My V8 powered TVR Vixen
Discussion
Finally sun has been out and I have been able to snap a few pictures of my new pride and joy.
Some of you might have seen my previous project a Zetec powered MGB GT that ended in tears when the building that it was stored in during my 10 year restoration went up in flames due to reckless welding gone wrong. :doh:
http://www.turbosport.co.uk/showthread.php?t=12748...
The MGB was nearing completion and I had high hopes and plenty of mojo to get it on the road this or next year. I was on the final stretch when the car was turned into a heap of scrap metal in under 10minutes.
So to get through the rather hard times I started looking for a replacement to the MGB. I remembered an advertisement for a TVR Vixen that had been on finn.no which is Norway’s largest used car market. It was advertised as being a TVR Vixen Prototype. I googled the site and found the ad that had lapsed two years ago, but luckily the seller hadn’t deleted the ad. The ad came up as “passiv” meaning it wouldn’t show if you used the site search engine, but by performing a site search (site:finn.no) I was able to find the ad. To get time to pass I sent the seller a message expecting the car to have been sold. A week passed and I was still thinking of what the MGB would have been when suddenly a response form the seller came. The car was not for sale by him no more as his son had received it as premature inheritance from the seller. But he also wrote that the car might be for sale by the son. My heart rate rose and I punched the given phone number. I told him I had gotten his number from his father and wondered if he still had the TVR and if he’d consider selling? My heart rate jumped another time as a positive response came. At that moment I was sold, hook line and sinker! The next few weeks I completely forgot about the mangled wreck of an MGB. I spent days and nights thinking of what it might be like to own a TVR. Since the car was located some 350 miles from my home I had my dad go see the car. Only fitting as it is my dad that is the cause of my car related obsession. The viewing was at the 12:00 am. 12:15 passed, 12:16 passed, 12:29 passed and then finally at 12:31 my dad rang. The car was good! Having had a light restoration at David Gerald TVR-specialist in the early 2000s and used very sparingly after that. 12:32 By by dad, “Hello seller?” “Yes?” “I’ll have it”. Ohhh… what have I done? I just purchased a car I have never seen in real life, a model I have never seen in real life. A car I know next to nothing about! But I just had to have it!
14:23 I attached my trailer and headed 350 miles south.
Early Sunday morning at 10:00am far into the woods in south eastern Norway I saw the car for the first time; Covered with dust after being used very very sparingly for the last 3 years.
Car started with the first push of the button, idled as smooth as anything have a right to do. But provoke the throttle and it emitted a combination of thunder and hell. The car had it’s nickname – “Little Thunder”. TVR Vixens were usually fitted with either MGB 1800cc or Ford Kent 1600cc, surely not something that would emit thunder and hell? So what makes this TVR so loud, so mesmerizing?
Well under the hood is one of Edward Turners gems; a 2500cc V8 with hemi heads usually found in either the Daimler Dart/SP250 or the Jaguar 250 V8.
Omit almost all silencers and the sound is in my mind truly epic. I always find myself down shifting in tunnels, backing off and then going for the self-imposed red line at 6000rpm. According to people in the know the engine is capable of a lot more rpm with a few tweaks that I might perform in the future.
The car is by no means perfect. I’ve had to replace the starter solenoid, coil, spark plug leads, spark plugs and door handles. It needs new spline hubs and knock-off wheels, but I might convert to bolt on as the splines might not be up to the plans of tuning the engine in the future.
There are also a lot more options for bolt on wheels.
I’ll update as I go, but now I need to go and have blast through some of the local tunnels – see you all later
Some of you might have seen my previous project a Zetec powered MGB GT that ended in tears when the building that it was stored in during my 10 year restoration went up in flames due to reckless welding gone wrong. :doh:
http://www.turbosport.co.uk/showthread.php?t=12748...
The MGB was nearing completion and I had high hopes and plenty of mojo to get it on the road this or next year. I was on the final stretch when the car was turned into a heap of scrap metal in under 10minutes.
So to get through the rather hard times I started looking for a replacement to the MGB. I remembered an advertisement for a TVR Vixen that had been on finn.no which is Norway’s largest used car market. It was advertised as being a TVR Vixen Prototype. I googled the site and found the ad that had lapsed two years ago, but luckily the seller hadn’t deleted the ad. The ad came up as “passiv” meaning it wouldn’t show if you used the site search engine, but by performing a site search (site:finn.no) I was able to find the ad. To get time to pass I sent the seller a message expecting the car to have been sold. A week passed and I was still thinking of what the MGB would have been when suddenly a response form the seller came. The car was not for sale by him no more as his son had received it as premature inheritance from the seller. But he also wrote that the car might be for sale by the son. My heart rate rose and I punched the given phone number. I told him I had gotten his number from his father and wondered if he still had the TVR and if he’d consider selling? My heart rate jumped another time as a positive response came. At that moment I was sold, hook line and sinker! The next few weeks I completely forgot about the mangled wreck of an MGB. I spent days and nights thinking of what it might be like to own a TVR. Since the car was located some 350 miles from my home I had my dad go see the car. Only fitting as it is my dad that is the cause of my car related obsession. The viewing was at the 12:00 am. 12:15 passed, 12:16 passed, 12:29 passed and then finally at 12:31 my dad rang. The car was good! Having had a light restoration at David Gerald TVR-specialist in the early 2000s and used very sparingly after that. 12:32 By by dad, “Hello seller?” “Yes?” “I’ll have it”. Ohhh… what have I done? I just purchased a car I have never seen in real life, a model I have never seen in real life. A car I know next to nothing about! But I just had to have it!
