Long term report

[Le TVR]

200,000km has finally arrived and after 18 years of daily use I have pulled out all the service records to see what has actually been replaced since new.

Of course there will be those TVR sceptics who will now expect this post to cover at least 10 pages but that isnt goint to happen

So, barring 'consumables' and 'perishables':

Item Times changed
Radiator 2
Shocks 2
Springs 2
Brake servo 1
Steering bulkhead bushing (1) 4
Steering bulkhead bearing 2
Steering UJs 1
Steering rack 1
Fuel pump relay 4
Tacho 1
Exhaust 1
Water pump 1
Head gasket (2) 1
RHS swivel joints 1
LHS swivel joints 1
R wheel bearings 1
R brake cylinders 1
Cooling fan 2
Fan relay 1
Ignition amplifier (3) 1
Clutch M/cyl (4) 3
Clutch S/cyl 1
Reverse switch 1
Suspension bushes 1
Fuel sender 1
Rear light connectors 1
RHS R suspension arm 1

(1) The steering bush was updated to the bearing type in 1990.
(2) The head gasket was probably a diagnosis error - coolant loss. I reckon it was an airlock.
(3) The only time the Tiv went off on a breakdown truck.
(4) Well the pedal and the actuating arm dont really line up, do they??

Now if you want a 10 page post I could list what had been done to Madame's BMW318 and LandRover and Datsun 280Z and Merc SL over the same period but that would be a significant waste of bandwidth

The best part is looking at prices here the car is worth today what I paid for it all those years ago.

Which effectively means 18 years of that 'smug grin' (you know what I mean) for free

[MickS2]

What, no throttle pot!! (or do you class that as a consumable)
Seriously though, that's an impressive record and confirms what most of us suspected, but could never prove without your sort of data - The S is a damn good little car.

[Roy C]

I've done a quick tally for my S2 - 17 years, but a mere 72000 miles / 115873 km.
Used daily until a big accident in 1992 which relegated it to a second car.
I've included throttle pots which are both consumable and perishable.
The spring/dampers were all replaced, but it took another 2 pairs on the rear until GAZ got their act together.

Item Times changed
Radiator 1
Spring/Dampers 4 (+ 4 if you count warranty failures)
Steering bulkhead bearing 1
Steering upper UJ 1
Steering rack 1
Fuel pump relay 1
Fuel pump 1 (+1 warranty failure)
Throttle potentiometer 4
Throttle cable 1
Tacho 1
Exhaust 4
R brake cylinders 2
Clutch M/cyl 2
RHS R suspension arm 1 (rebuilt)
Front top ball joints 1
Seat belts 1
LH chassis outrigger 1

[tvrgaas]

MickS2 said:

What, no throttle pot!!

If it's 88 then it could be a 2.8 (S1) so no throttle pot to replace.
I've never done mine in 17 years / 80K miles.

Fan yes,
Trailing arms yes.
Exhaust - fitted a JP stainless the second time.
Clutch M/Cyl- oh yes
Steering bearing yes - fitted steel one second time.
Shockers - yes.

Oh and new hood as it cracked (sic) one cold morning.

[Le TVR]

MickS2 said:

What, no throttle pot!!

Ah, yes I should have specified it is an 2.8

MickS2 said:

The S is a damn good little car.

Should also add that those replaced radiators were because the mounting points were not aligned. Once that was sorted they never split again.

[yellabelly]

Well done guys, as a mere stripling of 4 years I hope for many more years of fun.


YB