G?? ALD

[S2Mike]

Davewelly said:

Gerald-TVR said:

I'm sure I have seen a photo of this car - interesting colour might be a bit diffult to re-sell

I would love to see a pic of this, that could be a challenge, first one to get a pic of this car wins a pint!!

You be careful what you wish for Sir....
.

[NiceCupOfTea]

gunajm said:

Bit late in the day, but as the original owner, I can confirm that the S2 was bought and registered from the TVR Centre in Barnet. The S3 came out not long after. 'G39 ALD' was the plate given to the car and is no way meant to represent 'GERALD'. The original colour was described as magenta. The dash I opted for - which you tend not to see in the photos - was in walnut, which was unusual at the time. I also went for the S1 OZ wheels as I preferred these to the spoked ones that were offered with the S2.

Really interesting stuff - I am the current owner of G39 ALD, can confirm the colour is listed as magenta. Always wondered about the S1 OZ wheels!

Any good stories or period photos?

[greymrj]

Now that is a very fine looking car, to my mind that is one of the very best S combinations, that magenta red with the 5 spoke OZ wheels. Lovely, and looks in superb condition.

[NiceCupOfTea]

Cheers bud, although Norman has to take full credit for the condition.

[gunajm]

NiceCupOfTea said:

Really interesting stuff - I am the current owner of G39 ALD, can confirm the colour is listed as magenta. Always wondered about the S1 OZ wheels!

Any good stories or period photos?

Bit of background:

I first decided on the S series at the 1989 Motor Show at the NEC. I had a Toyota MR2 and was thinking of changing it for something different - the Ginetta G32 was one that I was interested in, but I never quite liked the shape. There was not much around that was 'affordable', having gone through the GTi phase, and I think the S-series came out to compete with cars such as the MX5.

At the time, TVR was on the up, with the Griffith on the horizon and something called the 'Speed Eight' which I don't think they ever made in the end.

Living in Bedfordshire, the TVR Centre was the nearest dealership, so you put a deposit down and go down and design your own requirements. I went for magenta, as there were a lot of metallic/mica blues (light and dark) as well as metallic greens (light and dark) along with racing green and red. I thought the burgundy metallic was a bit too light, and after a lot of deliberation opted for the magenta with black mohair roof.

The basic price was around £16,500 but I added on about £3,000 worth of extras including leather seats (stone?) with piping the same colour, wilton carpets, walnut dashboard and I think a wooden steering wheel (can't recall); and opted for the S1 alloys as I think the spokes for the S2 refined the car too much. The TVR Centre didn't do discounts, but did throw in a wooden gear knob (worth about £35!).

There weren't many niggles when I first got it, the exhaust pipes were at different heights and the usual paint issues - which were sorted on the first 1,000 mile service.

The car itself was fun to drive and I did get it up to 140mph once (in the dry, it was a bit tricky in the wet). I moved to a rural part of Buckinghamshire, where it was parked undercover, but the local white cat seemed to like sleeping on the roof at night, so the roof had to be brushed before driving. It was reliable (as you'd expect for a new car) and the only issues I had with it were it bottoming out at speed on undulating country roads and the doors did not seem to fully open - I think all these issues were sorted in the S3 where the doors were longer and I believe the exhaust was raised higher.

I eventually sold it for a Maserati in 1991 (a crime I know). It was new and reduced from £48,000 to £34,500, seemed to be a good deal at the time and I got around £17,500 trade-in for the S2. I believe the second owner of 'G39 ALD' lived in south Wales. I eventually bought a Griffith from new (one of the last ones made) in 2001, and in 2003, unfortunately, "house purchase forces sale" and the rest is history really.

I like it that you have it in the same colour with the original alloys. Looks like how I remembered it, except the indicator/reverse lights are darker in the photo, and it did not have the studs on the boot (which I assume are/were for a boot rack), or the windshield (I assume that's what it is). I never anticipated at the time that it would become such a well photographed car.

I am sure I have some photos/info somewhere (packed away in the loft), so if I come across anything I'll let you know. Happy motoring in the meantime.

Edited by gunajm on Tuesday 22 April 11:55

Edited by gunajm on Tuesday 22 April 11:58

Edited by gunajm on Tuesday 22 April 12:15

[NiceCupOfTea]

What a great post - thanks so much, and I will point Norman (Gerald-TVR, the previous owner) to this thread as I am sure he will want to have a read.

You are right, somebody has had a luggage rack fitted to the boot at some stage, although I think what you saw as a wind deflector is the passenger window.

It still has the light tan coloured interior which is in reasonable condition for a 24 year old car. The steering wheel is the standard 4 spoke leather TVR one so perhaps it was changed at some stage - not much of a fan of wooden wheels to be honest, they look great but I find them hard to grip without driving gloves. Gearknob was the traditional Sierra rubber job when I got it and has been changed to a rather natty turned aluminium "ball" which feels lovely in the palm of the hand. Walnut dash is still present and in decent condition. Smoked rear lights I think were off a later Mk.4 Escort so somebody (Norman?) changed them at some stage. I think he also changed the exhaust for a V8S-style s/s job - fantastic note, but a but too loud for my delicate ears if truth be told.

It is still a very reliable car - in my 2 year tenure the only problems have been clutch hydraulic pipe, sticky starter motor, burned out fan relay, and an occasional rough running problem that I am hoping a rotor arm and distributor cap will solve. Sadly the biggest problem is that I just don't get to do many miles in it - as a family man it is either a dull rush hour slog to work or there are not enough seats/too many people

A couple more pics:







Closest I have to an interior pic (gearknob now in a box in the garage!)

[gunajm]

[quote=NiceCupOfTea]What a great post - thanks so much, and I will point Norman (Gerald-TVR, the previous owner) to this thread as I am sure he will want to have a read.

You are right, somebody has had a luggage rack fitted to the boot at some stage, although I think what you saw as a wind deflector is the passenger window.


Ah yes, it's the passenger window.

Photos look great and interior looks all original as from day 1. The more I think about it I don't believe I did go for the wooden steering wheel although I contemplated it at the time, but I did have a wooden gear knob thrown in as a minor extra.

Yes, space was always an issue and I was running two cars at the time.

It's a shame they don't make TVR's anymore, but I hope to own one or two more in the future. I guess all the dealerships have gone too.

Hope you manage to sort out the teething problems. I think the TVR Centre was quite in to the racing side at the time (can't recall the guy who ran it), so I knew the car would be in good hands when it was being serviced. They also had the odd open day (with buffet!) to celebrate the introduction of new model(s). On one occasion "Right said Fred" were the 'star' guests, although not many customers turned up ... awkward periods of silence. Happy days.

[mhag]

http://www.motorbase.com/vehicle/profile/tvr-ss2s3...
G36 ALD
S2 2.9
Mine from 1994: suspiciously good value explained by finding it needed an engine rebuild
Local garage swapped in a re-built short engine for a fraction of tvr, lucky escape...
60k miles daily driver later I fancied a change in 2000.
Off DVLA in 2009 hopefully not scrapped. The picture above must be after I sold her.