Turbo my Mk1 vs TVR Chimaera

Turbo my Mk1 vs TVR Chimaera

Author
Discussion

Tim Cognito

Original Poster:

319 posts

8 months

Sunday 24th March
quotequote all
Possibly, tidy mk1s are getting rarer and rarer and a tidy mk1s with a non bodger turbo conversion is good to be strong money.

A second hand turbo kit is an option but I'm crap enough at cars as it is without trying to deal with second hand and potentially faulty parts.

Belle427

8,984 posts

234 months

Monday 25th March
quotequote all
At that price you could consider buying a converted car and keep yours standard.
There is a cosmetically ugly Turbo converted car on facebook for £3750, i know the seller and he doesnt usually deal in junk as he operates an Mx5 repair business.
Problem is it needs a paint job and some tlc to interior from looking at it and i couldnt tell you if its rust free.
Its in Barry, South Wales if you wanted a look just listed as a Miata, its purple in colour.

RA5CAL

25 posts

164 months

Yesterday (13:48)
quotequote all
Good to see a few have gone the mx5 and chimaera route. I had both at the same time and its crazy how similar in size the two are.

I too agree the chim is very much a GT - i drove it round europe - didnt feel at home on the track as the chassis is quite flexible and the V8 is more american in style ie doesnt like give you anything for going over 5k revs. Lack of aircon in mine did scupper its GT abilities though

End of the day - i sold the chim after 3yrs and i still have the mx5 for what its worth. I have had it supercharged to 200hp previously and 220hp would be the sweet spot. Only problem with mods is that you are always on edge to make sure everything is working right - one of the beauties of the mx5 (and elise) is that as standard you can just blast in them without worrying about brakes/overheating/reliability.

Biggest surprise to me was trying a cayman s. Felt like a grown up version of my s/c mx5. For the same price of modifying (think £5k by the time you are done) - that could buy you equivalent of 3yrs depreciation on a cayman (+ you would sitll have the mx5).

Belle427

8,984 posts

234 months

I've looked at the Cayman myself but I would want the full fat S version and they still suffer with engine problems before a certain year, I'm no Porsche expert so can't remember when that is.