TVR's in New Zealand
Discussion
kylie said:
George, if it were me sorting the car, I would fix it up with the std engine and equipment and sell it. Sounds a little harsh but for all the expensive energy you plan on doing to it, you may not get your money back if you intend on selling it later on. At the end of the day you will always want that Griff or other super car. Pls forgive me if I am totally wrong though, just seems that from what I know of you and where your heading you might as well tuck into a newer treat while you can. Soon there will be the wife, the kids, morgage and before you know it no money for serious toys Just jokes about the family stuff....for now!!
Hey you just described my predicament there Kylie, not Esprits!
I've tried to reason with him in the past, but that boys got Triumph on the brain. Pity, he's quite ok otherwise.
Yeah well a TR enthusiast alright.... I love the TR..... ya see the thing is, I WILL be spending Griff money ont he TR7, certainly decent Elise money on it and there are a lot of other "out of the box" cars that are FAR superior to the TR7 in every way...... first things first, I'm NEVER going to recover anything LIKE the costs of the car out of it so I'm not going to btoher selling it.... it'll always sit in the garage as the first car I poured my soul into.... hopefully alongside several other brit beauties (cars, not girls)... and really for Griff money, I'm going to have a flame-spitting, nasty, bad attitude and UNIQUE machine that's going to have the sort of credentials to.... well.... out-TVR a TVR..... if you get what I'm saying..... I'm just starting with a slightly different platform is all..... I'd always planned doing it to a SEAC, but given that these are rare I'd have more success finding a feminine feature on Helen Clarke! And the TR7 shape's really grown on me..... I've been photoshopping and I've kinda found the look I'm aiming for with it and even though the blueprint for the exact item is found only in my head, it's enough to show me that she's going to be one helluva beauty.
As for the wife and kids..... not in this lifetime people ..... I'm flying solo... I love my toys too much... and I'm going to make hay while the sun shines.... besides... you're forgetting that I also have a beautiful E-Type in the garage at my disposal (or at least 90% thereof) and quite possibly a little track-only car for the future.... if I can ever get the E-type finished.... so I think I'll keep on-track.
Basically I promised myself I'd do this to my car... if I had a Griff or an Elise, sure I could tinker with it and make it quicker and do some stuff to it, but it'd only be tinkering... the "7" offers me a chance to express my ultimate vision for what a sports car should be.... it might not be to everyone's taste... but then, neither am I
As for the wife and kids..... not in this lifetime people ..... I'm flying solo... I love my toys too much... and I'm going to make hay while the sun shines.... besides... you're forgetting that I also have a beautiful E-Type in the garage at my disposal (or at least 90% thereof) and quite possibly a little track-only car for the future.... if I can ever get the E-type finished.... so I think I'll keep on-track.
Basically I promised myself I'd do this to my car... if I had a Griff or an Elise, sure I could tinker with it and make it quicker and do some stuff to it, but it'd only be tinkering... the "7" offers me a chance to express my ultimate vision for what a sports car should be.... it might not be to everyone's taste... but then, neither am I
Hell, if any of us had any common sense we'd all be tooling around in Mitsubishi station wagons - wait a minute........
I think converting the TR7 is a good idea, the only reservation I'd have is in how far to tune the engine. Rover V8s (as George well knows) chew through serious money in order to get moderate to good horsepower - they are far more expensive to tune than say a Chevvy. If it was me I'd get a nice cheap 3.5 or 3.9litre and if I felt the need later, bang a supercharger on it. You'd get a much better package than the original, have a good 250+bhp without overstressing things too much, be able to remove the blower should something else come along and save some bread into the bargain.
As for flying solo, well when I placed the order for my Cerbera I was planning on keeping it for at least a couple of years, then upgrading. Six months after taking delivery of it I was sat on a plane heading to NZ! Never underestimate the power of a woman, they're sneaky, devious creatures..........
I think converting the TR7 is a good idea, the only reservation I'd have is in how far to tune the engine. Rover V8s (as George well knows) chew through serious money in order to get moderate to good horsepower - they are far more expensive to tune than say a Chevvy. If it was me I'd get a nice cheap 3.5 or 3.9litre and if I felt the need later, bang a supercharger on it. You'd get a much better package than the original, have a good 250+bhp without overstressing things too much, be able to remove the blower should something else come along and save some bread into the bargain.
As for flying solo, well when I placed the order for my Cerbera I was planning on keeping it for at least a couple of years, then upgrading. Six months after taking delivery of it I was sat on a plane heading to NZ! Never underestimate the power of a woman, they're sneaky, devious creatures..........
Lol Mitsubishi station wagons in white...... I've got oe of them :P
Yeah I'm going nits on the TR7 just because I can..... more from the point of view that it's not been done before in a road car.... I know a couple of TVR500 engines in TR7s and I know of a couple engines approaching 300bhp but that's about it.... with the potential to go much further on better heads, a 5L rover stroker, given its light weight is a great option for such a car..... I just wanted a project that's going to really challenge me.... a really tough goal to shoot for and the TR looks like it's going to throw up some good'uns.
As for the women.... I'm used to them walking out and leaving me with the claim that I love the car more than them... and you're right... plans MAY change, but until then.... I'm sticking with my guns....... I'm actually hoping to wed a really rich, independent owman with a passion for british cars and a large inheritance so I can retire at 27, and have my hareem.... er I mean garage.... of beauties to play with at my leisure.
Yeah I'm going nits on the TR7 just because I can..... more from the point of view that it's not been done before in a road car.... I know a couple of TVR500 engines in TR7s and I know of a couple engines approaching 300bhp but that's about it.... with the potential to go much further on better heads, a 5L rover stroker, given its light weight is a great option for such a car..... I just wanted a project that's going to really challenge me.... a really tough goal to shoot for and the TR looks like it's going to throw up some good'uns.
As for the women.... I'm used to them walking out and leaving me with the claim that I love the car more than them... and you're right... plans MAY change, but until then.... I'm sticking with my guns....... I'm actually hoping to wed a really rich, independent owman with a passion for british cars and a large inheritance so I can retire at 27, and have my hareem.... er I mean garage.... of beauties to play with at my leisure.
How much power do you want in that thing George,Do you still want it to go round corners!!
Hi Jamie, yip will be transplanting an Ls1 into a chim thats comming down from UK shortly,obviously not for the road, havent decided on the gearbox yet.The rest of the package is pretty much sorted and is allready on my car,except for the cage and brake bias system.
Ill keep the power moderate and progessively up it and see what starts breaking!!
Hi Jamie, yip will be transplanting an Ls1 into a chim thats comming down from UK shortly,obviously not for the road, havent decided on the gearbox yet.The rest of the package is pretty much sorted and is allready on my car,except for the cage and brake bias system.
Ill keep the power moderate and progessively up it and see what starts breaking!!
Don't worry, the thing will still go round corners.... I've got a lot of work going on to ensure that still happens..... I'm not just spending money on getting more power :P Given that the RV8 engine only weighs a slight touch more than the standard engine it's not really going to act to the detriment of the handling, it's just going to have a lot of power, and it'll be good for skids :P.... in the end I'm just gonna cug and chug away towards my goal.... I'll get there eventually 
George,
You may have already heard of these people , but they are highly regarding for all things Rover V8
www.rpiv8.com
Good luck with your conversion . You were kind enough to reply to me when I asked about property and life in NZ. Can't believe "me and the wife" will be over there in 3 weeks to look at another property for our intended immigration application !!
You may have already heard of these people , but they are highly regarding for all things Rover V8
www.rpiv8.com
Good luck with your conversion . You were kind enough to reply to me when I asked about property and life in NZ. Can't believe "me and the wife" will be over there in 3 weeks to look at another property for our intended immigration application !!
Cheers mate, I'm familiar with RPI, and their work looks fantastic, if not expensive.... seems they're the people to go to if you've got a lot of cash and want a turnkey engine, I'm looking at enlisting as much NZ expertise as possible given that these things are cheaper down here, I'll buy in the essentials, and as for the generic or custom bits like rods/pistons I'll get from the US.... yanks make 'em cheaper.... and their dollar is shagged at the moment. You'll be coming out here at the right time, the weather should be just starting to come right by then
Paul, is there any reason in particular why you've chosen a Chimaera? Seeing as a rolling Tuscan racer can be picked up for less than 10kGBP or a shagged Cerbera for even less I'd have thought the Chimaera would have been the most expensive and most work-intensive option when looking at a project like this.
I don't know what sort of budget you're looking at for the 'box but given the sort of grunt you can get out of those LS1s I'd say the T56 has got to be favourite. The 6th gear may be quite useful (for once) in a car as light as that too! Of course if you're going racing then something a bit quicker around the gate may be the order of the day!
Incidentally I may be interested in a set of 5.0litre brakes if they're dirt cheap!
I don't know what sort of budget you're looking at for the 'box but given the sort of grunt you can get out of those LS1s I'd say the T56 has got to be favourite. The 6th gear may be quite useful (for once) in a car as light as that too! Of course if you're going racing then something a bit quicker around the gate may be the order of the day!
Incidentally I may be interested in a set of 5.0litre brakes if they're dirt cheap!
I bought the chim because
1 It was the right price
2 I will have spares for africa
3 If I bought a tuscan racer It would be be compared with
Carls car and i wont be spending that sought of dough
4 The standard racer is still way overpriced.
5 I have moulds for the hard top,front splitter,dash and
all measurements for the roll cage.
6 It wont be the only ls1 powered chim track car here,so
so development costs will be shared,ill devulge more on
that later.
>> Edited by nztrev on Monday 18th October 22:55
1 It was the right price
2 I will have spares for africa
3 If I bought a tuscan racer It would be be compared with
Carls car and i wont be spending that sought of dough
4 The standard racer is still way overpriced.
5 I have moulds for the hard top,front splitter,dash and
all measurements for the roll cage.
6 It wont be the only ls1 powered chim track car here,so
so development costs will be shared,ill devulge more on
that later.
>> Edited by nztrev on Monday 18th October 22:55
Gassing Station | New Zealand | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff