Potentially buying a T350 - questions?

[Edmundo2]

Hi.

I’ve previously owned a Griff500 and Chim450 followed by various other things inc Elise, Cayman, Caterham, Evora etc..

Having recently had a run out in a friends old 69 air cooled 911 I decided it was time to buy another road toy, ( currently only have an old race car ), and decided a modded carrera 996 could fit the bill. I thought I’d found the right car but when out for a drive I came to the conclusion it was just a bit to plain at legal speeds and that really I want something that’s more of an event below 70mph even if it’s a bit less resolved.. I’ve always loved T350’s and a quick drive out in one confirmed it ticks the box..

So I have a few questions. I have a £35k max budget but obviously want as good as I can get for the money and a car with an engine rebuild. It looks like this confines me to a private sale , ( barring the odd exception at dealers ), which I’m ok with providing I can see the car has been maintained to a high standard..

So my questions are,

- How many miles would you expect to be ok since/between engine rebuilds, ( ie if done do they need another )?

- High mileage. It doesn’t bother me if all the work has been done and a car has clearly been pampered but assume the mileage will put a lot of others off meaning it would be harder/slower to sell on? I should imagine a lot of prospective TVR owners are practical/pragmatic sorts but it does seem that higher miles cars seem to be hard to shift even with good history? Presumably price reflects this?

- I don’t see much talk off chassis rot in T350 circles unlike Griff/Chim/Cerb forums that are awash with talk of outriggers, chassis refurbs. Is it common? I could imagine the higher the mileage the higher the risk but previous maintenance will have a bearing on this?

Thanks for any advice and if anyone is thinking of selling a good/engine rebuild car please drop me a line.

Thanks,

Ed

[Edmundo2]

Dudley99 said:

Why confine yourself to a T350? Why not look at a Tamora or a Tuscan. They are all basically the same under the body and drive basically the same.

They are over-priced compared with a Tuscan. There are also less for sale - none on Autotrader, about half the number of Tuscans for sale on here.

The chassis is basially the same as TVR as have used for decades, so they all suffer from the same problems.

A lot of them are 3.6 and are underpowered compared with a Tuscan.

It isn't a case of how long they go between rebuilds. It is a case of who rebuilt it, using what. If it isn't Power's Performance of Str8Six then people tend to be wary.

They were not built to the best standards or with the best quality components. The seats will look as worn at 25,000 miles as a Porsche will at 125,000. Carpets fade badly. You can buy a 20 year old Fiesta and the carpets won't have faded. Don't buy one with Wilton carpets. They all leak and the wool smells terrible when wet. They all look a bit tatty paintwork wise and the exterior rubbers all seem to perish and be loose.

I'm looking at T350 as I prefer the styling/compact dimensions/short overhangs vs the Tuscan and I'm not a fan of the rear end styling of the Tamora..

Re the engine build question I'm aware that it needs to be Power/Str8Six etc but wasn't sure what the life expectancy was once rebuilt..ie, does a reputable rebuild generally result in it being robust thereafter or do they go bang again? When rebuilt by aforementioned are known shortcomings of the original design reengineered to avoid a repeat etc.?

Ref trim yes having had two TVRS previously I know what to expect on that front and I'm OK with a bit of fettling to keep on top off things.

Cheers

[Edmundo2]

Mr.Chips said:

I’ve had my T350C since it was 9 months old in April 2006 and it is still on it’s original engine. It is serviced annually, firstly by TVR dealers and since the company disappeared, by TVR specialists. When I take it for a run, I carefully warm up the engine, staying below 3000 rpm until the oil temperature gets up to 65 degrees. Also, my understanding is that the later engines didn’t have the chocolate finger followers that earlier engines did. I can understand why some people want a rebuilt engine, but don’t rule a car out if it hasn’t had one! In addition, when engine rebuilds have been discussed on here previously, I think there was a thread which broke down the numbers and seemed to suggest that the 4 litre speed six engine was more likely to need a rebuild than a 3.6 litre engine, although it will have been some time ago, so please don’t quote me on that or take it as gospel. OP, by all means do your due diligence before buying a T350, get the best one that you can, with or without a recent engine rebuild. I didn’t buy the first one I saw, or the second, but before I looked at each example I had found out as much information as I could about each particular car and, through the TVRCC, spoken to a few owners at regional meetings, to fine tune what I was looking for. One final point, try to make sure you get one with aircon, the cabin can get a little warm, so aircon is, IMHO a must!
Good luck with your search!

Edited by Mr.Chips on Saturday 30th August 20:01

Thanks for the info and good to hear of your cars reliability.. I will certainly follow the warm up guidelines once I've found the right car. I'm not sure what constitutes an early vs late car and should imagine any cut off is vague,( think I'm right saying pre/post 2003 )? I know there's lots of reports of Tuscans that transpire to have bigger engines than described so I guess there could have been lots of differences here and there around that time?

I'll keep doing my homework and will see what's out there..

Thanks

[Edmundo2]

leef44 said:

Mr.Chips said:

Hi OP,
One of the other posters in this thread mentions rebuilds from Powers Performance and STR8Six and I can completely understand why. However, don’t forget that Racing Green offered another option of their FFF engine and there are a few examples with this option that come up for sale from time to time. I saw one of these cylinder heads being put on a rebuild at TvR some years ago and it looked like a great piece of kit.

Yep I did think about the FFF engine. I've been shown around their workshop in Ash before but I don't know too much history about these. I guess from the OPs question, I would feel happy with any of these three types of rebuilds and would not consider them needing to be rebuilt again.

Thanks both.. Yes I was aware of the RG FFF work in the past although have to admit I've been away from TVR for a while so couldn't remember the reputation...I'm in conversation with a few that have been rebuilt so hopefully will buy the right one.. ( and not keep watching the classifieds in the days after to find something even better crops up ). Cheers

[Edmundo2]

Thanks both that really helps. Currently weighing up the options of a well sorted str8six rebuilt higher miles C vs a lower miles non rebuilt T... Both 2003 cars..

I've not driven a T but can appreciate the appeal of roof off motoring as I really enjoyed my Griff in the past. However I'm aware of the noisey/whistley reputation too,( which can be sorted I believe ).

I guess a really well sorted T with a rebuild would be the ideal but would generally be over budget I think. I've seen the odd one in the past but nothing out there currently..

[Edmundo2]

OK. Weighing up my options. A few questions,

- Anyone driven a T vs a C and thought it has to be T due to roof off experience?

- Rebuilt 3.6 vs 4ltr vs 4.3. Appreciate the smaller engine needs more revs due to less torque but is 4ltr much different to 4.3?

- Carpet replacement - expensive?

- Steering racks. Any idea of recon/replacement costs?

I think I've ruled out Tuscan based on looks but the option of roof off does appeal at times..T350 looks too damn good!

Thanks in advance for any info

Edited by Edmundo2 on Saturday 6th September 19:30

[Edmundo2]

The Three D Mucketeer said:

keynsham said:

I have a friend with a 3.6 litre T350 on which the engine lost all oil pressure one day resulting in a £12 krebuild. I wouldn't ignore the fact that an original engine won't need a rebuild as history tells us most eventually will.

When it was rebuilt, he was asked if he wanted a 4 litre conversion. He didn't but it turned out that the engine was 4 litres anyway! I read that the later 4.2 litre Cerbera's are all actually 4.5 litres as TVR decided to just produce one engine size for cost reasons so I suspect all the later "3.6" T350's are actually 4 litres for the same reason!!!

Don't think there's much truth in that ... Because Heath @ Xworks (ex factory) tells me the Tuscan MK2s were fitted with 3.6 engines because they were produced for Tams and T350s are weren't used ... I would be believe what got fitted was whatever was available at the time .
Of course with the Cerbera 4.2/4.5 you are talking about AJPs and not Speed Sixes .

My Tuscan would be upset with the OP saying he doesn't like it's looks

Edited by The Three D Mucketeer on Sunday 7th September 12:49

Hi. No offence intended and perhaps my comment was a bit misleading..I think the Tuscan is a fantastic looking car. I particularly like Mk1 Tuscan S. They appeal massively for the roof off/open aspect also..However I think the T350 edges it for me as I just love the compact/stubby/short overhangs..Lovely car BTW..

[Edmundo2]

So to update...I nearly bought a nice T350C privately but just wanted to try a T before diving on however didn't get the chance and the C ended up selling to another buyer..

Skip forward a month and another T350c I admired years ago came to my attention before it hit the market. It was a very rare colour that I really liked so deposit was paid. However it transpires the car has been a bit neglected since it was last sold and now needs work so deposit was refunded and I'm back on the hunt again..

That said whilst ive been searching the idea of a really well specced Griff is starting to nag at me too! The roof down aspect and torquey motor still appeals and the thought of an uprated one in a nice spec even more so..

Different beasts that both appeal so I'll keep an open mind and watch for the right examples of either..

Cheers

Edited by Edmundo2 on Friday 24th October 01:03