Popped My Tuscan Cherry!
Discussion
Hi folks
I’ve wanted a Tuscan since I first saw one, but for some reason or another (usually Lotus or Caterham related) it never happened.
My life is moving pretty fast right now, so I finally bit the bullet and bought the Chameleon Orange Mk1 that was advertised by Schmoo a couple of weeks ago. Its a 4-litre engine and the car has only covered 9000 miles.
It’s a fairly standard car – the only additions have been a Red-Rose / S-spec front brake upgrade, a Powers 4.3 starter, and a set of adjustable shocks. Everything else is standard (it even had its original tyres on when it arrived!).
The car is in decent order. It has a few areas where the paintwork could be improved. There are some panel-gaps / shut-lines that could also be made better. The chassis is perfectly solid, but it’s at an age where the coating could do with some attention. The interior is ok – the only ugly bit is the windscreen surround (had a new screen fitted at some point and the fitters made a proper arse of the trim). At the end of the day it’s a 17 year-old TVR that’s been looked after, but not wrapped in cotton wool. The imperfections suit me fine as I like having ‘jobs’ to do!
The engine has never been rebuilt, but it pulls very well and it sounds healthy enough. I’ve chatted with the previous owner and he told me that he always waited for it to build up temperature / pressure before giving it the beans. I bought it with the knowledge that it might need an engine rebuild early on in my ownership, but it’s not looking like something I need to rush into. I’m going to enjoy the summer, and then look at getting the engine rebuilt and upgraded over the winter (unless it goes ‘pop’ before then
).
I found a Powers-Performance dyno-print in the folder of receipts. The car has had one of their eprom chips fitted and it made 315bhp and 285 ft/lbs of torque. I guess that once drivetrain losses have been factored in, then the engine is operating at the 360bhp (flywheel) mark claimed by TVR. I’m very happy about that!
What else? I’m not a massive fan of silver alloys, so I had the Spiders fully refurbished and powder-coated in metallic anthracite. The old rubber has been stripped-off and replaced with Michelin Pilot-Sport 4’s – 235/40’s on the front and 255/40’s on the back.
The discs have a couple of thousand miles left in them, so I’ll change those later on in the year. I’m looking to source a pair of ali bells for the back – completely unnecessary, but I’m always up for losing a bit of un-sprung weight. Speaking of unsprung weight, I understand that the SP12 wheels are a bit lighter than the Spiders – I was seriously tempted, but the Spiders suit the Tuscan so well.
I’ve ordered a set of 3mm spacers and will whack them on the front once they arrive.
The aftermarket shocks are Gaz Gold. It handles pretty well, but I’ve never been a fan of Gaz, so I’ll be changing them for a set of Bilstein B16 PSS10 adjustables.
The only other thing that I’m keen to do in the short-term is get the diff fitted with a Quaife ATB. Oh, and make it noisier – I’ve not been under the car properly, so I have no idea if the exhaust is factory - it needs more decibels though!
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/srN7af2P[/url]
I’ve wanted a Tuscan since I first saw one, but for some reason or another (usually Lotus or Caterham related) it never happened.
My life is moving pretty fast right now, so I finally bit the bullet and bought the Chameleon Orange Mk1 that was advertised by Schmoo a couple of weeks ago. Its a 4-litre engine and the car has only covered 9000 miles.
It’s a fairly standard car – the only additions have been a Red-Rose / S-spec front brake upgrade, a Powers 4.3 starter, and a set of adjustable shocks. Everything else is standard (it even had its original tyres on when it arrived!).
The car is in decent order. It has a few areas where the paintwork could be improved. There are some panel-gaps / shut-lines that could also be made better. The chassis is perfectly solid, but it’s at an age where the coating could do with some attention. The interior is ok – the only ugly bit is the windscreen surround (had a new screen fitted at some point and the fitters made a proper arse of the trim). At the end of the day it’s a 17 year-old TVR that’s been looked after, but not wrapped in cotton wool. The imperfections suit me fine as I like having ‘jobs’ to do!
The engine has never been rebuilt, but it pulls very well and it sounds healthy enough. I’ve chatted with the previous owner and he told me that he always waited for it to build up temperature / pressure before giving it the beans. I bought it with the knowledge that it might need an engine rebuild early on in my ownership, but it’s not looking like something I need to rush into. I’m going to enjoy the summer, and then look at getting the engine rebuilt and upgraded over the winter (unless it goes ‘pop’ before then
).I found a Powers-Performance dyno-print in the folder of receipts. The car has had one of their eprom chips fitted and it made 315bhp and 285 ft/lbs of torque. I guess that once drivetrain losses have been factored in, then the engine is operating at the 360bhp (flywheel) mark claimed by TVR. I’m very happy about that!
