Newbie looking for TVR

[TVRTC]

Hello,
Newbie with first posting looking to buy my first TVR Chimaera.
What do you make of this one? It is a 95 on an M plate but has all the features of a later facelifted model. I asked the seller how this came about but he has no idea, nor does the previous owner.
Because of this and a lack of service history,(has old MOT's and HPI checked clear) I have negotiated a very low price for what looks a decent motor.
I have not inspected the vehicle yet as I am a bit suspicious, what do you think?
Link to the car on Autotrader http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/TVR+...

[slideways]

id be wary due to lack of history hpi only tells you if any thing has been reported, ie could have been in an accident and the owner bought a complete body, check the chassis and engine numbers.That said it could just be what TVR had left in the parts bit at the time main thing is get an indy to go over it before you buy it
Rich

[piston-broke]

I can't remember the fellas name, its 911 'something or other'. He's selling a Chim at the moment that I've heard nothing but praise about. I would be interested if it was a 450 or 500 but its a 400. It may be worth a look. No doubt he'll be along soon when he see's this post.

[piston-broke]

piston-broke said:

I can't remember the fellas name, its 911 'something or other'. He's selling a Chim at the moment that I've heard nothing but praise about. I would be interested if it was a 450 or 500 but its a 400. It may be worth a look. No doubt he'll be along soon when he see's this post.

Found the guy, it seems his Chim is a 4.3 big valve. http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/xforums/profile.asp?m...

[Red V8]

As you say, this is a post 97 facelift model, as can be seen by front end grille, rear bumper and boot lid, and door opening buttons under the door mirrors as opposed to being on back wings... Whilst it was common for TVR to vary based on what parts they had available when assemblig cars, especially whn revised models were being brought out, I can't possibly see how it could be on a M plate... its 2 or possibly 3 years ahead of the facelift... ringer???

I'd give it a wide bearth!

[Zippee]

Red V8 said:

Whilst it was common for TVR to vary based on what parts they had available when assemblig cars, especially whn revised models were being brought out, I can't possibly see how it could be on a M plate... its 2 or possibly 3 years ahead of the facelift... ringer???

I'd give it a wide bearth!

My thoughts as well - something just doesn't seem right. TVR did start mixing up the facelift options but that wasn't until 97/98.

PS - Mines for sale if interested? 97 facelift 400 in viper blue (currently on about p4 of the classifieds) with FSH, MOT till June, recent 12k service, gaz shocks, ACT manifolds and a VGC chassis.

[900T-R]

piston-broke said:

Found the guy, it seems his Chim is a 4.3 big valve. http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/xforums/profile.asp?m...

Which must be the ultimate factory Chim engine option, and rare too - how many left Bristol Avenue like that, a dozen or less?

[piston-broke]

900T-R said:

piston-broke said:

Found the guy, it seems his Chim is a 4.3 big valve. http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/xforums/profile.asp?m...

Which must be the ultimate factory Chim engine option, and rare too - how many left Bristol Avenue like that, a dozen or less?

Really, I thought the 500 was the ultimate engine option.?

[leetvr]

Hi TVRTC.
I have a chim 4ltrHC for sale. Full TVRSH, nitron shocks, full chassis treatment( so no rust at all), pluss lot and lots.
Im after £7999
Give me a call or mail me back for full info. My car is at bottom of page 9.

Hope your search goes well mate.

Lee

[900T-R]

piston-broke said:

Really, I thought the 500 was the ultimate engine option.?

If you like a diesel-like rev band and delivery (nothing-everything-nothing) and the odd breaking crankshaft, maybe.

IMO the 500 was always a compromise to get anywhere near the power levels of the esoteric 4,2 and 4,5 litre Wedge engines at the lowest possible cost. Frankly it'd be better suited to a Rangie (with a mellow cam).

Edited by 900T-R on Wednesday 10th September 09:51

[911motorsport]

900T-R said:

piston-broke said:

Found the guy, it seems his Chim is a 4.3 big valve. http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/xforums/profile.asp?m...

Which must be the ultimate factory Chim engine option, and rare too - how many left Bristol Avenue like that, a dozen or less?

That's it, keep them coming

Very rare indeed. This one was discovered a while ago when Tower View Racing (or might have been Austec, I don't have the folder with me) had the engine apart for 218H cam upgrade! They were quite excited by the thing.

I am not technicaly minded but my understanding is that the engine upgrades consisted of more than just bigger valves though i.e. polished & ported heads for one thing?
My assessment of an engine's performance is by the seat of my pants and this thing is much quicker than anything else I've driven or been in (including a normal 4.3 Chim).

Edited by 911motorsport on Wednesday 10th September 10:31

[900T-R]

911motorsport said:

Very rare indeed. This one was discovered a while ago when Tower View Racing (or might have been Austec, I don't have the folder with me) had the engine apart for 218H cam upgrade! They were quite excited by the thing.

Pot luck as usual with TVR - one non-BV Griff 430 engine I saw apart on the bench at the Dutch TVR importers' workshop had the big valves; alas mine turned out to have standard sized valves as per spec when it came apart.

