Worth a gamble or not?
Discussion
Help!
It starts, runs, sounds lovely. But then it stalls and absolutely will not start until seemingly stone cold? The fuel pump is priming and starter is spinning over. The way it cuts is like it's from the ecu/immobilsor, literally every time after 3-5mins.
Now. The ecu and distributor were both used to dyno it on the bench, along with the leads and injectors I'm thinking;
1. Immobiliser, its ancient and needs to come out anyway
2. Coil, but it's not getting hot and it starts ok!
3. AFM, the idle is a bit lumpy and I noticed a fast idle before it stalled?
4. Ignition amplifier, just from reading the forums, what would this do if faulty?
5. A temperature sensor upsetting the ecu, is that possible?
The fans run all the time as well, it's very odd. I guess there was always going to be gremlins upon rebuild, any help appreciated!
Thanks
It starts, runs, sounds lovely. But then it stalls and absolutely will not start until seemingly stone cold? The fuel pump is priming and starter is spinning over. The way it cuts is like it's from the ecu/immobilsor, literally every time after 3-5mins.
Now. The ecu and distributor were both used to dyno it on the bench, along with the leads and injectors I'm thinking;
1. Immobiliser, its ancient and needs to come out anyway
2. Coil, but it's not getting hot and it starts ok!
3. AFM, the idle is a bit lumpy and I noticed a fast idle before it stalled?
4. Ignition amplifier, just from reading the forums, what would this do if faulty?
5. A temperature sensor upsetting the ecu, is that possible?
The fans run all the time as well, it's very odd. I guess there was always going to be gremlins upon rebuild, any help appreciated!
Thanks
First drive, loads of torque, cabin best described as 'warm' and not much in the way of feel from the ancient tyres. Brakes not as bad as I expected and no nasty knocks or bangs. Could do with the alignment checking and the fuelling. It's deceptively quick, very linear and makes such a nice noise. Gearbox is really nice and tight and the new clutch is bearably firm, better that than have to worry about it coping with the torque.
The rear lights have grown on me, it's such a nice colour I'll make a call again when it's been detailed. Passed the MOT so it's all good to run around and debug now. I think it looks fabulous, to think how old the design is, for me, they nailed it.
It could do with someone who knows them to have a drive now, just to confirm good/bad points for me to address. The dampers are old. Green bodies and red springs, are these standard???
Anyway. Achieved the first part of the plan. It's been rescued and is now back on the road.
The rear lights have grown on me, it's such a nice colour I'll make a call again when it's been detailed. Passed the MOT so it's all good to run around and debug now. I think it looks fabulous, to think how old the design is, for me, they nailed it.
It could do with someone who knows them to have a drive now, just to confirm good/bad points for me to address. The dampers are old. Green bodies and red springs, are these standard???
Anyway. Achieved the first part of the plan. It's been rescued and is now back on the road.
Good day today. The heater controls all function perfectly, result! New bottom rad hose of the correct angle stopped the slight leak it had, now it's water and oil tight..probably the first time in it's life!
The rear screen stitching has failed in the corner, it's not terrible but another job to tidy. What struck me today was just what a cool thing it was, it sounds gorgeous. Will take it to Kop Hill and lob a 'For Sale' sign on, maybe it'll get a bite.
Otherwise it'll be mothballed until spring. Spoke to Ben Lang about some new Bilsteins and will likely change bushes and drop links if needed?
I'd be keen for some advice price wise. Thinking £25-27K given all the work. 29K on the car in total, 3 owners, last for 16 years, all paperwork etc.
What do you guys think?
The rear screen stitching has failed in the corner, it's not terrible but another job to tidy. What struck me today was just what a cool thing it was, it sounds gorgeous. Will take it to Kop Hill and lob a 'For Sale' sign on, maybe it'll get a bite.
Otherwise it'll be mothballed until spring. Spoke to Ben Lang about some new Bilsteins and will likely change bushes and drop links if needed?
I'd be keen for some advice price wise. Thinking £25-27K given all the work. 29K on the car in total, 3 owners, last for 16 years, all paperwork etc.
What do you guys think?
Edited by anonymous-user on Saturday 9th September 22:37
Podie said:
4 tailpipes?
Looks like lots of Leven interior trim - but are those Zertec indicator stalks?
