1996 TVR Chimaera
Discussion
Evening all
After finding my Chimaera in the PH Classifieds last month I thought I'd sign up and start a topic about my ne pride and joy. Already been lurking in the 'Chimaera' forum, but thought I'd venture out here
I've wanted a TVR for about the last 10 years and about 3 months ago (after getting married) I decided to finally take the plunge. Spent a while researching and decided I wanted a 4.0 Chimaera with the serp engine, T5 gearbox and ideally PAS. IMHO that's a decent spec for a first time TVR buyer. Initially I planned to be aiming to buy a car around now, but late in November this one popped up in the classifieds and after some email chats and a couple of looks over the car I decided to go for it. I picked it up the week before Christmas and I absolutely love it.
As you would expect there's a few niggles to sort, but nothing major. Most importantly it drives great and sounds amazing. So here's a couple of pics of us in the New Forest at the weekend - it was bloody freezing, but couldn't resist getting the roof off!!
It's now tucked away in my garage with the dash in pieces. This is so I can get to the alarm control unit to get it recoded, but also to try and revamp the leather dash as it's lost it's colour. The previous owner quite accurately described it as 'tomato red'....
However some time with some leather restorer tonight has yielded pleasing results...
Another coat or 2 should see it looking spot on. Then I'll need to get out in the cold to do the rest of the dash, centre console and seats. I'm hoping it'll transform the look of the 'tomato' interior.
Other work to do in the near future is whip the gearbox out to replace the weeping front oil seal (nice puddle forming on my garage floor at the mo!!), change the oil and filter and clean up the chassis and apply some POR15.
However I need to fit this work in with restoring my other P&J - a Rover SD1 Vitesse, which after a year of work is almost roadworthy. Guess I'm a bit of a glutton for punishment with these 2 cars, but nevermind, they're both worth the effort
After finding my Chimaera in the PH Classifieds last month I thought I'd sign up and start a topic about my ne pride and joy. Already been lurking in the 'Chimaera' forum, but thought I'd venture out here
I've wanted a TVR for about the last 10 years and about 3 months ago (after getting married) I decided to finally take the plunge. Spent a while researching and decided I wanted a 4.0 Chimaera with the serp engine, T5 gearbox and ideally PAS. IMHO that's a decent spec for a first time TVR buyer. Initially I planned to be aiming to buy a car around now, but late in November this one popped up in the classifieds and after some email chats and a couple of looks over the car I decided to go for it. I picked it up the week before Christmas and I absolutely love it.
As you would expect there's a few niggles to sort, but nothing major. Most importantly it drives great and sounds amazing. So here's a couple of pics of us in the New Forest at the weekend - it was bloody freezing, but couldn't resist getting the roof off!!
It's now tucked away in my garage with the dash in pieces. This is so I can get to the alarm control unit to get it recoded, but also to try and revamp the leather dash as it's lost it's colour. The previous owner quite accurately described it as 'tomato red'
....However some time with some leather restorer tonight has yielded pleasing results...
Another coat or 2 should see it looking spot on. Then I'll need to get out in the cold to do the rest of the dash, centre console and seats. I'm hoping it'll transform the look of the 'tomato' interior.
Other work to do in the near future is whip the gearbox out to replace the weeping front oil seal (nice puddle forming on my garage floor at the mo!!), change the oil and filter and clean up the chassis and apply some POR15.
However I need to fit this work in with restoring my other P&J - a Rover SD1 Vitesse, which after a year of work is almost roadworthy. Guess I'm a bit of a glutton for punishment with these 2 cars, but nevermind, they're both worth the effort
Lovely car the Chimaera...i like the subtle differences before the facelift.
I had a '99 450 in blue & loved it.. (found the pic's)
But...i prefer the slightly older school TVR's - the Wedges!
So i sold the Chim and now have this...a 450 SEAC!
Yes...post up the SD1 - i had a 2300SE, and a ex Police 3500
I had a '99 450 in blue & loved it.. (found the pic's)
But...i prefer the slightly older school TVR's - the Wedges!
So i sold the Chim and now have this...a 450 SEAC!
Yes...post up the SD1 - i had a 2300SE, and a ex Police 3500
Edited by Waynester on Thursday 7th January 07:17
Wow, lotta love for the Chim! I had a few cars I was interested in, but I always came back to the TVR, it's such good value at the moment!! I like the wedges but I'm definitely a bigger Chim fan 
As for the SD1, it's a work in progress, but here's a pic from when I first got it:
And with my old 3500SE (which I miss lots!)
A pictorial account of some of what I've been doing is here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23178174@N06/sets/721...
It's currently at the welders having most of it's metal replaced!! But I'm hoping to have it roadworthy in the next month or 2.
As for the SD1, it's a work in progress, but here's a pic from when I first got it:
And with my old 3500SE (which I miss lots!)
