The journey to owning a TVR Chimaera 400...
Discussion
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Really nice write up - Shame I've only just found this thread. It looks like a really lovely car with loads of work done to it. The exhaust mod is by far one of the best things I think you can do to these personally.
My Dad's owned his '95 400 for just over a year to the day now. It had previously been in storage for 12 years and has done probably around 8000 miles since coming out, including a trip to Monaco and back (I'll be updating my thread soon) and been absolutely faultless - They like to be used these cars.
..And seeing as others are posting pics of theirs, I'll leave this here
My Dad's owned his '95 400 for just over a year to the day now. It had previously been in storage for 12 years and has done probably around 8000 miles since coming out, including a trip to Monaco and back (I'll be updating my thread soon) and been absolutely faultless - They like to be used these cars.
..And seeing as others are posting pics of theirs, I'll leave this here
It's an interesting colour as it looks quite metallic in that photo (and others for that matter), but in person it's a lighter/flatter type of blue.
I really don't know how people use these cars so little. Similarly, the previous owner of my Elise only did 1000 miles in it for the year he owned it. Today funnily enough marks a year since I bought it and I've done 13,000 miles in it!
I really don't know how people use these cars so little. Similarly, the previous owner of my Elise only did 1000 miles in it for the year he owned it. Today funnily enough marks a year since I bought it and I've done 13,000 miles in it!
So a bit of an update!
Since getting the car last July it has been used pretty much every week- basically whenever the roads are dry. I was out in it on Christmas Day, and then met up with a few other owners for an epic drive the day after boxing day
All was going well until one Saturday evening the last week of January, when all the electrics died whilst driving home. Cue a quick call to the RAC, only to discover their national phone system had chosen that particular evening to fall over- "we are currently experiencing technical difficulties, please try again later", not ideal! Fortunately my girlfriend's dad was on hand with a Freelander and a tow rope and we got the TVR the 5 miles back home.
Cue about 4 weeks of messing around for the sake of a blown 100amp fuse- the lesson learned was to actually remove the fuse to check it, rather then relying upon a quick visual inspection whilst under the car... :getmycoat: In between the initial (incorrect) inspection, and actually removing & replacing the fuse (a couple of weeks) I removed the alternator and took that to a specialist to check over, who confirmed it was absolutely fine. Props due to Mike (Canoesniffer), another recent Chimaera convert, who enthusiastically came round to assist with most of this despite less than ideal working conditions- an exposed driveway in falling snow!
Fortunately, these few weeks coincided with some of the most consistently bad weather we've had since I'd owned the car. Unfortunately, the few weeks of having the battery disconnected / jump-starting / lack of use meant the battery was pretty knackered. It would start the car fine when fully charged, but after just a couple of days without use it would barely even power the dash lights.
As it was only a couple of weeks away from it's MOT at Neil Garner's, I spoke to them about battery options and I figured it would be the ideal time to do something about the rather inconvenient battery tray. For those who aren't familiar with these, the battery is located in a tray inside the passenger footwell- the tray is bolted through the floor of the car and the battery won't come out without unbolting the tray- meaning the car has to be jacked up to remove the battery... This location also makes it a pig to jump start. The fuse box is then located behind the already inaccessible battery.
They had the car last week and came up with a pretty cool solution. I didn't want to mess about relocating the battery as the two options are generally to the boot or to behind the passenger seat. I didn't want it in the boot as I don't like the idea of the battery sat on top of the fuel tank, and to fit it behind the passenger seat requires a fair bit of fibre-glass re-shaping, and I wanted to keep it looking as OEM as possible (neither me or my other half are particularly tall so additional leg-room wasn't a concern- which is the other reason for the moving the battery).
So they have modified my existing battery tray so that the front of it hinges open to allow easy removal of the battery, at the same time replacing the overly long starter & earth cables, and of course fitting a brand new battery . The fuse box was moved into the small recess behind the passenger seat giving easy access to this, and they also fitted a Levan jump-start kit inside the front of the engine bay to make life infinitely easier should I need to jump start it in future. I purchased a new CTEK MXS 5.0 trickle charger whilst this was going on to replace the old cheapy one that had come with the car, and the connector for this was wired up to the battery at the same time.
I've got pictures of all of this to come, but the other thing I got the to investigate was my suspension. The car came with GAZ Gold Pros, but I was aware that the rear of the car appeared to be sitting too low- particularly compared to the front of the car, you can see this in some of the earlier pictures. So I got them to set the suspension all round back to it's factory ride height and do a full geometry setup for normal road use. This has not only sorted out the car visually, but also improved the ride- it's no longer skittish when travelling over bumpy roads at speed, and has stopped catching the rear chassis bolts on every speed hump...
I picked the car up on Friday evening, just in time for the sunniest weekend we've had so far- which has seen a couple of tanks of fuel being used and roof off, happy days! Oh and it passed it's MOT with flying colours
More pictures to come of the battery stuff mentioned above.
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Since getting the car last July it has been used pretty much every week- basically whenever the roads are dry. I was out in it on Christmas Day, and then met up with a few other owners for an epic drive the day after boxing day
All was going well until one Saturday evening the last week of January, when all the electrics died whilst driving home. Cue a quick call to the RAC, only to discover their national phone system had chosen that particular evening to fall over- "we are currently experiencing technical difficulties, please try again later", not ideal! Fortunately my girlfriend's dad was on hand with a Freelander and a tow rope and we got the TVR the 5 miles back home.
Cue about 4 weeks of messing around for the sake of a blown 100amp fuse- the lesson learned was to actually remove the fuse to check it, rather then relying upon a quick visual inspection whilst under the car... :getmycoat: In between the initial (incorrect) inspection, and actually removing & replacing the fuse (a couple of weeks) I removed the alternator and took that to a specialist to check over, who confirmed it was absolutely fine. Props due to Mike (Canoesniffer), another recent Chimaera convert, who enthusiastically came round to assist with most of this despite less than ideal working conditions- an exposed driveway in falling snow!
Fortunately, these few weeks coincided with some of the most consistently bad weather we've had since I'd owned the car. Unfortunately, the few weeks of having the battery disconnected / jump-starting / lack of use meant the battery was pretty knackered. It would start the car fine when fully charged, but after just a couple of days without use it would barely even power the dash lights.
As it was only a couple of weeks away from it's MOT at Neil Garner's, I spoke to them about battery options and I figured it would be the ideal time to do something about the rather inconvenient battery tray. For those who aren't familiar with these, the battery is located in a tray inside the passenger footwell- the tray is bolted through the floor of the car and the battery won't come out without unbolting the tray- meaning the car has to be jacked up to remove the battery... This location also makes it a pig to jump start. The fuse box is then located behind the already inaccessible battery.
They had the car last week and came up with a pretty cool solution. I didn't want to mess about relocating the battery as the two options are generally to the boot or to behind the passenger seat. I didn't want it in the boot as I don't like the idea of the battery sat on top of the fuel tank, and to fit it behind the passenger seat requires a fair bit of fibre-glass re-shaping, and I wanted to keep it looking as OEM as possible (neither me or my other half are particularly tall so additional leg-room wasn't a concern- which is the other reason for the moving the battery).
So they have modified my existing battery tray so that the front of it hinges open to allow easy removal of the battery, at the same time replacing the overly long starter & earth cables, and of course fitting a brand new battery . The fuse box was moved into the small recess behind the passenger seat giving easy access to this, and they also fitted a Levan jump-start kit inside the front of the engine bay to make life infinitely easier should I need to jump start it in future. I purchased a new CTEK MXS 5.0 trickle charger whilst this was going on to replace the old cheapy one that had come with the car, and the connector for this was wired up to the battery at the same time.
I've got pictures of all of this to come, but the other thing I got the to investigate was my suspension. The car came with GAZ Gold Pros, but I was aware that the rear of the car appeared to be sitting too low- particularly compared to the front of the car, you can see this in some of the earlier pictures. So I got them to set the suspension all round back to it's factory ride height and do a full geometry setup for normal road use. This has not only sorted out the car visually, but also improved the ride- it's no longer skittish when travelling over bumpy roads at speed, and has stopped catching the rear chassis bolts on every speed hump...
I picked the car up on Friday evening, just in time for the sunniest weekend we've had so far- which has seen a couple of tanks of fuel being used and roof off, happy days! Oh and it passed it's MOT with flying colours
More pictures to come of the battery stuff mentioned above.
[url]Edited by Squirrelofwoe on Monday 27th March 10:42
Can't believe I missed this thread the first time round Dave. What an awesome write up! We definitely need to sort that get together sometime soon, especially if the weather keeps playing ball.
Those pictures really are stunning. All Nick's work? Complete drool material, although the same goes for the entirety of your car, I think you did really well on it. Looking forward to seeing it again pal, hopefully whilst driving mine
Those pictures really are stunning. All Nick's work? Complete drool material, although the same goes for the entirety of your car, I think you did really well on it. Looking forward to seeing it again pal, hopefully whilst driving mine
Oof.
Whenever I think about my old chim (a red 4.6 with tuscan seats and cream dash) I have mixed memories.
Whenever I see a thread about them - god I miss it.
It was too hot, I hated the handling, I hated the reliability, but by god on it's day there was nowhere I'd rather be and nothing I'd rather gaze upon.
Whenever I think about my old chim (a red 4.6 with tuscan seats and cream dash) I have mixed memories.
Whenever I see a thread about them - god I miss it.
It was too hot, I hated the handling, I hated the reliability, but by god on it's day there was nowhere I'd rather be and nothing I'd rather gaze upon.
Just realised I haven't updated this for an entire 12 months!
So in the last year I only managed a mere 1,600 miles - not good enough.... This did include a trip down to the Goodwood Revival, and the return journey in monsoon rain conditions, which the car dealt with no problem. But last summer I noticed the car was losing a small amount of coolant every few weeks, particularly after running the car in traffic for any length of time- this contributed to the lower miles as it put me off using it for certain journeys.
So towards the end of the summer it went in for a 6,000 mile service and I got a new radiator fitted, problem solved.
Then a few weeks ago the MOT was due, so off to Neil Garner's again and after a set of new rear discs & pads it received a clean bill of health a pass with no advisories. It had been noticed that the fuel pump connectors were getting quite corroded and as the pump itself appeared to be the original I got a new one fitted for piece of mind. They also did a complete chassis clean at the same time, and fitted my new Momo Indy steering wheel (a present from my girlfriend back in October).
We did 100 or so miles after picking it up (on Easter Sunday no less - props to NG for that) over the next couple of days, mostly in the rain but it was great to do some decent distance in it after weeks of just pottering around local roads.
Whilst at NG we had a long discussion about the merits of doing away with the (relatively) antiquated ignition and 14CUX ecu, and upgrading to the Canems system. After seeing pictures of the miles of spaghetti wiring that gets removed from the car, along with the prospect of improved performance, economy, and reliability, I was sold.
Before this can be done however, I need to get my well-worn camshaft replaced. My car has done approx 78,000 miles and the acceleration after 4k revs has gone VERY flat. We decided that with the future Canems installation in mind, the V8D 'Stealth' camshaft would be a worthwhile upgrade over the OEM one. So the car is now booked in for this in a couple of weeks, along with any other engine refreshment work that might be needed given the mileage- the wallet is primed!
By the time all of this is done I'll probably have spent the kind of money that would have got me a decent 450 or even 500 in the first place, but I figure I'd still have spent the additional money 'sorting out' one of those anyway, and in theory I'll have a VERY usable 400 that already came with a couple of (for me) 'must-have' upgrades in the afterburner rear lights and re-trimmed interior. Man maths...
This is how it's currently looking
And with the new wheel fitted
And with my girlfriend's Z4 3.0si roadster- also a great drive, but not a patch on the TVR in terms of excitement though, even she agrees on this
Future plans include getting the carbon-style dash put back to the wood veneer original, along with a front brake upgrade and eventually the mk3 headlight upgrade. And a LOT more miles of !!
So in the last year I only managed a mere 1,600 miles - not good enough.... This did include a trip down to the Goodwood Revival, and the return journey in monsoon rain conditions, which the car dealt with no problem. But last summer I noticed the car was losing a small amount of coolant every few weeks, particularly after running the car in traffic for any length of time- this contributed to the lower miles as it put me off using it for certain journeys.
