4 times owner, same car (long post)
Discussion
4 times owner…same car
Dear all,
Sorry for this rather lengthy post. If you hate long posts, stop reading here.
For those daring to read on, this may prove to be good reading if you have problem falling asleep in the evening…..
I have been tapping this brilliant forum for some specific information for a few weeks and thought I would share some info about my car, a red 1990 S3C with about 40.000km on the clock.
We wanted a TVR back in 1990 but there were none for sale over here (in Sweden) at the time, so we ordered a brand new Alfa Romeo Spider with some factory options. When Alfa could not meet the delivery time, a brand new S3C turned up in a bankruptcy estate in Finland. The Swedish importer helped us and we got it registered in Sweden 1991.
It was a standard LHD TVR S3C with the exception that under Finish law all new cars had to be rust proofed under to be sold new, so ours is pretty black underneath . -But at least no rust….
In addition she has fog lights and electric mirrors.
We actually did our honeymoon trip across Europe (pre supercharger) in this very car back in 1994. +3500 km’s from Sweden down to the French Riviera, back up trough France to the UK, up trough Wales, the obligatory stop at TVR in Blackpool, across the country, down to Harwich and ferry back to Sweden. A 4 week adventure with only a brake fluid reservoir needing replacement in France (we found a used in a race garage at Paul Ricard race track  ). Not bad for a TVR.
Travelling in a TVR is also good for learning how to live with limited luggage…
Anyway, I did some upgrades during the following years, including fitting an Autorotor twin screw compressor with intercooler. -More on this later.
A few years later I found a neglected Italian car I wanted and to release cash we sold it for the first time. It was much missed but the new car needed all attention.
When the new owner got into the “getting kids era” and wanted to sell it, we bought it back. By then we had the space and had gotten the Italian car back on the road again.
When the family a few years later moved to the US we sold it for the second time as we could not bring it into the US. -You see where this is going…
Sometime during the US years the owner wanted to upgrade so we got an offer to buy it back. -And so we did… for the second time. It was stored with a friend in Sweden as we still lived in the US. A few years later we moved back to Sweden and the S3C got back on the road again. Lovely.
In 2008, when doing some TVR engine sound recordings, I managed to crash the car. I tried to avoid a deer with the consequence that I ended up in the woods. Fortunately no injuries but the car was taken out by the insurance company.
The insurance company later sold it to someone who got new bits and pieces from the factory including a new hood, front suspension and radiator. When she was back on the road it was sold to a new owner (not us this time  ). They never refitted the supercharger but all pieces came with the car, except the intercooler and some mounts that were damaged in the accident. But for the rest, a stellar job done.
I later spotted the car on a car meeting somewhere and, mostly for fun, told the owner that when he was ready to sell he could give me a call. A few years later he did (2013).
I did not need more cars at that time so we turned it down but as he already had bought a new car we got an offer we could not refuse. This was late 2013. So after having bought her 4 times, now she stays. After all, it is our honeymoon car. 
She now runs on 18”s from the previous owner. We did get the original 15”s with the car, so they are safe.
Back in the 90’s I upgraded the ignition to an MSD (with boost retard) unit, shocks were rebuilt and lowered by a Koni specialist, engine had some mods to cope with the blower and to give a few more bhp. I also swapped in an LSD diff unit from a RS500 (standard gearing) to get the power down. An oil cooler and remote large capacity oil filter was also mounted.
Engine upgrades included fully ported heads, ported intake & plenum, an RS Williams high lift cam with solid followers, ARP bolts, stronger con rods, reprogrammed ECU, high capacity oil pump and “empty” exhaust system. -Maybe a little north of 200bhp without the blower and a significantly north with it.
Some additional instruments were added to keep track on what the blower is up to. Interior is stock except for a real stereo and a wooden steering wheel. The battery is moved to the trunk. There is also mounts for a 4-point harness for the odd track day.
She has mostly been sitting in the garage the last few years and as I got some extra time this summer she is just going through a “touch up” to get back on the road again.
