Discussion
I picked this up in April last year, so I figure it is well overdue a thread.
TL;DR: Bought a Cat C Tuscan sight unseen, much panic, collected and turns out it's a really good one (came with Bowie CDs), a bit of fettling done and an epic road trip, sexy pictures attached.
The long version:
The background was I had a Chimaera 450 which was a bit on the scruffy side and was due a body-off chassis restoration. I had long laboured under the delusion that I would do the work myself as an enjoyable project, but with the car laid up for an extended period and looking progressively worse each time I visited it, the reality bit home that I lack both the time and the space to take on the job.
I priced up what the required work would cost to have done by a specialist (body off refurb, new roof, respray, new carpets and dash veneer) and came to the conclusion that I'd be as well selling and buying a car that had the work done already. At the same time a well known yellow Chim based in Norway came onto the market - this is a car that to me was the ultimate version of what a Chimaera could be, from the colour, to the wheels to the mods. So I began the man-maths to see if I could make it happen, and it turned out if I ignored all common sense or financial wisdom I could just about swing it. Than I started playing the game of 'what else could I get for the same money', and noted that there were some ropey Tuscans kicking about at that price point or below.
Then I saw it. Advertised on Ebay was a Tuscan in a colour I hadn't seen before, with a few cosmetic tweaks that made it jump out from the other listings. It was a 2000 car which had been a Cat C in 2004, and had a rebuilt engine by Powers a few years earlier. It was also significantly cheaper than the Chimaera. I called the number, spoke to the chap selling, and committed to buy it sight-unseen from the oil rig I was working on at the time. For the next few weeks I hardly slept a wink, and my waking hours were spent panicking about what I had just done.
Before collection at the advice of the seller a new set of tyres were fitted to the car (Goodyear Eagle Asys), then I drove daaarn saaaarf to go and collect it with my heart in my mouth.
Thankfully the car was exactly as described - cosmetically 7.5/10, but running and driving well. No sign of damage from the write-off with everything that I could see being straight and correct, the chassis being super-clean. I'm guessing the modifications to the front and rear of the car wre done as part of the repairs, and the car was resprayed in Ferrari Grigio Alloy. Despite the engine rebuild being a few years before the car had only covered a hundred miles or so since, which meant it was still in the running in period. Fine with me - happy to get to know the car below 3k revs to begin with anyway.
As I set off up the M6 for home, I gained more confidence in the car with each mile. After an hour I was beginning to let myself hope I had gambled and won with this car, and after two I was pretty sure of it. A memory that will remain with me was having a fiddle with radio to relieve motorway boredom, not expecting it to work, only to find the last owner had left a multi-CD changer's worth of Bowie CDs in the system. Me and my Tuscan driving home with 'Heroes' blasting... It makes me smile thinking about it even now.
It wasn't all plain sailing, it is a TVR after all - the digital speedo was fine but the analogue needle slowly sank to the bottom of the gauge over the course of the 6 hour drive and stayed resolutely in that position thereafter. It also transpired the car had the 'hot start' issue.
I booked it in with Ian at TorqueRVT for a service, a good looking over, and to rectify the two issues above. Ian was absolutely spot on, no nonsense, and sorted the issues whilst also carrying out a tappets adjustment and confirming the car was a good 'un. One thing he did pick up was that the suspension was very soft compared to most, and suggested an upgraded set of springs/dampers and a geo setup - that's next on the list.
I then set off for a course in Aberdeen in the Tuscan so I could come home the longway via the Cairngorms. The car didn't miss a beat, and by the time I got to Scotland it was out of the 1000 mile running in period, which meant that on the drive home I could start to gently open the taps and explore the higher revs. Wow! Keeping the car below 3k revs had made me wonder if I had done the right thing going to the Tuscan from the Chim - it didn't sound as good as the V8 and while a hoot to drive, it didn't feel as savage as I remembered the Chim being. Over 3k revs though, the Tuscan comes alive. Along the Cairnwell Pass on a brooding, overcast and misty day it was sublime - the whole car fizzes and vibrates with energy, and is so responsive and eager, that day was another one for the memory list - and I got some good pics as well.
|https://thumbsnap.com/zRSXLIhg[/url]
Since then, the car has had little bits of use here and there as weather and time allows. It's still running perfectly (though the passenger side window encoder needs replacing) and the more time I spend in it the more I love it. I've replaced the rear window catches with upgraded items, and have a set of new rubber seals to fit at some point.
