The proud boy owner of an old Chimaera pup
Discussion
Greetings all. First time user, first post, so feel free to berate me on the dos and donts that I did or didn't.
So in August last year, at the ripe old age of 20 and having just bought my first house and satisfied my responsibility meter, I decided it was toy time.
I've been a long-time sufferer of OTVRD (obsession with TVR disorder) which has afflicted me since childhood and is probably due in some part to my dad's VHS copy of 'Clarkson- Unleashed' which I used to watch on repeat; my poster car of choice at the time was the Dodge Viper and witnessing it get blown into the weeds by the otherworldly rocketship Cerb left a lasting impression.
However I'd decided that actually owning a TVR as my first sports car would be a ridiculous proposition beyond my means, so had settled for a Honda S2k and begun searching for the right example. It was actually a workmate called Pav (a jap car lover and Honda fanboy ironically) who was aware of my condition and had discovered an early Chim 400 on fleaBay with low mileage going for half the usual asking price of a decent example. eBay, suspiciously low price, for a low mileage car? Hmm... Something fishy here... It was based not far from me in Brizzle and Pav finally convinced me when he told me 'you go buy your S2000 Mike, and I'm sure it will be great, but then one day you'll pass a TVR coming the other way and you'll kick yourself.' So I gave the car the benefit of the doubt and arranged to meet the owner.
It conspired that the owner, Iain, a fascinating and thoroughly decent chap, was selling the TVR along with the rest of his life to go race powerboats in Ibiza or something similarly outrageous. He didn't have much history for the car other than that it was a barn find at some point in its life and after 9 years dry-stored and dormant had been rebuilt but never really finished, and at face value it wasn't in great shape (I'll elaborate on this below). At this point I was pretty much ready to call it a day, but then he went and started the bloody thing didn't he...
Of course it sounded fantastic. Incredible. THE BEST THING I'VE EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE. Iain was kind enough to let me go for a test drive and it really was a joy. Although he didn't really have any interest in finishing the car, along with his friend and mechanic Duncan (who IIRC had 7 Alfas and informed me that sometimes some of them worked), Iain had kept it in good mechanical condition. When it came to decision time and he was happy to go below the already disproportionate asking price, what else could I do...
As it appeared in the ad
So, home with me the car came and it was straight into the thick of things. First off, rapidly expiring MOT- Duncan was kind enough to set me up with a 'friendly' MOT tester who was familiar with the car, so I got myself a year of leeway to address some of the problems- first of which was the headlights. Both Iain and Duncan were completely bemused as to why they were pointed at the sky with no visible method of adjustment. I soon found out why- presumably years ago the adjuster screws had broken or the mounts on the reflector for the screws had been lost (only 2/6 of these left between both reflectors), and some cheeky sod had just sikaflex'd the reflectors to the back of the lenses, dropped them into the bodywork and sealed the whole lot in!! I ordered the bits I needed from Racetech and let me tell you, what a f
king pig of a job! I can only assume that in the future man will evolve to grow 6ft long arms with 3 elbows each, and TVR brilliantly predicted this and designed the Chimaera's headlight adjustment accordingly. Anyway, success was achieved, and no more lighting up the tops of the trees and blinding people in 3rd storey flats through their windows.
Nightmare job!!!
It's a fantastic looking thing, I'm in love with the colour and think it's fabulous even if the paintwork has seen better days; inevitable stone chips on the front, bizarre scratches on the boot lid and black sealant blobs on the bodywork in a few places. Nothing horrendous and to be honest, nothing that bothers me particularly as the car is always going to be used anyway. Interestingly the front grille seems to have been fashioned from chicken wire and is a bit of a bodge, but you know what- it works and I like it. This car is never going to win any concours competitions so I see no need to spend £££ on something else to do the same function. I may try and fashion a rubber surround for it though, as taking it out and putting it back in again to do the headlights really fks up the paintwork with the sharp edges.
She's a looker...
The roof, honestly, is in pretty st shape. The targa panel canvas is faded, torn and horrible, and the rear folding section has escaped it's Velcro fasteners and has a near opaque rear window. The seals on both parts are also well past their best and appear as though they'd have the weatherproofing abilities of a colander, although I did discover that some kind of invisible force field exists around the cabin as the MOT trip to Bristol (on day of expiry..) in torrential downpours yielded not a drop of the wet stuff in the cabin despite clear daylight in places between the seals and windows (no idea). A Steve Edwards hardtop conversion appeals.
Under the bonnet lies perhaps the biggest surprise... What's that big round thing? That's right, it's been carb converted. Carried out when the car was pulled out of the barn and rebuilt, along with Edelbrock cylinder heads and a new camshaft and valvegear. Whether this has provided any benefit/detriment I'm not sure, but I know that something in there is working because it sure makes a lot of noise. The one and only time I've been bothered to work out my fuel usage I reached a roughly calculated 13mpg over a period of part-cruising and part-fun. Not bad for a car weighing roughly 60% the amount of your average 50mpg repmobile. The engine bay looks rough at the moment, I'm planning to add some new heatshield, clean up and paint the rocker covers, re-wrap the exhausts and get a shiny new air cleaner.
