Newbie Hello, and some help with a wedge please.
Newbie Hello, and some help with a wedge please.
Author
Discussion

mr2dave

Original Poster:

120 posts

266 months

Friday 7th November 2003
quotequote all
hello,

My name is Dave and i'm currently running a tuned MR2, but after my old man bought a Chim' I'm in the market for some V8 thunder myself.

I went to look at a Wedge today (400se) and i'm hoping that someone might be able to answer some questions for me?

1/ The car was advertised as a 400SE (1990 on an H plate) but on the plenum it was stamped 3.9. Is this normal or has it been re-engined?
2/ It also had 2 large speakers mounted behind the drivers & and passengers seats. They look like they'd been pro-fitted, but the magnets went all the way through into the boot. Is this ok, or will it compromise the strength of the car?
3/ The gearlever seemed to have alot of slop in it. Is this normal for a 44000 mile restored car? And if it isn't will it cost alot to fix?
4/ Do you ever get sick of that amazing noise? I couldn't believe how loud it was. I've got a Mongoose system on my MR2 that i thought was loud, that thing made it sound like a jumped up egg whisk. Made me wonder why people bother with 4cyl cars

Cheers.

19560

14,011 posts

279 months

Friday 7th November 2003
quotequote all
Hi.
1 Normal TVR started to grind it off later.
2 Retro fitment. Will not compromise the strength of the car.
3 Difficult to asses from your description. Drive a few. There is a fair bit of play.
4 Don't know, I've only had one for twelve years.

What was the chassis like? Any cracks in the fibreglass? Good luck. Jonathan

NHyde

1,427 posts

269 months

Friday 7th November 2003
quotequote all
Agree with 19560 , but on point 3, just had MrsH's 400 retored ( full body off job ) and on the test drive was not happy with the gearchange . It took the guys at Peninsula about 30 mins to put new springs in at the selector and hugely improved it .

As 19560 says , check the chassis closely , and look out for any crazing .

BUY IT !!!

MR2dave

Original Poster:

120 posts

266 months

Friday 7th November 2003
quotequote all
Thanks guys.

The salesman said the gear slop was just down to a worn bush, which sounded plausable but, my dad's Chimearas box is really tight so i wasn't sure.
it wasn't too bad, but it was noticable.

now for a loan...........

>> Edited by MR2dave on Friday 7th November 20:31

chippy wedge

87 posts

268 months

Friday 7th November 2003
quotequote all
suggest u may want to look at previous thread "400se 4 sale" - Zorro used to own the car u r looking at (i think) He may be able to help you. It does look bloody nice tho......so just buy it!!!!!!

sevans

1,177 posts

288 months

Saturday 8th November 2003
quotequote all
MR2dave said:
Thanks guys.

The salesman said the gear slop was just down to a worn bush, which sounded plausable but, my dad's Chimearas box is really tight so i wasn't sure.
it wasn't too bad, but it was noticable.

now for a loan...........

>> Edited by MR2dave on Friday 7th November 20:31


The Chimeara may have the T5 box and I think the Wedge has the SD1 box.....may be wrong here. So it may not be fair to compare the two. Think you can tell by the position of reverse, it's different on the two boxes.
Either way it doesn't sound like much to worry about. As has previously been suggested I would check the chassis and make sure the interior and hood are in good condition these can be costly to replace.

19560

14,011 posts

279 months

Saturday 8th November 2003
quotequote all
To confirm and try to clarify the above:- the wedges all have the Rover box as do early Chimps. Later Chimps have the T5 box. Reverse is on the left for the Rover box and the right for the T5.

wedg1e

27,002 posts

286 months

Saturday 8th November 2003
quotequote all
The Rover gear linkage passes through two brass (copper?) bushes in the alloy extension (the bushes wear quite nicely, can't be had as spares and would be a 2@ to change anyway). The end of the linkage has a cheap rose joint (guess what: it wears as well): the extension itself is mounted on rubber bushes to give vibration damping.
Add this lot together and it's no wonder the change is sloppy. I managed to sleeve the selector linkage with a couple of offcuts of 15mm copper pipe: that improved things no end.

Ian

MR2dave

Original Poster:

120 posts

266 months

Saturday 8th November 2003
quotequote all
I've just spoken to Mole Valley and they say it's an SD1 gearbox. It also sounds like its fairly straightforward to fix as the most likely culprit is a rubber bush that can be accessed from above.

By the way, it is H 5OMB, I've e-mailed Zorro, but if anyone else knows this car I'd really appreicate any Information about it's background.

My e-mail is DDparso@aol.com

This is my current car btw, if anyone wants to buy, £3900 ono.
[pic] www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid55/p9eaaf792e869b471fcc733ef9356f678/fc7e0125.jpg [/pic]

dickymint

28,159 posts

279 months

Saturday 8th November 2003
quotequote all


This is my current car btw, if anyone wants to buy, £3900 ono.
[pic] www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid55/p9eaaf792e869b471fcc733ef9356f678/fc7e0125.jpg [/pic][/quote]

Well Dave its like this....NO unless you have another for my other foot
seriously though, welcome to the forum, and hope you get your Wedge soon.