Tuscan Race Car - Road Legal
Discussion
RT Racing (0114 2817507) are doing one for me and have done a couple of other cars previously. Give Richard a call, advice is free (at least I was told it was).
The 5.7 litre V8 wasn't a problem, but getting the T56 6-speed to fit was 'tight'
Should be ready by 2007 unless they get a move on!
Why no AJP8 you asked? In my case, I got all the bits directly from the USA, brand new, for the same price as a rebuild on the top half only of an AJP 8, plus I have more BHP and torque. And the tappets don't need doing every 6000 miles at £750 a time! (Joolz is cheaper, I know!)
The 5.7 litre V8 wasn't a problem, but getting the T56 6-speed to fit was 'tight'
Should be ready by 2007 unless they get a move on!
Why no AJP8 you asked? In my case, I got all the bits directly from the USA, brand new, for the same price as a rebuild on the top half only of an AJP 8, plus I have more BHP and torque. And the tappets don't need doing every 6000 miles at £750 a time! (Joolz is cheaper, I know!)
Thanks very much for the info. It is for a pal of mine who wants to do as much of the conversion himself as possible.
A rolling chassis should be circa £10k, engine £3-5k. The rest is just time I think.
No AJP V8 purely on cost/reliability grounds for an everyday (!) car.
I think more of these cars should be converted - they look and sound fantastic and it is a shame to only see them on the track.
Caterham or Tuscan racer? - no choice really...
Thanks again, and any more info will be gratefully received!
A rolling chassis should be circa £10k, engine £3-5k. The rest is just time I think.
No AJP V8 purely on cost/reliability grounds for an everyday (!) car.
I think more of these cars should be converted - they look and sound fantastic and it is a shame to only see them on the track.
Caterham or Tuscan racer? - no choice really...
Thanks again, and any more info will be gratefully received!
If you putting a rover in it, you'll either need to cut and shut the sump or go dry sump. you need to make engine and gearbox mounts, plus shorten the propshaft.
the gearbox sits furtherback and slightly higher than with the ajp.
Im half tempted to road register mine... but still as a single seater
G
i'd budget a bit more than 3-5 for the engine. as there are lost of other bits you need.
i.e bellhousing and clutch slave cylinder,( unless you but a chim/griff engine with box) plumbing for water.
the exhausts system could easily stand you at well over a grand. Douglas valley will sell you a bell housing and gearbox for 600 quid. i paid 275 for a jed one.
I got some zertec headers from ebay for 250 quid but it still cost 500 to get the pipes made to go from there to the side exhaust in the side.
The you''ll need some electric fans as the ajp cars dont use any.
the fuel tank is where the passenger seat is so that will need to be moved for a 2 seater as well as the battery and the fuel pump.
all do able but not cheap to do it properly.
>> Edited by Graham on Saturday 29th January 15:32
the gearbox sits furtherback and slightly higher than with the ajp.
Im half tempted to road register mine... but still as a single seater
G
i'd budget a bit more than 3-5 for the engine. as there are lost of other bits you need.
i.e bellhousing and clutch slave cylinder,( unless you but a chim/griff engine with box) plumbing for water.
the exhausts system could easily stand you at well over a grand. Douglas valley will sell you a bell housing and gearbox for 600 quid. i paid 275 for a jed one.
I got some zertec headers from ebay for 250 quid but it still cost 500 to get the pipes made to go from there to the side exhaust in the side.
The you''ll need some electric fans as the ajp cars dont use any.
the fuel tank is where the passenger seat is so that will need to be moved for a 2 seater as well as the battery and the fuel pump.
all do able but not cheap to do it properly.
>> Edited by Graham on Saturday 29th January 15:32
Guillotine said:
you need to talk to Chris smith....
And by a coincidence, I lifted the body off the chassis today
. Single handed too - not that heavy. 
The figure of around £15K to convert certainly isn't an overestimate! A proper conversion will not come cheap; there's plenty of bodges you could do to keep costs down, but I'd guess if you want to do it, you want to do it right.
Lets assume you have the car and engine. Off hand, you'll need a glass windscreen, screen wash, wipers that park, side repeaters, instrumentation, switchgear, propshaft, engine/gearbox mounts, headers, ECU, changes to cooling system for the rover, fuel tank, sender, handbrake calipers, cables & lever etc etc. If you plan to SVA the car to get in on the road, then loads more parts incuding (probably) new pedal box, steering column, loads of changes to the interior and exterior. You will undoubtedly have to do a shedload of work to the body, and a fair amount of welding on the chassis too. As mine's getting a Chevy engine I keep an eye on the Ultima forum. I reckon there is more work in properley converting a Tuscan than building an Ultima from scratch. Seriously. And as for costs, a self-build Ultima could easily be £40K+ depending on the spec. The good Tuscan with proper parts won't be a million miles off.
