RE: TVR Cerbera 4.0 | The Brave Pill

[AdamAJP]

I’ll let someone else comment in the speed 6’s but mine needed a rebuild due to the well-known early chocolate crank (when it was a 4.2 - no longer). It then had an issue related to a squashed seal when put back together (higher than red-rose compression ratio probably meant it rose its head earlier than otherwise would have happened).

Just to add that I think you have to see the maintenance required on these in light of their performance. I do wonder what cash has been spent on the other cars in that Clarkson video...

https://youtu.be/boH0B7Dn3xc

Or for example on a modern equivalent - like a McLaren...

But of course the Cerberas are cheaper to purchase, hence many falsely believe cheaper to maintain (and I don’t just mean oil services). Considering the design budget I think they did a pretty good job, of course borrowing heavily from early 90’s F1 engine tech from the heads-down. I’m sure there is a video where Peter Wheeler says the two are pretty much identical in fact.

[Byker28i]

V8fan said:

And if the air con isn't working, you will cook inside in the summer. The heatsoak is incredible.
d by V8fan on Saturday 14th March 09:28[/footnote]

The aircon at best is like a mouse farting in anything less than 20C, you just open the windows. As for the heatsoak, you need to decat them to get the heat away from the tunnel - at least on the V8 engines.

[Byker28i]

cramorra said:

Didn’t know it had a handbrake....

Neither did I, until it went to Str8six last year, who routed all the cables correctly, mounted the handbrake lever on the correct pivot, sorted the rear shoes and it all works like a modern car. Hold on a hill and everything!

[Byker28i]

NGK210 said:

What’s the problem with Melling’s engines - poor design or crap components?

Ah the argument thats been going on for many years.

What is known now that many of the recognised engine builders can offer long warranties on their work and offer true reliability on the speed six, or significant capacity and power gains if required.

[so called]

vixen1700 said:

smartypants said:

so called said:

Love that pic

Yeah.

Yes, it started of as a quiet coffee break and watching the poor Dutch family with little kids. On their way for holidays in southern Europe but broken down.



Then in the back ground, saw the French Peugeot recovery going on,



Then the second recovery truck arrived with the Porsche and the driver started looking at the Dutch car.
The German chap sat in the back of thPorsche recovery truck was very grateful when I told him he had left his lights in.

[blade7]

AdamAJP said:

R.e. the “revs like a bike” comment... it feels like it has very little inertia. My father in law who has raced bikes made exactly that comment to me about mine.

I know little about Cerberas, apart from they're fast. Having owned many superbikes over 40 years, I'm pretty sure a 4 cylinder 1000cc superbike of similar vintage would rev faster and much higher.

[swisstoni]

Melling designed bike engines amongst other things.

[AdamAJP]

blade7 said:

AdamAJP said:

R.e. the “revs like a bike” comment... it feels like it has very little inertia. My father in law who has raced bikes made exactly that comment to me about mine.

I know little about Cerberas, apart from they're fast. Having owned many superbikes over 40 years, I'm pretty sure a 4 cylinder 1000cc superbike of similar vintage would rev faster and much higher.

Blade7 - I know very little about bikes but now you mention it it was “picks up like a bike”, but of course low weight for a v8 (120 odd kg I believe) and flat plane crank certainly make it fast to respond to throttle input. If I wasn’t too chicken I’d try a bike so I could compare but the Cerbera is certainly exhilarating enough for me.

Here you go - apologies if this is someone’s but found this on you tube...

https://youtu.be/v2ulff8UKrk

[cerb4.5lee]

AdamAJP said:

blade7 said:

AdamAJP said:

R.e. the “revs like a bike” comment... it feels like it has very little inertia. My father in law who has raced bikes made exactly that comment to me about mine.

I know little about Cerberas, apart from they're fast. Having owned many superbikes over 40 years, I'm pretty sure a 4 cylinder 1000cc superbike of similar vintage would rev faster and much higher.

Blade7 - I know very little about bikes but now you mention it it was “picks up like a bike”, but of course low weight for a v8 (120 odd kg I believe) and flat plane crank certainly make it fast to respond to throttle input. If I wasn’t too chicken I’d try a bike so I could compare but the Cerbera is certainly exhilarating enough for me.