A pictorial account of some of what I've been doing is here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23178174@N06/sets/721...
It's currently at the welders having most of it's metal replaced!! But I'm hoping to have it roadworthy in the next month or 2.
CarlosV8 said:
....
A pictorial account of some of what I've been doing is here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23178174@N06/sets/721...
It's currently at the welders having most of it's metal replaced!! But I'm hoping to have it roadworthy in the next month or 2.
Great link. Oh, how I miss my old SD1 A pictorial account of some of what I've been doing is here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23178174@N06/sets/721...
It's currently at the welders having most of it's metal replaced!! But I'm hoping to have it roadworthy in the next month or 2.
Pictured back in 1991. Being a LHD re-import the car had Air-con. So I decided to re-connect the magnetic clutch cables etc and at that point the rad went bang! You can see the rusty water line along the inside of the bonnet.
Started to rust but sounded great with 'scaffold' exhaust enhanced by cherry bomb
Lovely Chimaera, miss mine a lot.
I've also got and SD1 project, more info here if you're interested:
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...
I've also got and SD1 project, more info here if you're interested:
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...
Duke Thrust said:
Lovely Chimaera, miss mine a lot.
I've also got and SD1 project, more info here if you're interested:
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...
I've also got and SD1 project, more info here if you're interested:
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...
Duke Thrust said:
I've also got and SD1 project, more info here if you're interested:
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...
That's an amazing transformation, well done!! It's projects like that that gives me hope for mine (although it's nowhere near as bad). http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...
Mine is originally a twin plenum too, but issues with the throttles mean I've temporarily converted to single plenum to get it running. One of my throttle shafts snapped and I got it repaired but was warned it's not as strong as it should be and will eventually break again. Unfortunately the shafts are one of the few things for the SD1 that are NLA so I need to find a friendly engineering shop to make me up a pair. The throttle discs are also knackered as someones attacked them with a file(!), but once the car is on the road I'll fork out the cash for the new parts to get it sorted. Maybe I'll start a thread for the SD1 too...
Well, life with the TVR has been very good so far. It's let me down once due to a dodgy battery, but a new one sorted that, and it's now hooked up to a battery maintenance charger to keep it tip top. Even managed to have the roof off quite a bit - the good old RV8 keeps the cabin nice and warm (ish) even when my ice warning light is glowing away!!
I also spent the weekend before last taking out the gearbox and doing a few odd jobs - some out of necessity, some as a preventative measure whilst access was good. So I now have a new input seal on the box, new rear crank seal, new gaskets on the o/s exhaust manifold, new rubber fuel pipes from the engine bay, new gearbox oil, new diff oil and new engine oil/filter. No particular difference in how the car drives, but at least there's no oil on the garage floor any more!!
Last week it then went in to see Carl Baker at Car & Bike Installation to have the alarm / immobilisor fixed. He's a very knowledgeable and friendly chap and had it all sorted in under 2 hours, result!
I think that's all the pressing jobs done now, so I can concentrate on doing a bit of tarting up (as well as finishing the SD1 of course).
So would I recommend a cheap Chimaera, HELL YES!!!!
I also spent the weekend before last taking out the gearbox and doing a few odd jobs - some out of necessity, some as a preventative measure whilst access was good. So I now have a new input seal on the box, new rear crank seal, new gaskets on the o/s exhaust manifold, new rubber fuel pipes from the engine bay, new gearbox oil, new diff oil and new engine oil/filter. No particular difference in how the car drives, but at least there's no oil on the garage floor any more!!
Last week it then went in to see Carl Baker at Car & Bike Installation to have the alarm / immobilisor fixed. He's a very knowledgeable and friendly chap and had it all sorted in under 2 hours, result!
I think that's all the pressing jobs done now, so I can concentrate on doing a bit of tarting up (as well as finishing the SD1 of course).
So would I recommend a cheap Chimaera, HELL YES!!!!
As I've just updated the SD1 thread I thought I better do this one as well!
The past few months have been relatively trouble free, which is nice. But that doesn't mean the moneys stopped being spent. A slight whine from the PAS pump on fast corners was annoying me, so I bought a new pump and fitted that along with a new serp belt. Was a relatively painless task, but yielded some good results - pump is much quiter and the steering is a lot smoother which is good!
The suspension had concerned me since I bought the car. The n/s/r had squeaked when cold when I first had it, but had got worse and worse to the point it squeaked every time you hit a bump. I also managed to bottom the car out a few times, and the rear sagged noticeably on hard acceleration. I had a look underneath and the adjusters on the old Avos were seized solid. After a bit of research I decided to buy some new Gaz Gold Pros to fit. Spoke to Absolutely Shocks and sorted out the spring rates, and a week or so later they arrived. They were a work of art (to someone use to 'normal' suspension anyway).