Gearing in the differential is upgraded to a Scorpio 4,27 unit. I don’t need the absolute top speed but love the acceleration  . With my wheels (225x40x18) the original diff 3.64 makes 62mph (101km/h) at 2500 rpm in 5th gear and with 4.27 she does 53mph (86km/h), which is quite fine for me. Highway speed at 75mph is 3500rpm and max is about 120mph (193km/h). That top speed reduction is worth the cost for the acceleration increase, especially since the S tends to be light in the front end at speed. I will post some pictures later.
The LSD unit that came with the RS500 diff was swapped over to the new 4,27 diff.
Suspension now has new poly bushes in front. The rear seemed ok.
New adjustable shocks all around Gaz Gold Pro from Derek at Absolutely Shocks (excellent service).
Brakes are upgraded all around (thank you Hans D aka “hansdaal” on this forum for all the help and parts !!) to 283mm Cosworth with HiSpec alu 4 pot calipers in front and 273mm Cosworth in the rear. Mintex pads all around.
All new braided brake lines and hand brake cable is also changed to accommodate discs in the rear.
To mount calipers in the rear I changed the rear bearing carriers to billet Alu Cosworth items with the longer “ears” to accommodate 273mm discs. They work just fine but there is a small difference in bolt pattern compared to the 254mm disc carriers ( have a pair of them also). They also widen the track slightly, ala V8S. -Will post more info later.
Discs are grooved and coated Evora discs in front and back (thank you Hans). I decided to go for grooved and not drilled to avoid any chance for cracks which seem to happen now and then on all but the most expensive brands.
Electric fan upgraded to high capacity SPAL 14” fan (VA08-AP71/LL-53A) which flow about twice the stock TVR fan. It draws more amps so a new relay is installed near the new fan including a manual override switch in the car. Huge difference.
Led driving lights in the air dam. Not visual when turned off.
Mechanical oil temp, oil pressure and vacuum/boost level gauges updated.
New seals, hoses, bonnet hinges and other smaller stuff.
Engine serviced with new plugs, new ignition leads, new rotor, new oil & filter, headers heat insulated and shielded, new cooling water, new brake fluids, new fuel filter aso.
New “free flow” exhaust with twin race cats (200cpi). V-band connectors.
Later she will get a full setup of the wheel angles.
A few things still remain;
She will get roll bar with twin hoops ala Cobra. I think I have found a way to do that that and it does not impact visual look as much as some of the full cross bars does. More on this in a separate thread later.
New upgraded high capacity fuel pump. Here I need some help from you.
Original “dog ears” wing mirrors will be changed to, I think, Mazda MX5’s.
I would also like to upgrade the seats to something more supportive while still being comfy. I have started a separate thread on that.
I think I have stated on this forum that she runs supercharged now but that is incorrect. She was for many years and will be again. I did a trial fit with the old setup a while back but decided to do some alterations and redo the mounts. There is not much room under the bonnet in an S3. I wish she had the S4 bonnet so I could mount the supercharger in the middle of the V. No space with an S3 bonnet.
I’m gathering the last pieces of HW to install the supercharger again. I want to enjoy the car for the season, so that will have to wait until after this season. All new mounts will have to be fabricated for the blower and the intercooler. Now there are water cooled charge coolers available on the market, an option that did not exist in late 90’s. -Still figuring out the best way to go. Autorotor is a Swedish company so I’m getting some help from them as well. It is quite a task to move things around to make space in the engine room.
Hopefully we will attend at least one of the TVR meetings in the UK next season to meet up with some of you UK TVR fans. That would be great.
For those still awake, I just want to say thank you for all the supports in finding out how and what to do with my car and for helping us enjoying our hobby. I will most likely start new threads and ask more questions as we go, to benefit the brilliant collective knowledge on this forum
Kind regards
//Rob
Dear all,
Sorry for this rather lengthy post. If you hate long posts, stop reading here.
For those daring to read on, this may prove to be good reading if you have problem falling asleep in the evening…..
I have been tapping this brilliant forum for some specific information for a few weeks and thought I would share some info about my car, a red 1990 S3C with about 40.000km on the clock.
We wanted a TVR back in 1990 but there were none for sale over here (in Sweden) at the time, so we ordered a brand new Alfa Romeo Spider with some factory options. When Alfa could not meet the delivery time, a brand new S3C turned up in a bankruptcy estate in Finland. The Swedish importer helped us and we got it registered in Sweden 1991.
It was a standard LHD TVR S3C with the exception that under Finish law all new cars had to be rust proofed under to be sold new, so ours is pretty black underneath . -But at least no rust….
In addition she has fog lights and electric mirrors.
We actually did our honeymoon trip across Europe (pre supercharger) in this very car back in 1994. +3500 km’s from Sweden down to the French Riviera, back up trough France to the UK, up trough Wales, the obligatory stop at TVR in Blackpool, across the country, down to Harwich and ferry back to Sweden. A 4 week adventure with only a brake fluid reservoir needing replacement in France (we found a used in a race garage at Paul Ricard race track  ). Not bad for a TVR.
Travelling in a TVR is also good for learning how to live with limited luggage…
Anyway, I did some upgrades during the following years, including fitting an Autorotor twin screw compressor with intercooler. -More on this later.
A few years later I found a neglected Italian car I wanted and to release cash we sold it for the first time. It was much missed but the new car needed all attention.
When the new owner got into the “getting kids era” and wanted to sell it, we bought it back. By then we had the space and had gotten the Italian car back on the road again.
When the family a few years later moved to the US we sold it for the second time as we could not bring it into the US. -You see where this is going…
Sometime during the US years the owner wanted to upgrade so we got an offer to buy it back. -And so we did… for the second time. It was stored with a friend in Sweden as we still lived in the US. A few years later we moved back to Sweden and the S3C got back on the road again. Lovely.
In 2008, when doing some TVR engine sound recordings, I managed to crash the car. I tried to avoid a deer with the consequence that I ended up in the woods. Fortunately no injuries but the car was taken out by the insurance company.
The insurance company later sold it to someone who got new bits and pieces from the factory including a new hood, front suspension and radiator. When she was back on the road it was sold to a new owner (not us this time  ). They never refitted the supercharger but all pieces came with the car, except the intercooler and some mounts that were damaged in the accident. But for the rest, a stellar job done.
I later spotted the car on a car meeting somewhere and, mostly for fun, told the owner that when he was ready to sell he could give me a call. A few years later he did (2013).
I did not need more cars at that time so we turned it down but as he already had bought a new car we got an offer we could not refuse. This was late 2013. So after having bought her 4 times, now she stays. After all, it is our honeymoon car. 
She now runs on 18”s from the previous owner. We did get the original 15”s with the car, so they are safe.
Back in the 90’s I upgraded the ignition to an MSD (with boost retard) unit, shocks were rebuilt and lowered by a Koni specialist, engine had some mods to cope with the blower and to give a few more bhp. I also swapped in an LSD diff unit from a RS500 (standard gearing) to get the power down. An oil cooler and remote large capacity oil filter was also mounted.
Engine upgrades included fully ported heads, ported intake & plenum, an RS Williams high lift cam with solid followers, ARP bolts, stronger con rods, reprogrammed ECU, high capacity oil pump and “empty” exhaust system. -Maybe a little north of 200bhp without the blower and a significantly north with it.
Some additional instruments were added to keep track on what the blower is up to. Interior is stock except for a real stereo and a wooden steering wheel. The battery is moved to the trunk. There is also mounts for a 4-point harness for the odd track day.
She has mostly been sitting in the garage the last few years and as I got some extra time this summer she is just going through a “touch up” to get back on the road again.
Gearing in the differential is upgraded to a Scorpio 4,27 unit. I don’t need the absolute top speed but love the acceleration  . With my wheels (225x40x18) the original diff 3.64 makes 62mph (101km/h) at 2500 rpm in 5th gear and with 4.27 she does 53mph (86km/h), which is quite fine for me. Highway speed at 75mph is 3500rpm and max is about 120mph (193km/h). That top speed reduction is worth the cost for the acceleration increase, especially since the S tends to be light in the front end at speed. I will post some pictures later.
The LSD unit that came with the RS500 diff was swapped over to the new 4,27 diff.
Suspension now has new poly bushes in front. The rear seemed ok.
New adjustable shocks all around Gaz Gold Pro from Derek at Absolutely Shocks (excellent service).
Brakes are upgraded all around (thank you Hans D aka “hansdaal” on this forum for all the help and parts !!) to 283mm Cosworth with HiSpec alu 4 pot calipers in front and 273mm Cosworth in the rear. Mintex pads all around.
All new braided brake lines and hand brake cable is also changed to accommodate discs in the rear.
To mount calipers in the rear I changed the rear bearing carriers to billet Alu Cosworth items with the longer “ears” to accommodate 273mm discs. They work just fine but there is a small difference in bolt pattern compared to the 254mm disc carriers ( have a pair of them also). They also widen the track slightly, ala V8S. -Will post more info later.
Discs are grooved and coated Evora discs in front and back (thank you Hans). I decided to go for grooved and not drilled to avoid any chance for cracks which seem to happen now and then on all but the most expensive brands.
Electric fan upgraded to high capacity SPAL 14” fan (VA08-AP71/LL-53A) which flow about twice the stock TVR fan. It draws more amps so a new relay is installed near the new fan including a manual override switch in the car. Huge difference.
Led driving lights in the air dam. Not visual when turned off.
Mechanical oil temp, oil pressure and vacuum/boost level gauges updated.
New seals, hoses, bonnet hinges and other smaller stuff.
Engine serviced with new plugs, new ignition leads, new rotor, new oil & filter, headers heat insulated and shielded, new cooling water, new brake fluids, new fuel filter aso.
New “free flow” exhaust with twin race cats (200cpi). V-band connectors.
Later she will get a full setup of the wheel angles.
A few things still remain;
She will get roll bar with twin hoops ala Cobra. I think I have found a way to do that that and it does not impact visual look as much as some of the full cross bars does. More on this in a separate thread later.
New upgraded high capacity fuel pump. Here I need some help from you.
Original “dog ears” wing mirrors will be changed to, I think, Mazda MX5’s.
I would also like to upgrade the seats to something more supportive while still being comfy. I have started a separate thread on that.
I think I have stated on this forum that she runs supercharged now but that is incorrect. She was for many years and will be again. I did a trial fit with the old setup a while back but decided to do some alterations and redo the mounts. There is not much room under the bonnet in an S3. I wish she had the S4 bonnet so I could mount the supercharger in the middle of the V. No space with an S3 bonnet.
I’m gathering the last pieces of HW to install the supercharger again. I want to enjoy the car for the season, so that will have to wait until after this season. All new mounts will have to be fabricated for the blower and the intercooler. Now there are water cooled charge coolers available on the market, an option that did not exist in late 90’s. -Still figuring out the best way to go. Autorotor is a Swedish company so I’m getting some help from them as well. It is quite a task to move things around to make space in the engine room.
Hopefully we will attend at least one of the TVR meetings in the UK next season to meet up with some of you UK TVR fans. That would be great.
For those still awake, I just want to say thank you for all the supports in finding out how and what to do with my car and for helping us enjoying our hobby. I will most likely start new threads and ask more questions as we go, to benefit the brilliant collective knowledge on this forum
Kind regards
//Rob
This is what this site is all about, sharing the passion
What a lovely lovely car and very charming. A real credit.
I'm sure that cars smiling. Home
I own a Chimaera but will watch out for threads on this car as it's a beauty and I do love the S cars having owned one.
Heart warming story
Congratulations on keeping at her over all these years.
What a lovely lovely car and very charming. A real credit.
I'm sure that cars smiling. Home
I own a Chimaera but will watch out for threads on this car as it's a beauty and I do love the S cars having owned one.
Heart warming story
Congratulations on keeping at her over all these years.
GreenV8S said:
I would be very interested to hear more about that supercharger installation.
Brilliant post! Loving the story. You live and learn. And the motto is "buy, but never sell an S"Would be great to see some more details on the supercharger installation. Then maybe we'll all fit one
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