What else? I’m not a massive fan of silver alloys, so I had the Spiders fully refurbished and powder-coated in metallic anthracite. The old rubber has been stripped-off and replaced with Michelin Pilot-Sport 4’s – 235/40’s on the front and 255/40’s on the back.
The discs have a couple of thousand miles left in them, so I’ll change those later on in the year. I’m looking to source a pair of ali bells for the back – completely unnecessary, but I’m always up for losing a bit of un-sprung weight. Speaking of unsprung weight, I understand that the SP12 wheels are a bit lighter than the Spiders – I was seriously tempted, but the Spiders suit the Tuscan so well.
I’ve ordered a set of 3mm spacers and will whack them on the front once they arrive.
The aftermarket shocks are Gaz Gold. It handles pretty well, but I’ve never been a fan of Gaz, so I’ll be changing them for a set of Bilstein B16 PSS10 adjustables.
The only other thing that I’m keen to do in the short-term is get the diff fitted with a Quaife ATB. Oh, and make it noisier – I’ve not been under the car properly, so I have no idea if the exhaust is factory - it needs more decibels though!
[url]|https://thumbsnap.com/srN7af2P[/url]
Nice! It looks like your cans are non-standard, are they CCC cans?
With regards to the spacers and new shocks, I’d get a full geo set up first, it may save you some money.
If you want more dBs the only way forward is a decat. It may free up some horses too. I’ve got a decat and CCC cans and it is plenty loud enough with lots of pops and bangs and the occasional burst of flames.
I’m picking up my Tuscan later this week after a 6 month holiday at Powers Performance. 4.3 upgrade and full chassis rebuild, can’t wait!
With regards to the spacers and new shocks, I’d get a full geo set up first, it may save you some money.
If you want more dBs the only way forward is a decat. It may free up some horses too. I’ve got a decat and CCC cans and it is plenty loud enough with lots of pops and bangs and the occasional burst of flames.
I’m picking up my Tuscan later this week after a 6 month holiday at Powers Performance. 4.3 upgrade and full chassis rebuild, can’t wait!
......................................... just don't understand the fad for dark drab wheels 
. 
the only slight negative with mine is that it’s a dark blue. 
First off, congrats!
I wouldn't worry too much about finding a rotor-bell combination for the rear axle. The rear discs are surpisingly light; I weighed one (282 mm) at 4.6 kg.
For the front Tuscan S-spec (322 mm) brakes, Tarox has a 2-piece replacement (S2-2004). They are far from cheap but the discs are billet steel rather than cast iron (which saves a bit of weight on its own) and pretty much indestructable.
The wheels however are a different matter. If you want to stay with 18-inch (too much for the car iMHO), the SP12s knock off 3 kg per corner which is pretty significant in my book. Personally, I prefer the car on the standard 16-inch wheels with 50/55 profile tyres (even though they are virtually the same weight as 18-inch SP12s at ~8.9 kg), which make the car much more exploitable and progressive despite being down on outright grip. The flipside however is that the biggest disc you can more or less comfortably get in there is 315 mm.
What year is the car? Does it still have the pre-April 2001 front uprights and top wishbones?
I wouldn't worry too much about finding a rotor-bell combination for the rear axle. The rear discs are surpisingly light; I weighed one (282 mm) at 4.6 kg.
For the front Tuscan S-spec (322 mm) brakes, Tarox has a 2-piece replacement (S2-2004). They are far from cheap but the discs are billet steel rather than cast iron (which saves a bit of weight on its own) and pretty much indestructable.
The wheels however are a different matter. If you want to stay with 18-inch (too much for the car iMHO), the SP12s knock off 3 kg per corner which is pretty significant in my book. Personally, I prefer the car on the standard 16-inch wheels with 50/55 profile tyres (even though they are virtually the same weight as 18-inch SP12s at ~8.9 kg), which make the car much more exploitable and progressive despite being down on outright grip. The flipside however is that the biggest disc you can more or less comfortably get in there is 315 mm.
What year is the car? Does it still have the pre-April 2001 front uprights and top wishbones?
Thanks guys. The car won't be getting driven for a while as the roads are either super greasy up my way, or dry and covered in salt.
TBH Tony, I've been searching hard for the 'catch' since the car arrived... and I still haven't found it! Seems its a completely genuine car - it needs a little TLC to make it perfect, but its a whole world away from the basket-case I was mentally preparing myself for (bought it 'blind').
I'm really looking forward to making it a minter!
TBH Tony, I've been searching hard for the 'catch' since the car arrived... and I still haven't found it!
Seems its a completely genuine car - it needs a little TLC to make it perfect, but its a whole world away from the basket-case I was mentally preparing myself for (bought it 'blind').I'm really looking forward to making it a minter!
Gassing Station | Tuscan | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff