow hose as I believe this is still running the original (plastic?) one.
I suspect after that it will be a slippery slope of upgrades & improvements, one that appears well traversed if the Chim forum on here is anything to go by...
I have it insured on a classic policy for 5k miles per year, with allowed use for commuting. It will be kept outside (under a decent cover) for the 'nice' months of the year, then garaged at my parent's place over the winter. The plan is to keep it as usable as possible.
Looking forward to meeting up with a few more Chim owners later this month, including the previously mentioned Paul- who purchased the Starmist Blue 500 from Fernhurst TVR. Can't wait to see that one
Anyway, some pictures!
And a couple taken this weekend alongside Jason's blue car (TVRJAS), who I met up with to discuss exhaust options- his has the sleeved exhaust and it sounds superb.
If you made it this far, or even if you just skipped to the pictures like a kid with ADHD (I won't judge), thanks for reading
Where to start.
I'd wanted one of these for around 10 years, I first seriously considered one when I qualified back in around 2009/10, but back then it would have been my only car- so I bottled it and purchased my DC2 Integra instead (interestingly there wasn't a huge disparity in price back then). This set me down a 5 year path of (hugely enjoyable) Honda Type R-dom, but every summer without fail I'd find myself wistfully looking at the Chim classifieds- in the way that one might look back at messages from a girl that things never quite happened with. Or something equally 'angsty'.
Anyway, the general theme every year was- 'ouch these are a lot more expensive than they were 12 months ago'.
So eventually, on New Years Eve last year, a plan was hatched. I needed a TVR, but due to the breakup of a long-term relationship I also needed a house- which, as stumbling blocks go, was bit of a kicker. Particularly as a single guy living in the South East, where a Euromillions win will just about buy you a garden shed in need of renovation. Having peed away lord knows how much in rent over the previous few years I was determined to buy in some fashion, but also to get a place with decent parking- so 31st December 2015 I decided that whatever happened, I would have my own house by 31st December 2016. This would allow me to get a TVR in the new year, ready for summer 2017. As new years resolutions go, s
t had just got real.I set to work setting up meetings, sorting out finances etc, and got everything moving extremely quickly. Then through a combination of good fortune and sheer bloody persistence, I was accepted for a 50% shared ownership property in a fantastic village, just 20 miles from work- but most importantly it was a semi-detached with a driveway up the side with space for two (and a bit) cars...
I'd already sold my previous Accord Type R in October last year, as due to the expansion of a side-business running mobile discos for weddings, I'd had to switch to a big estate car- in this case a 2.2 petrol Accord Executive. So I already had the perfect companion for a TVR.
The house move went through in the last week of June, so I found myself 6 months ahead of schedule, with a couple of months of summer left. Not to mention a lot more disposable income each month (it turns out mortgage/rent/bills is actually a heck of a lot cheaper than saving for a bloody deposit) The itch was real.
A chance discussion with PH member Paul (plfrench) on another thread on here led us both to convincing each other that buying a Chimaera immediately was the only sensible thing to do- and in fact, through a combination of rising Chim prices and rock-bottom interest rates, it would actually be financially negligent not to... Got bless Pistonheads.
I started a thread in the Chimaera section on here, asking for general advice and the merits of buying one at my available budget, and quickly decided I needed to go and look at a large selection to see exactly what was what. At this point, I had still never even sat in one- let alone driven one... So a weekend was set aside to go and look at as many as I could, to give me an idea of exactly what I was after- part of which included a trip up to Tony Gilbert cars, who had 6 Chimaeras in stock- one of which he had sold a couple of times before and had just been sold back to him again a couple of days before I went up there...
This particular car, obviously the first one I looked at, seemed to tick every single box- decent mileage, full history, a load of recent work including outriggers, one of my favourite colour combinations, and would come with a 12 month warranty. Being well versed in the purchase of second hand cars, there was no way I was going to buy the first car I looked at- we all know where that path leads. So, bravely putting on an air of complete impartiality (whilst inside fighting every urge to hand over my entire budget there and then), I said I'd get back in touch if I was still interested after viewing all the other cars I'd lined up.
These turned out to cover the entire spectrum of 'generous' advertising, and whilst a couple were promising, I was still fixated on the burgundy 400. So first thing Monday morning I call up and arrange a decent length test-drive for the Wednesday evening- this rolls around and after a hugely entertaining drive in absolutey perfect weather, I hand over a deposit and agree to collect just over a week later, giving time for the car to have another fresh service.
It's worth pointing out that at this point I had only been in the house less than a month, and was still living out of removal boxes and had yet to procure much in the way of living room furniture- a kitchen chair and a deckchair doing brave stand-in work for the as yet to be acquired sofa. The TVR had taken priority in a big way!
So finally the car;
It's a 1995 Chimaera 400, although confusingly sporting a 400hc badge on the plenum. The dealer was convinced it was just a normal 400, and it was sold as such, but it's something I may look to find out in the future.
It had done just under 74,000 miles, with a mere 18k of those having been done since 2006. It has a fully stamped service book, original hand book, and a load of receipts for recent work. The previous owner had done just over 2,000 miles in the previous 3 years, and half way though his ownership had taken the car to Central TVR where it received the following;
-Outrigger replacement
-Gaz Gold shocks
-New clutch
-Roof re-covered
-New carpets
-Doors re-trimmed
-'Afterburner' LED rear lights
-Carbon dash
-Full wheel alignment
At a total cost of around £5k...
Aside from the above, and being pre-wired with an Accumate trickle charger, it is completely standard. The ad had the colour listed as Crimson Starmist Metallic, with doe-hide interior- but I need to check the paint code to confirm. Either way, it looks superb.
It was £5 short of the very top of my budget, but the recent work, and easily the cleanest 10yr MOT history of any car I've ever checked, helped convince me it was worth it.
The intention is that this is going to be a very long-term keeper (it's taken me 10 years to get one after all!), and I do have a few things I intend to get done before long, including:
-Sleeved exhaust whilst leaving the cats in place
-Leven switch gear / indicator stalks
-Silicone hoses, first priority is Plenum to AFM elbow hose as I believe this is still running the original (plastic?) one.
I suspect after that it will be a slippery slope of upgrades & improvements, one that appears well traversed if the Chim forum on here is anything to go by...
I have it insured on a classic policy for 5k miles per year, with allowed use for commuting. It will be kept outside (under a decent cover) for the 'nice' months of the year, then garaged at my parent's place over the winter. The plan is to keep it as usable as possible.
Looking forward to meeting up with a few more Chim owners later this month, including the previously mentioned Paul- who purchased the Starmist Blue 500 from Fernhurst TVR. Can't wait to see that one
Anyway, some pictures!
And a couple taken this weekend alongside Jason's blue car (TVRJAS), who I met up with to discuss exhaust options- his has the sleeved exhaust and it sounds superb.
If you made it this far, or even if you just skipped to the pictures like a kid with ADHD (I won't judge), thanks for reading
Edited by Squirrelofwoe on Monday 8th August 16:45
Awesome.
Tvr's for most of us become part of the family, in my case it's my girlfriend
You look to have made some excellent decisions this last year, keep driving and slowly come to know your Tvr,
Ask as many questions you can,
It's more than a car, it's mans best hobby.
Enjoy for many years to come.
Alun.
Tvr's for most of us become part of the family, in my case it's my girlfriend
You look to have made some excellent decisions this last year, keep driving and slowly come to know your Tvr,
Ask as many questions you can,
It's more than a car, it's mans best hobby.
Enjoy for many years to come.
Alun.
ClassiChimi said:
Awesome.
Tvr's for most of us become part of the family, in my case it's my girlfriend
You look to have made some excellent decisions this last year, keep driving and slowly come to know your Tvr,
Ask as many questions you can,
It's more than a car, it's mans best hobby.
Enjoy for many years to come.
Alun.
Cheers Alun! Tvr's for most of us become part of the family, in my case it's my girlfriend
You look to have made some excellent decisions this last year, keep driving and slowly come to know your Tvr,
Ask as many questions you can,
It's more than a car, it's mans best hobby.
Enjoy for many years to come.
Alun.
ClassiChimi said:
If your place had a second bedroom, rent it out,,, you'll hardly ever be at home anyway. 
Goodluck
Under the shared ownership scheme I'm prevented from letting out any of the rooms, but in any case the second bedroom is my gym/office. Not that it has been used for either purpose this last week Goodluck
I took my Accord to work this morning, first time I've driven it since last Monday...
Great write up!
I think if I'd parked mine where yours was in the second photo I'd have had an inferno on my hands!! Mine seems to kick out a ridiculous amount of heat
Yours looks in really good condition - I've got a pretty long list of things to do to mine, but just enjoying driving it at the moment. First port of call over the winter is a stay with Neil Garner for a chassis restoration.
I think if I'd parked mine where yours was in the second photo I'd have had an inferno on my hands!! Mine seems to kick out a ridiculous amount of heat
Yours looks in really good condition - I've got a pretty long list of things to do to mine, but just enjoying driving it at the moment. First port of call over the winter is a stay with Neil Garner for a chassis restoration.
Edited by plfrench on Monday 8th August 16:08
plfrench said:
Great write up!
I think if I'd parked mine where yours was in the second photo I'd have had an inferno on my hands!! Mine seems to kick out a ridiculous amount of heat
Mine does give out a fair bit, and it was particularly warm outside on Sat too, but the fans seem to be doing their job as intended. Driving up there Friday afternoon I got caught in traffic leaving the Countryfile Live show at Blenheim Palace, 20 mins crawling along nose-to-tail in blistering sunshine, it got up 90 degrees and stayed there. Once I was moving again it fell back down again. Touch wood the cooling system isn't in too bad nick at the moment!I think if I'd parked mine where yours was in the second photo I'd have had an inferno on my hands!! Mine seems to kick out a ridiculous amount of heat
plfrench said:
Yours looks in really good condition - I've got a pretty long list of things to do to mine, but just enjoying driving it at the moment. First port of call over the winter is a stay with Neil Garner for a chassis restoration.
It looks great at those kinds of distances, but up close there are a few scuffs/stone chips etc- but if I'd bought one that was immaculate it would soon end up like this anyway with the amount of use I intend it to get 
I look forward to seeing how they get on with that, Neil Garner are pretty much around the corner from my new place so I'll likely be using them for any bits and pieces I don't want to do myself.
In fact I am actually due to phone them tomorrow to see about booking mine in for it's exhaust work! After hearing Jason's car on Saturday mine is now sounding distinctly underwhelming (comparatively speaking of course)
He's good with that camera isn't he
Nice write up Dave and very pleased for you that you reached your goal. Thoroughly enjoyed my drive down,the car chatting,the positive and amazed reaction from Nick when doing the flyby's and the return journey home.I even extended the journey home by about 40 miles because it was just such a lovely day.
I've seen on another thread you've booked it in for the exhaust I did at least try and tell you that a standard system still has a beautiful sound,your car sounded lovely by the way.
Bookmarked your thread
Nice write up Dave and very pleased for you that you reached your goal. Thoroughly enjoyed my drive down,the car chatting,the positive and amazed reaction from Nick when doing the flyby's and the return journey home.I even extended the journey home by about 40 miles because it was just such a lovely day.
I've seen on another thread you've booked it in for the exhaust
I did at least try and tell you that a standard system still has a beautiful sound,your car sounded lovely by the way.Bookmarked your thread
TVRJAS said:
He's good with that camera isn't he
He certainly knows what he's doing! He's got some excellent sound clips too, but he's just had his exhaust system arrive for his new Mustang so he's somewhat preoccupied getting that over to Ford for them to fit...TVRJAS said:
I've seen on another thread you've booked it in for the exhaust I did at least try and tell you that a standard system still has a beautiful sound,your car sounded lovely by the way.
Bookmarked your thread
I do love the sound my standard car makes, but I still preferred the sound of yours! It's the fact that it's not massively different if you don't want it to be- but has so much more drama available when you want to play with the loud peddle... I did at least try and tell you that a standard system still has a beautiful sound,your car sounded lovely by the way.Bookmarked your thread
Plans after that will likely just be the silicone hoses and the Leven interior bits.
Then next year I wouldn't mind finding out what sort of power she's making and getting the cam checked- and replacing/upgrading if necessary.
Plenty to keep me busy
Squirrelofwoe said:
I do love the sound my standard car makes, but I still preferred the sound of yours! It's the fact that it's not massively different if you don't want it to be- but has so much more drama available when you want to play with the loud peddle...
Yep you explained that well enough Would be nice to hear the sound clip as and when,but I fully understand the Mustangs priorities.TVRJAS said:
Yep you explained that well enough Would be nice to hear the sound clip as and when,but I fully understand the Mustangs priorities.
Would be nice to hear the sound clip as and when,but I fully understand the Mustangs priorities.I'll post a link in here once he's got them uploaded. Once the exhaust is on he still won't be taking delivery of the car for another 3 weeks so he'll have plenty of time to sort our sound clips out!
Edited by Squirrelofwoe on Tuesday 9th August 15:59
I finally got the exhaust sleeved last Thursday at Neil Garner's, it now sounds even more like a WW2 aircraft
I'm over the moon with it. It's barely any noticeably louder at cruising speeds, it just changes the tone slightly and is now far more vocal on gear down-changes etc. Love it.
I also took the opportunity to discuss a couple of other potential future plans for the car. One of which is the possibility of switching to the Stealth cam. The car is on 74.5k miles and still on the original cam (and I'm aiming to be adding 5k miles a year), so I'm aware this will need replacing at some point before too long anyway, so I'll take the opportunity to get a bit of an upgrade whilst I am at it.
I've heard nothing but good things about the Stealth cam and after discussing it at NG last week it looks like being the route I'll go.
Anyway, tomorrow I will have had the car 3 weeks and I've already racked up almost 650 (very fun) miles!
I've made a conscious effort to ease off the use a bit this last week now that I've done most of my journeys taking the car to show people who wanted to see it, and taking people out etc. This is just as well, or my 5k mileage limit won't go too far, and the fuel bills have been mounting up substantially... 
Unbelievable fun though, it drives superb and the Gaz suspension + wheel alignment that was done fairly recent before I purchased the car appears to have been worth every one of the previous owner's pennies.
I still can't believe just how much (positive) attention it attracts though, everybody wants to look at it, talk to me about it, and in just 3 weeks I've had two separate people take photos of it whilst I've been sat at traffic lights, which has taken some getting used to to be honest!
I'm over the moon with it. It's barely any noticeably louder at cruising speeds, it just changes the tone slightly and is now far more vocal on gear down-changes etc. Love it.
I also took the opportunity to discuss a couple of other potential future plans for the car. One of which is the possibility of switching to the Stealth cam. The car is on 74.5k miles and still on the original cam (and I'm aiming to be adding 5k miles a year), so I'm aware this will need replacing at some point before too long anyway, so I'll take the opportunity to get a bit of an upgrade whilst I am at it.
I've heard nothing but good things about the Stealth cam and after discussing it at NG last week it looks like being the route I'll go.
Anyway, tomorrow I will have had the car 3 weeks and I've already racked up almost 650 (very fun) miles!
I've made a conscious effort to ease off the use a bit this last week now that I've done most of my journeys taking the car to show people who wanted to see it, and taking people out etc. This is just as well, or my 5k mileage limit won't go too far, and the fuel bills have been mounting up substantially... Unbelievable fun though, it drives superb and the Gaz suspension + wheel alignment that was done fairly recent before I purchased the car appears to have been worth every one of the previous owner's pennies.
I still can't believe just how much (positive) attention it attracts though, everybody wants to look at it, talk to me about it, and in just 3 weeks I've had two separate people take photos of it whilst I've been sat at traffic lights, which has taken some getting used to to be honest!
HeWhoDaresRoy said:
Lovely!
My Chimaera was my favourite car that I've owned, so far.
Congrats
Cheers My Chimaera was my favourite car that I've owned, so far.
Congrats
It's certainly something special. It seems to be one of those cars that is universally appreciated by anyone with even half an interest in cars, which makes something a change from the Type R's I've had for the last few years!
Can't wait to get out in it again tomorrow
What a lovely purchase - well done and congratulations..
I have a 1998 Cerbera and been a TVR fan since I first saw one when I was around 12 years old.
Very similar to you, I spent around 3 years saving every penny to buy one and finally got it 3 years ago, never looked back and every time I see it and get to drive it I can't explain the feeling it gives me
Fantastic enjoy it.
I have a 1998 Cerbera and been a TVR fan since I first saw one when I was around 12 years old.
Very similar to you, I spent around 3 years saving every penny to buy one and finally got it 3 years ago, never looked back and every time I see it and get to drive it I can't explain the feeling it gives me
Fantastic enjoy it.
Rob1984 said:
What a lovely purchase - well done and congratulations..
I have a 1998 Cerbera and been a TVR fan since I first saw one when I was around 12 years old.
Very similar to you, I spent around 3 years saving every penny to buy one and finally got it 3 years ago, never looked back and every time I see it and get to drive it I can't explain the feeling it gives me
Fantastic enjoy it.
A Cerb is another one on my 'to-do' list, such striking cars. I'm suitably jealous!I have a 1998 Cerbera and been a TVR fan since I first saw one when I was around 12 years old.
Very similar to you, I spent around 3 years saving every penny to buy one and finally got it 3 years ago, never looked back and every time I see it and get to drive it I can't explain the feeling it gives me
Fantastic enjoy it.
As well as a Chimaera & an AJP Cerbera, the other TVR I'd love to try one day is a T350/Sagaris (more likely the former considering the way the Sag prices have gone). 3 distinctly different engines, and my 3/4 favourite TVRs.
If I could have them at the same time I'd be a happy chap
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