IN THE BEGINNING

[VARSOVIA]

Hi to every meca-fool!
I´m looking to by my first TVR, a Chimaera from 1995, 40.000 miles, under french plates but RHD. I´m absolutely enthusiastic, but steel wondering about 2 questions: I want that car for summer vacations and other travels (so long journeys, and as I´m spanish, I use to go south, then under hot conditions), so I wonder about the capacity of the cooling system to cope with hot temperatures.
In opposite side, I wonder to about the permeability in rainy days (I met an ex-owner who told me to take my boots on it if it rains...).
And last, but not..., what could be the Mrs. "take-in" (noting that we have to travel with his dog - a "french-bulldog" - with us..), and that "Chim" is on sport exhausts.
Could anyone bring me some help???, please.
Thanks a lot...

[V8 Archie]

Cooling can be a bit of a problem but it's easily fixed by adjusting sensors or adding fan overrides. I recommend doing a search on this as it's been covered a lot before by people who know more than me. Mine (and many others) hasn't had any problem with this.

With permeability, it's a bit of a running joke that they leak, but I've had no problems. I believe it's normally a case of getting the seals sorted properly and caring for them and the roof sections.

I'm not to sure what you're asking with regard to the Mrs., but it won't be quiet. I guess you'll have to take her along when you find one. As far as the dog goes, you can mount fixing points to the bulkhead to which you can secure the dog as he sits on the fuel tank. N17 TVR can give you advice on how tightly you can tie him down without (quite) killing him and also on what happens when the dog tries to exit before being unclipped .

Good luck in your search.

[shnozz]

i fitted a leven cooling kit to my chim. It consists of a replacement otter switch turning the fans on at a lower temp, a replacement thermostat that opens earlier and some water wetter. I went down to le mans and then south of france/pyrenees this year no problem. OK, it wasnt as hot as it was for le mans last year in June but it ran at a constant 70 degrees when on the open road. highly recommended for hot climates.

[shpub]

The bulkhead is not that strong and will easily break in an accident and the dog will become a mobile baseball bat that could well kill you.

[V8 Archie]

shpub said:

The bulkhead is not that strong and will easily break in an accident and the dog will become a mobile baseball bat that could well kill you.

Which is why I recommend talking to someone that has done it (or something like it) first.

[VARSOVIA]

Thanks to all of you.
Where could I find such cooling kit, shnozz? I thing I´ll need it..
And, V8 Archie, who´s N17 TVR?, and how to communicate with?. And I whas talking about female´s reactions faced to what could be consider as a "macho-car", maybe to much unconfortable, noisy, leaking, etc..., with the only compensation of seeing me happy!. What you thing about that?.
Back to the dog..., I Would´nt like to consider the issue in such a dramatic way: to kill-it or be killed... As you wrote it must be a solution to keep-it/us safe.

More advises for a new commer?

[shnozz]

www.leventechnology.co.uk

have a look under interior trim and accessories and its listed as "engine cooling kit"

[ljb]

We've had our Griffith down in the South of France (Monaco) for 3 years now. I never had any cooling problems, but as a safeguard I fitted a fan over-ride switch, to give the system half a chance of keeping well below the line in summer traffic.

I also subsequently fitted the Leven kit of lower temperature fan switch, but in my case removed the thermostat completely, since it never gets that cold down here. I've kept the low temperature one for if or when we return to the UK.

You should find the Leven website address on Pistonheads somewhere.

[V8 Archie]

VARSOVIA said:

And, V8 Archie, who´s N17 TVR?, and how to communicate with?.

N17 TVR is a PHer.

VARSOVIA said:

And I whas talking about female´s reactions faced to what could be consider as a "macho-car", maybe to much unconfortable, noisy, leaking, etc..., with the only compensation of seeing me happy!. What you thing about that?.

I think that if you have a paricular female in mind you should consult her every step of the way before politely telling her that you are getting the car whether she likes it or not . Seriously, some like them, some don't.

VARSOVIA said:

Back to the dog..., I Would´nt like to consider the issue in such a dramatic way: to kill-it or be killed...

I was joking about (nearly) killing the dog . I was just pointing out that it has been done before (transporting the dog, not killing it).

[VARSOVIA]

shnozz said:

www.leventechnology.co.uk have a look under interior trim and accessories and its listed as "engine cooling kit"

Thank you, for both sites...

[sagalout]

There are bolts through the rear shelf for fixing a 3 point harness. Remove one and replace it with an eye bolt, Clip dog harness to that with a caribina thingy like the mountain climbers use.
Jobs a good un.

[VARSOVIA]

I think that if you have a paricular female in mind you should consult her every step of the way before politely telling her that you are getting the car whether she likes it or not . Seriously, some like them, some don't.

I was joking about (nearly) killing the dog . I was just pointing out that it has been done before (transporting the dog, not killing it).[/quote]

Of course, I whas talking about my "in-law" "hal-piece".. And, as I detected some sense of humor, I whas joking to about the dog & females. Basically I thing she´s feelings about the car will stands on it´s reliability over the rest of considerations....

[shpub]

sagalout said:

There are bolts through the rear shelf for fixing a 3 point harness. Remove one and replace it with an eye bolt, Clip dog harness to that with a caribina thingy like the mountain climbers use. Jobs a good un.

Except that a 95 car probably won't have them as they did not appear until 96. See the section in the bible on fitting full harness belts.

Good idea to check the position with insurer as the car was never designed to carry anyone in a human/large mammal sense behind those seats. Carrying a third passenger contravenes several regulations.

www.tvrbooks.co.uk

[VARSOVIA]

Except that a 95 car probably won't have them as they did not appear until 96. See the section in the bible on fitting full harness belts.

Good idea to check the position with insurer as the car was never designed to carry anyone in a human/large mammal sense behind those seats. Carrying a third passenger contravenes several regulations.

www.tvrbooks.co.uk[/quote]


Thank you shpub. But as I´m not (yet) a proper owner I dont know what it´s that "bible" (I assume the link you sent provides access to it...?).
Interesting your remark about the insurance.., but I´m afraid that it will be just in off dificult (or spensif) to have a french contract for this "not-standard" car, on RHD..., to consider another + "specificity".
I´m going tomorrow to see the Chim! (7 hours of train).

[shpub]

Insurance in the UK has become stricter. Don't know about the situation in France but it is worth chceking.

The link does have details of the book I wrote aka the bible. There is also a buyers' guide and a lot of other information that you can download immediately and read on the train

Good Luck
Steve

[N17 TVR]

Now that Max has grown into a full sized, beefy, big chested Dobermann he doesnt ride in the Tiv as often as when he was a puppy

I have been tempted to tie him to the exhausts with a long lead and let him run behind, but as Mrs N17 TVR pointed out this may be a problem for sustained high speed journeys.

However, I am pretty sure that at speeds above 70mph by using his ears he could develop enough lift to 'fly'. And anything up to 35 mph is a nice little run for him.

Does anyone have any views on the speeds that need to be obtained for the "flying" scenario, and anything that could help generate extra lift ?

[V8 Archie]

N17 TVR said:

Does anyone have any views on the speeds that need to be obtained for the "flying" scenario, and anything that could help generate extra lift ?

I'd suggest some battens attached to his ears with gaffer tape to keep the aerofoil shape. You might also need some struts in the vertical plane to keep his ears outstretched. You might need to make these adjustable from the driver's seat or by Max himself to ensure a level flight path as lift would vary with speed. In extreme cases this might cause him to accidentally lift the rear of the car off the ground which could cause a hazard to other motorists.

[N17 TVR]

Nice one Nige, I hadnt thought about maintaining level flight. I can see that wont come naturally and he will probably need some training.

I think 70 mph is a realistic take off speed though, assuming there is enough of a leading edge on each ear to generate lift.

[V8 Archie]

I suppose you might be able to adapt a skateboard to be an undercarriage to avoid nasty accidents in the troublesome 35-70mph range. He'd probably find that it made landing rather easier too.

[N17 TVR]

Individual skates on each paw would probably be a better option than a skateboard as I would worry about high speed instability. Plus the skateboard may create downforce which would increase the take off speed.

Lift and in-flight stability remain the main obstacles.....