TVR Chim - 8k Enough?

[LouD86]

Right, I cant resist my urges anymore.

Ive got a fleet of sensible, with the fun charged drop top already, but since being a kid, and having the luxury of a passenger ride in a TVR, and that soundtrack, Ive wanted one. Badly!!

Ive been talking to the OH, looked at insurance, and checked my barn is big enough for it to fit in safely, and it will clear the cattle grid into the yard.

However, Im worried about funds. Ive got about 8k which Im happy to spend on it (or spend less and restore/maintain) for which I want a good chassis, beautiful V8, and good paint. Im not too fussed on mileage, aslong as the condition is fair.

Do you think 8k is enough, or should I be looking to wait a bit longer, and spend a bit more?

[ewan221]

You would pick up an early one with no problem at all. There is a silver one on here with body off refurb and rebuilt 4.6 well in your budget

[J4CKO]

I was pondering the same, what I would say is there are a lot for sale and the sticker price isnt what it goes for, think there is a lot of optimistic sellers and a lot of cars that dont sell, I would look at cars up to ten and see what happens.

[trickywoo]

You could just about get a nice 4.3 Griff for that.

[redgriff500]

I bought one for £4k.

High miles (over 100k) paintwork and interior were tired but it went well for the few months I ran it and then I sold it on.

[LouD86]

Body off refurb im guessing you mean the Chassis has been sorted? I spent many hours getting a friends one down to the point to weld, I dont want to be doign that again. And freshly rebuilt, I like!! Im trying to stay away fromt he classified, as I will end up buying one, without getting anyones opinion first. And I think I need to speak to some TVR knowledgable people!

Griff does nothing for me! It would have to be a Chim, and eventually a Cerbera. But thats more money and saving in the future!

Edited by LouD86 on Wednesday 3rd August 12:59

[andy-xr]

This looks interesting (but I know nothing about TVR's)

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3063929.htm

[Fat Albert]

Friend of mine bought a 4.0 rover engined one for £8k last year and it has been an absolute Gem, it had had the outriggers done before he got it

[LouD86]

andy-xr said:

This looks interesting (but I know nothing about TVR's)

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3063929.htm

That does look lovely, and I could sell those aftermarket wheels and fit the standard ones back on, result! Is this the sort of work expected on a vehicle of that age, all the stuff he has done?

[ewan221]

LouD86 said:

Body off refurb im guessing you mean the Chassis has been sorted? I spent many hours getting a friends one down to the point to weld, I dont want to be doign that again. And freshly rebuilt, I like!! Im trying to stay away fromt he classified, as I will end up buying one, without getting anyones opinion first. And I think I need to speak to some TVR knowledgable people!

Griff does nothing for me! It would have to be a Chim, and eventually a Cerbera. But thats more money and saving in the future!

Edited by LouD86 on Wednesday 3rd August 12:59

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2934253.htm - This is one I meant, if I had sold my car it was near top of my list to go see

[gavgavgav]

LouD86 said:

That does look lovely, and I could sell those aftermarket wheels and fit the standard ones back on, result! Is this the sort of work expected on a vehicle of that age, all the stuff he has done?

With what has been done to this car, it appears priced aggressively to sell. The chassis work is common enough, but he has gone the extra mile on the rads & hoses, suspension etc;

http://jsread.com/tvr/blog.php?page=99&id=47

[thegman]

Blatent plug. Mine is for sale for that money -

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3094196.htm

TBH gutted to sell for this money considering the time (let alone money) that I have spent on it.

[finestjammy]

an £8K budget should buy you something pretty decent, if not pristine. Personally I'd focus on the the chassis, outriggers, wishbones, shocks, diff, gearbox and other oily areas rather than the interior and paint. You might get lucky and find one within budget that has a good paint, interior AND oily bits though.

Remember you can continue to use a car with poor paint and interior...but you can't if it fails an MOT because of crusty outriggers or badly leaking engine/diff/gearbox etc.

