3 Most expensive jobs on your Chim!
Discussion
Hi,
What are the 3 most expensive jobs that have needed doing on your Chim?
For me it has been:
1.) Top end rebuild, Head Gasket, New Cam, New Serpentine belt, new engine mounts, New Fuel Pipes £3600
2.) New Chassis Outriggers - Circa £2000
3.) New Gaz Mono suspension and setup - Circa £2000
Of course there has been many other smaller jobs and servicing needing doing, also costing a fair bit, but those are the really big bills!
Reason for asking is I keep telling myself soon I will have replaced most of the things that could go wrong in an expensive way, but I was wondering if there are other big and expensive jobs that could be a nasty surprise lurking around the corner!
Thanks!
What are the 3 most expensive jobs that have needed doing on your Chim?
For me it has been:
1.) Top end rebuild, Head Gasket, New Cam, New Serpentine belt, new engine mounts, New Fuel Pipes £3600
2.) New Chassis Outriggers - Circa £2000
3.) New Gaz Mono suspension and setup - Circa £2000
Of course there has been many other smaller jobs and servicing needing doing, also costing a fair bit, but those are the really big bills!
Reason for asking is I keep telling myself soon I will have replaced most of the things that could go wrong in an expensive way, but I was wondering if there are other big and expensive jobs that could be a nasty surprise lurking around the corner!
Thanks!
Engine and ecu 7k
Chassis restoration 4k
New Dif £1100
2 clutches £800
Windscreen £900
Various sets of wheels and tyres £1200
Brembo brakes £600
Various exhausts and Y pieces,,, I appear to have broken even on this one
Nearly all these have been by choice rather than necessity.
Chassis was the only thing strictly necessary and where I saved at least 3k by doing it myself.
Chassis restoration 4k
New Dif £1100
2 clutches £800
Windscreen £900
Various sets of wheels and tyres £1200
Brembo brakes £600
Various exhausts and Y pieces,,, I appear to have broken even on this one
Nearly all these have been by choice rather than necessity.
Chassis was the only thing strictly necessary and where I saved at least 3k by doing it myself.
phn said:
Fair enough! 
Oh b
ks I forgot the cost of Twin adjust PROTECH shocks ( which I didn’t get on with ) 
That’s another bag of sand wasted
After much faffing about paid 40 quid for some old Bilsteins from a very early Griff owner.
A bit soft now but I like them and someday might spend a few quid more refurbishing them. The damping still works very well which is amazing as they must be 25 years old.
Not all things cost as my windscreen was mostly taken care of by my insurance company
But yeah I’m close to being a record holder for the money lavished on a pretty standard car, did I mention the full respray by one of the Tvr specialists. That took over 4 months which equates to an awful lot of money. I had a new roof lining at the same time
At least Bowks is straight up about it, I almost deny the final count up
It was my hobby for awhile that’s all. I could have bought expensive motorbikes or have boats but chose a Tvr instead.
Great memories really
Enjoy making it better I say.
ETA I know of many Tvr owners who have spent way more than I have aswell as savvy types who have spent very little and still enjoy the fun to be had.
So if I understand the true meaning of this thread and what big bills you might need to look out for, my car required riggers and freeing of its oil pressure valve which was the reason it was over pressurising and causing engine oil leaks. 5K to sort both out but in for a penny in for a pound. So engine wad rebuilt first. This changed everything as now I had this fast reliable engine that just screamed to have an upgraded fuelling and ignition system to put the icing on the cake.
Once all that and respray was completed i’m then compelled to make sure the chassis is solid.
Oh in between all that I decided to test all this brilliance on the drag strip,,,,, hense the second clutch and new Dif
So strictly speaking looking back I needed riggers, bit of engine correction work and a new stepper motor( that works) and the car would have been fine.
Edited by Classic Chim on Monday 27th February 09:57
Classic Chim said:
Oh bks I forgot the cost of Twin adjust PROTECH shocks ( which I didn’t get on with )
That’s another bag of sand wasted
After much faffing about paid 40 quid for some old Bilsteins from a very early Griff owner.
A bit soft now but I like them and someday might spend a few quid more refurbishing them. The damping still works very well which is amazing as they must be 25 years old.
Not all things cost as my windscreen was mostly taken care of by my insurance company
But yeah I’m close to being a record holder for the money lavished on a pretty standard car, did I mention the full respray by one of the Tvr specialists. That took over 4 months which equates to an awful lot of money. I had a new roof lining at the same time
At least Bowks is straight up about it, I almost deny the final count up
It was my hobby for awhile that’s all. I could have bought expensive motorbikes or have boats but chose a Tvr instead.
Great memories really
Enjoy making it better I say.
ETA I know of many Tvr owners who have spent way more than I have aswell as savvy types who have spent very little and still enjoy the fun to be had.
So if I understand the true meaning of this thread and what big bills you might need to look out for, my car required riggers and freeing of its oil pressure valve which was the reason it was over pressurising and causing engine oil leaks. 5K to sort both out but in for a penny in for a pound. So engine wad rebuilt first. This changed everything as now I had this fast reliable engine that just screamed to have an upgraded fuelling and ignition system to put the icing on the cake.
Once all that and respray was completed i’m then compelled to make sure the chassis is solid.
Oh in between all that I decided to test all this brilliance on the drag strip,,,,, hense the second clutch and new Dif
So strictly speaking looking back I needed riggers, bit of engine correction work and a new stepper motor( that works) and the car would have been fine.
Haha - what a fantastic story - thanks for the great reply! Where is that oil pressure valve located?ks I forgot the cost of Twin adjust PROTECH shocks ( which I didn’t get on with ) That’s another bag of sand wasted
After much faffing about paid 40 quid for some old Bilsteins from a very early Griff owner.
A bit soft now but I like them and someday might spend a few quid more refurbishing them. The damping still works very well which is amazing as they must be 25 years old.
Not all things cost as my windscreen was mostly taken care of by my insurance company
But yeah I’m close to being a record holder for the money lavished on a pretty standard car, did I mention the full respray by one of the Tvr specialists. That took over 4 months which equates to an awful lot of money. I had a new roof lining at the same time
At least Bowks is straight up about it, I almost deny the final count up
It was my hobby for awhile that’s all. I could have bought expensive motorbikes or have boats but chose a Tvr instead.
Great memories really
Enjoy making it better I say.
ETA I know of many Tvr owners who have spent way more than I have aswell as savvy types who have spent very little and still enjoy the fun to be had.
So if I understand the true meaning of this thread and what big bills you might need to look out for, my car required riggers and freeing of its oil pressure valve which was the reason it was over pressurising and causing engine oil leaks. 5K to sort both out but in for a penny in for a pound. So engine wad rebuilt first. This changed everything as now I had this fast reliable engine that just screamed to have an upgraded fuelling and ignition system to put the icing on the cake.
Once all that and respray was completed i’m then compelled to make sure the chassis is solid.
Oh in between all that I decided to test all this brilliance on the drag strip,,,,, hense the second clutch and new Dif
So strictly speaking looking back I needed riggers, bit of engine correction work and a new stepper motor( that works) and the car would have been fine.
Edited by Classic Chim on Monday 27th February 09:57
Just about the suspension - I have Gaz Mono's on my Chim (setup by Matt Smith) and I couldn't be happier with them, lovely and compliant when touring, but also got me round Cadwell ok! So if you feel like spending some more money.....!
Hi,
Just for comparison. A friend of mine had a Griff 500 when I had a 4.3BV, in the early 2000s. He had his serviced (near Loughborough). They assessed and called him up to suggest a bill of £6000. This was with no major restoration or substantial work as commonly discussed. Things like changing bulbs in dash, etc. He declined…. But, when the cars were new there were plenty of opportunities to spend your money!
Nic
Just for comparison. A friend of mine had a Griff 500 when I had a 4.3BV, in the early 2000s. He had his serviced (near Loughborough). They assessed and called him up to suggest a bill of £6000. This was with no major restoration or substantial work as commonly discussed. Things like changing bulbs in dash, etc. He declined…. But, when the cars were new there were plenty of opportunities to spend your money!
Nic
Ive not even had my car two years and had the following done
- just had a engine rebuild and ECU - £13,500 (not including charger serviced, manifolds ceramic coated, new bonnet heat shield came to another £1k)
- ACT cats £1,400
- Various niggles sorted and new brakes/pads approx £2,000
I have the following coming up this month
Need a new set of Yoko tyres £1,000
Detailing £1,000+
And I want to rebuild the diff with a Quaife (current diff is whining now) and new carpets.
Its insane what I have spent.
- just had a engine rebuild and ECU - £13,500 (not including charger serviced, manifolds ceramic coated, new bonnet heat shield came to another £1k)
- ACT cats £1,400
- Various niggles sorted and new brakes/pads approx £2,000
I have the following coming up this month
Need a new set of Yoko tyres £1,000
Detailing £1,000+
And I want to rebuild the diff with a Quaife (current diff is whining now) and new carpets.
Its insane what I have spent.
That is a lot ot cash! One of the reasons I like TVRs is that most work is within the ability of the home mechanic. No big bills, well, if I do it myself! Need garage, tools, patience, another car!
I had a Mercedes’ SL500 for a couple of years, now that was definitely not diy material!
Nic
I had a Mercedes’ SL500 for a couple of years, now that was definitely not diy material!
Nic
Blimey - I can now see I am a total amateur at spending money on my Chim compared to the rest of you - I'll have to up my game!! 
One thing I have always been curious about - how does the Chimaera handle when you tune it up with a turbo or supercharger? Honestly I have never desired any more power than my humble standard TVR 450 can provide, so just curious how scary the extra BHP is?
One thing I have always been curious about - how does the Chimaera handle when you tune it up with a turbo or supercharger? Honestly I have never desired any more power than my humble standard TVR 450 can provide, so just curious how scary the extra BHP is?
Very very scary is the answer. Great fun though.
So then you have to upgrade everything else to cope and then you realise you never needed that extra power anyways.
Tvr are so light on the tyres this extra ability can easily push you past the cars actual handling ability on the average oil and muck filled roads.
If you go the whole hog and have tractive suspension you might stand half a chance
Has there ever been a right up in Sprint or on here over this fascinating suspension development
So then you have to upgrade everything else to cope and then you realise you never needed that extra power anyways.
Tvr are so light on the tyres this extra ability can easily push you past the cars actual handling ability on the average oil and muck filled roads.
If you go the whole hog and have tractive suspension you might stand half a chance
Has there ever been a right up in Sprint or on here over this fascinating suspension development
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