Here you go - apologies if this is someone’s but found this on you tube...

https://youtu.be/v2ulff8UKrk

I do know that the Cerbera isn't anywhere near as quick as a bike...and I remember having some fun with a Kawasaki ZX6R from 30mph to 130mph...and I couldn't get anywhere near him! It was still great fun though.

[Byker28i]

my old ZZR1200 was much faster, you can never compare bikes to cars, especially on acceleration.

The cerbera is deceptively fast, effortless to get from 0 to whoops in no time. On the bike you tend to notice the speed...

[Andy665]

swisstoni said:

Melling designed bike engines amongst other things.

Speed Six head design is almost identical to the Suzuki GSX-R750 that Al Melling designed, whilst the pistons were made from castings that were modified Rotax-Aprillia RSV1000 items

[FN2TypeR]

My dad had one of these from new for around five years, it's what turned me on to cars in the first place, back when ah' war a lad. It was fabulous, the noise, the theatre and the performance were all amazing, I would love to own one for myself.

He had quite a bit of trouble with it, though

[cerb4.5lee]

FN2TypeR said:

He had quite a bit of trouble with it, though

I used to enjoy talking to other owners of them and we all seemed to have the same issues with them! TVR were consistent and the stuff that they fitted to the cars that weren't up to the task certainly didn't work on any of them!

I'm really chuffed that I got to experience one though and I still browse the classifieds looking at them almost everyday!

[Toodandy]

Beautiful wheels, Jaguar Asteroids?

[Blown2CV]

those stupid fking wheels could be sold off to fund the war chest a bit

[AdamAJP]

I think Bola make a version almost identical to the original spiders if you like those. Only the Bola’s are lighter and stronger if memory serves...

[LarJammer]

sleeky said:

shavermcspud said:

Just seen who the seller is, long barge pole springs to mind, very local to me and a bad reputation.
Lots of non recorded damaged cars, salvage auction, and clocked miles.

Stay very far away

Just came on here to say the same, this dealer has always got very suspect stock! A lot of it never seems to shift for months either, it's always seemed very fishy to me.

Same from me! All of their cars are 1 step away from a scrap yard.

[R400TVR]

steviejasp said:

The whole point of these cars is the speed 6 or the flat plane AJP 8.
They are so unique.
When people who say they'd swap one out for a yank v8 are really missing the point of these.
A modern LS v8 or similar may be more powerful but its not the same thing.
I've had yank v8s, my brother has a supercharged new Camaro. They are extremely powerful but lazy revving.
My 4.5 revs like a superbike.
If/when it ever goes bang, I'll definitely have it rebuilt.

Agreed. Why a lump of American pig iron? I'd rather put in an S54 and keep the 6cyl character.

[R400TVR]

Byker28i said:

Ah the argument thats been going on for many years.

What is known now that many of the recognised engine builders can offer long warranties on their work and offer true reliability on the speed six, or significant capacity and power gains if required.

In order to reduce unit production costs, the engines that actually went into production, called Speed Six, were TVR modified versions of the initial AJP-6 prototypes with 3.6 litres (3,605 cc) and 4.0 litres (3,996 cc) capacities. Prominent modifications were alterations to valve train geometry, a switch from a billet steel crank to cast iron (with a crank damper), different connecting rods, oil filter relocation to the inlet side of the engine, and removal of the exhaust cam oil feed.

[unsprung]

R400TVR said:

Agreed. Why a lump of American pig iron? I'd rather put in an S54 and keep the 6cyl character.

bless

Your question, of course, can be only rhetorical -- as the LS3 just might be the world's most favourite V8 swap. And a good number of TVR owners are part of the LS series story.

LS3 has aluminium block and heads. Low mass, high output. Runs seemingly for decades. The whole thing is smaller and/or lighter than many engines of less displacement.

If cars like the Cerb would have done what they said on the tin, a culture of engine swaps, not to mention a conga line of skint former keepers, wouldn't have become "a thing."