NEWBIE. ADVICE PLEASE.

[TVah]

Hi guys, just in the process of purchasing my first wedge. This is a gold 350i, with a 390 fitted. I believe the car used to be owned by a gent called David Jenkins, and I would like to know some moreabout the car please, asim buying via a classic car dealer not the previous owner.
Can anyone shed any light on C386 AYG.
Any info good or bad (good I hope), anything at all, reccomendations, about ownership, the car itself, any history that may be known about her,
Yours gratefully.

Don.

[Wedg1e]

Wasn't that the car used at the Transport Resarch Lab for all those crash tests?

[Brink]

Don't forget the dummy drivers....

[mark387mw]

The reg on my car was C399 AYG and was supplied by Harrogate Horseless Carriages. Maybe you could search out Tony Abrams on here and see if he remembers anything.

Edited to add: Tony is Hexhamhc

Edited by mark387mw on Saturday 26th May 22:08

[TVah]

Yeh okay you two wise guys (lol).

Mark, can you giveme your history/knowledge on the car, so i can build up a file, shes had 4 owners i believe, were you the first?
Don

[TVah]

Ah first mistake, different reg. cheers Mark.

Well it is quite late in the evening, and im a little brain dead after watching Joseph..

[Wedg1e]

A 350 with a 3.9? Presumably not a factory 350SE then... so let's hope it's not just had a standard-spec 3.9 Rangey engine dropped in otherwise it probably won't rev past 5500... a 'proper' 390 will go well past 6000

[TVah]

Thanks Wedgie,
As this thread is entitled Advice Please, can you offer some constructive advice, assuming the latter (a range Rover Unit hasbeen fitted), ie, have I bought a lemon, how can i tell the difference, what is the difference, etc .
Thanks bud.

[Wedg1e]

TVah said:

Thanks Wedgie,
As this thread is entitled Advice Please, can you offer some constructive advice, assuming the latter (a range Rover Unit hasbeen fitted), ie, have I bought a lemon, how can i tell the difference, what is the difference, etc .
Thanks bud.

OK then... when TVR introduced the 3.9 (in the 390SE), Rover still only made a 3.5: it was TVR and the engineering experts like Andy Rouse and NCK who produced the 3.9. It had 93.5mm bores giving 3905cc, standard stroke, high-lift cam, dual valve springs, ported heads and inlet manifold, high-compression flat-top pistons giving 10.5:1 C.R. Now opinion is divided over what else they did but one thing is for sure: very few ever made the 275bhp that TVR claimed. However it would rev to the skies in comparison with a standard engine.

When Range Rover introduced THEIR version of the 3.9 it had 94mm bores (and thus 3948cc) but was tuned for torque rather than power, no high-lift cam, no porting, dished pistons and a lower C.R (9.34:1 rings a bell) and wouldn't (or didn't need to) rev past about 5500 as it was meant to power a big box.

The Rangey 3.9 in a 350i IS an improvement over the 3.5, but some people turn their noses up at originality. It's OK as long as you don't try to pass it off as a 390SE, I guess
However when TVR brought out the 400SE it also ran 3948cc but had ported bits, lighter flywheel etc etc but is still a more off-the-shelf engine than the 3905 was - and is thus easier to fix if it breaks. The 3905 is a bit of a git with the high C.R. demanding 100 octane fuel for best results.

TVR engines always had TVR or NCK engine numbers, so if your car has a Rover number it's definitely not a factory engine. A genuine 390SE will have 'NCK123' or whatever. Rover numbers can be found on the Rimmer Brothers website and will tell you what your engine originated from.

The final variable is the injection system: all 350s, nearly all 390s and some early 400SEs ran the Lucas/Bosch 'flapper' injection. This uses a moving flap airflow meter and a '4CU' ECU. Later cars switched to the 'hotwire' system where the airflow meter has no moving parts and the ECU is a 14CUX. The major benefit is that the 14CUX can be remapped to better suit the engine tune, where the 4CU is more finicky to set up and more of a compromise on a tweaked engine. Nowadays many owners switch to Emerald or similar mappable systems to get a further degree of tuneability.
However nothing makes your hair stand on end like a 390SE on over-run with a flapper system

You'll love it, whatever it has

[TVah]

Thank you Wedgie for all that stuff, you see I know about as much on engine technology as my wife does about why I wanted any car to start off with.
Just wanted some reassurance I guess.
Take a look at Grundy Mack Website (page 5 on their cars for sale) What do you think. 5K.
Don.

[Wedg1e]

TVah said:

Thank you Wedgie for all that stuff, you see I know about as much on engine technology as my wife does about why I wanted any car to start off with.
Just wanted some reassurance I guess.
Take a look at Grundy Mack Website (page 5 on their cars for sale) What do you think. 5K.
Don.

Hard to say; nice paintwork can hide all manner of sins and they're not too forthcoming with any info or pics of engine bay, underside etc.. You could certainly get a 350 for less, but there again if you're not too technically -minded you can rapidly get into a world of expense if you have to rely on a garage or 'specialist' to fix any and every niggling defect.
I suggest that wedges should be treated like kit cars: if you're not confident that you could build one from a pile of bits then it may not be the car for you... unless you have mountains of patience and deep pockets.
And women universally hate the things, but that doesn't stop the rest of us owning them...

[TVR 3X]

Wedg1e said:

TVR engines always had TVR or NCK engine numbers, so if your car has a Rover number it's definitely not a factory engine. A genuine 390SE will have 'NCK123' or whatever. Rover numbers can be found on the Rimmer Brothers website and will tell you what your engine originated from.

Don't forget the John Eales engines (JE engine numbers).

Russ

[TVah]

Jeez, wish i'd picked up that meccano set when i was 9, wouldnt be so ignoramus now. I preffered the the fishing net and jam jar full of tiddlers.
lol.

[TVRleigh]

Not got the full details with me but I have a very early 400SE with a NCK engine # and Flapper, will this be the same engine as the 390SE or 400SE engine.

I know it has flat pistons and double valve springs.

[rev-erend]

Nearly 6K for a 350i..

You could get a 400SE privately for that kind of money..

[pwd95]

Couple of pics here, click on the gallery tab.

http://www.pixeltechnology.co.uk/wedge/gallery_d_j...

The rest of the web site aint bad either

[TVah]

Well it dont look too bad in the pic does it ? Hey Rever-end, read the posts, I am paying 5, not nearly 6.
I have been looking at descriptions of loads of 350i's and SE's, (which incidentally seem quite a bit more expensive), most 350i's i have seen for 3 to 4 grand have done close to 100k miles, or had a bump. (someone is bound to prove me wrong now, and point me at a minter for 4k),

Models aside, and makes if you like, Where can you buy a very nice beautiful looking soft top classic with a huge roaring lump under the bonnet for 5 grand, think about it, IMHO these Wedges are well under priced in the classics market. Give it a few more years and they must surely start to rise in value. Look at the steady rise in the price of early jap stuff from the 70s and 80s, A really good Datsun 240z, will now set you back well over 10k.

[AM400]

TVRleigh said:

Not got the full details with me but I have a very early 400SE with a NCK engine # and Flapper, will this be the same engine as the 390SE or 400SE engine.

I know it has flat pistons and double valve springs.

Me too, with the extra rare poly V drive

[rev-erend]

TVah said:

Well it dont look too bad in the pic does it ? Hey Rever-end, read the posts, I am paying 5, not nearly 6.
I have been looking at descriptions of loads of 350i's and SE's, (which incidentally seem quite a bit more expensive), most 350i's i have seen for 3 to 4 grand have done close to 100k miles, or had a bump. (someone is bound to prove me wrong now, and point me at a minter for 4k),

Models aside, and makes if you like, Where can you buy a very nice beautiful looking soft top classic with a huge roaring lump under the bonnet for 5 grand, think about it, IMHO these Wedges are well under priced in the classics market. Give it a few more years and they must surely start to rise in value. Look at the steady rise in the price of early jap stuff from the 70s and 80s, A really good Datsun 240z, will now set you back well over 10k.

Yes - you are probably right..

Good ones are more money ... you just need to view a few to know the good from the poor ones..

[pwd95]

TVah said:

Models aside, and makes if you like, Where can you buy a very nice beautiful looking soft top classic with a huge roaring lump under the bonnet for 5 grand, think about it, IMHO these Wedges are well under priced in the classics market.

Your definitely one of us

Welcome