So towards the end of the summer it went in for a 6,000 mile service and I got a new radiator fitted, problem solved.
Then a few weeks ago the MOT was due, so off to Neil Garner's again and after a set of new rear discs & pads it received a clean bill of health a pass with no advisories. It had been noticed that the fuel pump connectors were getting quite corroded and as the pump itself appeared to be the original I got a new one fitted for piece of mind. They also did a complete chassis clean at the same time, and fitted my new Momo Indy steering wheel (a present from my girlfriend back in October).
We did 100 or so miles after picking it up (on Easter Sunday no less - props to NG for that) over the next couple of days, mostly in the rain but it was great to do some decent distance in it after weeks of just pottering around local roads.
Whilst at NG we had a long discussion about the merits of doing away with the (relatively) antiquated ignition and 14CUX ecu, and upgrading to the Canems system. After seeing pictures of the miles of spaghetti wiring that gets removed from the car, along with the prospect of improved performance, economy, and reliability, I was sold.
Before this can be done however, I need to get my well-worn camshaft replaced. My car has done approx 78,000 miles and the acceleration after 4k revs has gone VERY flat. We decided that with the future Canems installation in mind, the V8D 'Stealth' camshaft would be a worthwhile upgrade over the OEM one. So the car is now booked in for this in a couple of weeks, along with any other engine refreshment work that might be needed given the mileage- the wallet is primed!
By the time all of this is done I'll probably have spent the kind of money that would have got me a decent 450 or even 500 in the first place, but I figure I'd still have spent the additional money 'sorting out' one of those anyway, and in theory I'll have a VERY usable 400 that already came with a couple of (for me) 'must-have' upgrades in the afterburner rear lights and re-trimmed interior. Man maths...
This is how it's currently looking
And with the new wheel fitted
And with my girlfriend's Z4 3.0si roadster- also a great drive, but not a patch on the TVR in terms of excitement though, even she agrees on this
Future plans include getting the carbon-style dash put back to the wood veneer original, along with a front brake upgrade and eventually the mk3 headlight upgrade. And a LOT more miles of
!!
Looking good Dave I agree with your thinking on the engine mangement system upgrade - seems a much cleaner approach particularly with the age of the original wiring and ignition components. I plan to do the same, although probably going down the MBE route, but will be a while till I've saved the pennies for that as it's only fair I put some money into the house now after my wife let me have my toy
I agree with your thinking on the engine mangement system upgrade - seems a much cleaner approach particularly with the age of the original wiring and ignition components. I plan to do the same, although probably going down the MBE route, but will be a while till I've saved the pennies for that as it's only fair I put some money into the house now after my wife let me have my toy 
plfrench said:
Looking good Dave I agree with your thinking on the engine mangement system upgrade - seems a much cleaner approach particularly with the age of the original wiring and ignition components. I plan to do the same, although probably going down the MBE route, but will be a while till I've saved the pennies for that as it's only fair I put some money into the house now after my wife let me have my toy
Cheers Paul! I agree with your thinking on the engine mangement system upgrade - seems a much cleaner approach particularly with the age of the original wiring and ignition components. I plan to do the same, although probably going down the MBE route, but will be a while till I've saved the pennies for that as it's only fair I put some money into the house now after my wife let me have my toy I can understand that, I bet you must have spent a pretty penny on yours this last 12 months considering you have a pretty much new car now!
We'll have to all arrange a meet up for some time in May
Additionally, with my girlfriend moving in we had to make some additional parking arrangements- we have parking for 2 cars on the drive (end on), so decided to modify the side access to allow the Chim to live in the garden... Fortunately there was already a concrete base down for a shed (which was relocated).
A couple of weekends graft and all was sorted.
Before:
After:
The end of this coming summer should hopefully see the construction of a small wooden garage so that it no longer has to endure the wonderful British weather all year round!
A couple of weekends graft and all was sorted.
Before:
After:
The end of this coming summer should hopefully see the construction of a small wooden garage so that it no longer has to endure the wonderful British weather all year round!
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