Chim to Tam

[Chopper01]

Hi All,

I've driven (and adored) my 4L Chim for the last few years and friends have moved into Tuscans and I've been enormously impressed by them. Entirely different cars and I now feel it's time now to look to a T Car. WEntirely different to the lazy grunt of the V8 which I will miss. I'll buy through a dealer so expect to pay a little more but am looking for any pearls of wisdom as to what to look for so as to avoid pitfalls.

Thanks

[Madmatt V8]

What you are thinking of is exactly what I did October of last year. I owed my chim for 3 years and decided for a change. I will admid I miss the V8 rumble but the performance you will get from the tam will make the sacrifice worth it. I test drove a few Tuscan's and got out of all of them thinking I will die in this lol the tamora is far more easy to drive and they are like chalk and cheese compared to the chim. When you look go for an 04 onwards as the engines are far better and also get one with a good service history such as the 12K tappets check. As long as you follow the 6 and 12K service the engines are far better that people say. Be prepared for clutches not lasting long as 20K is the max you see out of them and a replacement is anywhere from £700 to 1K.

[T40ORA]

Madmatt V8 said:

What you are thinking of is exactly what I did October of last year. I owed my chim for 3 years and decided for a change. I will admid I miss the V8 rumble but the performance you will get from the tam will make the sacrifice worth it. I test drove a few Tuscan's and got out of all of them thinking I will die in this lol the tamora is far more easy to drive and they are like chalk and cheese compared to the chim. When you look go for an 04 onwards as the engines are far better and also get one with a good service history such as the 12K tappets check. As long as you follow the 6 and 12K service the engines are far better that people say. Be prepared for clutches not lasting long as 20K is the max you see out of them and a replacement is anywhere from £700 to 1K.

51k miles on my clutch. Only changed it as it seemed sensible to do so when I had the engine rebuilt.

[Targarama]

Take a T-car for a spin. It will make the Chimaera feel like an old favourite slipper compared to your best disco dancing shoes. I loved my old Chimaera, but the drive simply does not compare.

[900T-R]

Alternatively, you could fork out a couple of grand doing the suspension of an RV8 car and maybe wheels/tyres, the rest of the difference in feel is largely the super quick steering rack on the later models which some like and some don't (I'm in the latter camp).

[Targarama]

900T-R said:

Alternatively, you could fork out a couple of grand doing the suspension of an RV8 car and maybe wheels/tyres, the rest of the difference in feel is largely the super quick steering rack on the later models which some like and some don't (I'm in the latter camp).

What about the heavy clutch, gearchange? Lack of PAS on many earlier RV8 cars? Oh, and the non-existant cabin cooling. I love the Chimaera, but just changing the suspension isn't going to turn it from a 1992 to a 2002 design

[Chopper01]

Thanks for the wise words. Seems the general consensus is that whilst the CHim has it's own charm and style, the T cars are drivers cars which is what I'm after.

Thoughts on the subject of rebuilds of S6 engine. Is it a case of steering clear if the car hasn't had a rebuild or if it's been owned by an enthusiast and warmed up correctly etc it's going to be fine?

Thoughts?

[Targarama]

Chopper01 said:

Thanks for the wise words. Seems the general consensus is that whilst the CHim has it's own charm and style, the T cars are drivers cars which is what I'm after.

Thoughts on the subject of rebuilds of S6 engine. Is it a case of steering clear if the car hasn't had a rebuild or if it's been owned by an enthusiast and warmed up correctly etc it's going to be fine?

Thoughts?

Lots and lots of threads on this topic. Do not confuse a later Speed Six with the early disaster-prone beta engines from the 2000/2001 Tuscan. Those engines ruined TVRs reputation forever (everyone has a mate who knows someone whose Speed Six blew up). The average annual mileage of TVRs seems to be 5,000-7,000 miles. A few years ago everyone thought these engines would implode around 20,000-25,000 miles. Guess what, now the early cars have a few more years under their tyres you see cars for sale with 40,000 miles and no rebuild. I'm sure in another 2 years 50,000+ mile cars will be common.

Buy on history and condition (as putting these right can be impossible). Low miles are always nice to have, this is not a unique TVR wish. Just like the Chimaera the Tamora was developed throughout its life so later models might be a little better in some areas, but there were no big changes beyond the front light/colour coding. Most owners will have ironed out and upgraded any niggles anyway.

[900T-R]

Targarama said:

What about the heavy clutch, gearchange?

Prefer it that way.

Targarama said:

Lack of PAS on many earlier RV8 cars?

Prefer it that way. I feel I can relax (to a point) and drive the wheels off a well-sorted Chimaera while I'm constantly modulating my inputs in the later cars or I'll unsettle it. It's a very personal matter just like sports equipment. Some prefer to feel a car through their fingertips, I'm afraid my coördination and physical sensitivity are a bit more hamfisted and the experience and feedback from need to be more well, er, physical, hence why I ended up with a TVR.