The last picture I have of the car is from New Year's Eve when I tucked it back away in storage after going to the shops the (very) long way round.
TL;DR: Bought a Cat C Tuscan sight unseen, much panic, collected and turns out it's a really good one (came with Bowie CDs), a bit of fettling done and an epic road trip, sexy pictures attached.
The long version:
The background was I had a Chimaera 450 which was a bit on the scruffy side and was due a body-off chassis restoration. I had long laboured under the delusion that I would do the work myself as an enjoyable project, but with the car laid up for an extended period and looking progressively worse each time I visited it, the reality bit home that I lack both the time and the space to take on the job.
I priced up what the required work would cost to have done by a specialist (body off refurb, new roof, respray, new carpets and dash veneer) and came to the conclusion that I'd be as well selling and buying a car that had the work done already. At the same time a well known yellow Chim based in Norway came onto the market - this is a car that to me was the ultimate version of what a Chimaera could be, from the colour, to the wheels to the mods. So I began the man-maths to see if I could make it happen, and it turned out if I ignored all common sense or financial wisdom I could just about swing it. Than I started playing the game of 'what else could I get for the same money', and noted that there were some ropey Tuscans kicking about at that price point or below.
Then I saw it. Advertised on Ebay was a Tuscan in a colour I hadn't seen before, with a few cosmetic tweaks that made it jump out from the other listings. It was a 2000 car which had been a Cat C in 2004, and had a rebuilt engine by Powers a few years earlier. It was also significantly cheaper than the Chimaera. I called the number, spoke to the chap selling, and committed to buy it sight-unseen from the oil rig I was working on at the time. For the next few weeks I hardly slept a wink, and my waking hours were spent panicking about what I had just done.
Before collection at the advice of the seller a new set of tyres were fitted to the car (Goodyear Eagle Asys), then I drove daaarn saaaarf to go and collect it with my heart in my mouth.
Thankfully the car was exactly as described - cosmetically 7.5/10, but running and driving well. No sign of damage from the write-off with everything that I could see being straight and correct, the chassis being super-clean. I'm guessing the modifications to the front and rear of the car wre done as part of the repairs, and the car was resprayed in Ferrari Grigio Alloy. Despite the engine rebuild being a few years before the car had only covered a hundred miles or so since, which meant it was still in the running in period. Fine with me - happy to get to know the car below 3k revs to begin with anyway.
As I set off up the M6 for home, I gained more confidence in the car with each mile. After an hour I was beginning to let myself hope I had gambled and won with this car, and after two I was pretty sure of it. A memory that will remain with me was having a fiddle with radio to relieve motorway boredom, not expecting it to work, only to find the last owner had left a multi-CD changer's worth of Bowie CDs in the system. Me and my Tuscan driving home with 'Heroes' blasting... It makes me smile thinking about it even now.
It wasn't all plain sailing, it is a TVR after all - the digital speedo was fine but the analogue needle slowly sank to the bottom of the gauge over the course of the 6 hour drive and stayed resolutely in that position thereafter. It also transpired the car had the 'hot start' issue.
I booked it in with Ian at TorqueRVT for a service, a good looking over, and to rectify the two issues above. Ian was absolutely spot on, no nonsense, and sorted the issues whilst also carrying out a tappets adjustment and confirming the car was a good 'un. One thing he did pick up was that the suspension was very soft compared to most, and suggested an upgraded set of springs/dampers and a geo setup - that's next on the list.
I then set off for a course in Aberdeen in the Tuscan so I could come home the longway via the Cairngorms. The car didn't miss a beat, and by the time I got to Scotland it was out of the 1000 mile running in period, which meant that on the drive home I could start to gently open the taps and explore the higher revs. Wow! Keeping the car below 3k revs had made me wonder if I had done the right thing going to the Tuscan from the Chim - it didn't sound as good as the V8 and while a hoot to drive, it didn't feel as savage as I remembered the Chim being. Over 3k revs though, the Tuscan comes alive. Along the Cairnwell Pass on a brooding, overcast and misty day it was sublime - the whole car fizzes and vibrates with energy, and is so responsive and eager, that day was another one for the memory list - and I got some good pics as well.
|https://thumbsnap.com/zRSXLIhg[/url]Since then, the car has had little bits of use here and there as weather and time allows. It's still running perfectly (though the passenger side window encoder needs replacing) and the more time I spend in it the more I love it. I've replaced the rear window catches with upgraded items, and have a set of new rubber seals to fit at some point.
The last picture I have of the car is from New Year's Eve when I tucked it back away in storage after going to the shops the (very) long way round.
bolidemichael said:
What a nice read and the serendipity with Bowie - I know have Heroes playing in my mind!
One observation - the front number plate makes an otherwise handsome car adopt a bugs bunny look. I do like the stick on number plates with this type of front end.
Anyhoo - do you have any more photos of the Cairngorms and have you watched the Henry Catchpole video?
Wow! I hadn't seen that video, absolutely stunning! Those are some of the same roads I was on, the A93 past the Glenshee ski centre and along the bottom of the valley (where the photos were taken). Those were the only pics I got - I just didn't want to pull over! Brilliant, brilliant roads, and fantastic to be able to revisit it on Youtube. Thanks!One observation - the front number plate makes an otherwise handsome car adopt a bugs bunny look. I do like the stick on number plates with this type of front end.
Anyhoo - do you have any more photos of the Cairngorms and have you watched the Henry Catchpole video?
As for the front end, yep, I see the Buggs Bunny thing, but I quite like the way it looks, it has really grown on me. I'm off to Google pics of Tuscans with stick-on plates though, could be interesting.
TR4man said:
That rear spoiler, vertical lights and DAB aerial suggest that it is a Tuscan S don’t they? Or was it repaired to look that way?
Mine is a bog-standard Tuscan and the rear is quite different:
The latter - it's a standard 4.0, but from the photos I have showing the damage from the write-off it was body shell cracking front and rear (nothing too dramatic, I guess back then fibreglass damage was considered more difficult to repair). Presumably the owner took the opportunity to vamp things around a bit when the repair was done.Mine is a bog-standard Tuscan and the rear is quite different:
Edited by TR4man on Sunday 12th January 15:23
I should probably confess it is badged as an 'S' at the moment - that's on my list of things to change, though until writing this reply I'd completely forgotten about it!
neutral 3 said:
About 5 years ago, I stumbled upon an early Tuscan in a breakers in the Sth East. It was purple ( possibly cascade purple ) with magnolia seats. It had suffered front right corner damage which had bent the chassis and by the look of it had been rolled. Both of the seat backs were bent ( drivers side one was worse ) and it had been out in the open in the rain for some time. I bought the seats for a tenner the pair and the boot lid for a tenner!
Straightened out the passengers seat and fitted it to my Griff 500. Sold the bent drivers seat for £100. Best mod I’ve done to it, as the Griff seats are frankly awful !!
I was getting a bit worried this story was going to end with 'I put an 'S' front and rear on it, resprayed it some poncy Ferrari colour, stuffed the CD changer with Bowie albums and sold it to some mug on Ebay!' Straightened out the passengers seat and fitted it to my Griff 500. Sold the bent drivers seat for £100. Best mod I’ve done to it, as the Griff seats are frankly awful !!
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