Chimaeras to Le Mans
Discussion
Richard 858 said:
The very best of British luck to all of you making the trip (it'll be a good shake down for your turbo conversion Gary). I'm planning to make the more sedate pilgrimage to LM Classic again next year.
I'll be up for that Richard 
Hope you all had a great time out there, good call.
Gary, how did it go? [I just did nigh on 3k miles to Italy and back no prob's and the standard cooling kept it all in check with two days in traffic at 34 degrees].
Glad you had a good trip Mac and that you didn't have a mental breakdown when you clocked 20,000 miles !!! at least not a severe as the one you must have had when (or if) it rained 
A mate of mine may well be organising a group for LMC next year (he made a good job of it last year), I'll let you know if you're interested.
A mate of mine may well be organising a group for LMC next year (he made a good job of it last year), I'll let you know if you're interested.Richard 858 said:
Glad you had a good trip Mac and that you didn't have a mental breakdown when you clocked 20,000 miles !!! at least not a severe as the one you must have had when (or if) it rained A mate of mine may well be organising a group for LMC next year (he made a good job of it last year), I'll let you know if you're interested.
A mate of mine may well be organising a group for LMC next year (he made a good job of it last year), I'll let you know if you're interested.
I did on both counts. Keep me posted LMC, interested.Yep, fine trip for me too thanks - Home yesterday evening. No issues with the car and happy to say the oil and coolant temps were spot on, even through the worst that Rouen could offer on way back. Unfortunately two cars in our group came back on low-loaders, both with non-charging issue (a C6 Corvette and a lovely Porsche 912 - hope you get rolling again soon guys). Also one of ours joined the 750 Euro club and did well to hang onto his car 
Pupp said:
Yep, fine trip for me too thanks - Home yesterday evening. No issues with the car and happy to say the oil and coolant temps were spot on, even through the worst that Rouen could offer on way back. Unfortunately two cars in our group came back on low-loaders, both with non-charging issue (a C6 Corvette and a lovely Porsche 912 - hope you get rolling again soon guys). Also one of ours joined the 750 Euro club and did well to hang onto his car
Glad all went well Gary, but sorry to hear your mates had issues.Shame I never saw you on the road as we had a 912 in our gang too (all be it with a 3 litre six pot in it's tail).
All in all another great Le Mans adventure
ph1l5 said:
My car will hopefully be back in Blighty in 3 weeks. It seems to have an immobiliser issue I just had a phone call to say it has been misplaced (lost) somewhere in Le Mans ??
Oh no, sorry to hear that 
Shame I didn't know, it's an easy bypass job (when you know how) that would have definitely got you home.
Hope you get the car back & sorted soon.
Dave.
Richard 858 said:
Glad you had a good trip Mac and that you didn't have a mental breakdown when you clocked 20,000 miles !!! at least not a severe as the one you must have had when (or if) it rained A mate of mine may well be organising a group for LMC next year (he made a good job of it last year), I'll let you know if you're interested.
We are organising a Griff Growl event for next year at LMC A mate of mine may well be organising a group for LMC next year (he made a good job of it last year), I'll let you know if you're interested.I'd be interested in being put in touch with anyone organising a Chim event too if you wouldn't mind
kris450 said:
Yep, this will be my 15th year in a row, 4 with the Tiv. Camping in Maison Blanche, stop by for a beer if you're passing through.
Can't flipping wait
I thought I'd pop over and say Hello as we watched the end of the race from the tyre wall in Maison Blanche. Sadly you weren't there but I did chat for a while to another owner in your group who's name I now rather pathetically can't remember.Can't flipping wait
Anyway, nice Chimaera Kris450 and very nice talking to its not-owner.
ChimpOnGas said:
ph1l5 said:
My car will hopefully be back in Blighty in 3 weeks. It seems to have an immobiliser issue I just had a phone call to say it has been misplaced (lost) somewhere in Le Mans ??
