Re-body A TVR?
Discussion
I posted this in the TVR forum a couple of days ago and received absolutely no response whatsoever, maybe I've offended the purists 
Hopefully the readers of this forum are a little more open minded.
I started on TVRs about seven years ago with a Chimaera 400. A couple of years later changed that for a 500 which was mildly fettled in my ownership before buying the car I thought I'd never like, a Tuscan. I lived with that in stock form for a year or so before opting for a 4.3 rebuild from TVR Power which is absolutely awesome (430bhp and 390lb/ft) and puts a huge smile on my face without fail.
There's an obvious trend there of course and one I suspect that many if not most TVR owners experience, that of moving from older models to newer (and more powerful ones) with some tinkering on the way. All well and good, great fun if a little expensive. The thing is it's an upward spiral in terms of performance and handling with a certain downward trend in the bank balance. The next logical step would be a Sagaris but frankly I've other places I should be putting my money so that's not an option.
So here's what's been niggling at me, an older TVR (Chimaera) re-bodied to look, ummm, even older. It would of course be an absolute toy meaning I'd need to use my shed Golf a lot more or trade that in for something a little newer but I can't do any of this without selling the Tuscan. An older looking one-off that'll still drive better than 90% of what's out there or the Tuscan that is perfectly good and outperform 99% of the rest and absolutely anything I can afford? To make matters worse I sort of talked the manufacturer of these bodies into changing the prototype to look like what I wanted, something akin to a Lancia d24, so I'm feeling slightly obliged although it has to be said he seems to be getting a few orders without me.
The thread starts here where you can see the prototype, originally designed for a (don't laugh) Triumph Herald chassis. It seems there's only 1" difference in the wheelbase between that and a Chimaera although it would need widening by about 6", fairly easy I'm told. At the time of writing the raw body can be had for a staggeringly cheap £750! Add a Cat 'D' Chimaera, paint job (red), a set of wire wheels plus a few other bits and I think this is achievable at a very reasonable price, certainly leaving me some change from the sale of the Tuscan.
What to do?
Edit to add, the last photo is a real d24. I'm not looking to replicate it but achieve something more 'in the style of'.
Hopefully the readers of this forum are a little more open minded.I started on TVRs about seven years ago with a Chimaera 400. A couple of years later changed that for a 500 which was mildly fettled in my ownership before buying the car I thought I'd never like, a Tuscan. I lived with that in stock form for a year or so before opting for a 4.3 rebuild from TVR Power which is absolutely awesome (430bhp and 390lb/ft) and puts a huge smile on my face without fail.
There's an obvious trend there of course and one I suspect that many if not most TVR owners experience, that of moving from older models to newer (and more powerful ones) with some tinkering on the way. All well and good, great fun if a little expensive. The thing is it's an upward spiral in terms of performance and handling with a certain downward trend in the bank balance. The next logical step would be a Sagaris but frankly I've other places I should be putting my money so that's not an option.
So here's what's been niggling at me, an older TVR (Chimaera) re-bodied to look, ummm, even older. It would of course be an absolute toy meaning I'd need to use my shed Golf a lot more or trade that in for something a little newer but I can't do any of this without selling the Tuscan. An older looking one-off that'll still drive better than 90% of what's out there or the Tuscan that is perfectly good and outperform 99% of the rest and absolutely anything I can afford? To make matters worse I sort of talked the manufacturer of these bodies into changing the prototype to look like what I wanted, something akin to a Lancia d24, so I'm feeling slightly obliged although it has to be said he seems to be getting a few orders without me.
The thread starts here where you can see the prototype, originally designed for a (don't laugh) Triumph Herald chassis. It seems there's only 1" difference in the wheelbase between that and a Chimaera although it would need widening by about 6", fairly easy I'm told. At the time of writing the raw body can be had for a staggeringly cheap £750! Add a Cat 'D' Chimaera, paint job (red), a set of wire wheels plus a few other bits and I think this is achievable at a very reasonable price, certainly leaving me some change from the sale of the Tuscan.
What to do?
Edit to add, the last photo is a real d24. I'm not looking to replicate it but achieve something more 'in the style of'.
Artstu said:
ChrisJ. said:
I was led to believe, (but only by Top Gear) that basing a special on a TVR chassis meant that the 'project' didn't need IVA testing.
I'd be interested to know the truth on that one.
MEV claim the same for their mx5 based carI'd be interested to know the truth on that one.
If you use an unmodified chassis, engine, gearbox and suspension then you can claim it is a rebody, as you have not altered (much) the structural or factory built strength or configuration of the vehicle. So only the interior and body panels have been changed. You need extensive photographic proof of this though. A member of the CSC recently did this with a dead 2CV he had, he turned it into a one off special with a handmade body, the DVLA office had no trouble with it being a rebody, as thats exactly what it was.