All sorted now though.

911motorsport said:

I am not technicaly minded but my understanding is that the engine upgrades consisted of more than just bigger valves though i.e. polished & ported heads for one thing?

As per the Bible, all TVR RV8 heads for the Griffmaera were ported and polished by Power; the extent of the porting did however vary significantly in accordance to valve and cam spec.

[eowen]

To the original car posted - walk away. Plenty out there.

As others have said, I'd be looking at a post 97 facelift. We had a 450, which I think is the best compromise in terms of driveabilty and performance.

Again, condition, condition, condition, make sure the chassis is in great shape - walk if not.

[piston-broke]

900T-R said:

piston-broke said:

Really, I thought the 500 was the ultimate engine option.?

If you like a diesel-like rev band and delivery (nothing-everything-nothing) and the odd breaking crankshaft, maybe.

IMO the 500 was always a compromise to get anywhere near the power levels of the esoteric 4,2 and 4,5 litre Wedge engines at the lowest possible cost. Frankly it'd be better suited to a Rangie (with a mellow cam).

Edited by 900T-R on Wednesday 10th September 09:51

Could you enlighten me a bit more on this. I thought the cams were relatively weak on all the RV8's not just isolated to the 500. I'm looking at a 500 on saturday and want to know everything there is to know before I go parting with a chunk of cash.

[911motorsport]

piston-broke said:

900T-R said:

piston-broke said:

Really, I thought the 500 was the ultimate engine option.?

If you like a diesel-like rev band and delivery (nothing-everything-nothing) and the odd breaking crankshaft, maybe.

IMO the 500 was always a compromise to get anywhere near the power levels of the esoteric 4,2 and 4,5 litre Wedge engines at the lowest possible cost. Frankly it'd be better suited to a Rangie (with a mellow cam).

Edited by 900T-R on Wednesday 10th September 09:51

Could you enlighten me a bit more on this. I thought the cams were relatively weak on all the RV8's not just isolated to the 500. I'm looking at a 500 on saturday and want to know everything there is to know before I go parting with a chunk of cash.

If you're looking for a 500 you could do a lot worse than the Taraka one advertised on here:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/686527.htm

I've seen it driving around and it looks to be in fantastic condition!! I cannot believe that hasn't sold at that price!

Edited by 911motorsport on Wednesday 10th September 11:16

[piston-broke]

Yeah, I've been in contact with that one. I've been sent some pictures of the chassis and the engine. It is in very good condition (outriggers are much much better than others I've viewed). I'm looking at Jules's one on Saturday (search 'the beast' in classifieds). If I'm not sold on his one (which is doubtfull given that it looks stunning), I'll be viewing the taraka one afterwards. If that doesn't flick my switch, I'll be taking a trek ooop north to view another members one on here. Can't remember his name now, but its a blue 450 belonging to a fella called Paul.

Soon enough, I'll be able to roll with you guys

[900T-R]

The camshaft wear issue is inherent to the RV8 design with the OHV valve gear putting a fair bit of load on relatively small camshaft lobes - the higher the stresses on the valve gear (high rpm operation, high lift cam) the faster the lobes will wear, but that's actually rather insignificant comapred to the effect of huge differences in operating conditions (lubrication!). Leave your car sitting for weeks on end and then proceed to rev the nuts off a cold engine - expect to change your cam sooner rather than later. That said, not many cams in a TVR RV8 will last say, 100,000 miles.

The crankshaft issue on 5.0s I think is a case of one or more bad batches of cranks. My feeling though is that the number of 500 rebuilds documented on here is far higher than the proportion they make of TVR RV8s built, but that just as well could be a matter of usage or simply the owners being more keen to keep/restore the full performance.

About the Taraka - haven't experienced one myself but I'd say any 5 litre upgrade that concentrates on extending the top end delivery is good news, as is the fact that what you get with the conversion more or less amounts to a complete rebuild.

[piston-broke]

(sorry for going off topic in this thread)

So this idea of there being a bad batch of cranks for the 5.0, will there be any truth in the idea of buying a later year 5.0 as opposed to an earlier one will mean the later cranks will be stronger than previous ones?

I want some solace that my inevitable 500 purchase will not commit hara kiri sometime down the line

[900T-R]

piston-broke said:

So this idea of there being a bad batch of cranks for the 5.0, will there be any truth in the idea of buying a later year 5.0 as opposed to an earlier one will mean the later cranks will be stronger than previous ones?

One for the residential engine bods here, I guess. With the Cerbie a similar (but more widespread relatively speaking) problem was entirely restricted to early 4.2s up to a redesign somewhere '97/98 but it seems a bit more random with the 5 litre RV8s. I don't think I'd worry too much about it but I would drive a few 450s and 500s (or 430s if you can live with having an older car - there is a case of sorts for it being the best TVR Power RV8 iteration overall) and see what you think about the relative driveability. You may find the former that bit more useable on the road.

[piston-broke]

I've only driven the 450. I'll find out on Saturday how much of an animal the 500 is.

Its only going to be a weekend toy anyway. I have a motorbike to commute on, the Chimaera is just for posing.