A minor photobomb by the missus looking for the ejector seat button
And finally to the interior- probably the biggest element that was de-valuing this car. It simply was never finished. Completely redone after the barn find saga, what had been completed was actually to a really high standard (if perhaps in colours that would flatter an Austin Princess). Unfortunately the windscreen surround and drivers door trim weren't finished and were literally just left hanging. It had clearly been some time since the car had been in the hands of an owner with the intention of rectifying this, but I got in touch with a trimmers near me and took the car down. It turns out that the windscreen had to be removed to complete the trim, at which point it smashed into eleventy million pieces. Cue a long time in which the Tivver sat looking decidedly sorry for itself in the lockup whilst Gav from Autoglass wondered what a TVR Chimaera is and if he would be able to put a windscreen on it.
Get me out of here and on the road please!
No pictures of the interior before the trimming got done, but picture this with all the windscreen trim hanging off- not nice
However the car is back home now and providing bucketfuls of joy with that fabulous V8 roar. Only significant job left is to wire in the aftermarket speedometer which again was put in years ago but I don't believe has ever functioned. In terms of electronics the car is an absolute clusterfk. It appears to have been put together initially by Stevie Wonder, pulled apart by a herd of angry chimpanzees and then rebuilt in Bletchley park as an attempt to transmit uncrackable coded messages via the drivers-side door release. Under the dash and in the engine bay are a dizzying array of multicoloured wires, widgets and loose connectors which flap around completely devoid of any obvious destination. I'm embarrassed to say as an ex-sparky of sorts that as everything on the car seems to be working I'm too scared to touch any of it for fear of breaking it entirely. So the speedo is being dealt with by a proper auto sparky, and the unsightly spaghetti mess will remain until it stops working.
When I was doing a recce on the speedo I had the car on my crappy axle stands to check the diff transducer- I soon discovered that no matter how hard I try I cannot create enough space to work under the car, or even to see very well which has been a huge pain in the arse. I was able to conduct a brief assessment of the chassis, and the results are mixed. Whilst it doesn't seem to be in horrible condition the drivers side outrigger is looking a little worse for wear and in fact the corner 'plate' (is there a more accurate term?) has rusted through entirely. I'm hoping it's a weld-able job, but watch this space for news of a crippling bill.
It's particularly worrying as I do want to take the car on the track in the near future- Castle Combe is pretty local to me and I really want to get out there for a day, mostly just to get a better feel for the cars limits and the way it behaves on the edge of grip so that I can stop driving like miss daisy on the road. That said I have been bitten a couple of times- I've done karting ever since I was a kid and have always been a fan of enthusiastic driving but of course the Tiv is a different kettle of fish to anything I've driven before and I'm not naive enough to believe that I'll get by without some tuition at Combe and a lot more experience. The car came on 15 (15!!) year old rear tyres wrapped around 17" Dare wheels which although they've grown on me over time are still in st shape and will be removed as soon as I can get hold of a set of Dezent TIs (16" front, 17" rear, wrapped in nice-spec new tyres for the road which I'm very excited for). I did take the liberty though of replacing the old tyres on the Dare wheels with some part-worn Continental Sports which I'm told are sticky and useful for the track, so the intention is to get the new wheels on for the road and keep the old Dares as track wheels/tyres. I'm going to see if I can get an inspection by Neil Garner (local to me) pre-track day to see if the car is fit for it.
The wheels are going
Yes, this car is rough. It was rough for a long time before I bought it and it will probably stay rough in my ownership. I haven't got the time or the means to carry out a full restoration. But it will always get looked after, it will be kept on the road, and most importantly it will always be driven and enjoyed. As a Trevor nut I do wonder if I should feel guilty for keeping this car in a bad way, but in all honesty in the condition it was in I don't think it would have interested any would-be restorers and at the price I got I'm sure it was within the means of people who would have given it a far worse home than me.
So that's my introduction to TVR! So far it's been brilliant, tragic, enthralling, painful, life-affirming and eye-watering. All in the space of 6 months. Personally I feel like I did well on the car, it's perfect for me as a big boys toy without fretting too much about condition- a well-sorted Trevor maybe in the pipeline for later in life, I've always wanted an AJPV8 Cerb... The amount of hidden surprises has had me wondering if I'd been mugged off a bit, but it's still a fully functioning TVR and less than half the price of an equivalent clean (and original) one so I must have done alright on it, what do you think?
Also if there are any TVR serial number decipherers out there, the car was first registered July '93- it would be awesome to find out just how early a car it was, potentially one of the first 100?
I absolutely adore this car, and I hope that you guys can appreciate its rough charm. As stated I am TVR obsessed so expect me to be in these forums often, and I'm looking forward to meeting some PH'ers and sharing experiences. I'm hoping to start attending some meets in the South West/Wilts area (any info on this would be appreciated!).
Essay complete.
Mike
So in August last year, at the ripe old age of 20 and having just bought my first house and satisfied my responsibility meter, I decided it was toy time.
