The Tuscan uses a separate tubular steel chassis, with the body screwed and bonded to it. Powder coating was used from new to protect the chassis' metal, but this can flake off due to age, wear and heat from the engine and exhaust. The most common areas for the chassis to corrode are the outriggers that spread from the central backbone to the edges of the car and support the body. A visual check will reveal a heavily corroded chassis, but rust can still lurk unseen behind heat shielding for the exhaust. This means a specialist inspection is a wise idea before committing to buying a car.
Panels should be tight, check for rust in chassis
Double wishbone suspension is used all round with coil over gas shock absorbers and anti-roll bars front and rear. The suspension is basically sound, but many owners improve their cars with dampers from Gaz, Bilstein, Nitron or Ohlins depending on how much they are willing to spend. All of these options should last longer than the standard original dampers, as well as improving the ride and handling of the Tuscan. The Red Rose and S models had firmer suspension than the standard Tuscan, while Mk2 models had revised suspension geometry to make the car more stable at high speeds.
Another common and desirable upgrade is to fit spacers to the front wheels to improve stability and prevent tramlining on bumpy roads. There's a choice of 3- or 5mm spacers available. To further improve the Tuscan's handling and stability, a bump steer kit is worth fitting. This consists of brackets that reposition the steering rack to improve the movement of the steering arms. Reckon on spending around £500 on a bump steer kit fully fitted by a specialist. Polyurethane bushes are also worth fitting to give a better ride and handling balance to the car. The Tuscan's power steering is reliable, but the relay can fail. It's a simple fix and a new relay costs £12. A whirring noise from the power steering on full lock is normal. Tuscan Mk2s have two complete turns between locks compared to the Mk1's 1.75 turns from lock to lock, which was a deliberate move to make the Mk2 more stable and less twitchy than the earlier model.
Tuscans came with 304mm front and 282mm rear ventilated disc brakes with four piston calipers for the front brakes and a single piston at the back. The S model gained 322mm and 298mm discs front and rear respectively. The 16-inch alloy wheels have the same 225/50 ZR16 tyres front and back on standard models, while the S has 18-inch alloys. However, check the Spider alloy wheels are not buckled as they are known to be quite soft and warp easily if damaged by potholes. There are no ABS anti-lock braking or ESP traction control electronics to worry about with the Tuscan.
Owner's view
"Very fast cars, but different to drive if upgrading from older TVRs. Early Mk1s are the most twitchy, which is part of their charisma. Most Tuscans have upgraded suspension, which is a positive if done properly - look for paperwork."
John Ward
Buying Guide contents:
Introduction
Powertrain
Rolling chassis
Body
Interior