Shame I didn't know, it's an easy bypass job (when you know how) that would have definitely got you home.Pupp said:
ChimpOnGas said:
ph1l5 said:
My car will hopefully be back in Blighty in 3 weeks. It seems to have an immobiliser issue I just had a phone call to say it has been misplaced (lost) somewhere in Le Mans ??
Shame I didn't know, it's an easy bypass job (when you know how) that would have definitely got you home.Hindsight is always a wonderful thing but couldn't you have just run a switched live to the ECU and a wire from the the sprung part of the ignition key to the starter motor solenoid?
Last year I had the ECU relay die on me at a services just outside Rouen, after tracing the fault and discovering I had no spare relays on board I just bypassed the relay through the first position on the ignition switch to turn the ECU on, then added a small separate switch to turn the fuel pump on for safety.
I did all the above including the fault tracing in under two hours at the services with my head up my arsh in the pishing rain, fortunately I had my mate with me to keep the oh so helpful MG enthusiasts at bay who mostly said helpful things like...
"Arr, TVR, they are notoriously unreliable, have you checked the fuse?"
I very nearly t
tted one of them 
I'd previously bypassed the immobiliser on the starter solenoid circuit so that wasn't an issue in this case, when I got home I just junked all my temporary wiring and fitted a new relay (& put a spare in the boot).
Meta or otherwise, getting Phil Kidby's TVR running should'nt have been too difficult, next time a fellow TVR driver is in trouble should try a "HELP I'VE BROKEN DOWN IN LE MANS" post on here.
Being incurably TVR sad I do check the forum from time to time while I'm there, and if I'm not too pissed up already I'll always try & help.
Hope you get her back & sorted soon Phil
ChimpOnGas said:
Why would the make of immobiliser make any difference? the fundamental function & bypassing principles are going to be the same.
Fundamentals maybe, specifics not as it was an early car with a different wiring arrangement and alarm to mine; and I wasn't working on it but did lend some kit. Like you say, you weren't there to fix it with a can of Coke 
Pupp said:
ChimpOnGas said:
Why would the make of immobiliser make any difference? the fundamental function & bypassing principles are going to be the same.
Fundamentals maybe, specifics not as it was an early car with a different wiring arrangement and alarm to mine; and I wasn't working on it but did lend some kit. Like you say, you weren't there to fix it with a can of Coke Simple cars like our TVRs only need a few elements to start & run, the rest is just a process of logical testing & fault finding before a temporary field fix can be made.
I really wish I'd known about the ph1l5 issue as commonly all a Chim/Griff needs in this situation is 12v to the ECU and 12v to the starter solenoid. And in my experience they're really not at all fussy where those 12 volts come from
I'm genuinely saddened that ph1l5 didn't get his TVR started, and Ok I wasn't there but then again nobody came to find me
Perhaps next time a Tanoy announcement at the 1st Tickets camp in Bleu is worth a shot?
"calling any TVR nerd with a few spanners"
TBH I always carry six foot of twin core, some crimp connectors and a test meter.
Ironically I did meet Andav469 in the line at Calais on the morning of the 11th after gas blasting his yellow peril on the A2 45 minutes before. He explained his immobiliser had started to play up intermittently a few days before so I gave him my roaming mobile number.
I did offer to sort it out when we got the Le Mans but I never got the call from him so all must have been Ok in the end?
Surely simplicity is one of the reasons we run these old dinosaurs, and given their questionable reliability I'd say it's every TVR owner's duty to get themselves some super basic "get me started when it fails" training.
Equally if you're taking an old TVR overseas, to accompany that knowledge a basic tool kit plus a spares & consumables bag with a focus on wiring sundries is a must. And to ensure you locate the issue quickly and prove without any doubt what it is, a small multimeter is absolutely essential
As it happens I did get my spanners out at Le Mans this year, just not as much as last year at the Classic where I fixed the brakes on the 912/6, pooed up the Sunbeam Alpine's heavily damaged rad with my Miliput epoxy putty, solved my relay issue at the Rouen services, and a few other little jobs on "Team Breakdown's" fleet of old jalopies
This year all I had to do was tighten the belt on the 912/6 which I noticed was so slack it was about to make a bid for freedom, it's a typical stupid Beetle shimmed pulley arrangement so that potentially catastrophic overheating incident was overcome in no time.
