To keep or not to keep?

[phazed]

roseytvr said:

Hi Peter
I have the same dilemma with my Griff. I am currently considering stripping out the mods and returning it to standard as I have kept all of the parts. The value of a standard car plus individual sale of modded parts would be significantly higher than selling the modded car in my view. How much of the original car of you got? Wheels, brakes, suspension, engine etc?
Assuming you get say a grand for the seats and roll bar would it reduce the value of the car by a grand? I doubt it so in my opinion take them out and sell them separately.
Good luck mate

It is a sad day when we sell these cars let alone having to practically break them up to recover a proportion of our hard earned.

[ChimpOnGas]

phazed said:

It is a sad day when we sell these cars let alone having to practically break them up to recover a proportion of our hard earned.

Exactly Peter

I'm sure you'll find the right buyer who appreciates what you've created, it's a very well known car afterall and probably the fastest normally aspirated Chimaera out there.

Good luck with the sale.

Dave.

[Classic Chim]

phazed said:

I haven't kept anything. The car it seems will go looking standard but otherwise stay the same.

The engine on its own would be in between 12-15k.......

What goes into an engine like yours if it’s not to long a list to detail.
5.5,,, that must mean all the bottom end. Stage 4 heads I believe

[SteveR1979]

phazed said:

roseytvr said:

Hi Peter
I have the same dilemma with my Griff. I am currently considering stripping out the mods and returning it to standard as I have kept all of the parts. The value of a standard car plus individual sale of modded parts would be significantly higher than selling the modded car in my view. How much of the original car of you got? Wheels, brakes, suspension, engine etc?
Assuming you get say a grand for the seats and roll bar would it reduce the value of the car by a grand? I doubt it so in my opinion take them out and sell them separately.
Good luck mate

It is a sad day when we sell these cars let alone having to practically break them up to recover a proportion of our hard earned.

Always the same though. I used to always modify my cars, always had to put them back to stock to sell them.

[Zener]

Its not a just a TVR thing always been this way IMO goes for many cars Ford sporty models always sold for more well nice ones anyway when they was close to stock i.e no lowered suspension ,bigger wheels , Janspeed/big bore exhausts ,visible engine modifications etc etc

[phazed]

Classic Chim said:

What goes into an engine like yours if it’s not to long a list to detail.
5.5,,, that must mean all the bottom end. Stage 4 heads I believe

This is just the engine...........

Top hated large journal block.
Cross bolted Special stroker crank,
Cat steel H beam forged rods
ARP head bolts
Forged Diamond pistons
Total Seal gapless rings
H404 camshaft plus hydraulic lifters
Yella Terra roller rockers
JE billet outrigger posts
ACT Triple plenum & 45mm trumpet base
Plenum opened out to 95mm inlet
100mm induction hose
100mm K&N Hiflow filter
Stage 4 ported heads 10.5 :1 Comp
Ported and polished inlet manifold
30lb Accell Injectors
JE alternator bracket
P38 coil pack
Accel 8mm leads
McLeod 10.5" twin plate clutch (rated to 800 horses)
Forged lightweight alloy flywheel
ACT big bore manifolds
ACT full set black silicon hoses
34 row Oil cooler with therostatic sandwich plate take off
Fully decatted
Emerald ECU

[Classic Chim]

phazed said:

This is just the engine...........

Top hated large journal block.
Cross bolted Special stroker crank,
Cat steel H beam forged rods
ARP head bolts
Forged Diamond pistons
Total Seal gapless rings
H404 camshaft plus hydraulic lifters
Yella Terra roller rockers
JE billet outrigger posts
ACT Triple plenum & 45mm trumpet base
Plenum opened out to 95mm inlet
100mm induction hose
100mm K&N Hiflow filter
Stage 4 ported heads 10.5 :1 Comp
Ported and polished inlet manifold
30lb Accell Injectors
JE alternator bracket
P38 coil pack
Accel 8mm leads
McLeod 10.5" twin plate clutch (rated to 800 horses)
Forged lightweight alloy flywheel
ACT big bore manifolds
ACT full set black silicon hoses
34 row Oil cooler with therostatic sandwich plate take off
Fully decatted
Emerald ECU

Can I have the JE bracket if your breaking it

I think it cost more than your letting on.
That’s 20k there surely. How many hours labour for all that I wonder.

Mouth watering.

Edited by Classic Chim on Monday 20th January 22:48

[Dougal9887]

And if we're busy breaking your car for you I'm in the market for your roll bar
Dougal

[phazed]

Dougal9887 said:

And if we're busy breaking your car for you I'm in the market for your roll bar
Dougal

Ah.......no! The car will not be dismantled even though it may fetch more that way.

It is a brilliant properly sorted car and would be sacrilege to dismantle it.

Chassis is good, outriggers renewed, upgraded brakes, five stud hubs and Cerb wheels, new differential, totally rebuilt gearbox, tubular Wishbones, Subaru power steering, the list is endless! And it still has only 50 K on the clock from memory, maybe less! Items like the gearbox and differential being rebuilt and replaced were purely down to having too much time and money! There wasn’t anything really wrong with them, the opportunity was just there.

I am leaning towards putting in the standard seats and removing the rollbar.

If so, the rollbar is already spoken for! Good try though.

Anyone for a set of reupholstered Elise seats with the TVR logo on each?

[pac1uk]

Personally would leave the Lotus seats in, they are trimmed to match. They look like the Probax ones which I found really comfy.

I would leave the choice to the buyer on what seats they wanted.

I think one thing that would put people off is MOT time, does it have CATS to get a MOT ? Without finding a "friendly" MOT tester which are getting thin on the ground now.

Looks a very well sorted car and its a real shame when you have to let them go.

[baconsarney]

I'd definitely keep the word 'probably' in there

[Monsterlime]

If I had the cash, I would be biting your arm off for this car. Might buy an extra ticket for the Lottery.

[Classic Chim]

Monsterlime said:

If I had the cash, I would be biting your arm off for this car. Might buy an extra ticket for the Lottery.

Me too.
Having learnt what it takes and costs over the years, if I wanted a top line Chim from the get go saving all the headaches this would be the one.
We all know what it costs to get to this, recent austerity has made this something we shy away from, not Peter or a good few others I’ve been luckily enough to meet, hundreds actually if you go to the big Tvr shows and see these cars. You look over some cars and you see all the things you’d like on your car. Proven improvements, all the niggly problems removed.
This is one of those. A bargain at any price compared to building a car to this standard.

Edited by Classic Chim on Wednesday 22 January 10:47

[phazed]

Let's not talk about cost, (and time!).

Kind words Alun and I'll be sad to see it go. I will miss the outright exhilarating performance

Imagine on the autobahn doing 70 in top gear, floor the throttle and it seems like only a matter of a handful of seconds when 150 comes up on the Speedo. On the other hand, you can be extremely lazy and it will pull cleanly, (and briskly) from 1000 rpm in fifth gear. That's a 0 to 60 of less than 3.5 seconds, what car can do all this, look as good and have the individuality and rarity of a TVR.

[TwinKam]

phazed said:

Let's not talk about cost, (and time!).

Kind words Alun and I'll be sad to see it go. I will miss the outright exhilarating performance

Imagine on the autobahn doing 70 in top gear, floor the throttle and it seems like only a matter of a handful of seconds when 150 comes up on the Speedo. On the other hand, you can be extremely lazy and it will pull cleanly, (and briskly) from 1000 rpm in fifth gear. That's a 0 to 60 of less than 3.5 seconds, what car can do all this, look as good and have the individuality and rarity of a TVR.

Repeat that last para to yourself nightly, Peter, and you'll end up keeping it

[Classic Chim]

It’s the sort of car a fighter pilot would like.
It’s true though, somehow it manages to drive smoothly. Open up the taps and you better know what your doing but like all these cars can be driven like a pussy cat.

[phazed]

TwinKam said:

Repeat that last para to yourself nightly, Peter, and you'll end up keeping it

I know, I know. You know the score Rik. Life never standstill, complications arise and sometimes you need to simplify your life. Actually Rck, this car would be perfect for you while you rebuild your cerb...........

For the uninitiated, I have a Porsche Boxster S which is a piece of cake to live with, ticks most of the boxes and is a tad on the boring side. That said, my wife loves it and if all goes to plan we hope to tour Spain and Portugal this year, fingers crossed!

I don't have to sell the chim, it could sit in the garage and come out on the odd occasion but that wouldn't do it justice and would mean the usual tax, insurance, MOT, yearly maintenance et cetera et cetera. I hope the next owner will appreciate it for what it is and make full use of its performance and presence, (without killing himself!).

[motul1974]

...you'll kick yourself if the new owner bends it!!

[TwinKam]

I do understand, Peter.
It just saddens me that, having got your Chimera as close to potent perfection as possible, it's now going to be diminished somewhat to appeal to a wider market. How much better for it to be sold as it is, to someone who wants it for what it is, and truly appreciates all that has gone into it (which is more than the sum of its physical parts) and you don't have to 'delete' its history to pretend that it's never been 'raced or rallied' ...it is what is is because of your testing and development!
As you're not in a desperate panic to sell, I do hope that such a buyer will come forward in time. Sadly, I'm not able to.
Rik

[Penelope Stopit]

Loan it out for track days?