wrong nose?

[NicBowman]

Hi, sorry for plethora of questions, ta in advance for answers. I am looking at a nice 4.3 to buy, it is in superb condition, paint interior etc. But, the nose is the 500, not the 4.3. The owner had a little ding three years ago and at that time 4.3 nose cones were not available, so it has a 500 nose cone. The job was propery done, and looks fab. But, it is not original. Does anyone give a monkeys about such things? Or, does it devalue the 4.3 a bit?

Ta


Nic

[antonyj]

Not sure if it de-values the car.
If the rest of the car is good then it wouldnt stop me.
I would be more concerned about the chassis,engine and interior.
The nose could be changed, and I wouldnt think its that big of a job.

Ian at Retro car is doing one now..............

[TeGriffic]

As a pre cat owner I actually prefer the 500 nose and would not have been put off if I knew the history of the loss of the original nose. As for loss of value, how much does it have to lose to offset your enjoyment if it's otherwise a good example ?

[Sam Gamgee]

Would say stick with 500 nose. Airflow greater (I think....can I hear the 4.3 police?

[barreti]

IMHO this depends on what you think you might do with your car.

Want originality? There aren't that many out there which haven't been changed in some way. But maybe you want to have one which looks as it did when it came out of the factory.

If you have plans for changing things then you lose originality.
I was hung up on originality when looking at my car, like yours it's a 4.3 with a 500 nose on it. I know its provenance so thats fine by me. I've changed some things in my car to suit my taste - and still am doing - but if the car had been very original when I bought it I don't think my conscience would have let me do it.

[griffter]

There are a lot of pre-cats with 500 noses - I bought one. The benefits are greater airflow and (IMHO) better looks - BUT you lose 'originality'. The fact is that most TVRs have had bodywork at sometime. Would you rather be aware of the bodywork and check it out thoroughly, or blissfully unaware? True a 500 nose on a precat is a sure sign of work but if carried out correctly I see no problem. There are 500s with new noses and precats with new precat noses, so originality is no guarantee of an accident-free life! I should know, it's mine that Retrocar (now Sportmotive - see 'Sprint') are restoring to the precat front end!

In short there are greater things to worry about, and there are performance benefits to having the later nose. It should only worry you if you have to have originality.

[griffsmith]

I think I have to agree with everyone else above.. IMHO the 500 nose does look better. But although I have a precat with a precat nose I don't think its original. The previous owner seemed not to know it had had work, so at least with the 'wrong' nose on there no hiding away from the fact is had work and you can check it out..

I wouldn't go out of my way to have it changed back, unless there are other good reasons.. spend your money on other things.. its one of those items to add to your 'One Day' list.....

I'm not too sure about the airflow stuff sure enough the 500 nose will flow better, but a precat working well shouldn't have any temp issues anyway and the extra BHPs are a small loss in the big scheme of things, IMHO... The 'Tuner' police will be after me now So you ain't seen me alright