I found a spare Saturday and trundled over to the garage to fit them myself. Firstly I took all the rideheight measurements of the car before as I was quite happy with that, then proceeded to take the old units off. Bit of a PITA at the front because these bolts were seized:
But got there eventually. Rear was much easier, which I was pleased about. Set the ride height up (slightly higher than before to allow it to settle), set the adjusters somewhere in the middle and went out for a test drive. The difference was obvious - handling was much sharper and more refined. So here's old vs new:
The 30 miles drive home was great and I was very happy, until I went to drive back into my garage - the rear had dropped a bit and I couldn't get the car up the little ramp as the exhaust bottomed out. Damn. But with some make-shift ramps in place I managed to get the car back in it's home. I knew I'd have to find someone to sort out the geometry so they could do the rideheight too. And a few phone calls later I came across APM in Liphook - they had some good reviews so I booked the car in. Andy did a fantastic job and after an afternoon there it was all sorted. He commented that the turn in was one of the better ones of the Chims he'd tested. I was happy with that, and on the drive home the car felt even better again. It was a massive investment to renew all the coilovers, but well worth it IMHO.
With this done it was time to take the car on a little road trip me and my wife had been planning for our first anniversary. It involved going from Southampton to South Wales, up through the middle of Wales, across Snowdonia, do the Evo Trinagle, across North Wales and over to the Peaks, go up Snakes Pass and then cruise back down South. We spent a week doing that, only using motorways on the first and last days, we racked up 900 miles and about £230 of fuel but it was well worth it. The Chim didn't miss a beat and was awesome fun. Here's a couple of TVR pics from the adventure:
Since then the car's been hibernating in the garage, as I haven't had chance to do anything or even drive her, which is a shame. But over the winter I'd like to try and do something with the diff as it's getting noisier and noisier. So either find a decent replacement or find somewhere to refurbs the current one. Need to sell the SD1 first though!
The past few months have been relatively trouble free, which is nice. But that doesn't mean the moneys stopped being spent. A slight whine from the PAS pump on fast corners was annoying me, so I bought a new pump and fitted that along with a new serp belt. Was a relatively painless task, but yielded some good results - pump is much quiter and the steering is a lot smoother which is good!
The suspension had concerned me since I bought the car. The n/s/r had squeaked when cold when I first had it, but had got worse and worse to the point it squeaked every time you hit a bump. I also managed to bottom the car out a few times, and the rear sagged noticeably on hard acceleration. I had a look underneath and the adjusters on the old Avos were seized solid. After a bit of research I decided to buy some new Gaz Gold Pros to fit. Spoke to Absolutely Shocks and sorted out the spring rates, and a week or so later they arrived. They were a work of art (to someone use to 'normal' suspension anyway).
I found a spare Saturday and trundled over to the garage to fit them myself. Firstly I took all the rideheight measurements of the car before as I was quite happy with that, then proceeded to take the old units off. Bit of a PITA at the front because these bolts were seized:
But got there eventually. Rear was much easier, which I was pleased about. Set the ride height up (slightly higher than before to allow it to settle), set the adjusters somewhere in the middle and went out for a test drive. The difference was obvious - handling was much sharper and more refined. So here's old vs new:
The 30 miles drive home was great and I was very happy, until I went to drive back into my garage - the rear had dropped a bit and I couldn't get the car up the little ramp as the exhaust bottomed out. Damn. But with some make-shift ramps in place I managed to get the car back in it's home. I knew I'd have to find someone to sort out the geometry so they could do the rideheight too. And a few phone calls later I came across APM in Liphook - they had some good reviews so I booked the car in. Andy did a fantastic job and after an afternoon there it was all sorted. He commented that the turn in was one of the better ones of the Chims he'd tested. I was happy with that, and on the drive home the car felt even better again. It was a massive investment to renew all the coilovers, but well worth it IMHO.
With this done it was time to take the car on a little road trip me and my wife had been planning for our first anniversary. It involved going from Southampton to South Wales, up through the middle of Wales, across Snowdonia, do the Evo Trinagle, across North Wales and over to the Peaks, go up Snakes Pass and then cruise back down South. We spent a week doing that, only using motorways on the first and last days, we racked up 900 miles and about £230 of fuel but it was well worth it. The Chim didn't miss a beat and was awesome fun. Here's a couple of TVR pics from the adventure:
Since then the car's been hibernating in the garage, as I haven't had chance to do anything or even drive her, which is a shame. But over the winter I'd like to try and do something with the diff as it's getting noisier and noisier. So either find a decent replacement or find somewhere to refurbs the current one. Need to sell the SD1 first though!
Edited by CarlosV8 on Sunday 17th April 18:38
Edited by CarlosV8 on Monday 3rd October 22:38
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