Yes, he went to town on the Levan stuff! No idea about the stalks to be honest? Looks like lots of Leven interior trim - but are those Zertec indicator stalks?
The tailpipes are soon to be swapped. Basically a standard exhaust which has been cut and two twin pipes clamped on. I'll either get a local place to fabricate two singles and weld them on, or buy ACT cherry bomb to replace it.
So, I stripped and painted the badge. Then, true to form, I got impatient and rushed it.
I'm very grumpy about it! Tomorrow I'll try and rescue it or strip and re-work the whole thing properly. TBH it's miles better than it was and it's only time and something called patience (no idea) that is needed.
Better than it was TBH
I'm very grumpy about it! Tomorrow I'll try and rescue it or strip and re-work the whole thing properly. TBH it's miles better than it was and it's only time and something called patience (no idea) that is needed.
Better than it was TBH
No. It's up for sale. I have a promise to keep.
Few odd bits today. Wire brushed all the rust off of the discs and painted them in BBQ black. New front tyres. Bit of detailing here and there. I'm really surprised how well it looks now.
All the wiring in the boot has been tidied up and carpets glued down where they had come away a bit. Small stuff but very satisfying.
Had a good look at the drop links etc and all is well. The outriggers and chassis are very good. If it hangs around for long I'll treat it to some preventative maintenance.
Few odd bits today. Wire brushed all the rust off of the discs and painted them in BBQ black. New front tyres. Bit of detailing here and there. I'm really surprised how well it looks now.
All the wiring in the boot has been tidied up and carpets glued down where they had come away a bit. Small stuff but very satisfying.
Had a good look at the drop links etc and all is well. The outriggers and chassis are very good. If it hangs around for long I'll treat it to some preventative maintenance.
mk1fan said:
Where?
It'll be at Kop Hill all weekend and then I'll start looking at listing it. The first 25 proper miles were competed without issue, it's quite a raw drive but very cool. It may well go to Straight6 next week for alignment and a check over. It'll be nice to get an opinion of how it measures up others.
So the car visited Straight6 today at Lewknor for an assessment of where we are. The dampers are in poor condition so after a chat with Ben Lang I am ordering the 'sport' Bilstein setup. The good news is there is very little to sort out, mainly just 'gripes from a car that has been standing around for a few years. The throttle apparently wasn't fitted with return springs, this was sorted and has made it so much easier to modulate on the pedal. Wishbone bushes are in good order and they confirmed it's a solid car. For sure it needs setting up, idle control etc isn't great, it's liveable but room for improvement. Had some interested parties after posting it up for sale at Kop Hill but have put them on hold whilst we sort out the last 10%, which will make the car IMO.
I can't thank them enough and it was a very pleasant surprise dealing with them after the last guys. The plan now is to work through the list and take it back to Straight6 to set the car up properly. The drive back was cool. There's something about it that just makes me smile. So much torque to waft about with and it's such a small car in modern terms to place on the road. Must admit I'm a little smitten.
I can't thank them enough and it was a very pleasant surprise dealing with them after the last guys. The plan now is to work through the list and take it back to Straight6 to set the car up properly. The drive back was cool. There's something about it that just makes me smile. So much torque to waft about with and it's such a small car in modern terms to place on the road. Must admit I'm a little smitten.
Small update.
The new Bilsteins are sorted now, went for the Tuscan S 'sport' setup, very keen on getting them on and seeing what happens. The rear lights have been re-quoted as I didn't really think the original quote was sensible! The issue is once they are sorted the new paint will show everything else up! I have been tempted by a very good offer to paint the whole car, this will obviously change everything investment wise. It'll never be 'original' but wouldn't take much and seeing this guys work it'll look amazing.
Decisions, decisions!
The new Bilsteins are sorted now, went for the Tuscan S 'sport' setup, very keen on getting them on and seeing what happens. The rear lights have been re-quoted as I didn't really think the original quote was sensible! The issue is once they are sorted the new paint will show everything else up! I have been tempted by a very good offer to paint the whole car, this will obviously change everything investment wise. It'll never be 'original' but wouldn't take much and seeing this guys work it'll look amazing.
Decisions, decisions!
Off to the ex owners place tomorrow to pick up all the paperwork, I'm so looking forward to finding out all the ins and outs.