Just my 2p's worth.

[Excitedoldgeezer]

Brought a good 1996 model, for 5k, have spent 2k over 6 months getting new cam, clutch, tyres, a few sensors etc, few minor upgrades, and a decent service, and the car sounds and runs brilliantly. The chassis looks good, the paint work isnt great and the interior needs some work but not much, so I think you can get a decent car for 8k and should ;-)

[Chris71]

£8k is easily enough (providing you have a small contingency fund over and above) for a decent Chimaera. You can spend twice that on a late 500, but you really don't need to.

Condition, as I'm sure you've been told already, is everything. And I mean actual condition not the seller's (sometimes optimistic, sometimes very modest) assessment of it. Of the standard factory specs, I'd be inclined to look out for a smart 430 with a bit of change. As mentioned above, an early car with a 4.6 dropped in might be another good option if performance is a key factor.

Some random things which add appeal to a car IMHO:
Lots of detailed receipts, not just service stamps
Evidence of chassis maintenance and/or work ('body off' is a magic phrase!)
Recent suspension, bushes etc.
Engine refresh (recent)
In particular, a recent cam if it's over 50,000 miles, say - they do wear

For what's (supposedly) mid summer the prices seem great at the moment. I could swear they're cheaper spec-for-spec than when I bought mine in November!

This one looks worth a look: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2934253.htm

[jsr]

gavgavgav said:

LouD86 said:

That does look lovely, and I could sell those aftermarket wheels and fit the standard ones back on, result! Is this the sort of work expected on a vehicle of that age, all the stuff he has done?

With what has been done to this car, it appears priced aggressively to sell. The chassis work is common enough, but he has gone the extra mile on the rads & hoses, suspension etc;

http://jsread.com/tvr/blog.php?page=99&id=47

Just so happens to be my car! Absolutely love it, but with a little baby now i just dont have the time to use it. Please feel free to contact me if you are interested and i will provide more info - there is already loads on my blog!

If not, good luck with the hunt. You wont regret buying a Chimaera - they are fantastic cars.

James

[LouD86]

Thanks guys, this is really helpful in my nervous purchase of buying my dream car.

Speed isnt everything (although I cant say I dont like it, im looking at TVR's), I love the noise, the looks, the culture, and the fact its a proper british, unaided sports car. Something so I can relegate the supercharged MX-5 to track use, and the TVR for my toy.

Im flexible on paintwork I suppose, I have the facilities to respray myself, so its oily bits first, and chassis.

I hear mention above of the cam being changed. 50k changeover period, is this something thats very important??

[finestjammy]

LouD86 said:

Thanks guys, this is really helpful in my nervous purchase of buying my dream car.

Speed isnt everything (although I cant say I dont like it, im looking at TVR's), I love the noise, the looks, the culture, and the fact its a proper british, unaided sports car. Something so I can relegate the supercharged MX-5 to track use, and the TVR for my toy.

Im flexible on paintwork I suppose, I have the facilities to respray myself, so its oily bits first, and chassis.

I hear mention above of the cam being changed. 50k changeover period, is this something thats very important??

A worn cam wont cause any damage as such, it will probably mean the power will be well down though if it is basly worn. As an example I had no history of a cam change (very little history with the car at all actually) on mine when I bought it with 75k miles. Stuck it in the dyno and it produced 230bhp (standard 4.0) so I assume it can't be that worn. Not sure how many sellers will let you put it on a dyno before buying though It is one indication, not a guarantee, how things are running without starting to strip back the engine though

[LouD86]

Im competent at rebuilding engines myself, but its not something I want to be doing again!! I want to enjoy the car.

So Body Off work, Cam, Oily bits, and bushes and suspension. Right, list is getting longer. Im going to have to make a shortlist this weekend, and do some visiting next week~!

[theironduke]

Bought mine for 5 in February.

Has never missed a beat and i've used it for an emergency daily for a few weeks.