Modified TVR's

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What are people's thoughts on modified TVR's these days?

Do most people prefer bone stock original cars or are some a little more open minded towards modified TVR's?

I've had a stock 500 and two fairly stock 400's but currently have a modified Supercharged 450 at the moment and not sure if I have gone a little too far.

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Belle427 said:

Do you know what the spec of the engine is?
Maybe it’s easier to just wind the tuning down a notch and make it more manageable and enjoyable, maybe less boost etc.
I think people go too far personally with boosted tuning.

Just dug out the box of files and paperwork. Half a dozen ring binders to go through so will see what it all reveals.

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Just finding old links about the car too and going through the history. Started life closer to me in Hertfordshire it seems and had some services at the TVR Centre, Arkley.

Interesting link here with some nice pics of the engine after rebuild I'm guessing before it went back into the car.

https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/195750/1968-m...

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Wow, a lot of bills and some big numbers!

SC Power 500 Supercharger kit with C38-91 Blower Upgrade with 20% larger Intercooler
The engine had a full tear down and was rebuilt using all new and upgraded parts including V8 Developement BV Heads, 45mm inlet manifold with a ported trumpet base and flared trumpets, Bosch injectors and an 044 fuel pump. It's running an Omex 710 ECU and coilpacks with Zircotec coated decat manifolds.
Bosch Airflow Meter
85mm pulley as supplied by SC Power and the crank pulley is 175mm

A £6k bill for the SC kit. A £9k bill from TVRSSW for their work. Looks like about £1k for the V8D heads. Can't find bills for the ECU or loom but guessing that is £2k+
A bill for outriggers done @ 58k miles for £2k
Gearbox rebuild and new 5th gear £1400
Clutch & Brake Upgrade @ 58k miles for £2k
New Grape Hood @ £625
Supply new battery and move to boot @ £628
Nitron/Racing Red Coilovers & Stealth Cam @ £2k

There is tons more so it must be way over £30k as just the above is about £27k! Amazing how quick money can be spent.

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Belle427 said:

If you were interested in toning it down maybe speak to sc power about the pulley sizes etc.
Is it a dyno proven 500 Bhp as it seems a bit optimistic.

Yes, all done by MB Motorsport and Alan Jeffery and tested at 495bhp from what I can see.

I've got a daily Jaguar XJL Supersport with 500bhp and the difference is quite stark. Of course the Chimaera weighs almost half what the XJL does at a guess so power to weight is very different.

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Feels like it has good traction and just feels like it is breezing along unstressed at 50% throttle.

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GTRene said:

I like modified TVR's
There are enough standard ones, specially from the higher build numbers ala Chimaera and Griffith.

so, engine swaps, or like yours Rotrex supercharged, or crazier LS3, 7, 9 or LT Chevy V8's
bigger brakes, better bushings better seats, whats not to like.

even in the old days with Grantura's (or even before those) Griffith's and so on, those were mostly modified, or for weekend racing or? they changed a lot, many resprays as well as you find out when someone wants to restore a old grantiura or vixen, many different colors appear when sanding them down :-)

I also like Restomod cars, of course when nicely done.

Good to hear the support. I think we do have enough standard cars and I'm all in support of making different, better and unique cars. Not convinced I have the wallet space to do on myself yet but I definitely want to build or modify something at some point when I can.

Most TVR's are so much better now than when they came out of the factory. I'm surprised still though that more value or support isn't seen for modified cars done right not just TVR's but all marques. The amount of times I've spoken to dealers about selling a car and they all say put it back to stock and it will sell easier and for more money. I don't get this really

I just sold my 4200 that was part modified to a lovely guy who was an enthusiast and appreciated the mods. It was sold with the mods on at a higher price with all the stock OEM parts to return to stock if ever required.

I need to drive mine a little more to confirm for sure but immediately you know it drives and performs so much better than a stock 450 ever would. Not just by a bit but a lot. So not sure why so many want bone stock cars. Maybe many are afraid to be different. I know I was born different and wired different so maybe that is the fundamental basis behind much of it.

I always like to have better brakes, handling and extra power when required just to have that safety net knowledge that if you ever need any of this you have ample in the locker when required. Just not sure if this one goes to far or I just need to put a brick under the accelerator 😂

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GreenV8S said:

Crikey! How much boost are you seeing?

I'm not sure to be honest. Not sure how you measure it or calculate it.

I've always loved the power delivery of a supercharged engine. I've had a few over the years with several E55k's, an SL55 and the XJL SS. Never been a fan of turbo motors so much and much prefer SC or NA delivery. Much prefer the linearity and build of power they give rather than sudden bursts of power.

The last turbo car I think had was a 3.0 V6 Diesel XJ about 8 years ago. No power, all power, run out of rews, change gear and repeat. Not great as a driver's car for those reason really. A really narrow and sharp power band.

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Belle427 said:

Your probably finding out yourself that most Tvr and classic car buyers crave originality, maybe it’s because they hope it will make it more valuable in the future.
I’ve never bought a car with future values in mind personally but most do.
I love to explore the full revs of an engine, especially on a glorious V8 but everyone is different.
My 115 Bhp Mazda Mx5 is a joy to drive but I do wonder what it would be like with a boosted conversion.

I'm singing from your song sheet there and very well aligned. I used to stick to originality and look at the money side primarily as had to be financially efficient to make my interest work. Buys and sells had to be maximised to fund the passion I didn't really have pockets deep enough for. My life to a tee!

I've started to learn a lot about myself the last few years and it has been a tough but revealing journey. Like you there is no greater feeling than ringing out an engine to its max. I don't feel any road car of most weights needs more than 400bhp personally. I had an early V8 Vantage for a while and loved it. I'm sure I'll be in another at some point. An NA V8 manual 2 seater with great brakes, steering and handling that drives so well for me.

All the new modern supercars and hypercars just do not interest me at all. They are just lacking relevance to real people mostly Same for a 1000bhp EV. What's the point. I actually think an EV XJ would have been a great daily driver but Jaguar didn't agree it seems.

I've never had an MX5 but do find myself veering towards one but also modifying it as well. Sometimes less is more and when is enough enough kind of thing.

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GAjon said:

I’m of the opinion if you have a car, like a TVR, and upgrade the handling and brakes with different shocks springs, calipers , pads, bushes etc, or tune the engine say with bigger valve heads , cams , carbs, injectors, remaps etc.

These are all enhancements!

If you swap out the engine, put suspension from another vehicle etc.

These are modifications.

I quite like both, as well as original.

Yup, agree with that. Maybe mine is more enhanced more than modified. I can understand and appreciate why anyone would do both or either. I don't mind anything that anyone wants to do anything and it doesn't offend or affect me. Each to their own. Why should it bother or affect me but clearly some people have issues with themselves that it seems healthy to get over. What is right for one isn't necessarily right for another or all. We should be free to express ourselves however we deem right for us and anyone that has issues well that is their issue.

The world would be a very boring dull place if all TVR's were bone stock as they left the factory. Wouldn't be much to talk about.

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Managed to get the Chimaera out late this afternoon for an hour or so to give it a nice long run. So much different to all the other Chimaera's I have had. Everything is just up a notch on the previous cars. I can see why so much money has been ploughed into it. The noise through tunnels is like the devil/thunder!

I am still not a fan of a wooden steering wheel but the steering is really really good. So direct, so much feel and so linear. The brakes too are really good, performance is a given but it is just the feel I had forgotten about. Again really linear, progressive and feel so different to so many servo'd and over servo'd more modern cars.

The car sits low, very low but the suspension set up is really good. The damping is really good and it is firm of course but still has some give and pliancy. Hard to explain but the best riding Chimaera I've had. Still didn't push it hard and took it easy but the front end grip and turn in is spot on with the rear having loads of traction but seems to break away very slowly, predictably and gradually. Not like my first Chimaera! It would be a cracking track day car I'm sure.

So I still have a quandry now as I don't go to the track very much. It is all the Chimaera you would ever want and more. I just think at this stage of my life with things as they are I think this is a little bit too raw and visceral for me curently for what I'm after. The V8 Vantage I had a couple of years back seems to suit the remit just a little bit better for what I am looking for. Still a great drivers car but just a bit easier to live with more of the time.

I want to be able to use the car a bit more and don't think a TVR would suit me for the next few years. I'm sure things will change again. I think the TVR would be great as a special rare treat or suit someone maybe more hardy or more of an enthusiast than me. I'm just trying to have an easier life for a few years after a very tough period. Not sure a TVR would help that so much at the moment. I'm certainly a car enthusiast but maybe not as much of one as I thought. Maybe age and time in your life changes things a little.

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Belle427 said:

I’m not sure why people mess around changing steering wheels etc, the interior is one thing they got spot on in my opinion.
They are a very difficult car to get out of your system once owned, not perfect by any means but as a petrolhead who likes old school cars they are great and an event every time you drive them.
It’s such a pity they didn’t up the quality slightly on the cars, they would still be around today.
A standard 450 may be the car for you, plenty of power but not ott, and can be used daily if required not that you would want to.
I dread to think what 500 Bhp feels like in one of these, they were never known for their chassis structural rigidity so it’s an interesting proposition.
What’s the suspension set up on it?

Agreed on the steering wheel. It is a really nice high quality Nardi wooden steering wheel that I am sure was quite expensive. Just think as you say the original Nardi TVR steering wheel was spot on to me. I can see why people might change the seats to Tuscan, Cerbera or different items as the original doesn't offer much support. The rest of the interior was pretty good really.

You might be right on the 450 as I never really gelled with the 500 either.

The suspension is Racing Reds coilovers that I believe were made by Nitron at the time. Seems from what I can tell that Nitron stopped making them as had their own Nitron coilovers that were the same perfromance/ride but at a much higher price.

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hoofa said:

It’s not the bhp but more the way the torque is delivered , it helps having r888 tyres, quaife ATB diff, traction control, and having tractive suspension, great for over takes but drives like a pussy cat.

LOL.....wouldn't want to meet your pussy cat!

I do agree though having decent tyres, diff and suspension can make a huge difference.

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GreenV8S said:

It would be relatively cheap to go for a softer and more compliant suspension setup. It seems that might suit you better than the current setup which sounds track focussed.

The ride is one of the things I think is OK actually. Firm but still has a weird suppleness or complainacy to it so it doesn't feel overly harsh. The car is actually very well set up I think as a track car or fast road car for someone that wants the whole complete extreme package.

Everything is pretty good so brakes, suspension, engine, low/mid range (haven't explored the top end much!) response/power all seems very good. Just sems for what I'm looking for everything needs to be 1 or 2 tenth less and dialled down a bit. Perfect for someone that wants what it offers as I'm sure that is costly and time consuming to get to. Seems silyl or odd to pay a fair bit of cash maybe to dial it all back when someone might want and would pay good money to get a lesser car to where it is.

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funbobby said:

just seen this car and has me tempted, how do you find it to get insured with all the mods?

I'm insured with Footman James. They have always been very good, easy and great to deal with. Half of my policy has a classic car/enthusiast bias to it and they know about all of the modifications and are fine with them all. There is no increase in my premium as they know these kind of cars are often modified.

Maybe they understand these are often modified to be better and safer so positives rather than negatives. I'm not sure. However, the premium was the same regardless of it being this car, the previous Chimaera 500 I had or the two previous Chimaera 400's I had also.

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Not sure what it was about the stock Chimaera seats but I always seemed to find they felt hotter or increased the perspiration more than the Tuscan seats do. Of course it isn't exactly arctic levels of coolness but the stock seats did seem to always be hotter.

Not tried them in the Chimaera but always felt the Cerbera seats seemed like the best option. I guess TVR agreed as they used them in the Mk3's. Unless they run out of any other seats

The Tuscan seats do offer much better levels of support compared to the stock seats. The stock seats were always very cushioned and comfy though so I guess it depends what you are personally looking for.

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Well sad day this week as the Chimaera 450 SC has gone and moved to the new owner

Going to take some time to think about what to put back in the garage.

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GTRene said:

last week I came across this TVR, its a V8S and I thought, hm, that looks nice, nice color and good state, but I could not remember those rear lights.
I once owned a V8S myself but remembered it differently and they were, but non the less, I think it looks good, a bit older Corvette or Opel GT or even Ferrari-ish :-)

It also has a nice set of wheels, that are a modification, but easily done, its about the rear lights, not bad, I like.

Those lights definitely look Opal or Corvette ish maybe even Dino like.

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BarnFind said:

In the absence of TVR producing the car I wanted either in past production or future production and loving the Marque I now have the car which I want and to me TVR should have made...

......and......