Restoration thread, I'm next
Discussion
Classic Chim said:
My own view is your messing around with a classic design and the dog bite story though possibly just myth is all part of Tvr history. It’s something many people who never owned a TVR know about, it’s like a fond memory as I think it was a young Clarkson who first brought it to the public’s attention.
I personally think the dog bite chop gives the car a slightly more masculine look and helps offset all its female curves Oi Oi
But smoothing it off would risk making it look much like any other front end on many a modern car or small sports car.
Are you sure the indicators in the headlight area will be visible enough from anything other than a head on view.
Even though I enjoy modded TVR and it’s all part of the fun of them it will cost a lot to achieve and invariably down value the car in many people’s view especially a new buyer.
Maybe I’m just old fashioned but I’ve rarely seen body mods that improve the original pencil lines and often just cause a confusion of the cars design.
The Cerbera is the car that got the publicity Tvr craved and sharing the dog bite design with the most popular car Tvr ever created ( Chimaera ) this ensured that informed people could recognise a Tvr almost instantly. I remember the first few Tvr I saw rumbling past back in the 1990’s and thinking the Cerbera and Chim was the same car other than one was a soft top.
Only by looking closer did I realise the Cerb was longer!
I'm just thinking by confusing the Chimaera design with possibly the Griffith design with its more rounded front you are in fact making it look less desirable because it’s a one off design.
But it’s all in the eye of the beholder.
If you want to personalise your car it’s your choice.
And if you look the dog bite broke up that rather ugly Valence/ bumper line and made it look good. The valance line alone looks like dull thinking to me.
Changing the shape of the radiator opening rarely works unless it was on the new TVR
Speed 6 Cerbera headlight conversion would give an ideal front indicator location if you go for tvr styling modifications. That low down chieftain tank orange indicator lense isn’t subtle sitting within a somewhat random and oversized recess. I personally think the dog bite chop gives the car a slightly more masculine look and helps offset all its female curves Oi Oi
But smoothing it off would risk making it look much like any other front end on many a modern car or small sports car.
Are you sure the indicators in the headlight area will be visible enough from anything other than a head on view.
Even though I enjoy modded TVR and it’s all part of the fun of them it will cost a lot to achieve and invariably down value the car in many people’s view especially a new buyer.
Maybe I’m just old fashioned but I’ve rarely seen body mods that improve the original pencil lines and often just cause a confusion of the cars design.
The Cerbera is the car that got the publicity Tvr craved and sharing the dog bite design with the most popular car Tvr ever created ( Chimaera ) this ensured that informed people could recognise a Tvr almost instantly. I remember the first few Tvr I saw rumbling past back in the 1990’s and thinking the Cerbera and Chim was the same car other than one was a soft top.
Only by looking closer did I realise the Cerb was longer!
I'm just thinking by confusing the Chimaera design with possibly the Griffith design with its more rounded front you are in fact making it look less desirable because it’s a one off design.
But it’s all in the eye of the beholder.
If you want to personalise your car it’s your choice.
And if you look the dog bite broke up that rather ugly Valence/ bumper line and made it look good. The valance line alone looks like dull thinking to me.
Changing the shape of the radiator opening rarely works unless it was on the new TVR
Edited by Classic Chim on Tuesday 28th March 09:34
Just thinking use that recess as an additional vent opening as a brake duct perhaps?
That lower valance style line is ok. Like a fat bottom lip. You could recess half the front number plate into it to give the impression of of bigger radiator opening without actually changing it. Just keep about 20mm of that lower valence to maintain a body colour line from left to right under the number plate.
Very interested to see how it looks with a pano roof.
I have one on my E-Class, and it’s lovely.
Not sure I would do it to my Chim, but I love the ambition.
For the bhp increase, was that solely down to the ECU?
My 400 feels lovely and quick, but I’m tempted to get it on a rolling road to know how much it has lost since 1995!
Do you feel the need to get bigger brakes on it to handle the extra power?
Oh, and the dog bites. I love that detail, so would never change it on mine, but horses for courses, and no judgement 😎
I have one on my E-Class, and it’s lovely.
Not sure I would do it to my Chim, but I love the ambition.
For the bhp increase, was that solely down to the ECU?
My 400 feels lovely and quick, but I’m tempted to get it on a rolling road to know how much it has lost since 1995!
Do you feel the need to get bigger brakes on it to handle the extra power?
Oh, and the dog bites. I love that detail, so would never change it on mine, but horses for courses, and no judgement 😎
Standard brakes are fine if kept in good condition with proper brake pads, not cheap eBay items.
