need a basket case pre-cat

[FactBV]

Not been on the forum for a number of years but used to have FFG's Factory 4.3BV. Great car. Only sold it as I had a lot going on with the house plus I was a bit limited as to what changes I could make to it.

However, I always fancied building / rebuilding a pre-cat from scratch in exactly the colour I liked, battery in the boot, fuses behind the seat etc etc just getting it how I would like it without worrying about originality.

Just wondered if anyone knows of a pre-cat preferably a 4.0, so that it is as cheap as possible, that is basically a basket case or in 'kit form'? Just something that I can use as a base, and has the registration and documentation. It is likely that I will use a new chassis anyway.

I will call people like Bell Hill, Douglas Valley etc but just thought that the forum would be a good place to start.

Thanks

Peter

[JazzyO]

Great to hear Peter, I was hoping that more people were going to do projects like this. One thing to bear in mind is to be realistic on costs. I had to throw my budget out the window when I decided to redo the chassis (originally it was new paint and new interior only). Because once I had that gleaming chassis sitting there, I just couldn't bear screwing back on crappy old stuff. So then the car had to be completely done, and that makes my project a multiple of the cost of a decent Griff.

For me it's worth every penny, though, because of the satisfaction you get with a project like this. I have tremendous fun doing little touches like designing the dashboard, changing the logos, deciding on the interior colour combination and design and so on.

I can recommend going for Tuscan seats as an upgrade, they're much more stylish and fit in a Griff (not many seats do). They're hard to get hold of, though, first things that sell when a Tuscan crashes.

You can check out my rebuild thread on the TVRCC website, perhaps you can get some ideas there.

http://www.tvr-car-club.co.uk/forum/forum_posts.as...

Best of luck, and I look forward to following your progress in future.


Onno

[Daggsy]

Just call me jelous guy if you wish. I have a similar dream. I have a 1992 4.3 and a 2002 Tuscan 4.0, so to realise the dream something would have to go...... One mod I often wonder about is whether it is possible to alter the boot lid and rear to accomodate fitting the Griff roof into the boot like the Tuscan. It is so simple to store after wrestling with the Griff roof.

[JazzyO]

That is why I am now also going over to the split roof. No bootlid mod required.


Onno

[FactBV]

JazzyO said:

Great to hear Peter, I was hoping that more people were going to do projects like this. One thing to bear in mind is to be realistic on costs. I had to throw my budget out the window when I decided to redo the chassis (originally it was new paint and new interior only). Because once I had that gleaming chassis sitting there, I just couldn't bear screwing back on crappy old stuff. So then the car had to be completely done, and that makes my project a multiple of the cost of a decent Griff.

For me it's worth every penny, though, because of the satisfaction you get with a project like this. I have tremendous fun doing little touches like designing the dashboard, changing the logos, deciding on the interior colour combination and design and so on.

I can recommend going for Tuscan seats as an upgrade, they're much more stylish and fit in a Griff (not many seats do). They're hard to get hold of, though, first things that sell when a Tuscan crashes.

You can check out my rebuild thread on the TVRCC website, perhaps you can get some ideas there.

http://www.tvr-car-club.co.uk/forum/forum_posts.as...

Best of luck, and I look forward to following your progress in future.


Onno

JazzyO, thanks for the link. Indeed, cost is the problem, you can spend thousands without making a dent in it. I spent the cost of a second griff on the Factory BV! I am sure that if you really went for it buying a second hand DB9 or Vantage might be cheaper in the long run especially when you take the resale into account. New chassis £4k, Engine £5k.... a spreadsheet is necessary although you may never start it if you knew!

I will start to make some enquiries and see what happens.

Regards

Peter

[Hoover.]

great to see you back .....

met you one year at the Growl and at Austec' Santa Pod day



...8th April 2006.... bit blurry cn't remember if I was taking pic of the car or Andy the chap taking the other pic ( a much better photographer then me )

Edited by Hoover. on Wednesday 16th June 18:33

Edited by Hoover. on Wednesday 16th June 18:35

[FactBV]

Hoover. said:

great to see you back .....

met you one year at the Growl and at Austec' Santa Pod day



...8th April 2006.... bit blurry cn't remember if I was taking pic of the car or Andy the chap taking the other pic ( a much better photographer then me )

Edited by Hoover. on Wednesday 16th June 18:33

Edited by Hoover. on Wednesday 16th June 18:35

Hi Hoover

Good to hear from you, yep that's me at the strip, although you do seem to be more interested in the bloke with the camera! By the time FFG acquired the car it had another 30bhp with carbon trumpets, ACT manifolds etc etc. The low ratio diff made it very quick when accelerating in gear but too many gear changes for the standing the 1/4 mile.

Regards

Peter