Chimaera Advice Required Please

[Darren156]

Hi everyone,

At the end of the year / start of next I'm going to have around £7,000 or so saved up and one of the cars I am interested in is the TVR Chimaera.

The car will be used as my main car, a constant daily driver, I do on average 10,500 miles at least a year. Will the car be okay doing this, and at this sort of mileage per year how much will servicing / maintenence costs come to?

Also, are there any specific versions / models etc to look out for, and like-wise are there any to go for?

Any help is extremely appreciated.

Thank you,
Darren

[hugh_]

Good choice, I'm about to get one, albeit as a 2nd car. Your questions have been answered many times before, the search facility is your friend!

However to summarise, the main costs will be fuel (av. ~23mpg), servicing on average might be ~£400 per 6000miles + anything that fails, and insurance will depend largely on age, but expect £300-1300.

Good luck
Hugh

[blujay10]

Good luck - just keep in mind that there is no such thing as a cheap TVR!

[RedCabbage]

My Chimaera is my main car, and I would happily have spent double what I did to get this amount of driving pleasure.

There are plenty of owners who do many more miles than you are planning to, so you would not be in uncharted territory. Cost wise it is just a question of how much you want to have that driving experience.

What is the price of a permanent grin?

[RedCabbage]

Also you have to compare the cost of unexpected repairs and larger service items e.g.

New roof for a Honda S2000 £1717
New roof for TVR £300.

Front brake discs S2000 £294
Front brake discs TVR £130

Lifetime costs of a TVR can be less than a more modern car when things go wrong. However a TVR will suffer more if regular maintenance is not carried out.

[Darren156]

Thanks for all the quick replies guys, it's appreciated.

Engine wise, what variants did the Chim come with? I know thre was a 4 Litre, and I think a 4.3, but what's the best engine / year to go with, for my price range?

[RedCabbage]

Darren156 said:

Thanks for all the quick replies guys, it's appreciated.

Engine wise, what variants did the Chim come with? I know thre was a 4 Litre, and I think a 4.3, but what's the best engine / year to go with, for my price range?

You can get 4.5 and 5.0 engined cars for your budget but you could end up spending a similar amount getting them to the condition you desire.

There are a lot of £7k 4.0 Chimaeras, some good some bad. It is possible to get a 94 car with the better T5 gearbox, PAS and a decent history for this sort of money. Don't be afraid of higher miles, regular use and regular maintenance are arguably better for these cars than mothballing them.

See here:-

http://www.chimaerapages.com/resources_buyers.php

Edited by RedCabbage on Thursday 24th April 12:57

Edited by RedCabbage on Thursday 24th April 12:58

[hugh_]

Darren156 said:

Thanks for all the quick replies guys, it's appreciated.

Engine wise, what variants did the Chim come with? I know thre was a 4 Litre, and I think a 4.3, but what's the best engine / year to go with, for my price range?

4 engine sizes were produced, 4.0; 4.3; 4.5; 5.0 also refered to as 400, 430, 450, 500 etc.
Factory options included HC (high lift cam) and BV (big valve head)
The earliest cars had RV8 engines (mainly 400's) which was replaced with the Serp engine in 94/95ish

For £7k you will almost certainly be looking at a 400 or 430; there is no way to differentiate between HC or non-HC so take that with a pinch of salt! The cars were facelifted in 1997 to the Cerbera front bumper and different door openers, but unless its leggy you will be looking at a pre-facelift.

[Trellis]

I think the HC refers to High Compression not High Lift Cam.

I also think HCs should be badged as such on the plenum - tho of course this isnt a guarantee that its an HC engine!

HC's should deliver some extra BHP. Can't remember the factory quoted figures off the top of my head but I think a 400HC may have been stated as 275bhp vs the standard 4 litre 240 bhp.

As we all know - bhp needs to be taken with a huge pinch of salt on TVRS!

[RedCabbage]

Trellis said:

I think the HC refers to High Compression not High Lift Cam.

I also think HCs should be badged as such on the plenum - tho of course this isnt a guarantee that its an HC engine!

HC's should deliver some extra BHP. Can't remember the factory quoted figures off the top of my head but I think a 400HC may have been stated as 275bhp vs the standard 4 litre 240 bhp.

As we all know - bhp needs to be taken with a huge pinch of salt on TVRS!

[thenick]

hugh_ said:

The earliest cars had RV8 engines (mainly 400's) which was replaced with the Serp engine in 94/95ish

Erm, I think you mean all cars had RV8 engines! The only difference is the belt configuration at the front, pre-serp is v-belt, serpentine is one big fat belt. Not really a difference to worry about, but the serp engines have cross bolting capability although IIRC only the 450's and later 500's actually had the cross bolts put in!

You'll have no problem running a Chim as a daily driver, just make sure you look after it (regular fluid checks, look the car over once a week etc). If you look after it well and read up on here and in the Steve Heath bible, you should be prepared for most potential problems which can save you '000s and help you better understand the car and how to drive it

- Go test drive a few and I'm sure you'll find the car right for you. I originally went out looking for a 400 with the possibility of a 430 if a nice one came up but my 450 came up at the right price and in great condition so I snapped it up. Buying in winter should save you a grand or two as it did me - but there will be less choice than now, so you should be able to get more for your money if you look carefully and pay attention to the buyers guide!

[Darren156]

Brilliant advice guys, thanks for all of that.

The response time is amazing, so cheers for that as well.

One of my concerns however was 'fitment'. As in, will I fit? lol, I've been told that they are quite snug in the cabin. I'm about 6 foot and I'd say of a medium-large size, I fit in my other halfs dads S2000 Honda fairly well, but not sure if the same will apply for the Chim.

I'm on a diet though anyway if that helps? lol

Also, what's the expected MPG I'll acheieve from the Chim 4.0, 4.3, etc? I do like to drive rather spiritedly, but only live 12 miles from work which won't really be enough time for me to warm the old girl up and give her a proper run in anyway. So my work commute will be pretty placid anyway, 50MPH-70MPH all the way there on the M5 and then maybe a bit quicker on the way home.

Of course, I'm not an MPG chaser, otherwise I'd not be looking at TVR's, but it would be good to know what to expect.

Cheers,
Darren

[That Daddy]

RedCabbage said:

Trellis said:

I think the HC refers to High Compression not High Lift Cam.

I also think HCs should be badged as such on the plenum - tho of course this isnt a guarantee that its an HC engine!

HC's should deliver some extra BHP. Can't remember the factory quoted figures off the top of my head but I think a 400HC may have been stated as 275bhp vs the standard 4 litre 240 bhp.

As we all know - bhp needs to be taken with a huge pinch of salt on TVRS!

Ehh-Err, wrong its highlift cam actually,nothing to do with compression,right about the badge bit though

Edited by That Daddy on Thursday 24th April 15:01

[jumplead]

Darren156 said:

Brilliant advice guys, thanks for all of that.

The response time is amazing, so cheers for that as well.

One of my concerns however was 'fitment'. As in, will I fit? lol, I've been told that they are quite snug in the cabin. I'm about 6 foot and I'd say of a medium-large size, I fit in my other halfs dads S2000 Honda fairly well, but not sure if the same will apply for the Chim.

I'm on a diet though anyway if that helps? lol

Also, what's the expected MPG I'll acheieve from the Chim 4.0, 4.3, etc? I do like to drive rather spiritedly, but only live 12 miles from work which won't really be enough time for me to warm the old girl up and give her a proper run in anyway. So my work commute will be pretty placid anyway, 50MPH-70MPH all the way there on the M5 and then maybe a bit quicker on the way home.

Of course, I'm not an MPG chaser, otherwise I'd not be looking at TVR's, but it would be good to know what to expect.

Cheers,
Darren

I 'think' i get low to mid 20s out of mine, never really taken account and looked. Just visit the watering hole when its needed.

One of my pals is about 6ft4+ and is fairly wide. He found it very snug in the passenger seat (he commented that he was much more secure going into corners at speed in the TVR than when i took him out in a Calibra Turbo, due to him being wedged between the door and the transmission tunnel). Best advice is go and sit in one. I'll add always buy on condition, I went to look at 14 cars when i bought my first and a further 6-8 when i bought the second, condition between cars varies massively within the same price range. Don't be scared of mileage either, my latest car has shy on 90k miles on the clock and feels a much better car than my first.

Best of luck with finding the car for you.

[hugh_]

I'm 6ft3 and fit in fine, not lanky but not too broad IYKWIM!

[JR]

hugh_ said:

there is no way to differentiate between HC or non-HC so take that with a pinch of salt!

Some reading for you:

JR said:

4.0 Chim 240, 4.0HC Chim 280. HC was an optional extra which was introduced just (a year IIRC) before the 4.3 was dropped.

wheeljack888 said:

Mines a 1996 4.0HC and at the rollers it produced 198bhp at the wheels, an estimated 235 bhp at the flywheel. So if its 202hp at the wheels I would be very happy! But if its estimated for the flywheel I would be a little dissapointed. If so it could be a worn cam because HC's do have double valve springs and an aggressive lobe profile, this can therefore expected to have a shorter than normal life. I took my engine apart last year, which had done 45k, and the cam was looking a little worn on the hardening, but all measured up OK, I expect it to live for another 10-15k but thats potentially 2 years motoring for me! And hopefully by then I'll have my 4.6 that I'm very slowly building.

If your interested I can confirm the following differances over standard 3.9 RV8s for my 4.0 HC (maybe slightly different on others):

TVR435R/M camshaft
Vernier camshaft sprocket and duplex roller chain
Double spring valves
Machined pockets in piston crowns for valve clearance
Standard diameter but Waisted Inlet Valves
I'm assuming shorter valve guides to allow for higher lift.
The heads have been machined to accept double springs but are unfortunately not ported though.

So the short of it is, if you want more power the double springs & valve cutouts will allow you to have a much more aggresive cam than normal 4 litre Rover V8's.
Cheers, Phil

[Darren156]

Right, so I should fit in okay then, that's one weight off my mind. Mind the pun, lol

So is it best to steer clear of the HC's then, if they have a shorter life span then it might be best considering the miles I'll be doing.

[Jon-M]

Just to put in my thoughts, i got my chim a few months back and it was my only car until i got a work van a few weeks back. the only problem i had with it apart from being on first name terms with the local super unleaded petrol station staff was if you are only poping out on a 10 min drive like to the local shop its not time to warm the engine up and if your doing lots of stopping and starting expect to get about 180 miles out of a tank when you should be getting about 230-240 thrashing it on the big A & M roads. so i think its better having somthing else you can jump into for quick trips.

[Jon-M]

If you fit in an S2000 the chim will feel like a back seat of a bently, i test drove an s2000 before my chim (all those revs not my thing) and it was too tight for me but the chim there is plenty of room and im 6,1 and as bulky as the come so you will have no problem. the passenger seat is a diffrent matter but you will be driving so forget that

Darren156 said:

Right, so I should fit in okay then, that's one weight off my mind. Mind the pun, lol

So is it best to steer clear of the HC's then, if they have a shorter life span then it might be best considering the miles I'll be doing.

[JR]

Darren156 said:

Right, so I should fit in okay then, that's one weight off my mind. Mind the pun, lol.

Like most car manufacturing owners Peter Wheeler made cars that fit him; I can't remember how tall he is but he's taller than my brother who is 6'6.3"