I really need a set of standard rear lights, smoked, unsmoked, if anyone has some please get in touch with me!
Starting miss the old thing, had a brief look Wednesday but no driving. The OSF wheel bearing wasn't bad but replaced anyway as it was flagged on the inspection.
Just putting this out there, would you colour change or keep it malachite, it has to remain green as the dash stitching etc matches and the hood is an unnecessary expense. My paint guy is exceptional, I'm going to ask him what's possible? I recall a light metallic green which was lovely, what would you do?
Hurry up Bilstein!!!!!
I really need a set of standard rear lights, smoked, unsmoked, if anyone has some please get in touch with me!
Starting miss the old thing, had a brief look Wednesday but no driving. The OSF wheel bearing wasn't bad but replaced anyway as it was flagged on the inspection.
Just putting this out there, would you colour change or keep it malachite, it has to remain green as the dash stitching etc matches and the hood is an unnecessary expense. My paint guy is exceptional, I'm going to ask him what's possible? I recall a light metallic green which was lovely, what would you do?
Hurry up Bilstein!!!!!
So the spreadsheet is complete, only took a day or so to sift through everything!
First owner was in Felbridge, East Grinstead, second based London W4, before Roger owned it. Where to start with the money that has been poured into it! Before I took the car on there are invoices for £20K, Roger in his 17 year ownership, 10 years of actual on the road driving spent £13K, Roger, you were nothing if not committed to this Griff mate!
It's actually really cool going through the bills and seeing when and where the car has lived. A lot was spent at Portfield in the early life of the car, it strikes me that it was never cheap to run, I mean service bills of £1600 in 1997 seem fairly robust? Every time they serviced it the chassis was steam cleaned and then waxoyled, seems overkill to me and personally I wouldn't be steam cleaning a Griff too often! The radiator seems to have always been a bit of a pain. At around 16000 miles it leaked, unbelievably they put sealant in the damn thing. I say unbelievably because that invoice was about £1200, obviously there wasn't a money issue? It has been a constant note on reports since, leaking until 2008 when it was 'repaired'...for £35! Given the sums thrown at it I would have sorted it myself, more of that later. It had a new diff at 10000 miles, can you see a Porsche owner putting up with this, as well as some bushes.
Yearly it was around the £1500-2000 mark until 2003. This is when the bug for upgrades started to come along it seems?
In 2003 TVR carried out the Spider conversion, that was over £2K on its own. Spending peaked in 2004 when TVR took it back for a full retrim, carpets and hood, £4500, yes, it made me wince as well...and I never paid the bill. It explains why the interior is so clean.
Leven seem to have supplied a fair amount of bits and pieces, all the alloy parts on the dash and also a fair amount of service work. All the wishbones and bushes were replaced at least twice in its life and the last time was in 2006, since then it has only covered 6000 miles.
A couple of things are weird. It seems to eat glovebox catches, I mean it must have had a dozen of them! That, and chrome valve caps, every single service it has four new ones? I know there are other invoices missing but I will have to wait and see if I can get hold of them. I must have one of the earliest HPI 'Equifax' documents, produced in 1995 along with all the TVR handbooks and Warranty Programme, I can bet the latter took a bit of a hammering with its individual claim limit of £1000
Original TVR Vehicle Spec
Bilsteins are here, so time to get those fitted, I say 'time' but I am many miles away so the task will be undertaken by my good mate again, next week I have some decent time off of work so will be getting stuck in and hopefully seeing how it is all coming together.
The aforementioned radiator looks like a dogs dinner. It's not leaking but given the value of the engine rebuild there is no way I am leaving things to chance. I have wandered in and out of threads discussing alloy vs stock and am going to get it re-cored, alloy looks nice and is lighter but they are more fragile....and we are not in a race
Hope to get some more pictures up soon.
Thanks for reading!
First owner was in Felbridge, East Grinstead, second based London W4, before Roger owned it. Where to start with the money that has been poured into it! Before I took the car on there are invoices for £20K, Roger in his 17 year ownership, 10 years of actual on the road driving spent £13K, Roger, you were nothing if not committed to this Griff mate!
