Thinking of getting my 1st TVR
Discussion
So for some odd reason the idea of getting a TVR has been working it's way into and growing inside my head for a little while now. Possibly because there is a little money coming my way in the not too distant future but the budget is still limited. The problem is that I know very little about them. My only experience with TVR's was back in 2002 when working as a recovery driver for Dorking Autos and during that time picked up a couple to take to the TVR centre at Salfords in Surrey.
Have always admired the curves found on many TVR models and as am not a fan of wedge shapes that leaves the Chimaera and Cerbera really as the Griffith will be beyond the budget constraints.
For some time have been reading what I can about these and what to look for but in all honesty a lot of what is found on the web is conflicting. In the past like with my MGF's have bought cheap project cars and done them up doing most of the work myself except body work and paint and getting a TVR will mean selling the MG and of course the time to do that is next April when people are looking for a convertable. This means it is really the wrong time to buy another convertable of course. This leads me to the quandry ............................. do we go for another convertable i.e Chimaera ( I do enjoy top down motoring) or go for the 2+2 of the Cerbera? The MGF is surprisingly useful as an everyday car and it's boot large enough to do the weekly shop with although we do run a normal 4 door saloon as well so this is not the primary concern for use.
Looking on the web and reading the forums here one thing that has struck me is the small size of the Chimarea brakes and this has me somewhat confused as the MGF as standard has small brakes (240mm all round) and they are some what lacking for spirited driving. The Trophy of course has AP Racing 4 pot calipers up front clamping onto 304mm dia 24mm thick vented discs and my MGF has these fitted with S/S Braided hoses, servo brace, and Duraflex bushed suspension. The MGF weighs about the same or maybe a triffle more than the Chimaera weighing in at around 1100-1300 kgs.
So does the Chimaera require brake upgrades? The forums seem to be rather divided from the posts that I have been reading and I note that the Cerbera has larger brakes as standard! This makes me wonder why TVR upgraded the Cerberas but not the Chimaeras?
Now fuel consumption should not be the issue as for one thing I won't be racing it and if the figures found on the web are about right the 4.0 V8 will return around the same consumption as my old Rover 2.5 V6 auto Connoisseur did. I do around 4000-7000 miles per year in the MGF.
Back to the question project or not? Now I realise that cars this old will have rust on their steel under parts and chassis so would buying a cheap car allowing money left to do a chassis and suspension rebuild then knowing that this has all been done be worth considering or not?
Would allowing say £3000-£5000 for such a rebuild be realistic if I am going to do most of the work, stripping and preparation, myself allowing professionals to do the actuall chassis repair if required?
The obvious thing to do now is to get close to some TVR's and speak to their owners/drivers and maybe even get a ride in one or two and find out for sure if in fact one is for me. There does not seem to be any TVR specialists near to here as we are located near to Boston in Lincolnshire to have a browse a round a car or two and of course ask questions.
Sorry about the lengthy first post but hope you will understand where I am coming from.
Have always admired the curves found on many TVR models and as am not a fan of wedge shapes that leaves the Chimaera and Cerbera really as the Griffith will be beyond the budget constraints.
For some time have been reading what I can about these and what to look for but in all honesty a lot of what is found on the web is conflicting. In the past like with my MGF's have bought cheap project cars and done them up doing most of the work myself except body work and paint and getting a TVR will mean selling the MG and of course the time to do that is next April when people are looking for a convertable. This means it is really the wrong time to buy another convertable of course. This leads me to the quandry ............................. do we go for another convertable i.e Chimaera ( I do enjoy top down motoring) or go for the 2+2 of the Cerbera? The MGF is surprisingly useful as an everyday car and it's boot large enough to do the weekly shop with although we do run a normal 4 door saloon as well so this is not the primary concern for use.
Looking on the web and reading the forums here one thing that has struck me is the small size of the Chimarea brakes and this has me somewhat confused as the MGF as standard has small brakes (240mm all round) and they are some what lacking for spirited driving. The Trophy of course has AP Racing 4 pot calipers up front clamping onto 304mm dia 24mm thick vented discs and my MGF has these fitted with S/S Braided hoses, servo brace, and Duraflex bushed suspension. The MGF weighs about the same or maybe a triffle more than the Chimaera weighing in at around 1100-1300 kgs.
So does the Chimaera require brake upgrades? The forums seem to be rather divided from the posts that I have been reading and I note that the Cerbera has larger brakes as standard! This makes me wonder why TVR upgraded the Cerberas but not the Chimaeras?
Now fuel consumption should not be the issue as for one thing I won't be racing it and if the figures found on the web are about right the 4.0 V8 will return around the same consumption as my old Rover 2.5 V6 auto Connoisseur did. I do around 4000-7000 miles per year in the MGF.
Back to the question project or not? Now I realise that cars this old will have rust on their steel under parts and chassis so would buying a cheap car allowing money left to do a chassis and suspension rebuild then knowing that this has all been done be worth considering or not?
Would allowing say £3000-£5000 for such a rebuild be realistic if I am going to do most of the work, stripping and preparation, myself allowing professionals to do the actuall chassis repair if required?
The obvious thing to do now is to get close to some TVR's and speak to their owners/drivers and maybe even get a ride in one or two and find out for sure if in fact one is for me. There does not seem to be any TVR specialists near to here as we are located near to Boston in Lincolnshire to have a browse a round a car or two and of course ask questions.
Sorry about the lengthy first post but hope you will understand where I am coming from.
Thank you for the suggestions and replies. I have read that buyer guide a couple of times actually and intend to join the Car club once the Christmas break is over also have a few TVR's on my watch list on ebay but none are even remotely close but shuld give me an idea on how theya re sellign and how much for. Looking on Autotrader it would seem that there is a Red 5.0L Chimaera near Norwich but that is a good 2-3 hour drive from here and it really beyond the budget. Otherwise the nearest is Selby or down into Essex so these mean a day out really. Or across to the Midlands again not exactly a quick jaunt down the road just to get a look as one.
Perhaps a visit to one of the TVR specialist dealers might be an idea?
Should have mentioned I supposed that insurance should not really be an issue due to my not being a spring chicken anymore seeing as I am over 55 now and have a spare 13+ years NCB to use. In the MG I then to get to as many meets and events as I can although 2016 was a wash out for this due to losses in the family hopefully once we move things will settle down once more.
Perhaps a visit to one of the TVR specialist dealers might be an idea?
Should have mentioned I supposed that insurance should not really be an issue due to my not being a spring chicken anymore seeing as I am over 55 now and have a spare 13+ years NCB to use. In the MG I then to get to as many meets and events as I can although 2016 was a wash out for this due to losses in the family hopefully once we move things will settle down once more.
TVRees said:
What about a TVR-S, V6 or V8 ?
Thank you and I have looked at a few that I found listed online but again really need to view a couple to get a feel for them. Have also been listing to the various TVR's on you-tube and yes the S can sound awesome but one has to admit that the sound of a nice V8 is very hard to beat. At this point in time nothing is set in stone and have a fairly open mind as being realistic with the budget am not going to get the perfect combination of body colour and trim as after all it's not like I was specifying it like the original buyer was.I can say that am not a fan of dark interiors and that I do love those bright Yellow cars. Sadly a lot of those would likely have black seats etc. Also prefer bright colours for the body
grey is rather boring and silver well it's a shade of grey really. Black nope not really for me. Now White can be stunning but the shade of it seems to matter and some shades work better on some body styles like Old English White suits the Rover 75 far better that Dover White IMHO. British Racing Green can be an awesome colour especially when matched to the correct interior.Edit:- Am currently reading through thsi post which I failed to spot earlier. It may well have many of my questions already answered!
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Edited by Brithunter on Tuesday 27th December 21:41
Prices have definitely firmed considerably in the last 12 months but project cars do occasionally pop up on the Bay. What is your budget ?:-
If things work out around £10,000-£14,000 and of course this has come as prices has started to climb ............................ typical my being late "on the wagon" so to speak!
As for where we live ahhh yes everything is a drive the weekly shopping means a 25 mile round trip we are about 2 miles from the village shop and PO, 7 miles from the doctors, 13 miles from the hospital and 7 miles from the nearest petrol station. Kent is about a 3 hour drive depending on traffic on the A14/M11 or A1M For example Gatwick is about a 4 hour drive and often longer now at one time this could be done in 3-3 1/2 hours but speed restrictions, road works, and the volume of traffic had made it a lot longer. Used to live next door to Gatwick. Been up here since 2003.