In fairness, mine is getting a newly built engine, and a new clutch, transmission, and loads of other new bits. This isn't a cheap way to get a rapid car on the road though! Unless you really want a Tuscan, (and especially as you're only looking at Rover power) you could probably build a car out a Cerbera that was just as quick and a while lot cheaper.
Mail me with any specific questions if you want though, and I'll try to help.
WB
tvrolet said:
Guillotine said:
you need to talk to Chris smith....
And by a coincidence, I lifted the body off the chassis today
WB
Willie,
you have been busy
You will not be inviting a crowd round to your place after the meeting on Saturday then
Kenneth.
>> Edited by KJR on Sunday 30th January 11:35
V8 Archie said:
Why no AJP8?
If the question is coming from where I think it is, the answer is:
The race engines are leased from TVR, so if you buy the car it doesn't have an engine at all.
err this has now changed, the factory are selling them off , i know because a freind of mine picked one up this week he claims to have paid £7500,= vat but i dont know the exact deal
hot wheels said:
Gazboy said:
Why no AJP8?
If the question is coming from where I think it is, the answer is:
The race engines are leased from TVR, so if you buy the car it doesn't have an engine at all.
err this has now changed, the factory are selling them off , i know because a freind of mine picked one up this week he claims to have paid £7500,= vat but i dont know the exact deal
Sounds about right I was offered one of the factory cars complete with the engine ans ecu fitted for 24k
G
KJR said:
And by a coincidence, I lifted the body off the chassis today
WB
Willie,
you have been busy
You will not be inviting a crowd round to your place after the meeting on Saturday then
Kenneth.
>> Edited by KJR on Sunday 30th January 11:35
It was a whole lot ligher than I has guessed. Managed to lift the back end up enough to put a plank of wood over the chassis, then the same at the front then it just slid off. Could then move it around single handedly on a 'creeper'. No problems if anyone wants an invite round after the meet though to see what a Tuscan chassis/body looks like
WB
Thanks Chaps.
It looks like it might be easier and cheaper to buy one already converted. Anyone have any idea of prices?
Are the cars the factory is selling a rolling chassis with engine, brakes, seat, electrics etc ie ready to drive? If so, they sound like very good value.
There are a couple of ex race cars in the classifieds which just need an engine. Obviously they would need mods to enable them to pass an mot and SVA inspection, but these mods are not too expensive I think. The time consuming bit would be making it comfortable!
Ta
It looks like it might be easier and cheaper to buy one already converted. Anyone have any idea of prices?
Are the cars the factory is selling a rolling chassis with engine, brakes, seat, electrics etc ie ready to drive? If so, they sound like very good value.
There are a couple of ex race cars in the classifieds which just need an engine. Obviously they would need mods to enable them to pass an mot and SVA inspection, but these mods are not too expensive I think. The time consuming bit would be making it comfortable!
Ta
stringbag said:
Thanks Chaps.
It looks like it might be easier and cheaper to buy one already converted. Anyone have any idea of prices?
Are the cars the factory is selling a rolling chassis with engine, brakes, seat, electrics etc ie ready to drive? If so, they sound like very good value.
There are a couple of ex race cars in the classifieds which just need an engine. Obviously they would need mods to enable them to pass an mot and SVA inspection, but these mods are not too expensive I think. The time consuming bit would be making it comfortable!
Ta
Stringbag
On existing converted cars and prices - it depends. The conversions vary enormously in quality and spec. Ask TVRolet for a run down on his experiences.
The factory cars are race cars, just like any of the other race cars out there. The fact that they have an engine fitted is convenient, but no more (it only takes 90 minutes to fit the engine anyway).
Any of the race cars, with engine fitted, are 'ready to drive' - on a track. To make them road legal and get them registered is quite a task.
Another name to add to the list is Steve Howard, who has converted numerous cars (at least 4).
I also suspect that you'll struggle to pick up an ex-Challenge car for c£10k. The cars in the classifieds (bar one) are £15k, and I certainly wouldn't sell mine for anything less. The cars will become more valuable over time, particularly the better ones.
Regards
Andy
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