I've got one... I've got one... I've got one............
Discussion
Finally picked up my Chim yesterday having spent months looking for the perfect baby, and then being stumped by the bad weather.
Drove her from Coventry to my folks in Nottingham....no problems......drove today from my parents to South Wales.....again no problems......feel I am being led into a false sense of security.
She has her usual quirks, and I may need some advice since I have a few niggles
1) water temp sensor never got off 50 degrees (1 hour driving yesterday, 3 hours today, never moved!) car definitely getting hot and fans coming on
2) Speedo acting like a rev counter after 50mph, when I touch the accelerator peddle the Speedo does its own thing, thankfully I was following my wife who does a steady 70, according to my speedo I was doing anything from 50 to 160mph, but never once caught her up, or fell behind....strange one this........
3) few lights out on the dash, cracked veneer etc
4) leaking screen wash reservoir, panicked at first thinking it was coolant, but the level in the header tank was constant and the leak had pretty bubbles in it and I had no screen wash having just topped it up.......call me sherlock but...
5) some mysterious buttons, one by the steering column like a mini light dimmer switch, doesn’t do anything, and another cooling fan switch in the drivers foot well which appears to activate a second set of fans....will need to check this out further
6) New rear tyres needed (almost slicks) and a windscreen (it’s there just chipped badly)
Priorities are to water proof the top and underneath, find a car cover (since its going to be outside for a while) and fix the above niggles. Busy few weeks planned....but boy did I enjoy the driving...pics to follow (it’s a standard 4litre, in green, cream inside, the usual)
Drove her from Coventry to my folks in Nottingham....no problems......drove today from my parents to South Wales.....again no problems......feel I am being led into a false sense of security.
She has her usual quirks, and I may need some advice since I have a few niggles
1) water temp sensor never got off 50 degrees (1 hour driving yesterday, 3 hours today, never moved!) car definitely getting hot and fans coming on
2) Speedo acting like a rev counter after 50mph, when I touch the accelerator peddle the Speedo does its own thing, thankfully I was following my wife who does a steady 70, according to my speedo I was doing anything from 50 to 160mph, but never once caught her up, or fell behind....strange one this........
3) few lights out on the dash, cracked veneer etc
4) leaking screen wash reservoir, panicked at first thinking it was coolant, but the level in the header tank was constant and the leak had pretty bubbles in it and I had no screen wash having just topped it up.......call me sherlock but...
5) some mysterious buttons, one by the steering column like a mini light dimmer switch, doesn’t do anything, and another cooling fan switch in the drivers foot well which appears to activate a second set of fans....will need to check this out further
6) New rear tyres needed (almost slicks) and a windscreen (it’s there just chipped badly)
Priorities are to water proof the top and underneath, find a car cover (since its going to be outside for a while) and fix the above niggles. Busy few weeks planned....but boy did I enjoy the driving...pics to follow (it’s a standard 4litre, in green, cream inside, the usual)
Hi steve welcome to the joys of TVR/Chimaera ownership. No 5 on your list the mysterious dimmer button is a timer delay for your wipers. The fan switch in the footwell may be a fan overide switch for the cooling fans on the radiator. Many owners including myself retro fit an overide switch, its for peace of mind on those very rare, very hot days in summer, when your stuck in traffic. You switch the fans on early well before the temp gets to 90 degrees.
Pop the bonnet turn your ignition on and flick the switch, if it is a fan overide they should come on.
Pop the bonnet turn your ignition on and flick the switch, if it is a fan overide they should come on.
1 and 2- could be down to a dodgy earth
3-New bulbs and recover dash with any material of your choice, i went with black suede
4- its behind your grill, check for split hose on route also
5- what TJC46 said
6- buy new tyres? i think favourites are TR-1 for daily use and 888's for sunny days and tracks
Hope this helps
Alex
3-New bulbs and recover dash with any material of your choice, i went with black suede
4- its behind your grill, check for split hose on route also
5- what TJC46 said
6- buy new tyres? i think favourites are TR-1 for daily use and 888's for sunny days and tracks
Hope this helps
Alex
Tiredoldgeezer said:
Finally picked up my Chim yesterday having spent months looking for the perfect baby, and then being stumped by the bad weather.
Drove her from Coventry to my folks in Nottingham....no problems......drove today from my parents to South Wales.....again no problems......feel I am being led into a false sense of security.
She has her usual quirks, and I may need some advice since I have a few niggles
1) water temp sensor never got off 50 degrees (1 hour driving yesterday, 3 hours today, never moved!) car definitely getting hot and fans coming on
2) Speedo acting like a rev counter after 50mph, when I touch the accelerator peddle the Speedo does its own thing, thankfully I was following my wife who does a steady 70, according to my speedo I was doing anything from 50 to 160mph, but never once caught her up, or fell behind....strange one this........
3) few lights out on the dash, cracked veneer etc
4) leaking screen wash reservoir, panicked at first thinking it was coolant, but the level in the header tank was constant and the leak had pretty bubbles in it and I had no screen wash having just topped it up.......call me sherlock but...
5) some mysterious buttons, one by the steering column like a mini light dimmer switch, doesn’t do anything, and another cooling fan switch in the drivers foot well which appears to activate a second set of fans....will need to check this out further
6) New rear tyres needed (almost slicks) and a windscreen (it’s there just chipped badly)
Priorities are to water proof the top and underneath, find a car cover (since its going to be outside for a while) and fix the above niggles. Busy few weeks planned....but boy did I enjoy the driving...pics to follow (it’s a standard 4litre, in green, cream inside, the usual)
1) The temperature always stays low at this time of year - mine seldom gets above 70 until the back end of April unless you sit in traffic for a while, and then drops striaght back down as soon as you move. It's not the actual temp that's low, it's the fact that the sensor for the gauge gets cooled by the airflow through the engine bay. This is a separate sensor to the ECU temp sender which I hope gives the ECU a more realistic reading to control the fueling.Drove her from Coventry to my folks in Nottingham....no problems......drove today from my parents to South Wales.....again no problems......feel I am being led into a false sense of security.
She has her usual quirks, and I may need some advice since I have a few niggles
1) water temp sensor never got off 50 degrees (1 hour driving yesterday, 3 hours today, never moved!) car definitely getting hot and fans coming on
2) Speedo acting like a rev counter after 50mph, when I touch the accelerator peddle the Speedo does its own thing, thankfully I was following my wife who does a steady 70, according to my speedo I was doing anything from 50 to 160mph, but never once caught her up, or fell behind....strange one this........
3) few lights out on the dash, cracked veneer etc
4) leaking screen wash reservoir, panicked at first thinking it was coolant, but the level in the header tank was constant and the leak had pretty bubbles in it and I had no screen wash having just topped it up.......call me sherlock but...
5) some mysterious buttons, one by the steering column like a mini light dimmer switch, doesn’t do anything, and another cooling fan switch in the drivers foot well which appears to activate a second set of fans....will need to check this out further
6) New rear tyres needed (almost slicks) and a windscreen (it’s there just chipped badly)
Priorities are to water proof the top and underneath, find a car cover (since its going to be outside for a while) and fix the above niggles. Busy few weeks planned....but boy did I enjoy the driving...pics to follow (it’s a standard 4litre, in green, cream inside, the usual)
3) Happens...have fun swapping lights/re-covering dash...!
4) Simple fix - washer bottle is, I think, Ford in original - check out the Chimaera Pages or search on here for details...
5) 'Dimmer switch' adjusts the pause period of the intermittent wiper setting. Fan switch under the right hand side of the dash is a second heater fan to boost airflow to the drivers side. Never really found the need myself, but it's there anyway.
6) Happens - search on here for views on tyre brands...starting another thread on this subject seems to be generally frowned upon... Toyo and Falken seem highly regarded, tyres for mainstream cars are generally frowned upon as they have too much sidewall rigidity and create a choppy ride of lack feel when near the limit.
Have fun and don't be afriad to take the car anywhere - took my '95 400HC to Milan last May - turned a few Italian heads who couldn't work out what this noisy V8 beast could be!
Cheers
Giles
Cider Andy said:
Chris71 said:
What does the other protrusion on the left hand side next to the wiper 'dimmer' do? 
Steering column is rake adjustable à la Vauxhall Cavalier, whence the steering column came!As an O/T question, how easy is it to remove the plastic cowl around the top of the steering column? That's actually what I was looking at when I discovered the two mysterious silver knobs!
Chris71 said:
As an O/T question, how easy is it to remove the plastic cowl around the top of the steering column? That's actually what I was looking at when I discovered the two mysterious silver knobs!
Even better: the fact they're silver would suggest a previous owner has upgraded them with Leven accessories! Standard items are black plastic.The two halves are screwed together on the front face (the screws may be covered by small plastic plugs). This will free the top half. The bottom half is secured from underneath by three screws.
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