If things work out around £10,000-£14,000 and of course this has come as prices has started to climb ............................ typical my being late "on the wagon" so to speak!
As for where we live ahhh yes everything is a drive the weekly shopping means a 25 mile round trip we are about 2 miles from the village shop and PO, 7 miles from the doctors, 13 miles from the hospital and 7 miles from the nearest petrol station. Kent is about a 3 hour drive depending on traffic on the A14/M11 or A1M For example Gatwick is about a 4 hour drive and often longer now at one time this could be done in 3-3 1/2 hours but speed restrictions, road works, and the volume of traffic had made it a lot longer. Used to live next door to Gatwick. Been up here since 2003.
Edited by Brithunter on Friday 6th January 17:27
gemini said:
As for the one in Selby if you want it looking over for you?
Thank you for the offer but am only browsing at the moment as we do not know when the funds will become available just yet. It could be weeks it may be a couple of months.For now I need to get a close look over a few myself and hopefully get a ride in a couple to get the feel of them. Searching the web have come across "James Agger Auto Sport" and "TVR Mads" that seem to have some nice Chimaeras in stock so might be worth a call and see if it wuld be possible to view and ask questions. Both dealers are a fair drive away though. Am surprised that I could not find any offered for sale around the Peterborough area as there are tons of dealers around there.
Anyway it's late now so am off to bed.
QBee said:
Either I am being thick, or you don't say where you live. Knowing (roughly) that would help.
There are plenty of regular meets and drives, but the first big TVR car show of the season is Burghley (A1, Stamford, north of Peterborough) in early April, so just over 3 months away. You will find 600+ cars there, of every version ever made.
The S or Chimaera are in your budget, I doubt you would find a decent Cerbera for that money, and they can be expensive to run. The brakes are fine for normal road work. If you want more bite and cheaply, consider upgrading the front disks to grooved, and the pads to something with more bite, like Mintex 1144. But keep the same size (260mm front, 273mm rear).
Good luck. And yes, a good S in the hands of a very good driver is amazingly quick. Mat won the Dunlop TVR championship this year in a Chimaera he developed himself, and being a TVR specialist, he completely stripped and refurbished all the mechanicals on his S. So the car itself is spot on. But I agree, the V8 rumble is something special.
Have been to several MG and Rover meets at Burleigh over the last few years. On the way back from one in the 97 VVC a return hose split near Boston so almost home. Nephew brought some water out and nursed her home, near the Parrot Zoo, and got a new hose fitted. As my MGF's are all now 17+years old the hoses are tired and have been working on replacing them.There are plenty of regular meets and drives, but the first big TVR car show of the season is Burghley (A1, Stamford, north of Peterborough) in early April, so just over 3 months away. You will find 600+ cars there, of every version ever made.
The S or Chimaera are in your budget, I doubt you would find a decent Cerbera for that money, and they can be expensive to run. The brakes are fine for normal road work. If you want more bite and cheaply, consider upgrading the front disks to grooved, and the pads to something with more bite, like Mintex 1144. But keep the same size (260mm front, 273mm rear).
Good luck. And yes, a good S in the hands of a very good driver is amazingly quick. Mat won the Dunlop TVR championship this year in a Chimaera he developed himself, and being a TVR specialist, he completely stripped and refurbished all the mechanicals on his S. So the car itself is spot on. But I agree, the V8 rumble is something special.
Thanks for the advice on the brakes! Of course it may be that I acquire a Chimaera that has already got some upgrades
only time will tell.TR4man said:
Good luck with your search.
I'm also the other side of 55 and bought my first TVR in October, although I have always had some sort of "toy" in the garage. As others have suggested, a Chimaera might be the ideal first TVR. I went for one of the final Mk3 Chimaeras bought from a specialist near Redditch after viewing only three others. One I viewed was in Chester, another near Northampton and another in North London - you have to accept that you will have to travel to view and eventually buy.
I wouldn't be too disheartened that there appears to be so few for sale in your part of the country as winter does tend to be the quieter time of year to sell or buy a car such as a TVR. Use this time to do your homework. Also you should be prepared for cars that have been fiddled about with - TVRs seem to attract owners who like to tinker!
Once you have got your TVR, you won't regret it. In the first couple of weeks that I owned mine, I did more mileage in it than it had covered in the previous three years!
I'm also the other side of 55 and bought my first TVR in October, although I have always had some sort of "toy" in the garage. As others have suggested, a Chimaera might be the ideal first TVR. I went for one of the final Mk3 Chimaeras bought from a specialist near Redditch after viewing only three others. One I viewed was in Chester, another near Northampton and another in North London - you have to accept that you will have to travel to view and eventually buy.
I wouldn't be too disheartened that there appears to be so few for sale in your part of the country as winter does tend to be the quieter time of year to sell or buy a car such as a TVR. Use this time to do your homework. Also you should be prepared for cars that have been fiddled about with - TVRs seem to attract owners who like to tinker!
Once you have got your TVR, you won't regret it. In the first couple of weeks that I owned mine, I did more mileage in it than it had covered in the previous three years!
Edited by TR4man on Wednesday 28th December 07:46
That is what happened once I got the 75th Anniversary on the road after the rebuild. Had to change the insurance to unlimited as was going to go over the 3,000 mile limit in a couple of months. Trip down to Silverstone for MGF 20 then to Gaydon, run through the Derbyshire peaks, over to Burleigh, then a couple down into Norfolk then varois club gathering around Lincolnshire soon mounted up. Have some nice photos of us going round the Silverstone GP Circuit.Well have made contact with a couple of owners in Lincolnshire through FB pages and might get to look over a Chim today and chat with it's owner. Due to the vey frosty conditions he won't take it out today but that is not a problem as I just want to have a look over one close up and chat to the owner and pick his brains about it and the Chimaera in general.
Well it looks like John in Boston has gone off the idea of a meet and chat. Shame but will just have to wait a bit longer to get a good lok over a Chimaera I suppose.
Agger is one dealer that came up in my web searches and was sort of hoping that they would not mind helping educate me a bit about the TVR Chimaeras. Nice to get a positive referecne about them though ......................... thank you for that.
Am hoping to make the meet on the 8th so chat and look over a few but that will depend on if the solicitors comes up with a completion date soon. Might too busy packing up so have to wait and see.
Agger is one dealer that came up in my web searches and was sort of hoping that they would not mind helping educate me a bit about the TVR Chimaeras. Nice to get a positive referecne about them though ......................... thank you for that.
Am hoping to make the meet on the 8th so chat and look over a few but that will depend on if the solicitors comes up with a completion date soon. Might too busy packing up so have to wait and see.
Ok so after lots of questions and web searching it would seem that a Chimaera is going to be probably the best bet. It has the rounded and curvacious shape that I love. I mean it really has classic curves and no real angular bits to spoil them 
and yes I ddi have a look on the web as the S model which also has the curves at teh front. The Wedges just don't have the same appeal to me.
The Griffith also has the curve appeal but they are just priced too highly for the budget and the budget has the final say.
So over the next days and weeks will try to learn more and get the look over some cars in the flesh and hopefully be in the position to make a decision on one when the funds come through.
Thank you all for your help and advice it is most appreciated.
and yes I ddi have a look on the web as the S model which also has the curves at teh front. The Wedges just don't have the same appeal to me.The Griffith also has the curve appeal but they are just priced too highly for the budget and the budget has the final say.
So over the next days and weeks will try to learn more and get the look over some cars in the flesh and hopefully be in the position to make a decision on one when the funds come through.
Thank you all for your help and advice it is most appreciated.
Thank you all as mentioned in another thread I did get to meet up with John from Boston and look and chat about his Chimaera which was most useful. Seems the messages on FB were not getting through and then suddenly a deluge of over a dozen some back to April suddenly arrived!!
Any way I hope to make it to the meet on Sunday Jan 8th if I find out where I noted the meeting place down that is ................... Doh!! so see more TVR's and chat with the throng and learn some more..
