430 big valve

430 big valve

Author
Discussion

monkeymoo4u

Original Poster:

25 posts

110 months

Sunday 1st March 2015
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Has anyone had any dealings / experience of the Chimaera 430 big valve , it's supposed to put out 300bhp, certainly feels as though it does , very rapid!. I know they only made 12 from the factory with this engine,

loud430

550 posts

182 months

Sunday 1st March 2015
quotequote all
hi, what did you want to know? ive got a 430 that supposedly has big valve heads but ive never had them off to see. mine made 280bhp on a quick power run & does need a really good setting up as ive never had it done.

PH430

147 posts

127 months

Sunday 1st March 2015
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Are there more marks without lifting the heads?

loud430

550 posts

182 months

Sunday 1st March 2015
quotequote all
some have bv written on the ecu, theres the plenum badge.. but that might have been replaced, same with the ecu writing, the original build sheet should tell you if it was optioned, or the owners manual..

loud430

550 posts

182 months

Sunday 1st March 2015
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forgot to say, a guy called spend on here really knows all things 430, might be worth asking him?

monkeymoo4u

Original Poster:

25 posts

110 months

Sunday 1st March 2015
quotequote all
Hi, mine has 430 BV on the p chamber and at the end of the chassis number both on the car and on the log book, it also has it had written on the ecu as an upgrade notice ,

PH430

147 posts

127 months

Sunday 1st March 2015
quotequote all
loud430 said:
hi, what did you want to know? ive got a 430 that supposedly has big valve heads but ive never had them off to see. mine made 280bhp on a quick power run & does need a really good setting up as ive never had it done.
My 430 have 275BHP with the same upgrades as you have. But nothing writen on ECU or plenum with titel BV.

ClassiChimi

12,424 posts

148 months

Sunday 1st March 2015
quotequote all
Dom from Powers performance knows a thing or two about the BV's
Give him a call if Spend can't shed any light.

loud430

550 posts

182 months

Sunday 1st March 2015
quotequote all
mines a 430 but ordered from new with a 4.5 engine, BUT it has a 4.3 crank in it so who knows what ive got! the blocks stamped up 4.5 & the chassis/engine numbers are 45 but a 4.3 crank.... who knows if the heads on mine are big valve.. it certainly revs freely & like I say made 280 on the rolling road, which was the realistic figure for a big valve, sounds like you have a goodun! smile

loud430

550 posts

182 months

Sunday 1st March 2015
quotequote all
mine has nothing written on the ecu either ph430, & the plenum badge was missing when I got the car.

Edited by loud430 on Sunday 1st March 21:27

GTRene

16,372 posts

223 months

Sunday 1st March 2015
quotequote all
Sadly I have no pictures that I could find from the engine bay, but I remember that it had no plate non what so ever on the plenum, but it was to believed a 4.3 BV not that I was seeking for such at the time, but when I bought it they told me that, so it did not affect if I would have bought it or not.
It was pretty fast I remember, just a tip of the toe and it went of like it was stinged by a bee biggrin

not good to see in this old scanned in pictures, but it is Starmist Chianti (metallic Aubergine)


PH430

147 posts

127 months

Sunday 1st March 2015
quotequote all
loud430 said:
mines a 430 but ordered from new with a 4.5 engine, BUT it has a 4.3 crank in it so who knows what ive got! the blocks stamped up 4.5 & the chassis/engine numbers are 45 but a 4.3 crank.... who knows if the heads on mine are big valve.. it certainly revs freely & like I say made 280 on the rolling road, which was the realistic figure for a big valve, sounds like you have a goodun! smile
My 430 is from april 1994 and full in the options. And yours?

Cokes

475 posts

113 months

Sunday 1st March 2015
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Mine is a 430.
The plenum badge has been replaced at some point in its life because it's not the factory fitted one.



The build sheet shows s standard build.



But I find the "BV" permenant marker on the ECU.



I know anyone could have written that there but at the same time a lot of dealers were asked to upgrade customer cars to big valve.
I guess the only way to know 100% for sure is to open it up and measure the valve size.

monkeymoo4u

Original Poster:

25 posts

110 months

Sunday 1st March 2015
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Image of the factory 430 big valve p chamber

monkeymoo4u

Original Poster:

25 posts

110 months

Sunday 1st March 2015
quotequote all


Just undergoing reverb , all new carpets/ sound proofing , new mohair hood, new leather bucket seats,new battery, alternator and full service plus lots of other smaller jobs done, all costing much more than anticipated ,
Hopefully it will be worth it ,,

loud430

550 posts

182 months

Sunday 1st March 2015
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PH430 said:
My 430 is from april 1994 and full in the options. And yours?
mine is an april 93 build, registered in august 93. full leather, wool carpets, 4.5 engine spec & white dials. was ordered and sold by team central tvr.

ClassiChimi

12,424 posts

148 months

Sunday 1st March 2015
quotequote all
Distinctive rocker boxes are also a trait,, I think !
I realise someone could swap them.

I'm sure Dom built them all, again I stand to be corrected.

So factory ordered cars had BV's
Then some were then converted to BV's and updated ecu.

Then some others were converted by dealers,, that one I'm not sure about because back then I thought only Tvr Power built the engines,, but that's a guess???
All I know Is the BV's are ace and all this secrecy and intrigue adds to the myth.

I so nearly got the Siver one from Gilbert's a few years ago and Dom told me that was a pucker one and Tony said it was proper quick?
I still wish is bought it.




loud430

550 posts

182 months

Sunday 1st March 2015
quotequote all
that silver one was one of the 4.5 cars.. Darren(retrowheels) found that there was a handful ordered by team central with the 4.5 engine conversions. theres probably one or two 430's out there that don't realise they may be a 4.5..

ClassiChimi

12,424 posts

148 months

Sunday 1st March 2015
quotequote all
Yeah I think Dom might have mentioned something like that to me at the time,, I'd only just got into the Chims and he def mentioned the engines were all a bit experimental or more to the point they just tried different things on all of them.

BV's are the same size valves as the 4.6 are they not???

280bhp out of a 4.3/5 sounds like it must have large valves to me.

Is there not a dedicated club or something for you 430BV Chaps.
If not there should be, lol.

Rare monsters indeed.

monkeymoo4u

Original Poster:

25 posts

110 months

Sunday 1st March 2015
quotequote all
Yes, they are rare, there were 12 factory models built of which 5 survive ,
strangely two of which are on eBay , if they are both indeed true big valves , I have heard a lot of people say they have big valves and that they were retro fitted but I am sceptical of most as if there are only five left then they can't all be so ,
I also reliably informed that they were supposed to product just shy of 300 bhp when new ..?
Guess the only way to find out is to put it on a rolling road ,