I've been a long-time sufferer of OTVRD (obsession with TVR disorder) which has afflicted me since childhood and is probably due in some part to my dad's VHS copy of 'Clarkson- Unleashed' which I used to watch on repeat; my poster car of choice at the time was the Dodge Viper and witnessing it get blown into the weeds by the otherworldly rocketship Cerb left a lasting impression.
However I'd decided that actually owning a TVR as my first sports car would be a ridiculous proposition beyond my means, so had settled for a Honda S2k and begun searching for the right example. It was actually a workmate called Pav (a jap car lover and Honda fanboy ironically) who was aware of my condition and had discovered an early Chim 400 on fleaBay with low mileage going for half the usual asking price of a decent example. eBay, suspiciously low price, for a low mileage car? Hmm... Something fishy here... It was based not far from me in Brizzle and Pav finally convinced me when he told me 'you go buy your S2000 Mike, and I'm sure it will be great, but then one day you'll pass a TVR coming the other way and you'll kick yourself.' So I gave the car the benefit of the doubt and arranged to meet the owner.
It conspired that the owner, Iain, a fascinating and thoroughly decent chap, was selling the TVR along with the rest of his life to go race powerboats in Ibiza or something similarly outrageous. He didn't have much history for the car other than that it was a barn find at some point in its life and after 9 years dry-stored and dormant had been rebuilt but never really finished, and at face value it wasn't in great shape (I'll elaborate on this below). At this point I was pretty much ready to call it a day, but then he went and started the bloody thing didn't he...
Of course it sounded fantastic. Incredible. THE BEST THING I'VE EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE. Iain was kind enough to let me go for a test drive and it really was a joy. Although he didn't really have any interest in finishing the car, along with his friend and mechanic Duncan (who IIRC had 7 Alfas and informed me that sometimes some of them worked), Iain had kept it in good mechanical condition. When it came to decision time and he was happy to go below the already disproportionate asking price, what else could I do...
As it appeared in the ad
So, home with me the car came and it was straight into the thick of things. First off, rapidly expiring MOT- Duncan was kind enough to set me up with a 'friendly' MOT tester who was familiar with the car, so I got myself a year of leeway to address some of the problems- first of which was the headlights. Both Iain and Duncan were completely bemused as to why they were pointed at the sky with no visible method of adjustment. I soon found out why- presumably years ago the adjuster screws had broken or the mounts on the reflector for the screws had been lost (only 2/6 of these left between both reflectors), and some cheeky sod had just sikaflex'd the reflectors to the back of the lenses, dropped them into the bodywork and sealed the whole lot in!! I ordered the bits I needed from Racetech and let me tell you, what a f
king pig of a job! I can only assume that in the future man will evolve to grow 6ft long arms with 3 elbows each, and TVR brilliantly predicted this and designed the Chimaera's headlight adjustment accordingly. Anyway, success was achieved, and no more lighting up the tops of the trees and blinding people in 3rd storey flats through their windows.Nightmare job!!!
It's a fantastic looking thing, I'm in love with the colour and think it's fabulous even if the paintwork has seen better days; inevitable stone chips on the front, bizarre scratches on the boot lid and black sealant blobs on the bodywork in a few places. Nothing horrendous and to be honest, nothing that bothers me particularly as the car is always going to be used anyway. Interestingly the front grille seems to have been fashioned from chicken wire and is a bit of a bodge, but you know what- it works and I like it. This car is never going to win any concours competitions so I see no need to spend £££ on something else to do the same function. I may try and fashion a rubber surround for it though, as taking it out and putting it back in again to do the headlights really f
ks up the paintwork with the sharp edges.She's a looker...
The roof, honestly, is in pretty s
t shape. The targa panel canvas is faded, torn and horrible, and the rear folding section has escaped it's Velcro fasteners and has a near opaque rear window. The seals on both parts are also well past their best and appear as though they'd have the weatherproofing abilities of a colander, although I did discover that some kind of invisible force field exists around the cabin as the MOT trip to Bristol (on day of expiry..) in torrential downpours yielded not a drop of the wet stuff in the cabin despite clear daylight in places between the seals and windows (no idea). A Steve Edwards hardtop conversion appeals.Under the bonnet lies perhaps the biggest surprise... What's that big round thing? That's right, it's been carb converted. Carried out when the car was pulled out of the barn and rebuilt, along with Edelbrock cylinder heads and a new camshaft and valvegear. Whether this has provided any benefit/detriment I'm not sure, but I know that something in there is working because it sure makes a lot of noise. The one and only time I've been bothered to work out my fuel usage I reached a roughly calculated 13mpg over a period of part-cruising and part-fun. Not bad for a car weighing roughly 60% the amount of your average 50mpg repmobile. The engine bay looks rough at the moment, I'm planning to add some new heatshield, clean up and paint the rocker covers, re-wrap the exhausts and get a shiny new air cleaner.
A minor photobomb by the missus looking for the ejector seat button
And finally to the interior- probably the biggest element that was de-valuing this car. It simply was never finished. Completely redone after the barn find saga, what had been completed was actually to a really high standard (if perhaps in colours that would flatter an Austin Princess). Unfortunately the windscreen surround and drivers door trim weren't finished and were literally just left hanging. It had clearly been some time since the car had been in the hands of an owner with the intention of rectifying this, but I got in touch with a trimmers near me and took the car down. It turns out that the windscreen had to be removed to complete the trim, at which point it smashed into eleventy million pieces. Cue a long time in which the Tivver sat looking decidedly sorry for itself in the lockup whilst Gav from Autoglass wondered what a TVR Chimaera is and if he would be able to put a windscreen on it.
Get me out of here and on the road please!
No pictures of the interior before the trimming got done, but picture this with all the windscreen trim hanging off- not nice
However the car is back home now and providing bucketfuls of joy with that fabulous V8 roar. Only significant job left is to wire in the aftermarket speedometer which again was put in years ago but I don't believe has ever functioned. In terms of electronics the car is an absolute clusterf
k. It appears to have been put together initially by Stevie Wonder, pulled apart by a herd of angry chimpanzees and then rebuilt in Bletchley park as an attempt to transmit uncrackable coded messages via the drivers-side door release. Under the dash and in the engine bay are a dizzying array of multicoloured wires, widgets and loose connectors which flap around completely devoid of any obvious destination. I'm embarrassed to say as an ex-sparky of sorts that as everything on the car seems to be working I'm too scared to touch any of it for fear of breaking it entirely. So the speedo is being dealt with by a proper auto sparky, and the unsightly spaghetti mess will remain until it stops working.When I was doing a recce on the speedo I had the car on my crappy axle stands to check the diff transducer- I soon discovered that no matter how hard I try I cannot create enough space to work under the car, or even to see very well which has been a huge pain in the arse. I was able to conduct a brief assessment of the chassis, and the results are mixed. Whilst it doesn't seem to be in horrible condition the drivers side outrigger is looking a little worse for wear and in fact the corner 'plate' (is there a more accurate term?) has rusted through entirely. I'm hoping it's a weld-able job, but watch this space for news of a crippling bill.
It's particularly worrying as I do want to take the car on the track in the near future- Castle Combe is pretty local to me and I really want to get out there for a day, mostly just to get a better feel for the cars limits and the way it behaves on the edge of grip so that I can stop driving like miss daisy on the road. That said I have been bitten a couple of times- I've done karting ever since I was a kid and have always been a fan of enthusiastic driving but of course the Tiv is a different kettle of fish to anything I've driven before and I'm not naive enough to believe that I'll get by without some tuition at Combe and a lot more experience. The car came on 15 (15!!) year old rear tyres wrapped around 17" Dare wheels which although they've grown on me over time are still in s
t shape and will be removed as soon as I can get hold of a set of Dezent TIs (16" front, 17" rear, wrapped in nice-spec new tyres for the road which I'm very excited for). I did take the liberty though of replacing the old tyres on the Dare wheels with some part-worn Continental Sports which I'm told are sticky and useful for the track, so the intention is to get the new wheels on for the road and keep the old Dares as track wheels/tyres. I'm going to see if I can get an inspection by Neil Garner (local to me) pre-track day to see if the car is fit for it.The wheels are going
Yes, this car is rough. It was rough for a long time before I bought it and it will probably stay rough in my ownership. I haven't got the time or the means to carry out a full restoration. But it will always get looked after, it will be kept on the road, and most importantly it will always be driven and enjoyed. As a Trevor nut I do wonder if I should feel guilty for keeping this car in a bad way, but in all honesty in the condition it was in I don't think it would have interested any would-be restorers and at the price I got I'm sure it was within the means of people who would have given it a far worse home than me.
So that's my introduction to TVR! So far it's been brilliant, tragic, enthralling, painful, life-affirming and eye-watering. All in the space of 6 months. Personally I feel like I did well on the car, it's perfect for me as a big boys toy without fretting too much about condition- a well-sorted Trevor maybe in the pipeline for later in life, I've always wanted an AJPV8 Cerb... The amount of hidden surprises has had me wondering if I'd been mugged off a bit, but it's still a fully functioning TVR and less than half the price of an equivalent clean (and original) one so I must have done alright on it, what do you think?
Also if there are any TVR serial number decipherers out there, the car was first registered July '93- it would be awesome to find out just how early a car it was, potentially one of the first 100?
I absolutely adore this car, and I hope that you guys can appreciate its rough charm. As stated I am TVR obsessed so expect me to be in these forums often, and I'm looking forward to meeting some PH'ers and sharing experiences. I'm hoping to start attending some meets in the South West/Wilts area (any info on this would be appreciated!).
Essay complete.
Mike
Oh yes I certainly got a laugh out of that.
ClassicChimaera said:
Grew up carting,,,,, top man.
You'll love it then, you'll never feel totally comfortable on the roads if your like me but find a nice track and they ain't half bad all things considered.
Welcome and your cars looking cool buddy, air filter in the bay,, I'd try getting some ducting onto that with cold air to it.
