wedge v chimaera
Discussion
Advice please :-)For a while now have been planning on buying a Chimaera shortly will have about £7k to spend. I belive this would get me a decent 400 but would be shopping at the bottom of the market. Now after seeing a nice Wedge the other day and loved the way it looked and souinded wondering about one of them.As far as I can make out my money would get me a very well sorted 400 or 450 se. I was lucky enough to borrow a Chim for a weekend and loved it so wondering how comparible is the handling etc.
Appearance-wise, which of the two cars one prefers is purely down to personal taste.
Dynamically the Chim will probably be better in every way, in like for like condition. It is also lighter, so slightly quicker.
So why didn't I buy one ?
Well, the Chim looks like a plump MX5, is far too common and sounds muted compared to a V8 Wedge....oh, and I hate golf.
...IMHO.
Dynamically the Chim will probably be better in every way, in like for like condition. It is also lighter, so slightly quicker.
So why didn't I buy one ?
Well, the Chim looks like a plump MX5, is far too common and sounds muted compared to a V8 Wedge....oh, and I hate golf.
...IMHO.
grahamw48 said:
Well, the Chim looks like a plump MX5, is far too common and sounds muted compared to a V8 Wedge....oh, and I hate golf.
...IMHO.
And of course the Wedges look like elongated convertible TR7s, but if that is to your taste, you should find plenty of shops selling retro clothing to match it now ...IMHO.
.They do sound great though
I just bought this for £5k
It needs a little work, the previous owner has stripped some of the exhaust manifold bolt threads in the heads and it needs a good rolling road session but the rest of it seems pretty good.
I went for a wedge over a Chim because it is better looking(IMO), rarer, cheaper and has some side impact and rollover protection as standard. The safety aspect matters to me because my kids go in it but I appreciate that this is less of a factor for some.
It needs a little work, the previous owner has stripped some of the exhaust manifold bolt threads in the heads and it needs a good rolling road session but the rest of it seems pretty good.
I went for a wedge over a Chim because it is better looking(IMO), rarer, cheaper and has some side impact and rollover protection as standard. The safety aspect matters to me because my kids go in it but I appreciate that this is less of a factor for some.
AlexanderV8 said:
grahamw48 said:
Well, the Chim looks like a plump MX5, is far too common and sounds muted compared to a V8 Wedge....oh, and I hate golf.
...IMHO.
And of course the Wedges look like elongated convertible TR7s, but if that is to your taste, you should find plenty of shops selling retro clothing to match it now ...IMHO.
.They do sound great though
ewan221 said:
Advice please :-)For a while now have been planning on buying a Chimaera shortly will have about £7k to spend. I belive this would get me a decent 400 but would be shopping at the bottom of the market. Now after seeing a nice Wedge the other day and loved the way it looked and souinded wondering about one of them.As far as I can make out my money would get me a very well sorted 400 or 450 se. I was lucky enough to borrow a Chim for a weekend and loved it so wondering how comparible is the handling etc.
You make a very good point - you'll have a smallish choice of lower spec older Chimeras or pretty much any wedge your heart desires for that money, that would certainly be an influencing factor for me.I know this isn't much help on a forum, but I'd say try them both. Before I bought my S3 I was in a vaguely similar predicament (okay, it's not a Chimera, but it's basically curvy and dynamically competent or, well, a wedge). I had the idea that the wedge would be like caged thunder and the S would be a bit of a girl's car, yet in reality I found the wedge a bit underwhelming for its reputation and the S a very pleasant surprise! Of course this is personal opinion, but my point is, I thought I knew the pros and cons of the two cars, but for me they turned out to be different.
On a related note, have you considered an S? You can get a nice V8S for £7k these days (if you can find one) and a healthy V6 with a half decent driver will keep a Chimera 400/Wedge 350i honest honest on the road and sounds awesome too.
Are you the sort of person who plays golfwears slippers, and likes to keep the roof on in all weathers, or a hardened player living life on or near the edge who would drive almost everywhere roof off? If the former go Chimp, latter Wedge.
Wedge has more rarity value and generally sound better, much nicer crowd too. Chimps are very common (in TVR circles anyway). I beleive the Wedges will keep their value better to due to the rarity factor.
FFG
Wedge has more rarity value and generally sound better, much nicer crowd too. Chimps are very common (in TVR circles anyway). I beleive the Wedges will keep their value better to due to the rarity factor.
FFG
Edited by FlipFlopGriff on Friday 24th July 13:38
FlipFlopGriff said:
Are you the sort of person who plays golfwears slippers, and likes to keep the roof on in all weathers,
OP, if you are the sort of person that likes to make generalisations then you'd probably be better off with a Griff by the looks of it 
FlipFlopGriff said:
or a hardened player living life on or near the edge who would drive almost everywhere roof off? If the former go Chimp, latter Wedge.
Oh, please..... I should also go that way if you enjoy macho posturing then 
.FlipFlopGriff said:
Wedge has more rarity value and generally sound better, much nicer crowd too. Chimps are very common (in TVR circles anyway). I beleive the Wedges will keep their value better to due to the rarity factor.
FFG
This in English means the Chimaera was far and away the most popular model in terms of sales that TVR ever produced. If that means they may be worth less in years to come, then only you can decide if you want to enjoy it for what it is now, rather than what it may be worth in the future. When the public vote with their hard-earned cash, it usually means the product is a good one FFG
. As for the 'nicer crowd' comment, that seems a little sad as all TVR owners seem like a great bunch to me and probably the main reason I'll hang on to mine for a while yet. Just do your research, choose one in good condition and I'm sure whatever you decide, you'll be extremely proud of it 
.Edited by AlexanderV8 on Friday 24th July 14:08
I have to say the wedge looks are very dated looking it has been done to death in the early 80’s lotus, TR7 and so on the cheese cars are not to everyones taste 
(sorry) as for being rarer yes they are but they only built around 6000 chims how many are still around today? And i hardly ever see one out on the road think i have seen in my life before i bought one only 2 so they are rare. As for a plump mx5 i don’t think so The chim turns heads every where i go a mx5 could not do that.