Targarama said:

Oh, and the non-existant cabin cooling.

For reasons only fully understood by my engine builder my 4.3 doesn't radiate nearly as much heat as most other RV8 Tivs. Engine temps in traffic are a lot less marginal too. I've never suffered undue cabin heat in the Chim, however I do find the heater capacity in winter a bit marginal...

Targarama said:

I love the Chimaera, but just changing the suspension isn't going to turn it from a 1992 to a 2002 design

Erm, it's not like anything essential changed underneath between models apart from going to the chocolate engine...

Edited by 900T-R on Thursday 8th July 10:26

[Targarama]

900T-R said:

... my engine builder

and

Erm, it's not like anything essential changed underneath between models apart from going to the chocolate engine...

Excuse me, but LOL! You're on first-person terms with an engine builder, I'm not

We'll let the OP decide for himself

[900T-R]

Well, at least this one did 106,258 miles before the head gaskets went - anyone know about a S6 that went into six figures without some sort of attention to its internals?

[T40ORA]

Mine got to half that before one fecking exhaust valve was knackered.

[Targarama]

My Chimaera needed a new camshaft at around 38,000 miles.

[Zippee]

I came to my T350 from a 400 Chim in October 2008, having owned the Chim for almost 4 years. I loved the Chim, lots of low down torque, fantastic noise, good reliability and easy maintenance, relatively good handling (set up on poly bushes, gaz golds and decent geo/tyres) and reasonable performance. I was very upset when she finally went and I then stepped into my first T-car. I won't pretend it was love at first drive, took me a couple of months to fall for its charms but now theres not a hope in hells chance I'd ever go back. In fact if I had to sell and downgrade it wouldn't be to another TVR, moreover I'd wait until I could afford a 350/Tam once more.
The handling is in a different league from standard, power delivery is fantastic, noise way more supercar, better build quality, better looks etc.
I miss the low down grunt but get that S6 screaming and it sends a shiver down your spine. The Chim was a relaxed GT car, the 350/Tam more of a balls out sports car.
Yes they are more expensive to run, using more bespoke parts than the RV8s and they do have a reputation but go in with your eyes open and you'll love it.

If you're anywhere near the Cambs side of Essex I'd be happy to meet up one Saturday and chat about ownership etc.

[Lensey]

Targarama said:

My Chimaera needed a new camshaft at around 38,000 miles.

My Griff needed a new crankshaft at 18000 miles!

Edited by Lensey on Thursday 8th July 15:05

[Mattt]

Come down to the Essex PH meet next Thursday and you can have a look round mine if you like.

[clive f]

Zippee said:

I came to my T350 from a 400 Chim in October 2008, having owned the Chim for almost 4 years. I loved the Chim, lots of low down torque, fantastic noise, good reliability and easy maintenance, relatively good handling (set up on poly bushes, gaz golds and decent geo/tyres) and reasonable performance. I was very upset when she finally went and I then stepped into my first T-car. I won't pretend it was love at first drive, took me a couple of months to fall for its charms but now theres not a hope in hells chance I'd ever go back. In fact if I had to sell and downgrade it wouldn't be to another TVR, moreover I'd wait until I could afford a 350/Tam once more.
The handling is in a different league from standard, power delivery is fantastic, noise way more supercar, better build quality, better looks etc.
I miss the low down grunt but get that S6 screaming and it sends a shiver down your spine. The Chim was a relaxed GT car, the 350/Tam more of a balls out sports car.
Yes they are more expensive to run, using more bespoke parts than the RV8s and they do have a reputation but go in with your eyes open and you'll love it.

If you're anywhere near the Cambs side of Essex I'd be happy to meet up one Saturday and chat about ownership etc.

I couldn`t agree more, only last saturday I went from a griff to a t350, and the difference for me personally is fantastic, the handling and quick steering is a real joy, I am loving the corners in this car more so than in my griff, which had uprated shocks and all the bits and bobs to make it handle better, in short I am now really enjoying my driving more than in the griff.

Dont get me wrong, I loved my griff to bits and would recommend one to anybody, and in some ways it is unfair to compare the two cars as they are so different, as for engines, well I`ve yet to learn, and hopefully not the hard way, about the speed 6, but I`ve rebuilt my own engines,V6, RV8 and AJP8, and can`t see that the speed 6 is going to give to many problems, for starters it does look simple to get to the ancilliaries, more so perhaps than my 2 previous tvr engines, but time will tell how it fairs mechanically, I believe that "if you look after it, then it will look after you".

[Don1]

I have a Chim and a Sag. Two very different cars....

Chimera - lovely noise, great to hustle at 7/10ths, wind in hair, armchair seats (even with Nitrons etc)...

Sagaris - Beast, on rails. The car I'd much prefer to drive in any weather, at any speed. So much better in every department - it's almost like another car firm built it.

Basically it boils down to what you want. I'd say drive a couple, for a few hours (if you can), and decide what characteristics you after.