It's actually really cool going through the bills and seeing when and where the car has lived. A lot was spent at Portfield in the early life of the car, it strikes me that it was never cheap to run, I mean service bills of £1600 in 1997 seem fairly robust? Every time they serviced it the chassis was steam cleaned and then waxoyled, seems overkill to me and personally I wouldn't be steam cleaning a Griff too often! The radiator seems to have always been a bit of a pain. At around 16000 miles it leaked, unbelievably they put sealant in the damn thing. I say unbelievably because that invoice was about £1200, obviously there wasn't a money issue? It has been a constant note on reports since, leaking until 2008 when it was 'repaired'...for £35! Given the sums thrown at it I would have sorted it myself, more of that later. It had a new diff at 10000 miles, can you see a Porsche owner putting up with this, as well as some bushes.
Yearly it was around the £1500-2000 mark until 2003. This is when the bug for upgrades started to come along it seems?
In 2003 TVR carried out the Spider conversion, that was over £2K on its own. Spending peaked in 2004 when TVR took it back for a full retrim, carpets and hood, £4500, yes, it made me wince as well...and I never paid the bill. It explains why the interior is so clean.
Leven seem to have supplied a fair amount of bits and pieces, all the alloy parts on the dash and also a fair amount of service work. All the wishbones and bushes were replaced at least twice in its life and the last time was in 2006, since then it has only covered 6000 miles.
A couple of things are weird. It seems to eat glovebox catches, I mean it must have had a dozen of them! That, and chrome valve caps, every single service it has four new ones? I know there are other invoices missing but I will have to wait and see if I can get hold of them. I must have one of the earliest HPI 'Equifax' documents, produced in 1995 along with all the TVR handbooks and Warranty Programme, I can bet the latter took a bit of a hammering with its individual claim limit of £1000
Original TVR Vehicle Spec
- Body - Mercedes Malachite Green
- Trim - Doeskin Full hide
- Dash top - Fern Green
- Seats - Doeskin Full hide
- Carpets - Brooklands green wool (wool, really?) doveskin leather piping
- Hood - Grey
- Dials - Mint green
Bilsteins are here, so time to get those fitted, I say 'time' but I am many miles away so the task will be undertaken by my good mate again, next week I have some decent time off of work so will be getting stuck in and hopefully seeing how it is all coming together.
The aforementioned radiator looks like a dogs dinner. It's not leaking but given the value of the engine rebuild there is no way I am leaving things to chance. I have wandered in and out of threads discussing alloy vs stock and am going to get it re-cored, alloy looks nice and is lighter but they are more fragile....and we are not in a race
Hope to get some more pictures up soon.
Thanks for reading!
Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 2nd November 19:13
M3ax said:
Have you decided to buy it yet? . Such a great car and you've done an ace job so far. Congrats on that.
Thanks. Last weekend I was talking to his widow and she just kept saying how he dreamt of getting it back on the road and would be over the moon with it. I don't need to sell it and will only do so when I get the right amount of money, until then I'll just chip away at the niggles now before the huge decision whether to go with a total respray and OE rear lights or just paint the bits needed. Just typing that I already know what's going to happen!. Such a great car and you've done an ace job so far. Congrats on that.Also, I have had so much help. Met some great people along the way and consider one in particular a good mate now, it's funny how these things bring people together.
The dampers old and new....
Big difference in the top mount, also these are the early green dampers which are 'interesting' in their construction to say the least.
Tuscan S front damper with griffith spring, Revalved rear damper with a Tuscan S spring.
The original rear spring looks like it's progressive, either that or it's tired? I was a bit concerned about the lengths but a quick chat to Ben sorted that out, they are all set up and the car will sit a little differently to it did stock. I cannot wait to see what a difference it makes, even more when it gets on properly aligned.
In other news after some detective work I think this stuff is worth a try on the wishbones etc.
Big difference in the top mount, also these are the early green dampers which are 'interesting' in their construction to say the least.
Tuscan S front damper with griffith spring, Revalved rear damper with a Tuscan S spring.
The original rear spring looks like it's progressive, either that or it's tired? I was a bit concerned about the lengths but a quick chat to Ben sorted that out, they are all set up and the car will sit a little differently to it did stock. I cannot wait to see what a difference it makes, even more when it gets on properly aligned.
In other news after some detective work I think this stuff is worth a try on the wishbones etc.
Edited by anonymous-user on Saturday 4th November 15:03
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