Brave New World - First TVR
Discussion
Hi all - thought i would introduce my new car - something I never thought would happen - a TVR Chimaera!
Its a 1996, 3 owner car, so later engine & gearbox with PAS - the second car i drove after an early non-PAS car that didn't feel as good (to me anyway). I think the colour is Formula Red, with Magnolia/Blue interior.
Car's got a bit of a checkered past, originally purchased by a wealthy chap in London who used it from new until 2001, the car was then parked up on his driveway outside his house when he emigrated until 2014 - so 15 years dormant, when the seller i purchased the car from bought it, at 50k miles (clocks were changed by the dealer at 19k) and restored it. The car's only been doing around 1k miles per year for the last few years, I hope to use it a lot more than that!
Given the less than ideal history i think i got a pretty good deal, paying a good few £k below the going rate - i'm aware it will probably cost more in the long run, but the opportunity to get into one for summer was too tempting!
TVR has added significance for me as my uncle worked at TVR Power from their formation until his premature death in the early 2000's - we always had a photo in the house I grew up in of him with the Cerbera that the factory lent him - it definitely feels nice driving round in something he helped build, in some way.
Plans for the future are:
- Full 12k service
- Find some genuine Chimaera seats as the previous owner replaced the ruined old ones with items from a Mitsubish Starion GTi, as they were all that would fit - they are a good colour match, but for originality i would prefer originals (if anyone knows of any available please shout!)
- Touch up areas of chassis paint where the epoxy has chipped
- Re-bush all of the suspension/replace dampers as its still on original bushes and the ride is very crashy
I'm planning on attending a few local meets/Pistonheads gatherings this summer - will be good to meet some people there
Its a 1996, 3 owner car, so later engine & gearbox with PAS - the second car i drove after an early non-PAS car that didn't feel as good (to me anyway). I think the colour is Formula Red, with Magnolia/Blue interior.
Car's got a bit of a checkered past, originally purchased by a wealthy chap in London who used it from new until 2001, the car was then parked up on his driveway outside his house when he emigrated until 2014 - so 15 years dormant, when the seller i purchased the car from bought it, at 50k miles (clocks were changed by the dealer at 19k) and restored it. The car's only been doing around 1k miles per year for the last few years, I hope to use it a lot more than that!
Given the less than ideal history i think i got a pretty good deal, paying a good few £k below the going rate - i'm aware it will probably cost more in the long run, but the opportunity to get into one for summer was too tempting!
TVR has added significance for me as my uncle worked at TVR Power from their formation until his premature death in the early 2000's - we always had a photo in the house I grew up in of him with the Cerbera that the factory lent him - it definitely feels nice driving round in something he helped build, in some way.
Plans for the future are:
- Full 12k service
- Find some genuine Chimaera seats as the previous owner replaced the ruined old ones with items from a Mitsubish Starion GTi, as they were all that would fit - they are a good colour match, but for originality i would prefer originals (if anyone knows of any available please shout!)
- Touch up areas of chassis paint where the epoxy has chipped
- Re-bush all of the suspension/replace dampers as its still on original bushes and the ride is very crashy
I'm planning on attending a few local meets/Pistonheads gatherings this summer - will be good to meet some people there
Looks lovely. I’ve had a chimaera for the last 9 months and it’s my favourite toy ever. The v8 is just so charismatic.
That looks to have Lupo front lights and aftermarket rear lights, in case you weren’t aware. Also it looks like it has lower profile tyres than standard. (Btw Urgently check the tyre dot codes, given its been laid up previously - both the chimaera and a cerbera I bought were on 14+ year old tyres!).
Since buying mine I’ve had the alarm replaced by HF solutions (lower battery drain, fixes hot start, provides fob boot release) and I DIYed a dash replacement as it had some hardboard in(!). Lots of opportunity to tinker and diy, that’s half the fun!
That looks to have Lupo front lights and aftermarket rear lights, in case you weren’t aware. Also it looks like it has lower profile tyres than standard. (Btw Urgently check the tyre dot codes, given its been laid up previously - both the chimaera and a cerbera I bought were on 14+ year old tyres!).
Since buying mine I’ve had the alarm replaced by HF solutions (lower battery drain, fixes hot start, provides fob boot release) and I DIYed a dash replacement as it had some hardboard in(!). Lots of opportunity to tinker and diy, that’s half the fun!
EllipticSwerve said:
Looks lovely. I’ve had a chimaera for the last 9 months and it’s my favourite toy ever. The v8 is just so charismatic.
That looks to have Lupo front lights and aftermarket rear lights, in case you weren’t aware. Also it looks like it has lower profile tyres than standard. (Btw Urgently check the tyre dot codes, given its been laid up previously - both the chimaera and a cerbera I bought were on 14+ year old tyres!).
Since buying mine I’ve had the alarm replaced by HF solutions (lower battery drain, fixes hot start, provides fob boot release) and I DIYed a dash replacement as it had some hardboard in(!). Lots of opportunity to tinker and diy, that’s half the fun!
Agree the engine is so fantastic, such a great noise even as standard! That looks to have Lupo front lights and aftermarket rear lights, in case you weren’t aware. Also it looks like it has lower profile tyres than standard. (Btw Urgently check the tyre dot codes, given its been laid up previously - both the chimaera and a cerbera I bought were on 14+ year old tyres!).
Since buying mine I’ve had the alarm replaced by HF solutions (lower battery drain, fixes hot start, provides fob boot release) and I DIYed a dash replacement as it had some hardboard in(!). Lots of opportunity to tinker and diy, that’s half the fun!
Weirdly I haven’t been able to work out the date of the tyres, it’s on Toyo’s but I can’t see the usual date code Month-Year that you normally see, I may be being blind though.
Which replacement dash did you go with for yours? The walnut is cracked on this one & the trim around the light switches has some dodgy carbon wrap that I need to replace
Hi
I bought a replacement burr walnut dash (and lower panel) from tvr-mads. He does stainless and other wood trims as well. I stuck with walnut as I have navy blue interior and on balance thought the walnut worked well. Only just fitted it last month but night and day improvement compared to the abomination there previously.
Dot codes changed format slightly in 2000, but they should always be on both sides of the tyre I believe..
I bought a replacement burr walnut dash (and lower panel) from tvr-mads. He does stainless and other wood trims as well. I stuck with walnut as I have navy blue interior and on balance thought the walnut worked well. Only just fitted it last month but night and day improvement compared to the abomination there previously.
Dot codes changed format slightly in 2000, but they should always be on both sides of the tyre I believe..
Edited by EllipticSwerve on Friday 13th May 22:26
) but got all sensible and did an extension on the house instead. Keep the posts up, great to hear about another’s experience might yet pull the trigger yet. 
Jash91 said:
I'm in SW London - but always up for a drive out
I'm in SE London, so part of the SE London and North Kent TVR CC region. It is a really active region with loads of events on (Spa Classic, Le Mans 24h, Historic Masters at Brands Hatch all coming up soon), a regular meeting near Sevenoaks and semi-regular drives out locally. Drop me a PM if you wanna get looped into the e-mail group where you'll hear about events etc. (are you a member of the TVRCC?). Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff