Seriously reconsidering....
Discussion
Well, my S3 has been sitting SORNed in the garage for a couple of years due to it requiring several thousand (garage) pounds worth of suspension work to remain legal and that not being cost effective for the use it was getting.
Every now and then, maybe 3 or 4 times a year, I start it up and reverse it down the drive, then roar back into the garage. I do nothing to it except disconnecting the battery between start ups. So far, every time I have reconnected the battery it has started up first time!
It felt pretty good today, in the lovely sunshine. So I'm starting to think about getting it on the road again.......
Every now and then, maybe 3 or 4 times a year, I start it up and reverse it down the drive, then roar back into the garage. I do nothing to it except disconnecting the battery between start ups. So far, every time I have reconnected the battery it has started up first time!
It felt pretty good today, in the lovely sunshine. So I'm starting to think about getting it on the road again.......
What exactly is wrong with it Brian?
Even if the rear trailing arms are rusted through, Adrian Venn does a full refurbishment of them at very reasonable cost.
And with S values increasing, they are getting to the point where a body-off chassis restoration is starting to make economic sense.
However, S ownership really has nothing at all to do with sense. It is all about sheer unadulterated visceral pleasure!
A sunny day, roof off, foot down, a sinuous road, that wind in your hair ( if you're lucky enough to have any*
) and that wonderful exhaust note as you go through the gears when you don't really need to....
Pleasure per £, there's nothing that even comes close!
MIMO as they say.
. * Hair not wind. We've all got the latter.
Even if the rear trailing arms are rusted through, Adrian Venn does a full refurbishment of them at very reasonable cost.
And with S values increasing, they are getting to the point where a body-off chassis restoration is starting to make economic sense.
However, S ownership really has nothing at all to do with sense. It is all about sheer unadulterated visceral pleasure!
A sunny day, roof off, foot down, a sinuous road, that wind in your hair ( if you're lucky enough to have any*
) and that wonderful exhaust note as you go through the gears when you don't really need to....Pleasure per £, there's nothing that even comes close!
MIMO as they say.
. * Hair not wind. We've all got the latter.
Well, I've just come back from Stanway near Colchester and a very nice maroon S (reg H515 something) whipped round the roundabout in front of me, which reminded me that I posted here and have failed to check for replies, so apologies for that!
"Several thousand pounds" may have been an exaggeration. The MoT failure reasons from Feb 2015 were:
001 Nearside rear suspension component mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded (2.4.A.3)
002 Offside rear suspension component mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded (2.4.A.3)
003 Steering system has excessive free play detected at the steering wheel (steering rack fitted) (2.2.A.1b)
004 Exhaust emissions carbon monoxide content excessive (7.3.B.1a)
I think the garage man may have said it would likely run into the second thousand to repair, then what with the other things and some other minor stuff that needs doing, like a new motor (probable) for the electric aerial and the handbrake being almost useless, plus the cost of tax and insurance, maybe that is what I was thinking about when saying "several thousand pounds".
But seeing that TVR today, in the lovely warm sunshine, I did hanker after a roof down session. As mentioned, values look like they are increasing, so it might become quite worthwhile getting back to at least roadworthy condition. On the other hand, I don't have to spend any time or money on it as it sits cosily in my garage....
"Several thousand pounds" may have been an exaggeration. The MoT failure reasons from Feb 2015 were:
001 Nearside rear suspension component mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded (2.4.A.3)
002 Offside rear suspension component mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded (2.4.A.3)
003 Steering system has excessive free play detected at the steering wheel (steering rack fitted) (2.2.A.1b)
004 Exhaust emissions carbon monoxide content excessive (7.3.B.1a)
I think the garage man may have said it would likely run into the second thousand to repair, then what with the other things and some other minor stuff that needs doing, like a new motor (probable) for the electric aerial and the handbrake being almost useless, plus the cost of tax and insurance, maybe that is what I was thinking about when saying "several thousand pounds".
But seeing that TVR today, in the lovely warm sunshine, I did hanker after a roof down session. As mentioned, values look like they are increasing, so it might become quite worthwhile getting back to at least roadworthy condition. On the other hand, I don't have to spend any time or money on it as it sits cosily in my garage....
I'm far from an S or mechanical expert (but getting slightly less crap the longer I own a TVR!) and I wouldn't be too worried about 003 and 004.
Mine had the same minor as 003 which was mentioned in one MOT but not at all in the next. Even then, it was suggested that it was the steering UJ which are relatively easy to source off TVR Parts Ltd (the TVR one is a speciality item, you can't just use a Ford one) and relatively easy to replace.
As for 004, if you go to the right MOT garage they won't even emissions test cars of our age unless it is visibly pouring out smoke. You might get lucky next time and find that isn't an issue as far as an MOT goes.
Corrosion in TVR chassis is never a good thing however, given the importance placed on chassis condition when selling, I'd expect you to get at least a good amount of what you spend back in increased resale value. Whatever you decide to do with it, good luck; I've become a little despondent with mine of late with a few issues, but getting out on the country lanes with the top down in summer makes it all worthwhile (at least that is what I keep telling myself)!
Mine had the same minor as 003 which was mentioned in one MOT but not at all in the next. Even then, it was suggested that it was the steering UJ which are relatively easy to source off TVR Parts Ltd (the TVR one is a speciality item, you can't just use a Ford one) and relatively easy to replace.
As for 004, if you go to the right MOT garage they won't even emissions test cars of our age unless it is visibly pouring out smoke. You might get lucky next time and find that isn't an issue as far as an MOT goes.
Corrosion in TVR chassis is never a good thing however, given the importance placed on chassis condition when selling, I'd expect you to get at least a good amount of what you spend back in increased resale value. Whatever you decide to do with it, good luck; I've become a little despondent with mine of late with a few issues, but getting out on the country lanes with the top down in summer makes it all worthwhile (at least that is what I keep telling myself)!
unicorn77 said:
001 Nearside rear suspension component mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded (2.4.A.3)
002 Offside rear suspension component mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded (2.4.A.3)
Take a look at these yourself and poke around with a screwdriver. I did a body off on mine and even though the chassis looked very rusty, pretty much all over, it turned out to be just surface rust, where the powder coat had peeled away. 002 Offside rear suspension component mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded (2.4.A.3)
And............ it's not actually that difficult to lift the body, especially so since you may only need to lift the back, which comes up first anyway, you might get away with a 18"-24" lift at the back only.
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