Can you believe my mate with that Porsche wasn't even carrying any oil, and yes you guessed it a quick check revealed it was on the minimum mark
..... Once again in typical air cooled fashion it had consumed well over a litre in just under 500 miles.Note to self..... get my mate to replace my oil stock in the TVR
I accept oily bits aren't everyone's cup of tea, but surely if you choose to run an old classic or a quirky car like a TVR you should learn a few basic things about fixing & maintaining the mechanical & electrical elements of your car
Anything less is a bit like playing Russian Roulette!
Barreti said:
kris450 said:
Yep, this will be my 15th year in a row, 4 with the Tiv. Camping in Maison Blanche, stop by for a beer if you're passing through.
Can't flipping wait
I thought I'd pop over and say Hello as we watched the end of the race from the tyre wall in Maison Blanche. Sadly you weren't there but I did chat for a while to another owner in your group who's name I now rather pathetically can't remember.Can't flipping wait
Anyway, nice Chimaera Kris450 and very nice talking to its not-owner.
and apologies I missed you. (Potential conversationalists were Hugh, Martin, John, Eddy, Andy, James, Chrissy, Bex...)Another fantastic Le Mans in the bag. Although it wasn't all rosey. I carried on and did the Col de Bonnette and then Monaco for a few days. However the Tiv decided that he wanted to start drinking a litre of oil every 200 miles or so and chucking it out the back as lovely blue smoke... Even if I'd carried on I think it would have bankrupted me in oil anyway. I also smashed (I mean really flipping thumped) the chassis over a vicious speed hump in a french petrol station. Will need to see if thats done anything. Seeing as I've just done a body off job and the chassis was perfect I'm crossing my fingers everything is ok.
Had another 1500miles planned after Monaco but bottled it to be honest, so spent 14hrs yesterday doing Monaco to home in one hit. What a mission. After I've recovered will have to investigate whats going on.
Hope everyone enjoyed themselves at La Sarthe.
kris450 said:
I also smashed (I mean really flipping thumped) the chassis over a vicious speed hump in a french petrol station. Will need to see if thats done anything. Seeing as I've just done a body off job and the chassis was perfect I'm crossing my fingers everything is ok.
Really sorry to hear this Kris.Check the bolt holding the exhaust into the bellhousing. I smacked a steel gate stop which practically shook my fillings out and broke the casting for the bolt hole.
ChimpOnGas said:
Richard 858 said:
The very best of British luck to all of you making the trip (it'll be a good shake down for your turbo conversion Gary). I'm planning to make the more sedate pilgrimage to LM Classic again next year.
The Classic is by far my personal favorite, little or none of the mindless Le Mans hooligan chavs... & nothing beats the sight, sound & smell of a Cobra chasing a GT40 in the dark.Flames from their exhausts, disc brakes glowing red hot & the thunderous audio onslaught of the combined 14 litres & 16 cylinders fighting it out.
It doesn't get any better than that in my book, a truly epic and emotional atmosphere
So i'll be giving it a miss for a few years and perhaps enjoying Spa again or even revisiting the 24 hours ....
ChimpOnGas said:
Richard 858 said:
The very best of British luck to all of you making the trip (it'll be a good shake down for your turbo conversion Gary). I'm planning to make the more sedate pilgrimage to LM Classic again next year.
The Classic is by far my personal favorite, little or none of the mindless Le Mans hooligan chavs... & nothing beats the sight, sound & smell of a Cobra chasing a GT40 in the dark.Flames from their exhausts, disc brakes glowing red hot & the thunderous audio onslaught of the combined 14 litres & 16 cylinders fighting it out.
It doesn't get any better than that in my book, a truly epic and emotional atmosphere
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