Wednesday 19th March 2014

Time For Tea? TVR Tuscan V8

A slightly different take on the modified car theme from one dedicated PHer

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Time For Tea? had to feature something modified today, didn’t it? With over 200 comments already on the Tell Me I’m Wrong, it’s clearly a topic we all have an opinion on.

Trouble is, a 1,000hp GT-R or mega Evo is a little predictable when it comes to tuned cars. So how about this? A TVR Tuscan with an LS7 V8; faster and more reliable than standard, with one of the most iconic soundtracks there is.

Furthermore that more reliable claim isn’t our view, it’s from the owner. See this particular Tuscan was featured in Carpool at the start of last year and is owned by Simon Partridge. The original story included a short drive-by clip and here we have four minutes of nothing but raucous V8 rumble. Loud V8 rumble at that.

Of course some will object to the idea of substituting the original car’s straight six with a more conventional V8. But when the results are similar to Simon’s Tuscan, it’s easy to see the appeal of an LS conversion!

Enjoy.

[Evo]

No objections at all to fitting an "LS" engine in a TVR, TVR's have certainly long since been powered by big V8's

TVR's are about a raw driving experience and it certainly won't be lacking in that department.

Change the rear silencers though, looks like they've been nicked off Smokey and the Bandits Kenworth

Edited by Evo on Wednesday 19th March 16:17

[Evo]

What is the cost to rebuild and uprate a Speed 6 from Str8ght Six then. I think it's becoming refreshing now that for a decent amount you can sort what was previously regarding as a potentially troublesome engine. The 996 engines now can be modified to remove IMS RMS issues for a few thousand which I'd consider right for cars with this level of performance.

My dilemma in a few years Speed 6 Tuscan or 996 C4S, glad both can sorted properly.

[Evo]

spartridge said:

Evo said:

Change the rear silencers though, looks like they've been nicked off Smokey and the Bandits Kenworth

Now that's much better, now it's perfect

[Evo]

spartridge said:

Just as a footnote to this thread, and to address the other one on modifying, I didn't undertake this on the basis of how it would sound , or reliability/servicing cost (my speed 6 was completely fine after 32k miles and I'm fortunate enough to not have to run the car on a shoestring). The primary objective was a step up in performance and the fun of doing the project. I looked into:

- A n/a upgrade to the speed 6...but it wasn't going to give a significant enough performance uplift so couldn't really be considered as an alternative to the approach I have taken.
- Supercharging...but I consider I had a lucky escape here after what I've subsequently seen/heard.
- Buying a different car...but in reality I wasn't going to be able to part with the Tuscan so it would have been an addition, and I really couldn't find anything else I wanted TBH. Plus, I could have ended up spending a lot of money and not obtain comparative performance. To a lesser extent, I was mindful of suffering more depreciation in 12 months than the cost of all the upgrades I ended up doing on the Tuscan, and having that nagging worry about putting miles on a car with sensitive resale values.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKS3h39SmXc


I respect the purists among us, but I'm not one as far as TVRs are concerned because I personally think this sort of thing is what they are all about, and where they differ from Porsches, Ferraris, Lambos etc.

Your spot on, its your car built for your reasons and your enjoyment only.