Cerbera restoration/rebuild - AJP or
Discussion
Long story short I have an early 4.2 Cerb minus engine and box. Low miles, needs usual stuff - chassis restoration, full going over and electrical stuff then paint and retrim. I accept it is a large, long, expensive project.
Because I bought it without an engine or gearbox (the previous owner pulled them out and sold them with the intention of fitting a BMW V10 from the E60 M5 and the manual box from an E90 M3) I have a blank slate and my immediate plan was really to do an “off the shelf” crate LS3 conversion from the likes of Sportmotive. Reliable, unstressed, great parts availability etc etc.
I could try to find an AJP and original gearbox and I am sure the value of the thing would benefit a lot from that but I am really not planning on selling it - although we never know what lies ahead of course.
Cerb values seem to be climbing but realistically it is never going to be worth what the restoration is going to cost me so my line of thought is that if I wanted an AJP car I would be better just going and buying a complete running car for £30k and be done with it.
Also, I could refit another AJP but it will not be the original engine so will not be a “matching numbers” car.
PH, your thoughts??
Because I bought it without an engine or gearbox (the previous owner pulled them out and sold them with the intention of fitting a BMW V10 from the E60 M5 and the manual box from an E90 M3) I have a blank slate and my immediate plan was really to do an “off the shelf” crate LS3 conversion from the likes of Sportmotive. Reliable, unstressed, great parts availability etc etc.
I could try to find an AJP and original gearbox and I am sure the value of the thing would benefit a lot from that but I am really not planning on selling it - although we never know what lies ahead of course.
Cerb values seem to be climbing but realistically it is never going to be worth what the restoration is going to cost me so my line of thought is that if I wanted an AJP car I would be better just going and buying a complete running car for £30k and be done with it.
Also, I could refit another AJP but it will not be the original engine so will not be a “matching numbers” car.
PH, your thoughts??
Edited by Lefty on Tuesday 29th July 12:17
I've been down a similar road, I used to have a really nice Cerb and sold it, now I wish I had another so a long term project is appealing but for me the AJP8 is what makes the Cerb so special. I know a crate LS would be amazing for many reasons but then it's not an AJP8 so just doesn't seem right.
I guess the answer is have 2
I guess the answer is have 2
Good plan!!
I was 99% decided on the LS route but am having nagging doubts.
The only consolation is that putting big capacity American v8 motors into TVR chassis is part of TVR history. At least that is what I tell myself.
Probably £20k in parts
Crate motor £7000
Gearbox £2000
Bellhousing, clutch and flywheel £2000
ECU and loom £2000
Exhaust £2000
Bits and bobs (mounts, fuel lines, e-throttle pedal etc etc)
But I’d need to buy all this stuff anyway if going for an AJP.
I reckon it’s probably cost neutral. And the LS ought to be a lot more reliable, will easily make more power if needed (I doubt it will be).
I was 99% decided on the LS route but am having nagging doubts.
The only consolation is that putting big capacity American v8 motors into TVR chassis is part of TVR history. At least that is what I tell myself.
Probably £20k in parts
Crate motor £7000
Gearbox £2000
Bellhousing, clutch and flywheel £2000
ECU and loom £2000
Exhaust £2000
Bits and bobs (mounts, fuel lines, e-throttle pedal etc etc)
But I’d need to buy all this stuff anyway if going for an AJP.
I reckon it’s probably cost neutral. And the LS ought to be a lot more reliable, will easily make more power if needed (I doubt it will be).
There's the guy in Instagram who dropped the S85 5.0-liter V10 from the BMW M5 (E60). into a Sagaris
There was the guy who dropped the Masserati engine in, because he had it. Maserati Granturismo 4.7l engine - almost 480bhp
The supercharged 4.5 AJP was 540bhp
We had a day in 2019 with modified cars to see what power could be produced.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
There was the guy who dropped the Masserati engine in, because he had it. Maserati Granturismo 4.7l engine - almost 480bhp
The supercharged 4.5 AJP was 540bhp
We had a day in 2019 with modified cars to see what power could be produced.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Lefty said:
Good plan!!
