Back in business!
Discussion
It's been an unbearable wait but the old girl is home again!
We've got new wishbones and outriggers courtesy of Neil Garners, and refurbed Gaz Golds courtesy of Alun (ClassicChimaera).
The setup was done by NGs with a view to compromise between road and track driving, and my initial thoughts- once I get through the white noise in my head that's screaming 'YAAAASTHISISAWESOME'- are that the car has been transformed. It rides sweetly without becoming upset by bumps in the road, but seems to grip and turn in infinitely better. The new wheels are 17" Team Dynamics that Ric managed to sort me out with for a bargain price, and although I'd wanted 16" fronts due to how skittish the front end felt over bumps with my 17s beforehand the new coilovers would appear to have remedied this. Very happy with how they look on the car too
This is where the real credit has to go to the guys at NGs though, because they really went out of their way to transform this car. There's a whole variety of fixes that they carried out just as a matter of course, from sorting out the engine bay heatshield to fixing the wiring on the horn- too many to list. To the extent that Ric believes I could send this car in for its MOT tomorrow and get a positive result- anyone who saw this car beforehand would understand the magnitude of that!
The guys really took to my carb'd RV8 and reckon it's in pretty good shape, one thing I didn't expect was that they sourced a new Edelbrock air cleaner for me! Mmm chromey... But I've really got no excuse now not to crack on with re-wrapping the exhausts and painting the rocker covers.... I reckon it'll look the dogs danglies then!
The only negative was that my s
tty tired old roof finally bit me on the arse- the rear screen gave way whilst it was being folded back in the workshop. The whole roof needed doing at some point, it'll just have to be sooner rather than later now. I'd been mmming and ahhhing over a Steve Edwards hardtop ever since I got the car but it's such a big expense for something I'm not 100% on- who knows, maybe sometime in the future. But for now, the question is do I go like-for-like replacement at Central TVR or do I get the smaller rear window from Dave the Trimmer? 
Sorry people for the hastily thrown together post, but I fear I would have exploded if I'd tried to contain my excitement!
Here's hoping for the continued presence of sunshine, for Tiv owners everywhere!
We've got new wishbones and outriggers courtesy of Neil Garners, and refurbed Gaz Golds courtesy of Alun (ClassicChimaera).
The setup was done by NGs with a view to compromise between road and track driving, and my initial thoughts- once I get through the white noise in my head that's screaming 'YAAAASTHISISAWESOME'- are that the car has been transformed. It rides sweetly without becoming upset by bumps in the road, but seems to grip and turn in infinitely better. The new wheels are 17" Team Dynamics that Ric managed to sort me out with for a bargain price, and although I'd wanted 16" fronts due to how skittish the front end felt over bumps with my 17s beforehand the new coilovers would appear to have remedied this. Very happy with how they look on the car too
This is where the real credit has to go to the guys at NGs though, because they really went out of their way to transform this car. There's a whole variety of fixes that they carried out just as a matter of course, from sorting out the engine bay heatshield to fixing the wiring on the horn- too many to list. To the extent that Ric believes I could send this car in for its MOT tomorrow and get a positive result- anyone who saw this car beforehand would understand the magnitude of that!
The guys really took to my carb'd RV8 and reckon it's in pretty good shape, one thing I didn't expect was that they sourced a new Edelbrock air cleaner for me! Mmm chromey... But I've really got no excuse now not to crack on with re-wrapping the exhausts and painting the rocker covers.... I reckon it'll look the dogs danglies then!
The only negative was that my s
tty tired old roof finally bit me on the arse- the rear screen gave way whilst it was being folded back in the workshop. The whole roof needed doing at some point, it'll just have to be sooner rather than later now. I'd been mmming and ahhhing over a Steve Edwards hardtop ever since I got the car but it's such a big expense for something I'm not 100% on- who knows, maybe sometime in the future. But for now, the question is do I go like-for-like replacement at Central TVR or do I get the smaller rear window from Dave the Trimmer? Sorry people for the hastily thrown together post, but I fear I would have exploded if I'd tried to contain my excitement!