You can adjust the pedals as well if you like left ft braking.
Sadly relegated to rental kart championships due to lack of time and I do miss the quick stuff.. A lot to be said for jumping in a load of ropey 4 strokes with some good mates and trying to throw them all at one apex at the same time though You'll love it then, you'll never feel totally comfortable on the roads if your like me but find a nice track and they ain't half bad all things considered.
Welcome and your cars looking cool buddy, air filter in the bay,, I'd try getting some ducting onto that with cold air to it.
You can adjust the pedals as well if you like left ft braking.
I'm not sure how the Chim bonnet vents do at getting chill air into the engine bay but I figured it a pretty convenient location (if they actually do that is
)Left foot braking is actually something I never managed to transfer to cars comfortably- many a bruised forehead practising in the daily
couple that with my woeful heel and toe technique some track time and tuition is definitely required to get me up to scratch! 
QBee said:
The last time we did Combe was 31st July 2015 I think, so we are well overdue for a return visit.
I for one prefer dry weather for track days in a TVR
Here's a link to a bit of video shot by one of our number from the pit wall
linky
The entire thread gives you a feel for thelevel of abuse you will suffer pleasure you will gain if you join us on the next one.
That makes a lot of sense to me QBee, and good to hear you made it out of that moment unscathed- as for the video, awesome, they're fantastic sounding beasts ours aren't they I for one prefer dry weather for track days in a TVR
Here's a link to a bit of video shot by one of our number from the pit wall
linky
The entire thread gives you a feel for the
I made a career on the railway via an apprenticeship, so I'm well versed in learning through abuse!
so called said:
First, just to say congratulations. Just think of all those boring hours not working on an S2K :/
Having now thoroughly looked up your Chimaeras skirt, so to speak, means your far more intimately connected to it than a 'normal' cars
As for the grill mine was similar on my first Chimaera, also a 1993.
I was told it was the early design, which I still think looks good.
You can just see from the pic below there was a U shaped rubber trim that was fitted around the wire mesh.
Really miss having a Chimaera for that wonderful rumble.
Looking forward to reading more.
All the best.
One small add, you sound very sensible but please be careful in the damp weather.
The back end can go in a split second if your a bit heavy footed this time of year. That's how I lost my first Tuscan.
Exactly right! As much as I do admire the S2k as an engineering achievement, I haven't looked back for a second (been far too busy getting grubby and sweary at the Tiv!), imagine having a toy car that just started every time how dull! Having now thoroughly looked up your Chimaeras skirt, so to speak, means your far more intimately connected to it than a 'normal' cars
As for the grill mine was similar on my first Chimaera, also a 1993.
I was told it was the early design, which I still think looks good.
You can just see from the pic below there was a U shaped rubber trim that was fitted around the wire mesh.
Really miss having a Chimaera for that wonderful rumble.
Looking forward to reading more.
All the best.
One small add, you sound very sensible but please be careful in the damp weather.
The back end can go in a split second if your a bit heavy footed this time of year. That's how I lost my first Tuscan.
Being a yoof I wasn't even aware of the early Chimaera grille design growing up but I have to agree still looks fantastic, all years and guises they're beautiful old beasts
Sad to hear about the Tuscan, as I said I've definitely been overcautious so far but have still had a big eye-opener, on an arrow-straight road on a greasy day 'surely it won't spin up the rears in a straight line from 30mph!', I soon learnt
Squirrelofwoe said:
Fantastic write-up Mike
I got my 400 (my first TVR) six months ago too, funnily enough having just bought my first house- in my case barely 3 weeks before getting the TVR
Definitely agree on the comment about first hearing it being fired up, I don't think it's something you ever forget and makes it incredibly difficult to act rationally!
You say your based in Wiltshire near Neil Garner's place, I doubt you are very far from me- I live in a small village near Faringdon (Stanford-in-the-vale), right on the Wiltshire/Oxfordshire border. I'm about 30 minutes drive from NG.
ETA: Mine also has the early shape grill with rubber surround (mine is a 1995).
Cor blimey I drive through SITV every day Squirrel! I live to the West of Swindon but work in Didcot so take A420/A417 through Wantage, bit more scenic than the motorway! Coincidentally the last time I took the Tivver to work I was followed by another Chim out of Stanford! Seem to recall it having the split grill though I got my 400 (my first TVR) six months ago too, funnily enough having just bought my first house- in my case barely 3 weeks before getting the TVR
Definitely agree on the comment about first hearing it being fired up, I don't think it's something you ever forget and makes it incredibly difficult to act rationally!
You say your based in Wiltshire near Neil Garner's place, I doubt you are very far from me- I live in a small village near Faringdon (Stanford-in-the-vale), right on the Wiltshire/Oxfordshire border. I'm about 30 minutes drive from NG.
ETA: Mine also has the early shape grill with rubber surround (mine is a 1995).
Edited by Squirrelofwoe on Thursday 12th January 11:52
if not yours then does that mean there's a hotbed of Trevor activity on my commute! 
Squirrelofwoe said:
How random is that! I live on the new development 'Nursery End', the one with the entrance alongside the Horse & Jockey Pub on the A417.
The only Chim I've seen around here was a green one going down the A420 towards Swindon back on the morning of the 2nd November (I know the exact date because I put a thread up in the 'spotted' section but nobody owned up at the time!).
This might well have been yours, but as it was a properly murky morning it was hard to tell what sort of green it was, and as it was heading in the opposite direction to me (I work in Oxford) I didn't notice if it was an earlier or later model. What colour was the one you saw?
It definitely wasn't mine as I'd have remembered if I'd followed another- but I do go that way quite a bit as my girlfriend lives in Drayton (near Abingdon) so I drive through Hanney & Wantage.
I do remember seeing that post and wondering if I may have been the culprit but I'd written it off at the time for some reason or other, I think my car may have been laid up for works during that period The only Chim I've seen around here was a green one going down the A420 towards Swindon back on the morning of the 2nd November (I know the exact date because I put a thread up in the 'spotted' section but nobody owned up at the time!).
This might well have been yours, but as it was a properly murky morning it was hard to tell what sort of green it was, and as it was heading in the opposite direction to me (I work in Oxford) I didn't notice if it was an earlier or later model. What colour was the one you saw?
It definitely wasn't mine as I'd have remembered if I'd followed another- but I do go that way quite a bit as my girlfriend lives in Drayton (near Abingdon) so I drive through Hanney & Wantage.
Edited by Squirrelofwoe on Thursday 12th January 14:50
I can't quite remember what colour the Chim was that I saw but it was definitely a later model, and he followed me into Wantage before turning off the main road just before the square.How would you feel about going for a rumble sometime when the weather is more accommodating? I would love to have a gander at that beautiful Chim of yours even if it would put my rather dog-eared effort to shame
ianwayne said:
Great first thread. I, too, lusted after an S2000 for a while until I got in one. If you're much over 6 ft tall, the headroom is not good, and if you do cram into it, the visibility is poor.
There's a reason TVRs are different, Peter Wheeler was 6ft 6 in tall.
Ironically it's the opposite problem for me, being somewhat vertically challenged! There's a reason TVRs are different, Peter Wheeler was 6ft 6 in tall.
Still I'm quite happy peering over the dashboard of the Tiv
Danattheopticians said:
Hello CanoeSniffer, Welcome to the fold. Good to see a young enthusiast. You mention you are a mid-90's lad? Guess that make you and you Chim about the same age?
I have a mate that lives in Bristol, it might be a possibility to do a detour you way if I go up to visit him this year at all. I saw your car when it was advertised, looks better now, will be nice to see you bring it right up to scratch.
Dan
Hi Dan, in fact the car is two years older than I am! The years haven't been kind to either of us I have a mate that lives in Bristol, it might be a possibility to do a detour you way if I go up to visit him this year at all. I saw your car when it was advertised, looks better now, will be nice to see you bring it right up to scratch.
DanI'd welcome that! I can talk Tiv for hours, I'm not too far from M4 J16 if that works for you- feel free to get in touch!
That is a really great video, awesome angle for the Griff video! Have to say the car sounds INCREDIBLE, surely that isn't audio from the GoPro location? External mic?
On that note a question to all who have posted videos so far, as all the cars have sounded the absolute dogs danglies, have any been standard or close to? Asking because although my ropey Chim does make a truly sensational noise at full tilt it doesn't feel as though it can be anything like as ferocious as all your cars have sounded (QBee, Matthew) and of course seeing as these are TVRs and we all know noise matters, can I honestly expect my (near) standard 400 to sound half as good as that on track?
On that note a question to all who have posted videos so far, as all the cars have sounded the absolute dogs danglies, have any been standard or close to? Asking because although my ropey Chim does make a truly sensational noise at full tilt it doesn't feel as though it can be anything like as ferocious as all your cars have sounded (QBee, Matthew) and of course seeing as these are TVRs and we all know noise matters, can I honestly expect my (near) standard 400 to sound half as good as that on track?
An update for any who are interested, the car is going back to the sparky next week to complete all the dash electronics. After that it'll be onto Neil Garner for a proper inspection with a view to taking the car on track, I imagine a lot of hard prep will be required so fingers crossed we'll be fighting fit for Castle Combe by the Summer.
Regarding the noise I think I need to be less green eyed or I shall soon find my wallet empty I think Matthew was right when he mentioned induction noise, being out in the car on the weekend reminded me what a wonderful howl it has and whilst I can long for it to sound as good as X or Y's car as much as I want I really just need to come to terms with the fact that it sounds fking awesome! No further action warranted.
I also shouldn't be thinking about performance mods when I haven't even truly stretched the Chim's legs yet. Just a byproduct of having more money than sense (not that I have much money, just a complete shortfall of sense) i may be singing a different tune though if I join these lads on track and they run rings around me all day...