Upgrading really only necessary if you intend to do Track work.
A 4.0 L in today’s world isn’t very powerful. In fact my 4.6 Range Rover is probably slower than any diesel equivalent out there which is a bit sad! These V8 engines were alright in the 1960s, but slowly they have been surpassed. On the other hand, they are quite smooth!
Upgrading really only necessary if you intend to do Track work.
A 4.0 L in today’s world isn’t very powerful. In fact my 4.6 Range Rover is probably slower than any diesel equivalent out there which is a bit sad! These V8 engines were alright in the 1960s, but slowly they have been surpassed. On the other hand, they are quite smooth!
RobXjcoupe said:
Classic Chim said:
My own view is your messing around with a classic design and the dog bite story though possibly just myth is all part of Tvr history. It’s something many people who never owned a TVR know about, it’s like a fond memory as I think it was a young Clarkson who first brought it to the public’s attention.
I personally think the dog bite chop gives the car a slightly more masculine look and helps offset all its female curves Oi Oi
But smoothing it off would risk making it look much like any other front end on many a modern car or small sports car.
Are you sure the indicators in the headlight area will be visible enough from anything other than a head on view.
Even though I enjoy modded TVR and it’s all part of the fun of them it will cost a lot to achieve and invariably down value the car in many people’s view especially a new buyer.
Maybe I’m just old fashioned but I’ve rarely seen body mods that improve the original pencil lines and often just cause a confusion of the cars design.
The Cerbera is the car that got the publicity Tvr craved and sharing the dog bite design with the most popular car Tvr ever created ( Chimaera ) this ensured that informed people could recognise a Tvr almost instantly. I remember the first few Tvr I saw rumbling past back in the 1990’s and thinking the Cerbera and Chim was the same car other than one was a soft top.
Only by looking closer did I realise the Cerb was longer!
I'm just thinking by confusing the Chimaera design with possibly the Griffith design with its more rounded front you are in fact making it look less desirable because it’s a one off design.
But it’s all in the eye of the beholder.
If you want to personalise your car it’s your choice.
And if you look the dog bite broke up that rather ugly Valence/ bumper line and made it look good. The valance line alone looks like dull thinking to me.
Changing the shape of the radiator opening rarely works unless it was on the new TVR
Speed 6 Cerbera headlight conversion would give an ideal front indicator location if you go for tvr styling modifications. That low down chieftain tank orange indicator lense isn’t subtle sitting within a somewhat random and oversized recess. I personally think the dog bite chop gives the car a slightly more masculine look and helps offset all its female curves Oi Oi
But smoothing it off would risk making it look much like any other front end on many a modern car or small sports car.
Are you sure the indicators in the headlight area will be visible enough from anything other than a head on view.
Even though I enjoy modded TVR and it’s all part of the fun of them it will cost a lot to achieve and invariably down value the car in many people’s view especially a new buyer.
Maybe I’m just old fashioned but I’ve rarely seen body mods that improve the original pencil lines and often just cause a confusion of the cars design.
The Cerbera is the car that got the publicity Tvr craved and sharing the dog bite design with the most popular car Tvr ever created ( Chimaera ) this ensured that informed people could recognise a Tvr almost instantly. I remember the first few Tvr I saw rumbling past back in the 1990’s and thinking the Cerbera and Chim was the same car other than one was a soft top.
Only by looking closer did I realise the Cerb was longer!
I'm just thinking by confusing the Chimaera design with possibly the Griffith design with its more rounded front you are in fact making it look less desirable because it’s a one off design.
But it’s all in the eye of the beholder.
If you want to personalise your car it’s your choice.
And if you look the dog bite broke up that rather ugly Valence/ bumper line and made it look good. The valance line alone looks like dull thinking to me.
Changing the shape of the radiator opening rarely works unless it was on the new TVR
Edited by Classic Chim on Tuesday 28th March 09:34
Just thinking use that recess as an additional vent opening as a brake duct perhaps?
That lower valance style line is ok. Like a fat bottom lip. You could recess half the front number plate into it to give the impression of of bigger radiator opening without actually changing it. Just keep about 20mm of that lower valence to maintain a body colour line from left to right under the number plate.
[url] Another view and I had thoughts if I kept the car (should've but hindsight is a cruel mistress) I may have changed the lower portion to the extended 'Cerbera' look. 
|https://thumbsnap.com/eLy6PSu3[/url]Edited by macdeb on Friday 31st March 18:38
Edited by macdeb on Friday 31st March 18:39
Edited by macdeb on Friday 31st March 18:42
Edited by macdeb on Friday 31st March 18:46
macdeb said:
RobXjcoupe said:
Classic Chim said:
My own view is your messing around with a classic design and the dog bite story though possibly just myth is all part of Tvr history. It’s something many people who never owned a TVR know about, it’s like a fond memory as I think it was a young Clarkson who first brought it to the public’s attention.