I was 99% decided on the LS route but am having nagging doubts.
The only consolation is that putting big capacity American v8 motors into TVR chassis is part of TVR history. At least that is what I tell myself.
Probably £20k in parts
Crate motor £7000
Gearbox £2000
Bellhousing, clutch and flywheel £2000
ECU and loom £2000
Exhaust £2000
Bits and bobs (mounts, fuel lines, e-throttle pedal etc etc)
But I d need to buy all this stuff anyway if going for an AJP.
I reckon it s probably cost neutral. And the LS ought to be a lot more reliable, will easily make more power if needed (I doubt it will be).
I have a complete running AJP with gearbox, even the loom and ECU. Would sell it all for 15kI was 99% decided on the LS route but am having nagging doubts.
The only consolation is that putting big capacity American v8 motors into TVR chassis is part of TVR history. At least that is what I tell myself.
Probably £20k in parts
Crate motor £7000
Gearbox £2000
Bellhousing, clutch and flywheel £2000
ECU and loom £2000
Exhaust £2000
Bits and bobs (mounts, fuel lines, e-throttle pedal etc etc)
But I d need to buy all this stuff anyway if going for an AJP.
I reckon it s probably cost neutral. And the LS ought to be a lot more reliable, will easily make more power if needed (I doubt it will be).
So that is,
AJP Engine
Throttle bodies
Alternator
Injectors
Wiring loom
ECU
Flywheel
Clutch
Bell Housing
Gearbox
Literally bolt it in and off you go
itsallyellow said:
Lefty said:
Good plan!!
I was 99% decided on the LS route but am having nagging doubts.
The only consolation is that putting big capacity American v8 motors into TVR chassis is part of TVR history. At least that is what I tell myself.
Probably £20k in parts
Crate motor £7000
Gearbox £2000
Bellhousing, clutch and flywheel £2000
ECU and loom £2000
Exhaust £2000
Bits and bobs (mounts, fuel lines, e-throttle pedal etc etc)
But I d need to buy all this stuff anyway if going for an AJP.
I reckon it s probably cost neutral. And the LS ought to be a lot more reliable, will easily make more power if needed (I doubt it will be).
I have a complete running AJP with gearbox, even the loom and ECU. Would sell it all for 15kI was 99% decided on the LS route but am having nagging doubts.
The only consolation is that putting big capacity American v8 motors into TVR chassis is part of TVR history. At least that is what I tell myself.
Probably £20k in parts
Crate motor £7000
Gearbox £2000
Bellhousing, clutch and flywheel £2000
ECU and loom £2000
Exhaust £2000
Bits and bobs (mounts, fuel lines, e-throttle pedal etc etc)
But I d need to buy all this stuff anyway if going for an AJP.
I reckon it s probably cost neutral. And the LS ought to be a lot more reliable, will easily make more power if needed (I doubt it will be).
So that is,
AJP Engine
Throttle bodies
Alternator
Injectors
Wiring loom
ECU
Flywheel
Clutch
Bell Housing
Gearbox
Literally bolt it in and off you go
Byker28i said:
There's the guy in Instagram who dropped the S85 5.0-liter V10 from the BMW M5 (E60). into a Sagaris
There was the guy who dropped the Masserati engine in, because he had it. Maserati Granturismo 4.7l engine - almost 480bhp
The supercharged 4.5 AJP was 540bhp
We had a day in 2019 with modified cars to see what power could be produced.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
That is interesting, thanks There was the guy who dropped the Masserati engine in, because he had it. Maserati Granturismo 4.7l engine - almost 480bhp
The supercharged 4.5 AJP was 540bhp
We had a day in 2019 with modified cars to see what power could be produced.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
I’m not chasing mad power, I like the idea of reliability, the sound, the ease of use and availability of bits.
I’ve never driven a Cerb (always wanted one since I first saw one, 1996, I was an impressionable car-mad 16yo).
Cerb / Sag / GTR mash up by Fully Loaded Cars on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-5xLLPsHXR...
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-5xLLPsHXR...
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