14:23 I attached my trailer and headed 350 miles south.
Early Sunday morning at 10:00am far into the woods in south eastern Norway I saw the car for the first time; Covered with dust after being used very very sparingly for the last 3 years.
Car started with the first push of the button, idled as smooth as anything have a right to do. But provoke the throttle and it emitted a combination of thunder and hell. The car had it’s nickname – “Little Thunder”. TVR Vixens were usually fitted with either MGB 1800cc or Ford Kent 1600cc, surely not something that would emit thunder and hell? So what makes this TVR so loud, so mesmerizing?
Well under the hood is one of Edward Turners gems; a 2500cc V8 with hemi heads usually found in either the Daimler Dart/SP250 or the Jaguar 250 V8.
Omit almost all silencers and the sound is in my mind truly epic. I always find myself down shifting in tunnels, backing off and then going for the self-imposed red line at 6000rpm. According to people in the know the engine is capable of a lot more rpm with a few tweaks that I might perform in the future.
The car is by no means perfect. I’ve had to replace the starter solenoid, coil, spark plug leads, spark plugs and door handles. It needs new spline hubs and knock-off wheels, but I might convert to bolt on as the splines might not be up to the plans of tuning the engine in the future.
There are also a lot more options for bolt on wheels.
I’ll update as I go, but now I need to go and have blast through some of the local tunnels – see you all later
Edited by Sonus on Sunday 6th April 16:54
Edited by Sonus on Sunday 6th April 17:27
Thanks guys.
Still having problems deciding on what rims to get. Had a quote from Force Racing for some of their very lightweight rims, but they are approx. £1200
Can be made in any ET and a lot of different colours.
Then there is the Minilite style which suits the cars rounded shape. And third is the more motorsport influenced Revolution rims.
Still having problems deciding on what rims to get. Had a quote from Force Racing for some of their very lightweight rims, but they are approx. £1200
Can be made in any ET and a lot of different colours.
Then there is the Minilite style which suits the cars rounded shape. And third is the more motorsport influenced Revolution rims.
I did not know the rears are the screw in type, but i have got new wheel bearings for all four corners sitting on the shelf waiting to be installed. Is the rear drive flange a bespoke item or is it found on other cars? Would it be possible to replace the peened pin screws with studs from another car like a TR6 or maybe a MGB where the serated inner part is pushed throught he flange from the rear?
Edited by Sonus on Monday 7th April 16:53
Removed the rear wheels today to check what I believed was worn bearings. Turns out it's not the bearings, but wobbly spline hubs that needed cleaning and more worringly slack in the inner drive flange/quill shaft interface
So looks like I just spent £200 on bearings which should have gone towards refurbed uprights. You live and learn I guess.
Also managed to measure the wire wheels which turns out to be 6" wide with 90mm/3,55" back spacing not taking the spline drive hub into account. That leaves a fingers width between my 205/60/15 tires and the upright/rear shock lower mount.
All splines except the left rear looked to be in good condition.
I'm on a steap learning curve here
So looks like I just spent £200 on bearings which should have gone towards refurbed uprights. You live and learn I guess.
Also managed to measure the wire wheels which turns out to be 6" wide with 90mm/3,55" back spacing not taking the spline drive hub into account. That leaves a fingers width between my 205/60/15 tires and the upright/rear shock lower mount.
All splines except the left rear looked to be in good condition.
I'm on a steap learning curve here
Grantura MKI said:
Sonus said:
Removed the rear wheels today to check what I believed was worn bearings. Turns out it's not the bearings, but wobbly spline hubs that needed cleaning and more worringly slack in the inner drive flange/quill shaft interface
So looks like I just spent £200 on bearings which should have gone towards refurbed uprights. You live and learn I guess.
Also managed to measure the wire wheels which turns out to be 6" wide with 90mm/3,55" back spacing not taking the spline drive hub into account. That leaves a fingers width between my 205/60/15 tires and the upright/rear shock lower mount.
All splines except the left rear looked to be in good condition.