Regarding the noise I think I need to be less green eyed or I shall soon find my wallet empty
I think Matthew was right when he mentioned induction noise, being out in the car on the weekend reminded me what a wonderful howl it has and whilst I can long for it to sound as good as X or Y's car as much as I want I really just need to come to terms with the fact that it sounds fking awesome! No further action warranted. I also shouldn't be thinking about performance mods when I haven't even truly stretched the Chim's legs yet. Just a byproduct of having more money than sense (not that I have much money, just a complete shortfall of sense)
i may be singing a different tune though if I join these lads on track and they run rings around me all day... QBee said:
Can I seriously suggest that before you make it louder, you find out how loud it actually is? If you have track day ambitions be very aware of noise limits. Otherwise you will spend loads getting your car noisy and track- ready, book an expensive track day, and then be on your way home having failed the noise test, no refund. The highest noise limit at any regular UK track is 105 dB(A), some,such as Castle Combe, are 100 or 101 dB(A). And decibels are not a linear scale. By TVR standards 100 dB(A) is quiet.
Thank you for the concern QBee, I think I'm pretty happy to leave it as is and will be testing before heading to the track.I think my issue is not having any frame of reference, it's all too easy to hear other people's efforts (yours in particular which made the mclaren sound pedestrian!) and get stuck in the frame of mind, 'that sounds brilliant *grumble grumble* mine sounds nothing like as good as that *grumble grumble*' but in truth I haven't had a true side-by-side experience of my car compared to another and as I said every time I get back in it I'm astonished by the noise so you could be right I could well be pushing the limits already
I really appreciate the feedback and should you return to Combe, would really enjoy hearing that 5L in person!
TVRJAS said:
Edited : You beat me to it Canoe
Edited again.
Squirrelfoe referenced about mine on the other page but I don't do track days.
I had mine tested at a Neil Garner day and it came out at 123.8 and assume Dave's will be about the same. So I think your decision is the right one with track days in mind.
In my garage section about half way day the page is a link to the sound.
Fantastic noise that Jason, made my morning! (So far a very dreary one made particularly early on account of my commute which cooncidentally takes me right past Squirrelofwoes place) Edited again.
Squirrelfoe referenced about mine on the other page but I don't do track days.
I had mine tested at a Neil Garner day and it came out at 123.8 and assume Dave's will be about the same. So I think your decision is the right one with track days in mind.
In my garage section about half way day the page is a link to the sound.
Edited by TVRJAS on Monday 16th January 22:34
I can only conclude that you've been a very bad influence on Dave, who will end up being a very bad influence on me, and we're all going to end up with ASBOs and going nowhere near a track!
I am also going to suggest to Neil that whenever he next hosts a get-together we put some sort of Mad-Max themed diorama together thar I can put my car in to excuse the state of it compared to everyone else's cars- yet another beautiful example there Jason, many thumbs up from me
Yex 450 said:
QBee said:
Sniffer, come and try one track day with the TVR gang to see if it is of boat-floating proportions.
If it is, then you will need to keep your 'zorst reasonably sane, if not you can make it as unbearable as you like.
This If it is, then you will need to keep your 'zorst reasonably sane, if not you can make it as unbearable as you like.
We like new meat
On the plus side quite a few of us have track day cans so you can get your car tested "as is" and then put a set of cans on if you need to and get a reading at that point as well. The two readings will tell you what days you can attend and what days you can't based on decibel levels. If you like track days then ACT are your friends for cans
Well, my car is now in Neil Garners place for a good going over! I should be getting the bad (or good) news Wednesday- fingers crossed!
My mate came along to lift me home and struggled to pull me away from the workshop kicking and screaming, what a fantastic place! Lots of veeeeery nice kit on show
Still squeezed in a good weekend of fun with the car before dropping it off (just in case it may be a while!!) which included wrestling with the electrics in Dave's (Squirrelofwoe) car- hopefully these two will be seeing more of each other when the weather improves
My mate came along to lift me home and struggled to pull me away from the workshop kicking and screaming, what a fantastic place! Lots of veeeeery nice kit on show
Still squeezed in a good weekend of fun with the car before dropping it off (just in case it may be a while!!) which included wrestling with the electrics in Dave's (Squirrelofwoe) car- hopefully these two will be seeing more of each other when the weather improves
Edited by CanoeSniffer on Monday 13th February 10:37
A new chapter is on the way for my knackered old Chim. The plan originally was to run the car on a budget, not be too fussed about how scruffy it was and to make do, mend and enjoy.
However I took the car to Neil Garners to get a good idea of exactly what I was playing with, and the prognosis was not good. As anticipated the outriggers were shot, but they were far worse than I had thought- no amount of tacking and welding was going to bring them back into service. The control arms and brakes were also ravaged by the gods of time and rust, and no bodgery was going to get this mess sorted anytime soon.
And so my cheap and cheerful Chim will no longer be so! New outriggers are on their way and the old ones were in the process of departing the car as I saw it today. The backbone of the chassis is comparatively in very good shape, so she should be good and solid once they're on. As the suspension is being dismantled anyway, the tired old Billies are coming off and a kindly soul on here has sorted me some Gaz Gold Pros which along with new bushes and arms should hopefully transform the handling of the car. The brakes will hopefully be replaced with an st225 setup, the guys at NGs are going to check the clearances on this to see if I can get away with my planned drop of wheel size to 16" fronts.