I personally think the dog bite chop gives the car a slightly more masculine look and helps offset all its female curves Oi Oi
But smoothing it off would risk making it look much like any other front end on many a modern car or small sports car.
Are you sure the indicators in the headlight area will be visible enough from anything other than a head on view.
Even though I enjoy modded TVR and it’s all part of the fun of them it will cost a lot to achieve and invariably down value the car in many people’s view especially a new buyer.
Maybe I’m just old fashioned but I’ve rarely seen body mods that improve the original pencil lines and often just cause a confusion of the cars design.
The Cerbera is the car that got the publicity Tvr craved and sharing the dog bite design with the most popular car Tvr ever created ( Chimaera ) this ensured that informed people could recognise a Tvr almost instantly. I remember the first few Tvr I saw rumbling past back in the 1990’s and thinking the Cerbera and Chim was the same car other than one was a soft top.
Only by looking closer did I realise the Cerb was longer!
I'm just thinking by confusing the Chimaera design with possibly the Griffith design with its more rounded front you are in fact making it look less desirable because it’s a one off design.
But it’s all in the eye of the beholder.
If you want to personalise your car it’s your choice.
And if you look the dog bite broke up that rather ugly Valence/ bumper line and made it look good. The valance line alone looks like dull thinking to me.
Changing the shape of the radiator opening rarely works unless it was on the new TVR
Speed 6 Cerbera headlight conversion would give an ideal front indicator location if you go for tvr styling modifications. That low down chieftain tank orange indicator lense isn’t subtle sitting within a somewhat random and oversized recess. I personally think the dog bite chop gives the car a slightly more masculine look and helps offset all its female curves Oi Oi
But smoothing it off would risk making it look much like any other front end on many a modern car or small sports car.
Are you sure the indicators in the headlight area will be visible enough from anything other than a head on view.
Even though I enjoy modded TVR and it’s all part of the fun of them it will cost a lot to achieve and invariably down value the car in many people’s view especially a new buyer.
Maybe I’m just old fashioned but I’ve rarely seen body mods that improve the original pencil lines and often just cause a confusion of the cars design.
The Cerbera is the car that got the publicity Tvr craved and sharing the dog bite design with the most popular car Tvr ever created ( Chimaera ) this ensured that informed people could recognise a Tvr almost instantly. I remember the first few Tvr I saw rumbling past back in the 1990’s and thinking the Cerbera and Chim was the same car other than one was a soft top.
Only by looking closer did I realise the Cerb was longer!
I'm just thinking by confusing the Chimaera design with possibly the Griffith design with its more rounded front you are in fact making it look less desirable because it’s a one off design.
But it’s all in the eye of the beholder.
If you want to personalise your car it’s your choice.
And if you look the dog bite broke up that rather ugly Valence/ bumper line and made it look good. The valance line alone looks like dull thinking to me.
Changing the shape of the radiator opening rarely works unless it was on the new TVR
Edited by Classic Chim on Tuesday 28th March 09:34
Just thinking use that recess as an additional vent opening as a brake duct perhaps?
That lower valance style line is ok. Like a fat bottom lip. You could recess half the front number plate into it to give the impression of of bigger radiator opening without actually changing it. Just keep about 20mm of that lower valence to maintain a body colour line from left to right under the number plate.
[url] Another view and I had thoughts if I kept the car (should've but hindsight is a cruel mistress) I may have changed the lower portion to the extended 'Cerbera' look. |https://thumbsnap.com/eLy6PSu3[/url]Edited by macdeb on Friday 31st March 18:38
Edited by macdeb on Friday 31st March 18:39
Edited by macdeb on Friday 31st March 18:42
Edited by macdeb on Friday 31st March 18:46
That’s very good
Classic Chim said:
My own view is your messing around with a classic design.
I agree with this, I was looking at the photoshooted images and was trying to work out what was missing, it's a slightly quirky look, but without it it's just a generic slightly boring front end that could be any car. But each to their own obviously. dhutch said:
I agree with this, I was looking at the photoshooted images and was trying to work out what was missing, it's a slightly quirky look, but without it it's just a generic slightly boring front end that could be any car. But each to their own obviously.
I've come to this conclusion also. Hopefully I will share some progress photos throughout April.
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