Introduction and questions, seat belts, steering lock etc

[Aeroflop]

Howdy wedge-people.

This is my first post to this forum, so a bit about me. I'm a long-term Saab enthustiant from Finland. Last summer I realized that I want a convertible. I could always take the Saab -approach and get one of those, but I also realized that I want something smaller, sportier - I realized that I want a 2-seater convertible that I'll identify in a big parking lot from far away, ie. one that's a bit rare in Finland. I researched my head deeper and saw that the I've never digged American cars, so I lined them out. The other far end, Japanese... Well, there's a small Corolla in every Japanese car, so.. no. I concentrated on Europe. Germany? Nah, most of the German convertibles are ugly and people expect to see them - nobody notices a Z4 convertible (well, maybe at winter, but I'm not going to drive a convertible in the winter). Italian? Hmm, maybe, Ferrari 348TS looks nice, but it also costs nice - I should head to under 5000e budget to be realistic. The summer is getting over and it's turning to autumn - and I got a vision. British cars are known as unreliable and therefore rare in Finland, also Brits have class. I started looking Lotuses and Triumphs and MG's... and found Triumph TR-series. Stylish, small cars unknown to most people in here, surely won't come by in every other corner. During autumn I surfed mobile.de though about things. Then my friend linked a classified from PistonHeads, I started lurking here also. Couple of weeks ago I found a vague memory of some other British sports car manufacturer, what was that.. ah, TVR, let's check what they've done. I found the wedges and... I was in love. Brilliant! At the same time elegant, sporty, manly, small, British and absolutely beautiful car, which should be freaking rare in Finland! Just incredible, I think I've found what I'm looking for.

And then, back from the clouds. Finland has pretty perverted idea of putting taxes to a car (I can't know in advance if they'll compare 280i with Nissan Micra or with a Jaguar XK or with something else and this comparison defines the amount of tax). I checked Finnish customs statistics to get hold on the upcoming tax amount and no, there's not a single used TVR taxed at least since 2005 (I couldn't find statistics any older than that). That's a good thing (I'll really get pretty unique car if I ship one of them here) and a bad thing (I can't preguess the taxes totally). Now, there might be a stupid reason, like nobody wants one, or even stupidier but more valid reason - it might be impossible to register legally. For tax reasons it's wise for me to look for at least 25 year old cars, which luckily also helps on the legal demands of the car. These are the dates from which on (the first registration date ever for the car) some equipment are demanded. This might feel very newbie question, but unfortunately it matters a lot, so if you please could confirm if these are standard, able to get as original equipment or if they were added in some certain modelyear (some can be added as el cheapo -parts, but I'd prefer original). I'll also ask if the Finnish traffic authority knows something, but waiting for the answer will probably take couple of days.

-Steering lock (locks the steering wheel when the ignition key is removed), 1.1.1968
-Seat belts for front seats, 1.1.1971
-3 -point seat belts for front seats, 1.1.1981
-Head rests, 1.1.1981
-Side blinkers, 1.1.1985
-Reversing light(s), 1.1.1984

Also, is there a known place to get LHD front lights? Again, preferably original, if possible.

Is the driver's place designed purely for the so-called ISA-driver (short legs, long hands), or will I find a good driving position with long legs and normal/short hands?

Is it total automatic loss to go for the 3-4k£ 280i or 350i? I do know that old cars are always one-of-a-kinds, depending how they've been taken care of, but for some marks/models there are basic lines on the prices. OTOH I think wedges are such rarities that all of them at least surely deserve to be taken care of. I personally want to drive my convertible to Finland (at least not earlier than March though) so it should be good enough to handle even up to 2000 mile journey at the first point and preferably be pretty easily roadworthy for the summer too.

Also, if some of you has a wedge to fullfill my quest, feel free to offer it . I know I won't be questing before March, possibly not before April, but there's a strong chance that I'd love to own a dream this summer...

[ROOODBOY]

Hello and welcome!

I think for your budget of 5,000 Euros you could get a very nice 280I or 350I, but I don't know about Finnish car taxes.

As for the standard equipment, I beleive that all Wedges will have steering locks, head-rests, reverse lights and seat belts (but not sure if they are three-point belts..?).
For your information all cars registered in the U.K. after about 1963 must have seat belts fitted.

Most Wedges had side indicators, but if not they can be fitted without too much trouble.

The headlamps on the 280I and 350I are quite a common unit fitted to lots of British cars, so should be quite easy to find left hand drive versions for European or American markets.

I'm about 5' 10" (1.75m) and I find the driving position quite leg-stretched and arms bent, which I like, and should suit you too.

Mine isn't currently for sale but they often come up in the classified section of this site and on Ebay, especially around spring time.

Hope that helps.

Good luck,

Martin.

[Willy Lambrechts]

Don't worry, a Wedge will comply with all directives to get it on the road since Finland is part of the EU. All you need to do is swap the headlamps with Continental ones (standard 7" H4, a pair for only €30). The car has 2 rear fog lamps, so no need for switching here.
The speedo has kilometers on it as well and all "E" marks are there where they should be.

Good luck!

[grahamw48]

Good luck with your purchase, and welcome.

There is plenty of room for long-legged people in the Wedge.

You may even be able to find a left-hand drive model, as quite a few were made.

The US market ones (only 280s) had less power though because of all their emissions ****.

[Aeroflop]

Thank you for all this information, the future is looking brighter now. I've ensured my budget to the mentioned amount containing the car itself and the trip to get it, the taxes will be what they will be. I calculated that if Finnish customs decide to compare the car to XKR (which sounds incredible, so I don't believe they will), the tax for a car first registered 1.1.1986 would be ~2000 euros. I've also ensured to get some days free from work from halfway of March to the end of April, being able to throw a 5-day journey with shorter notice than usually available. The Traffic authority Trafi hasn't answered to my questions yet, but I believe they will (they usually are pretty good in responding, I think I'll ask again). Willy, I know the regulations should go like that, because of the EU, but while Trafi is good in responding to questions, it also is known to be able to be a PITA if it wants to, so asking in advance probably makes life easier.

I'll now try to rest for a bit over a month to keep my head clear before starting the hunt, even though it's hard when a car-fever is heating up.

[GV]

Hi there - if you can get yourself a V8 Wedge - 350i's are excellent cars. All electrical items are available to buy suchh as headlghts, indicators etc. I believe the headrests are an MG item which are plentiful and the seatbelts are not 3 point. They used to be fitted as a dealer option. There are loads of people on here who can advise you on what you need to know and there are people who can source TVRs for you if you tell them what you want and how much you want to pay which might be easier than coming over to see cars saving you time and money.

Hope you find what you're looking for - I bet the roads where you are make for some excellent driving given the scenery etc.

Regards

Andy

[350zwelgje]

On seatbelts: I own an original lhd dutch 350i (built '86 registered in '87), and it has a remark on the dutch registration document that there is something special regarding the mounting points. Don't know why as it looks normal to me, but it could be due to it being a convertible. It has a three-point seatbelt and think that most wedges have it as well (never saw one without it).

I can imagine that you feel anxious about registering the car. I am in the process of this myself as I live in Belgium and it is a Dutch car. It seems in the EU that it is not straightforward to register older cars (as in not having the EU-standard homologation document as later cars must have). I for example worry if they will have no issues with the chassisnumber, as it is in the chassis, difficult to find and 'read': during MOTs in Holland the inspectors were sometimes puzzled and it passed based on it having had MOTs without problems in the past.....

Good wedge hunting, and yes it is a model that parts are available and it makes the best sound in the world,

Rob

[Aeroflop]

...and the oncoming weekend: the (first) trip.

These are the steps planned:
-On Thursday evening I'll take my hedgehog to my friend to be taken care of, while I'm not home.
-On Friday morning I'll hitchhike a lift to work from my workmate.
-On Friday noon I shall leave work early, my collegue will take me to the Helsinki Airport.
-On Friday afternoon I'll fly from Helsinki to Oslo and from there to Heathrow.
-On Friday evening I shall get to know the famous London underground (well, hopefully only a part of it) and the British railways.
-On Friday evening, very late, I'll appear to a small hotel, which is couple of miles away from a garage.
-On Saturday morning I'll grab a taxi to the garage mentioned, to see a 350i.
-On Wednesday morning I'll need to be at work.

You can see a small gap between the two last steps , that's the time for me to get back home. Hopefully I'll spend a lot of that time driving with a wide smile on my face. The other option is that I'll wonder back home with public transportation. But I actually have a really good feeling about this car and I really hope I'm right . It's not the cheapest wedge there is and it's actually a bit over my budget - but what the images show and the owner tells, it looks and sounds like a nice one and worth the price. My collegue (yes, the same one that'll take me to the airport) will loan me a external navigator and my cellphone works as a GPS-logger, so I'll get a track from my movings. I also have a full battery for my camera and a 16GB memory card, so I'll get exclusive evidence of my journey.

So, wish me luck and keep the thumbs up, I'll report when I'll have something to report!

[Wedg1e]

As we say, that sounds like a plan

[ROOODBOY]

You've got a pet hedgehog..?

[Aeroflop]

Why yes, a 2 years old male African one. His name is Sonic . He's very self-aware and really has some nature, still he's so cute - eats from my hand and runs all night long, goes around smelling everything. Even a small hedgehog can run even 10-15 miles in one night! Comparing by the length of legs that would be like I would run over 100 miles in one night - never gonna happen!

http://aero.1g.fi/kuvat/Sonic/

[ROOODBOY]

That's brilliant!

I want one!


Good luck with the trip and the car too.

[Aeroflop]

And so, I'm at home and at the internet again. Friday afternoon, as planned, I flew to Oslo. During the 3-hour waiting for the next flight I drank a glass of coke and bought some postcards to be mailed to my relatives during the trip. At the early evening my flight to Heathrow left, naturally I was on the plane. After that flight I found myself wandering to the London Underground, took a tube to Holborn and another one to Liverpool Street. From there I took a train to Stowmarket and rode a taxi to a hotel called Hungercut Hall. HH's reception closes at 9pm, but they were friendly enough to wait for me, as we had agreed it in advance.

On saturday, I woke up for a phone call - while I was on duty (yes, I knew this in advance, but luckily it doesn't stop me from traveling ), I had to answer. Thank technology for networks, which made me able to fix the problem over the Internet. I slept an hour more and got an English breakfast, collected my stuff, paid the room and called for a taxi. There was none available. Luckily the friendly lady of HH gave me a lift to Kerridges at Needham Market, where the wedge was. I was a bit early, but that didn't matter - so was the seller, who showed me the car and took me for a ride first. After that, I took a test drive, which convinced me that I'm on the right track. We settled out the paperwork and I paid the car, I got a photo of me and car (thanks to Oliver at Kerridges) and we checked out the port for the ferry to the Netherlands. I left (with the hood open, after all it was something like +13C to the port, got there and they quoted the price of ~£180! I could have handled that, but the ferry was leaving after 11pm and I didn't want to wait - they informed me that there's probably earlier ferries leaving from Dover, so I headed there. Somewhere around London I put the roof back on and a bit later noticed the "Channel tunnel" road signs - I decided to take a train.

At France I tapped Hamburg to the satnav and got on the road. At some point I found out that I was about to cross the border of Belgium - and crossed it a bit later. At somewhere around Belgium the seller called me and asked how I and the car was doing - she was a bit worried, since the journey was pretty long. But no problem, the wedge was running great and clearly enjoyed the ride as much as I did, I was alive and so was she, heading to Germany.

I didn't even notice crossing the border to Germany - at some point I just realized that the signs were German -style. I was on a highway and at the speed limit ended, so I cruised forward with the speed of about 140km/h. I did accelerate for a couple of times to over 100mph speeds, but mostly I cruised between 130-150km/h. I drove past Hamburg and headed to Denmark.

At Denmark I got the best faces so far, when I left from a gassing station. I gently forwarded through the parking area and few people were watching and seemed very intrested - not enough to say anything, but enough to give a loooong look. I answered with stepping on it, while accelerating to the highway.

From Denmark I drove to Sweden and headed for Stockholm. I actually enjoyed the Swedish highways, while the Swedes don't seem to be as afraid of turns as Finnish and German highway-builders. I also liked pretty much the Elmia area, the way the lake there and the hills bend with each other... It's just beautiful .

At Stockholm I boarded a Viking Line ship and headed for Turku. At Finland I'll need to deal with the customs before I'm allowed to drive, so I trailered her home.

So far I've changed the hydraulics of the bonnet (though I might be forced to change them again - I bought them by the ones there was, but they're not enough. It might be the cold weather, but I'll see that in a month) and taken of the headlights. I took the headlights apart and thought that I'd clean the parts and paint the oxidizet chrome circles black. But when I showed them a bit of aceton, they started to shine like a crazy diamonds! So there's no way I dare to paint them, while they are in way better shape than they first looked like. One of the headlights is already in one piece and I'm waiting for the light itself for the another one (there was only on at the shop, I had to order the another one). Hella's lights cost 25,50 euros/piece, so there's no possible reason to go for cheaper or used ones.

There are 2 slight troubles though:

1) She coughes a bit, every now and then a slight loss of revs - if idling, she almost shuts down, but manages to stay running. It's not enough to have one cylinder missing for an effect like that, even though I though so at first. It did ease up a bit while I fiddled with the spark plug wires and the hoses by intake manifold, so it might be a slight air leak. Another option is that it has something to do with the latest gasoline I've added, but I'll definedly check the possible air leaks next.

2) The battery isn't properly fastened. Would anyone have a photo, how the battery is originally installed? I don't want to drive with a possibly loose battery (neither will it be accepted in the yearly inspection) and the original installation might give me a good hint how to install it properly.

[Aeroflop]

Oh, and the pictures. I did shoot a lllload of them, but mostly blind-shooting while driving, so there's not that much actual goodies, but here's the best ones so far:

http://aero.1g.fi/kuvat/TVR/

[350zwelgje]

That is what I call a test-drive! Impressive and prove that TVRs are not that bad.

Beside the ignition components: idle perhaps set too low (I set it a bit higher around 950-1000 rpm, keeps oil pressure of a hot engine in the save zone), fuel pressure is too low, ignition timing not ok, air leaks as you mentioned and CO-setting (the adjustor is on the airflow meter, can be unscrewed then cleaned and put back). In general the coolant temperature sensor is notorious, but when you can drive it and it starts fine probably still ok. Full testing procedures can be found on pistonheads and on the site of honestjohntoo http://www.vintagemodelairplane.com.

The battery is fixed with a horizontal strap from the bulkhead around the battery and fixed to the inner wing. For tests and trackdays I agree with you, but the battery can go nowhere on its own (it is difficult to remove it from its position anyway), or you have a small battery....

Were you already able to register it? As those tests can be more difficult to pass then the standard annual technical test.

Rob

[grahamw48]

Great account of your trip and your Wedge purchase .

The car looks beautiful, and (as you mentioned in the other thread) she certainly seems to be in good hands.

Welcome to Wedgedom....always plenty of help and friendship here.

Ref. the hesitation, as well as the other things mentioned...might be worth checking all the earthing straps around the engine too, especially after your loooong trip.

[Wedg1e]

Hey Aeroflop... you're in Turku? I had a girl penfriend in that city when I was at school but lost touch many years (decades!) ago - Kirsi Tapanainen was her name, how's that for a memory?

[Aeroflop]

No, it can't be the idle set too low, because she does it also on run, not just idling. I don't believe in the fuel pressure nor ignition timing either, since most time she runs ok and there's no power loss (except those small moments). So far I haven't found any pattern to sync the coughes with anything else - idling, revving, accelerating, cruising. Any permanent fault would be trackable and would come in with some specific trigger - it has to be something that has a random factor with it.

Grounding would indeed be a good thing to check and I'll check that - if a grounding wire jumps a bit and looses the connection, that would explain the randomness of the coughing. It also feels to have gone away yesterday, while I was checking and pushing the wires at the engine bay.

And what comes to battery, this really is the original way of installing it (ok, the strap is loose and probably has been changed to a brighter coloured one)? http://www.zbxt.net/~aero/battery.jpg

Rob, nope, she's not registered yet - I'll send the taxing papers to the customs on Monday and I'll get a temporary permission to drive her while the customs are wondering with the taxes (which can take up to 3 months) - after taxing I can start registering her. And no, the registration inspection isn't actually even near the yearly inspection. In the registration inspection they just check that the car conforms with the rules (e-markings, correct lights etc), in the yearly inspection they search for the faults and that's a lot careful inspection. And what comes to the TVR's aint that bad -part, a 25 yo car is always a single one and holding up is really much based on how it's taken care of, even a W123 Mercedes can be a pain in the ass, if it has been on bad enough owner - this car has got loads of love and care, which is extremely good base for me to continue loving and caring .

Wedg1e, nope, I'm not at Turku, the ship just landed there. I live at Janakkala, which is a bit under 100 miles away from Turku. I do know Kirsi and Tapanainen, but not in the same person .

[Gixeh]

Hiya matey,

So glad you had an ace trip back, was really nice to meet you and what an epic first drive !

Gixeh (Oliver from Kerridges)

P.S. Love the video of going through the tunnel

[grahamw48]

Which video ?

Link please !