Tuscan for sale in Glasgow - info please

Tuscan for sale in Glasgow - info please

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JonnySpeedbump

Original Poster:

13 posts

191 months

Friday 26th June 2015
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Hey folks,
I've been quietly lurking on here for a few months now, reading up on Tuscans as I plan to purchase one in the near future.

Going through the car classifieds i spotted this one for sale in Glasgow (pretty unusual as the closest i've seen for sale in the past few months was about 200miles away) - http://www.scottishmotorservices.co.uk/used-cars/t...

Does anyone on here have any knowledge of the car in question?

With regards to my search for the right car, i'm not fussy in terms of cosmetic stuff or wether it's a standard Tuscan or an 'S'. My one stipulation is that it needs to have had at least a top end rebuild and preferably fairly recently as, from what I've read, valve train issues seem to be a major worry on earlier Tuscans (please correct me if i'm wrong).
I'm no stranger to a spanner though and rebuilt the RB26 on a Nissan Skyline I owned a few years ago but i am getting on in years (just hit the big 4 0 this month!) so the less i need to crawl about in pools of oil and water the better :-).

Any help and advice greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Jonny

Speed 3

4,486 posts

118 months

Friday 26th June 2015
quotequote all
That looks pretty decent depending on who did the rebuild. If it's one of the major 3 (TVR Power, Str8Six or Racing Green) with transferable warranty then no worries in that department. You'll need to verify the handling as early cars were jittery but improved with Geo and possibly new dampers. Rolex Blue is always an iconic colour. On paper looks decent at that money if the history is well documented.

Edited by Speed 3 on Saturday 27th June 21:36

JonnySpeedbump

Original Poster:

13 posts

191 months

Saturday 27th June 2015
quotequote all
Thanks for that Speed 3.
I was passing the garage today so popped in to see the beastie in the flesh. Rebuild was by TVR Power costing 5.5k with new clutch so all good there.
Had a quick look around and it looks pretty decent condition for a car of it's age.
Had a gander underneath and found the outriggers looking quite rusty which surprised me a bit. Would've thought with that kinda money spent on an engine rebuild that the previous owner would have had the outriggers replaced or at least treated...
Is there any eay way to assess the condition of the chassis with the car on the ground or does it really need to be up on ramps? Didn't uave time to test drive it today but if I do go back for a test drive, are there any tell-tale signs I should look out for that the chassis or indeed suspension is tired?
Cheers,
Jonny

Speed 3

4,486 posts

118 months

Saturday 27th June 2015
quotequote all
You really need it on a ramp to have a decent look and even then there could still be some hidden trouble. That said, Tuscans aren't particularly known for bad chassis compared to other models. Outriggers will always be vulnerable to cr*p kicked up by the front wheels. Poke around and tap test as much as you can when its up in the air. A bit of superficial rust can be remedied but if its deeply penetrated you are looking at more serious work. Unless its completely sh*gged and therefore dangerous you'd have to be particualrly skilled to pick up any impact on handling. The early ones were known for being slightly twitchy with a very quick steering ratio and some tendency to bump steer so if you haven't driven one don't take that as sign of trouble. That behaviour can be modified with a Geo set up and revised dampers if not already done.

MikeE

1,826 posts

283 months

Sunday 28th June 2015
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That looks like a very early car to me, I haven't seen one with solid front disks for a long time, think they probably went drilled in mid-2000.

That's not to say thats a negative in anyway, just saying it's an early one smile

dvs_dave

8,581 posts

224 months

Sunday 28th June 2015
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Someone has fiddled with the suspension by the looks of it. It's sitting too low at the front which means the suspension is no longer working around its geo sweet spot, usually making them especially twitchy.

JonnySpeedbump

Original Poster:

13 posts

191 months

Sunday 28th June 2015
quotequote all
Cheers fellas :-).
Yeah Dave I see what you mean about the front end sitting low... Were the standard shocks height adjustable on Tuscans? I'm going for a test drive next weekend so will have a look at the shocks then, see if they are aftermarket items or if there are signs of 'fiddling'.

Speed 3

4,486 posts

118 months

Sunday 28th June 2015
quotequote all
Standard dampers non-adjustable. Car is typically improved with Nitrons or Gaz but general recommendation even on those is to have them wound off fully for road use, only adjusting down for track. If it's not on adjustables then would be interesting to know what's going on. If it has them then they're generally about £1,500's worth of upgrade.