The fellas were actually quite enthusiastic about my Edelbrock carb'd Rover V8, and on first encounter they believe it to be in good health which is really encouraging. They'll carry out a comprehensive service and health check whilst they've got the car so if there are any foibles to be found- fingers crossed they'll be found!
So the next time I drive this car it's going to be a very different animal indeed. She's not looking like the bargain she once was, but all in she still only owes me £11-12k so it's not tragic. Certainly on the face of it she'll be far more scruffy than cars that sell for that sort of money, but underneath we should have years worth of solidity and reliability, and a wonderful driving experience to boot.
I'm now looking to the future and words cannot describe how excited I am for this summer when I promise I'll be hitting the track. She pales in comparison to most cars on here, but it's something a little bit unique and I like to think it'll be something to be proud of.
Finally, I can't say enough for the guys at Neil Garners. They're enthusiastic about the cars, completely open to anything you want to know, and they've had remarkable tolerance for my wandering around the workshop open-jawed every time I visit. I don't think beastie could be in a safer pair of hands.
However I took the car to Neil Garners to get a good idea of exactly what I was playing with, and the prognosis was not good. As anticipated the outriggers were shot, but they were far worse than I had thought- no amount of tacking and welding was going to bring them back into service. The control arms and brakes were also ravaged by the gods of time and rust, and no bodgery was going to get this mess sorted anytime soon.
And so my cheap and cheerful Chim will no longer be so! New outriggers are on their way and the old ones were in the process of departing the car as I saw it today. The backbone of the chassis is comparatively in very good shape, so she should be good and solid once they're on. As the suspension is being dismantled anyway, the tired old Billies are coming off and a kindly soul on here has sorted me some Gaz Gold Pros which along with new bushes and arms should hopefully transform the handling of the car. The brakes will hopefully be replaced with an st225 setup, the guys at NGs are going to check the clearances on this to see if I can get away with my planned drop of wheel size to 16" fronts.
The fellas were actually quite enthusiastic about my Edelbrock carb'd Rover V8, and on first encounter they believe it to be in good health which is really encouraging. They'll carry out a comprehensive service and health check whilst they've got the car so if there are any foibles to be found- fingers crossed they'll be found!
So the next time I drive this car it's going to be a very different animal indeed. She's not looking like the bargain she once was, but all in she still only owes me £11-12k so it's not tragic. Certainly on the face of it she'll be far more scruffy than cars that sell for that sort of money, but underneath we should have years worth of solidity and reliability, and a wonderful driving experience to boot.
I'm now looking to the future and words cannot describe how excited I am for this summer when I promise I'll be hitting the track. She pales in comparison to most cars on here, but it's something a little bit unique and I like to think it'll be something to be proud of.
Finally, I can't say enough for the guys at Neil Garners. They're enthusiastic about the cars, completely open to anything you want to know, and they've had remarkable tolerance for my wandering around the workshop open-jawed every time I visit. I don't think beastie could be in a safer pair of hands.
TVRJAS said:
Sorry to read that your car has turned out to be hiding many of the common issues I had to have the body off mine about 6 months ago so know exactly what you're going through.
If the overall price as you mention turns out to be correct then after all the work is done you should at least have good value in the car. After having my work done my insurers increased the agreed valuation which was not far off my outlay that I incurred,so in theory it's just moving money from the bank into an investment on 4 wheels.( That was how I looked at it anyway)
It doesn't sound as though it's dampened your TVR experience and when the work is complete I hope you get many enjoyable years as I have.
I remember meeting a guy new to the TVR fold that bought what he thought was a good bargain only to find out it was rotten with many faults. He really didn't have much good to say about the whole experience,but In my view bargains are that for a reason and I really don't think he did his homework
Good luck with everything.... Jas
Thank you Jas, I like to believe that I went in with my eyes open- just a little too optimistic and thinking I was Del Boy and I'd be able to keep a rotter on the road for pittance I had to have the body off mine about 6 months ago so know exactly what you're going through.If the overall price as you mention turns out to be correct then after all the work is done you should at least have good value in the car. After having my work done my insurers increased the agreed valuation which was not far off my outlay that I incurred,so in theory it's just moving money from the bank into an investment on 4 wheels.( That was how I looked at it anyway)
It doesn't sound as though it's dampened your TVR experience and when the work is complete I hope you get many enjoyable years as I have.
I remember meeting a guy new to the TVR fold that bought what he thought was a good bargain only to find out it was rotten with many faults. He really didn't have much good to say about the whole experience,but In my view bargains are that for a reason and I really don't think he did his homework
Good luck with everything.... Jas
at the end of the day- YGWYPF, as I've learnt! At least having had all the work done and getting stuck in myself quite often means that I've left my mark on the car, she's definitely mine now! Speaking of agreed valuation.. I must remember to change mine as it's still set at the not-so-princely sum I bought the car for.. Which would hit me hard if it ever came to it
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