(sorry) as for being rarer yes they are but they only built around 6000 chims how many are still around today? And i hardly ever see one out on the road think i have seen in my life before i bought one only 2 so they are rare. As for a plump mx5 i don’t think so The chim turns heads every where i go a mx5 could not do that.Edited by scotty_d on Friday 24th July 15:04
Pooh said:
I just bought this for £5k
It needs a little work, the previous owner has stripped some of the exhaust manifold bolt threads in the heads and it needs a good rolling road session but the rest of it seems pretty good.
I went for a wedge over a Chim because it is better looking(IMO), rarer, cheaper and has some side impact and rollover protection as standard. The safety aspect matters to me because my kids go in it but I appreciate that this is less of a factor for some.
Hi Pooh lovely looking 400se is the reg F***RTF ? ChrisIt needs a little work, the previous owner has stripped some of the exhaust manifold bolt threads in the heads and it needs a good rolling road session but the rest of it seems pretty good.
I went for a wedge over a Chim because it is better looking(IMO), rarer, cheaper and has some side impact and rollover protection as standard. The safety aspect matters to me because my kids go in it but I appreciate that this is less of a factor for some.
C8 CDS said:
Pooh said:
I just bought this for £5k
It needs a little work, the previous owner has stripped some of the exhaust manifold bolt threads in the heads and it needs a good rolling road session but the rest of it seems pretty good.
I went for a wedge over a Chim because it is better looking(IMO), rarer, cheaper and has some side impact and rollover protection as standard. The safety aspect matters to me because my kids go in it but I appreciate that this is less of a factor for some.
Hi Pooh lovely looking 400se is the reg F***RTF ? ChrisIt needs a little work, the previous owner has stripped some of the exhaust manifold bolt threads in the heads and it needs a good rolling road session but the rest of it seems pretty good.
I went for a wedge over a Chim because it is better looking(IMO), rarer, cheaper and has some side impact and rollover protection as standard. The safety aspect matters to me because my kids go in it but I appreciate that this is less of a factor for some.
Edited by Pooh on Friday 24th July 17:49
C8 CDS said:
Hi Pooh thought you might like to see this from 1992/93 when i owned it, we where at Yeovil Festival of Transport show. Apologies though for the poor quality of photo.
Thanks for that.- And sorry for crashing this thread with this!!
It is a slightly different colour now, the previous owner had it re sprayed and it has more metal flake than before.
Did the car still have its owners handbook when you sold it? It is missing and I would like to track it down
Thanks
Robert.
The Wedge has dated more than the Chimaera, due to it's 1970's/1980's styling.
I would go for the Chim as it IMHO will still turn more heads than a Wedge.
I had a woman mouth out of a car the other day "nice car." One of my mates who had not seen my car close up, the other day spent about half an hour looking around it playing with the door opening buttons etc.
A few years ago one girl I vaguely knew at the time shouted out "Marry me" as I went past in the car.
The Chimaera can still pass as a modern car, IMHO the Wedge is more retro, and more of an acquired taste.
It depends what image you want to portray with a car. I did once like the TR7 convertible, but now wouldn't buy a TVR wedge as I couldn't bear to put up with constant comparisons to the TR ranges' most derided car.
I can't help feeling that the Chimaera will attract more attention from both enthusiast and non-car enthusiasts, whereas the wedges will attract more attention from beardy blokes down the pub
The Chimaera may be the most numerous of the TVR range, but the reason is because it was the one most people liked and went & bought.
I would go for the Chim as it IMHO will still turn more heads than a Wedge.
I had a woman mouth out of a car the other day "nice car." One of my mates who had not seen my car close up, the other day spent about half an hour looking around it playing with the door opening buttons etc.
A few years ago one girl I vaguely knew at the time shouted out "Marry me" as I went past in the car.
The Chimaera can still pass as a modern car, IMHO the Wedge is more retro, and more of an acquired taste.
It depends what image you want to portray with a car. I did once like the TR7 convertible, but now wouldn't buy a TVR wedge as I couldn't bear to put up with constant comparisons to the TR ranges' most derided car.
I can't help feeling that the Chimaera will attract more attention from both enthusiast and non-car enthusiasts, whereas the wedges will attract more attention from beardy blokes down the pub
The Chimaera may be the most numerous of the TVR range, but the reason is because it was the one most people liked and went & bought.
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 24th July 22:28
(ref. supraman)
Firstly, the OP has already stated that he likes the shape (and the TR7), as all us Wedgers do, or we wouldn't buy them....though personally I think TR7s are pig ugly (designed for the bad-taste American market)
Secondly, I can only assume that you've never driven a V8 Wedge in good condition for even a short length of time.
Believe me, you don't just get the odd comment from odd people who have mistaken your vehicle for that girls' favourite...the MX5, just loads and loads of '"nice car Mr.!!!" from all kinds of passers by.
Firstly, the OP has already stated that he likes the shape (and the TR7), as all us Wedgers do, or we wouldn't buy them....though personally I think TR7s are pig ugly (designed for the bad-taste American market)
Secondly, I can only assume that you've never driven a V8 Wedge in good condition for even a short length of time.
Believe me, you don't just get the odd comment from odd people who have mistaken your vehicle for that girls' favourite...the MX5, just loads and loads of '"nice car Mr.!!!" from all kinds of passers by.
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