I'm on a steap learning curve here
Would be very careful here...if the hub looks worn, then the wheel usually is due to the make up of the material used.So looks like I just spent £200 on bearings which should have gone towards refurbed uprights. You live and learn I guess.
Also managed to measure the wire wheels which turns out to be 6" wide with 90mm/3,55" back spacing not taking the spline drive hub into account. That leaves a fingers width between my 205/60/15 tires and the upright/rear shock lower mount.
All splines except the left rear looked to be in good condition.
I'm on a steap learning curve here
Not sure that I would put £200 in bearings just to buy new when you purchase the hubs?
Best,
D.
I'm tempted to purchase refurbished uprights with new quill shaft etc. as I am not confident the quill shaft will hold up due to the slack.
Is there something that can be done to remove the slack? Is the inner face tapered? the outer woodrough (spelling?) key might be worn?
Astacus said:
I had the same issue on my car. I was suspicious that the quill shaft splines might have become worn, but in fact these are made of a particular grade of hardened steel and it is unlikely that hey are the problem. I replaced my inner drive flange and all was well. These are made of much softer material and so wear preferentially to the quills.
I understand that the inner flanges are available from Steve Reid if you have his details. They are also available from David Gerald's the last time I checked.
Thanks Astacus, I'll give Steve a call. I need to speak to him anyway regarding the Old Dame I understand that the inner flanges are available from Steve Reid if you have his details. They are also available from David Gerald's the last time I checked.
Draging this up from page 5 just to let you all know the car has a new gearbox arriving soon. Won a Borg Warner T5 out of a low milage TVR Griffith. It should move the lever forward about 110mm making for a back and forth shift pattern instead of the up and down it currently has. Fitting it will be a winter project for next winter I think.
Also have my eye on a second Daimler V8 engine in Sheffield for converting to fuel injection in the future
Also have my eye on a second Daimler V8 engine in Sheffield for converting to fuel injection in the future
I need to take some pictures of the car with its new wheels. I also just placed an order for some new and more supportive seats. I'm also considering upgrading the single roll hoop to something a bit more rigid in case things go horribly wrong.
Still enjoying the car every time I get to use it
Still enjoying the car every time I get to use it
I've ordered some Cobra RSR seats from www.sportseats4u.co.uk. They have the same width at the shoulders as the seat base so no problem fouling the b-pillar and they look periodish.
GTRene said:
thats a 'save' choice for width I guess, looks also very hugging, maybe a bit harder to get in and or out, but once in your good I guess
I also considered the Cobra FIA historic, but since they are even narrower and fibreglass they would be too narrow for my 34" waist. Garreth Sleigh of Sportsseats4u was very knowledgeable and said that the RSRs are quite wide due to the fact that they are a steel frame seat and not a fibreglass shell. What worries me the most is as you say getting in and out. i am actually considering moving the oedalbox further back by an inch so that I have the seat further back making entry easier.prideaux said:
I met someone at silverstone Classic today that 20 year ago had a yellow Vixen that he fitted a Daimler V8 in he does not think it was yours as it was done so the standard bonnet fitted the car but interesting that at some point there was another Daimler powered car done i wonder is it still around
A
Could it be though? It cerainly looks like the Old Dame has inspirered a few owners A
Could it be that the Old Dame was yellow at some point? I know my car was white originally and was painted black/green when it arrived in Norway, but my car wasn't in the UK 20 years ago. It has beein norway for 32 years.
prideaux said:
Sonus said:
Could it be though? It cerainly looks like the Old Dame has inspirered a few owners
Could it be that the Old Dame was yellow at some point? I know my car was white originally and was painted black/green when it arrived in Norway, but my car wasn't in the UK 20 years ago. It has beein norway for 32 years.
No the old Dame was the insperation for him to do the conversion the Old dame is the real Mac CoyCould it be that the Old Dame was yellow at some point? I know my car was white originally and was painted black/green when it arrived in Norway, but my car wasn't in the UK 20 years ago. It has beein norway for 32 years.
A
Great day today as two things happened;
One my dad brought me the full binder of receipts and correspondance previous owners have had. There are receipts for work at DG that total a lot more than I paid and then you can add the cost of the engine overhaul and upgrades that Russ Carpenter did. So fairly pleased with that.
Two my new seats arrived out of thin air as the seller thought they were still in production, but it seams the manufacturer was a bit ahead and since the seller had them shipped direct didn't know
I have test sat them and I fit fine. Tomorrow I will find out if they fit the car
One my dad brought me the full binder of receipts and correspondance previous owners have had. There are receipts for work at DG that total a lot more than I paid and then you can add the cost of the engine overhaul and upgrades that Russ Carpenter did. So fairly pleased with that.
Two my new seats arrived out of thin air as the seller thought they were still in production, but it seams the manufacturer was a bit ahead and since the seller had them shipped direct didn't know
I have test sat them and I fit fine. Tomorrow I will find out if they fit the car
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