cerbs and chims

[just_william]

I know what you all gonna think. I had a Tuscan 4.0l as an entry car and then a T350 3.6 which was best thing in world. But couldn't afford it. So now looking at cerbs and chims. Cerbs engines confuse me though as same sizes but vastly more power. Any helpful hints? Cheers all Jimbo

[19560]

Easy - Cerb has an Al-John-Pete, AJP engine like the Tuscan and the T350, Chim has the Rover V8 based engine. If you can afford it go for the Cerb (similar running costs to the Tuscan) if not Chim is significantly cheaper to run. Now for a few

[2 Smokin Barrels]

Not very good at oily bits, but does AJP only refer to the V8 Cerb?

[19560]

AJP: S6, V8, and V12. Also V10 but not built.

[just_william]

Ahhh I was sort of under the impression that because the cerbs had a V8 which again was the same as the chims, that the servicing would be similar in cost! But your advice about them being similar to the Tuscans is very interesting. Thanks for help bud.

[kojak]

19560 said:

Easy - Cerb has an Al-John-Pete, AJP engine like the Tuscan and the T350

The Tuscan and T350 don't have an AJP at all. Cerbs are the only ones that have the AJP (V8-4.2/4.5).There are also S6 Cerbs, that are straight 6's like the Tuscan/T350.

[19560]

kojak said:

19560 said: Easy - Cerb has an Al-John-Pete, AJP engine like the Tuscan and the T350. AJP: S6, V8, and V12. Also V10 but not built. The Tuscan and T350 don't have an AJP at all. Cerbs are the only ones that have the AJP (V8-4.2/4.5).There are also S6 Cerbs, that are straight 6's like the Tuscan/T350.

OK - in your world which of the three do you think was not involved with the S6? No Al Melling? No JR input? No Wheeler finance? lol

[GreenV8S]

Setting aside who was involved, the name used by the factory for the straight six engines is 'Speed 6'. They are not called AJP engines.

[19560]

GreenV8S said:

Setting aside who was involved, the name used by the factory for the straight six engines is 'Speed 6'. They are not called AJP engines.

and the name used for the 8 cyl engines is the V8. In terms of an answer to this thread it does not appear to be helpful to call an AJP V8 an AJP and an AJP S6 a Speed 6 what is important is the large difference in running costs - observations made by yourself among others numerous tmes. The Cerb running cost is in the Tuscan league not the chim/griff one.

[GreenV8S]

The initial V8 engines were indeed called AJP, but the subsequent straight six engines were not. They're all TVR's own design engine of course, but the name 'AJP' has been dropped. This is irrelevent to the original qestion but I thought might interest you.

[just_william]

Wow cheers folks. Another little question. My original Tuscan seized 5th cylinder, hence I got T350. I have heard that the chims V8 is very reliable. Is the Cerb 4.2 and 4.5 as reliable as the old Rover block?

>> Edited by just_william on Sunday 10th July 10:01

[19560]

just_william said:

I have heard that the chims V8 is very reliable. Is the Cerb 4.2 and 4.5 as reliable as the old Rover block?

Short answer from me - when compared to a tuned Rover block, yes.
Did you see this posted on Thurs?

bosscerbera said:

The Speed Six saga is a fine case of perception being people's reality. Funnily enough, the same applies to the RV8 - but in reverse. Start with the Rover V8. This US-sourced [Buick reject] burbled around in 3.5 litre <150bhp (43bhp/litre) form for years. My, what a reliable engine. In final TVR-ised 5.0 litre, 60bhp/litre format, any faults were dismissed as a bit of bad luck or "well, it is a highly tuned Rover engine don't you know". Nevertheless, based on its production car lo-po roots the RV8 is perceived as reliable.... How reliable do we all think a 90bhp/litre normally aspirated RV8 would be? That's a 360bhp 4 litre or 450bhp 5 litre. Same rules apply to the venerable small-block Chevy. It's good for 250,000 miles in a sedan but fit high lift cams and that drops to 60,000 miles. Go for 100bhp/litre (570bhp 5.7) and start lifing parts in running HOURS. Now, enter the Speed Six in 1999. A ground-up 90-100bhp/litre engine from the purveyors of "cars-that-leak". Of course, it's bound to be sh*t isn't it? Just ask a "pub expert", he'll fill you in... The Speed Six has completed Le Mans ... conquered Porsche and Ferrari in GT racing ... and powers some of the world's fastest cars. The fact that some engines get consumed at too frequent intervals (but less frequent these days) is IMHO the price you pay for accessing hypercar performance for around £40K-£50K. A bit of your £50K 'saving' will require 're-investing' from time to time. Even so, run the worst engine-popping TVR for a couple of years and cost of ownership will be STILL be less than those £100K+ cars you'll routinely anhiliate at the traffic lights and track days. Whether you buy a low volume high specific output engine (or build it yourself) it doesn't last long, relatively speaking. A modicum of mechanical sympathy will prolong its life. The Speed Six engine itself is less of a problem than the communication and service from TVR. A failure to effectively manage its reputation (in actions and words) has brought a far greater punishment to TVR than any Court Judge could inflict. The unique engine is what elevates TVR away from being a 'kit car'. The Speed Six engines ARE getting better. TVR will now warrant them for 36,000 miles. As 100bhp/litre engines go, that's remarkable. The characteristics of large displacement, high torque/power normally aspirated engines are what make TVRs special and it's a philosophy/policy that the cars share with the daddy of all supercars: the just-over-100bhp/litre Mclaren F1. What a shame the "pub expert" doesn't draw such a comparison between TVR and Mclaren and then note what an absolute bargain a TVR therefore is. Then again, the bloke in the pub isn't an expert at all is he?

Seems to be at least a half reasonable summary.
IMHO the S6 seems to be good for 25K, the RV8 50K and the TVR/AJP V8 50K although the latter have frequently lasted longer and the former have frequently lasted less.
The RV8 will be cheaper to repair and TVRs engines will give more power.

[just_william]

Intersting reading all that. Cheers. Although now I am all of a quandry as to which one to buy. Gotta have something for me to polish over the winter!!!!

[gazzab]

Chim and cerb are totally different.
Chim is closer to an MGB with improved handling and power.
A cerb is closer to any supercar you care to mention. IMHO.

[shnozz]

gazzab said:

Chim and cerb are totally different. Chim is closer to an MGB with improved handling and power. A cerb is closer to any supercar you care to mention. IMHO.

and similarly a Chim will have running costs on a par with an MGB. The cerbs running costs will be closer to any supercar you care to mention.

If you couldnt afford the Tuscan or the T350, being a realist I would say a Chimaera or Griff might be a wiser purchase. The cerbera is a different league, but its also twice the running costs. Go for a 5 litre so at least the straight line power of the Tuscan and the T350 isnt so badly missed. I would also be looking at uprating the suspension as after a T350 you may find the Chimaeras, and indeed cerberas, arent quite so incredible in the handling stakes.

[carl_w]

Although a 6-pot M3 engine produces more than 100bhp/litre, and will last significantly longer than an AJP8 or Speed 6. Furthermore, those that did go pop (VANOS or Nikasil failure) were replaced by the factory, even if out of warranty. And the replacement units were sorted...