Any way I hope to make it to the meet on Sunday Jan 8th if I find out where I noted the meeting place down that is ................... Doh!! so see more TVR's and chat with the throng and learn some more..
Hmmmm don't know about that!!!
However have begun trying to sort out some cars that I would like to make enquiries about. First stage was the check the MOT history and found some interesting things like one car advertised has not been MOT'd since 2014 yet the advert says long MOT so can only think that they mean to put a new on on it?? Hmmmm another the ad claims it has 30k more on it than the MOT's suggest???? although there is a bit odd thing that one year the mileage dropped by a few hundred miles on that one!
Another I thought looked good also has no current test on the cat it having expired last July. Things like this surely would make a test drive difficult.
On one advisory list was amused to see the comment about different/odd size wheels being fitted!
Now do Chimaeras have problems with the wipers parking? I ask due to noticing quite a few with the wipers well up the screen away from the scuttle yet others they are what one would normally expect down at the bottom of the screen.
However have begun trying to sort out some cars that I would like to make enquiries about. First stage was the check the MOT history and found some interesting things like one car advertised has not been MOT'd since 2014 yet the advert says long MOT so can only think that they mean to put a new on on it?? Hmmmm another the ad claims it has 30k more on it than the MOT's suggest???? although there is a bit odd thing that one year the mileage dropped by a few hundred miles on that one!
Another I thought looked good also has no current test on the cat it having expired last July. Things like this surely would make a test drive difficult.
On one advisory list was amused to see the comment about different/odd size wheels being fitted!
Now do Chimaeras have problems with the wipers parking? I ask due to noticing quite a few with the wipers well up the screen away from the scuttle yet others they are what one would normally expect down at the bottom of the screen.
TV8 said:
regarding mileage, obviously, proper checks are required, but mine has a small anomaly in the mileage of MOTs. It was caused by repair of a faulty speedo and a temporary one being on the car when the MOT is due - all supported by pictures and said item in the history file but that wouldn't come through on a on-line check!
The speedo going wrong is not uncommon and the main company that repairs them, doesn't always live up to its name so I would not be surprised if there a few strange mileages are out there for the same reason!
Ahhh thank you interesting to know that. Seem electronic speedos are not perhaps all they are cracked up to me. Nephew had a Rover 45 that in which the speedo had been replaced due it being faulty. The old cable driven units seem to survive well though.The speedo going wrong is not uncommon and the main company that repairs them, doesn't always live up to its name so I would not be surprised if there a few strange mileages are out there for the same reason!
Edited by TV8 on Sunday 8th January 14:15
Edited by Brithunter on Wednesday 26th July 18:51
Well time for an update and things have changed somewhat since I started this thread. These being:-
1) Have met a few owners and learnt more about what i like and want ideally. Have even been for a run out in a nice 4.0l Chimaera thanks to a very kind couple from Norfolk.
2) Have moved and am no longer in the UK this complicates matters slightly of course.
3) The house sale is finally going through so can finally begin to look for the right Chimeara.
4) The import taxes here will mean the budget is squeezed to allow for them
5) Having LPG is almost a given as most larger petrol cars run on LPG here and it's sold in every station it seems.
So exciting times ahead.
1) Have met a few owners and learnt more about what i like and want ideally. Have even been for a run out in a nice 4.0l Chimaera thanks to a very kind couple from Norfolk.
2) Have moved and am no longer in the UK this complicates matters slightly of course.
3) The house sale is finally going through so can finally begin to look for the right Chimeara.
4) The import taxes here will mean the budget is squeezed to allow for them
5) Having LPG is almost a given as most larger petrol cars run on LPG here and it's sold in every station it seems.
So exciting times ahead.
Edited by Brithunter on Saturday 29th July 18:06
Classic Chim said:
What sort of budget are you considering spending. I might know the perfect car. 
Well it doesn't have LPG and as others have mentioned, pretty pointless having it unless you cover huge milage.
Goodluck with your search.
Budget is around £13,000. Was hoping to allow more but shipping/delivery and registration here has to be factored in. Am going to enquire about LPG fitting here as well as it's very common here.Well it doesn't have LPG and as others have mentioned, pretty pointless having it unless you cover huge milage.
Goodluck with your search.
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