Edited by slomax on Thursday 6th January 11:37
Slomax, that's the route for this project. A straightforward re-body to avoid IVA.
I'm hoping that it would 'only' entail cutting off the outer arches, removing the boot, bonnet and doors and grafting the new body on top with trimming and fettling as required. There's a bit more to it than that of course and things that immediately spring to mind are ensuring it's strong enough, how to make use of the boot (the hump behind the driver precludes a full width lid and the upright Chimaera fuel tank makes going in behind the seats awkward) and swopping the seats for something more of the era. The latter probably mean an interior re-trim to match.
On the plus side no doors means no faffing to make them fit, something that often seems poorly done on kits. No doors also means no electric windows to worry about, no windscreen means no washers and wipers. It'll have a flip bonnet so engine access will be good and while the body is being chopped about the outriggers, a common failing on Chimaeras and Griffiths, can be waxoyled or replaced.
I'd really like to do this and the only thing stopping me is selling my Tuscan to pay for it.
I'm hoping that it would 'only' entail cutting off the outer arches, removing the boot, bonnet and doors and grafting the new body on top with trimming and fettling as required. There's a bit more to it than that of course and things that immediately spring to mind are ensuring it's strong enough, how to make use of the boot (the hump behind the driver precludes a full width lid and the upright Chimaera fuel tank makes going in behind the seats awkward) and swopping the seats for something more of the era. The latter probably mean an interior re-trim to match.
On the plus side no doors means no faffing to make them fit, something that often seems poorly done on kits. No doors also means no electric windows to worry about, no windscreen means no washers and wipers. It'll have a flip bonnet so engine access will be good and while the body is being chopped about the outriggers, a common failing on Chimaeras and Griffiths, can be waxoyled or replaced.
I'd really like to do this and the only thing stopping me is selling my Tuscan to pay for it.
Edited by Flintstone on Friday 7th January 16:23
Schweet. Was going to ask if that was Bay Area Rods kit in shot, and then read thread linked to - so in essence it's new front end for the Stellio?
Did wonder about suitability of Herald chassis on an age / availability basis; and obviously if you stuck with an original powerplant it would be a modern Karmann Ghia (i.e. looks a lot faster that it goes
). Switching to TVR kills two birds with one stone.
Lancia D24 good choice of inspiration - and there are loads of gorgeous cars (besides the obvious candidates) of a similar era one could use as similar reference for other projects. Good luck; looking forward to seeing how it progresses.
Did wonder about suitability of Herald chassis on an age / availability basis; and obviously if you stuck with an original powerplant it would be a modern Karmann Ghia (i.e. looks a lot faster that it goes
). Switching to TVR kills two birds with one stone. Lancia D24 good choice of inspiration - and there are loads of gorgeous cars (besides the obvious candidates) of a similar era one could use as similar reference for other projects. Good luck; looking forward to seeing how it progresses.
singlecoil said:
In what way would it be 'fairly easy' to widen that body by 6"? Do you mean easy to physically cut it lengthways and insert extra material, as surely to actually get the curves right (I'm looking at the bonnet in particular) would better described as 'very difficult'?
Maybe I've over-simplified it and I'm the first to admit I've no experience of doing this first hand but I would imagine that it would be relatively easy to insert a section. If it were fiddling with compound curves I'd be a little more worried. The fact that a d24 type bonnet scoop would help hide the join is a bonus.Flintstone said:
singlecoil said:
In what way would it be 'fairly easy' to widen that body by 6"? Do you mean easy to physically cut it lengthways and insert extra material, as surely to actually get the curves right (I'm looking at the bonnet in particular) would better described as 'very difficult'?
Maybe I've over-simplified it and I'm the first to admit I've no experience of doing this first hand but I would imagine that it would be relatively easy to insert a section. If it were fiddling with compound curves I'd be a little more worried. The fact that a d24 type bonnet scoop would help hide the join is a bonus.slomax said:
Flintstone said:
singlecoil said:
In what way would it be 'fairly easy' to widen that body by 6"? Do you mean easy to physically cut it lengthways and insert extra material, as surely to actually get the curves right (I'm looking at the bonnet in particular) would better described as 'very difficult'?
Maybe I've over-simplified it and I'm the first to admit I've no experience of doing this first hand but I would imagine that it would be relatively easy to insert a section. If it were fiddling with compound curves I'd be a little more worried. The fact that a d24 type bonnet scoop would help hide the join is a bonus.Incidentally, I've looked long and hard at that body, and my conclusion was that the best way to utilise it would be to make a new chassis to fit it. Tricky, though, a compact engine (bike?) would be needed, and careful packaging of the rear suspension too (unless going for a transverse spring and swing axles
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