Here's hoping for the continued presence of sunshine, for Tiv owners everywhere!
KateV8 said:
We went with the slightly smaller screen option and are very happy with it. No creasing when the back is folded down, it lies flatter helping with rear visibility and doesn't look too MX5 we don't think.
If you don't mind me asking how long ago was it done and how has it done for wear, better than original?
So as I'm currently house-bound and unable to drive due to a borked ankle 
I figured now would be a good time for an update.
The car has been running fantastically and the weather has been perfect for it
Sunday was a real highlight as I made my way to Bristol for the Queens Street Breakfast Club meet where I met Ronan (Chimaera27 on here)- I'm fast learning that even though my Chim is coming along I still get my breath taken away when I'm in the presence of a properly sorted one. It's a beautiful car and also a loud one
Ronan if you're reading this, top marks fella! Oh and I owe you a bacon sarnie and a brew, don't let me forget
Oh and Echidna turned up! Here she is hiding behind the Shelby Daytona Coupe (yes, it was an awesome meet!)
I think I shared the common opinion when I first saw the car, but chatting to the new owner and having a sit inside the quality of craftsmanship is superb. It's not everyone's cup of tea but a hell of a lot of work went into it, fair play I say!
The reaction at the meet was fantastic, people were all over the Chims and even non-Tivvers were taken aback to see the carb sitting in the bay. A couple of youtubers even managed to capture me showing Ronan my rather rough carbie hot start procedure which can be embarrassing at the best of times
(the last clip in this video)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq2rJmnGf20
So far that's been my only complaint with how the car is running, methinks it's hot fuel in the bowls being less combustible but Ronan made the good point of increased resistance through the starter cable also. Either way it's not really an issue, a few turns over and a bit of smoke, crackle and pop and she still fires into life. A touch of choke usually prompts a good reaction if I'm struggling. Other than that she's behaving herself very well
Oh, and the roof- well I rang Central and was told there's a 2 month wait, which suddenly hit home that I'm contemplating sending the car away in the middle of summer- fk that! The car lives under a cover whenever it's raining and the roof still folds away, so it can wait til the weather turns I think!
So that's the update- now, does anyone fancy lending me a clutch leg so I can drive my TVR again?
I figured now would be a good time for an update.The car has been running fantastically and the weather has been perfect for it
Sunday was a real highlight as I made my way to Bristol for the Queens Street Breakfast Club meet where I met Ronan (Chimaera27 on here)- I'm fast learning that even though my Chim is coming along I still get my breath taken away when I'm in the presence of a properly sorted one. It's a beautiful car and also a loud one
Ronan if you're reading this, top marks fella! Oh and I owe you a bacon sarnie and a brew, don't let me forget Oh and Echidna turned up! Here she is hiding behind the Shelby Daytona Coupe (yes, it was an awesome meet!)
I think I shared the common opinion when I first saw the car, but chatting to the new owner and having a sit inside the quality of craftsmanship is superb. It's not everyone's cup of tea but a hell of a lot of work went into it, fair play I say!
The reaction at the meet was fantastic, people were all over the Chims and even non-Tivvers were taken aback to see the carb sitting in the bay. A couple of youtubers even managed to capture me showing Ronan my rather rough carbie hot start procedure which can be embarrassing at the best of times
(the last clip in this video)https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq2rJmnGf20
So far that's been my only complaint with how the car is running, methinks it's hot fuel in the bowls being less combustible but Ronan made the good point of increased resistance through the starter cable also. Either way it's not really an issue, a few turns over and a bit of smoke, crackle and pop and she still fires into life. A touch of choke usually prompts a good reaction if I'm struggling. Other than that she's behaving herself very well
Oh, and the roof- well I rang Central and was told there's a 2 month wait, which suddenly hit home that I'm contemplating sending the car away in the middle of summer- f
k that! The car lives under a cover whenever it's raining and the roof still folds away, so it can wait til the weather turns I think!So that's the update- now, does anyone fancy lending me a clutch leg so I can drive my TVR again?
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