Selling my Cosworth S
Discussion
Hi Folks,
I'm planning a move to New Zealand and I don't hear good news from the importer. Impossible (in his opinion) to get a statement of compliance from TVR which is required for any car that has had 200 produced in the year it was manufactured. He said there were 5 TVR's in NZ that were 'boat anchors'!..
http://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicle/importing/step-two...
Looks like I'm going to have to put it in storage or sell, and I think it's best to sell. I'm around this Thursday/ early Saturday/late Sunday for viewings, and I'll put a few ads/pictures up during the week. Just giving people on the forum a bit of a heads-up.
Paul
The following is a brief summary of my S (if you google TVR Cosworth ITB's you will find the advert from when I bought it in 02/2013):
TVR S 1987 with ford cosworth V6 2.9 24V conversion and Jenvey individual throttle bodies/custom ITG air filter (new this year)
Full body off chassis restoration
Omex 710 ECU with computer connection - easy to download and play with using free software from OMEX
Custom exhaust with heat wrap.
Upgraded radiator (heats to up 90 and stays there after changing the set up of the hoses using info from this forum!)
Upgraded brakes - disc all round
Adjustable rear suspension
Roll Bar and MX5 seats with new headrest speakers wired in
5 point seat belts
NOS Alloys and new tires which were tracked/trued by Matt in Downham Market
MOT'd 29/5/14 with no advisories after the parking brake was tightened.
Recent oil/filter change; Oil pressure is good and stable; Oil leak sorted out by Matt at Downham Market
Recent slave cylinder replacement - old one was leaking.
Also Sorted out in the last year - oil leaks, replaced left front bearing, ITB's flow balanced
This is a mechanically very sound car that has always started first time. It performed flawlessly on a recent trip around/through London from Cambridge - great fun going through the tunnels!
Bad points - soft top and paintwork are in need of some attention; Apart from a few drips when in torrential rain, the soft top works well and the positioning tangs are intact. The front indicator lenses are a bit chipped - these issues were not important for me as I wanted a car that I wasn't afraid to drive around/track. There is a hard top, but unfortunately I am unable to locate it at this time.
I would like to bring it to a specialist for setting up the ECU for a custom program to get the best out of the engine, and I also wanted to take it to some track days, but I'm not sure that I'm going to have time to do either now. The car is running very well (and sounds very well) on it's basic ECU program.
![](http://thumbsnap.com/sc/4ZZ4H6kV.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/8L16rAgl" Target="_blank">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/8L16rAgl.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/TD2H1D0w" Target="_blank">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/TD2H1D0w.jpg)
Edited - Oops, forgot to add a price: £6350 obo
I'm planning a move to New Zealand and I don't hear good news from the importer. Impossible (in his opinion) to get a statement of compliance from TVR which is required for any car that has had 200 produced in the year it was manufactured. He said there were 5 TVR's in NZ that were 'boat anchors'!..
http://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicle/importing/step-two...
Looks like I'm going to have to put it in storage or sell, and I think it's best to sell. I'm around this Thursday/ early Saturday/late Sunday for viewings, and I'll put a few ads/pictures up during the week. Just giving people on the forum a bit of a heads-up.
Paul
The following is a brief summary of my S (if you google TVR Cosworth ITB's you will find the advert from when I bought it in 02/2013):
TVR S 1987 with ford cosworth V6 2.9 24V conversion and Jenvey individual throttle bodies/custom ITG air filter (new this year)
Full body off chassis restoration
Omex 710 ECU with computer connection - easy to download and play with using free software from OMEX
Custom exhaust with heat wrap.
Upgraded radiator (heats to up 90 and stays there after changing the set up of the hoses using info from this forum!)
Upgraded brakes - disc all round
Adjustable rear suspension
Roll Bar and MX5 seats with new headrest speakers wired in
5 point seat belts
NOS Alloys and new tires which were tracked/trued by Matt in Downham Market
MOT'd 29/5/14 with no advisories after the parking brake was tightened.
Recent oil/filter change; Oil pressure is good and stable; Oil leak sorted out by Matt at Downham Market
Recent slave cylinder replacement - old one was leaking.
Also Sorted out in the last year - oil leaks, replaced left front bearing, ITB's flow balanced
This is a mechanically very sound car that has always started first time. It performed flawlessly on a recent trip around/through London from Cambridge - great fun going through the tunnels!
Bad points - soft top and paintwork are in need of some attention; Apart from a few drips when in torrential rain, the soft top works well and the positioning tangs are intact. The front indicator lenses are a bit chipped - these issues were not important for me as I wanted a car that I wasn't afraid to drive around/track. There is a hard top, but unfortunately I am unable to locate it at this time.
I would like to bring it to a specialist for setting up the ECU for a custom program to get the best out of the engine, and I also wanted to take it to some track days, but I'm not sure that I'm going to have time to do either now. The car is running very well (and sounds very well) on it's basic ECU program.
Edited - Oops, forgot to add a price: £6350 obo
[quote=pcashman]Hi Folks,
I'm planning a move to New Zealand and I don't hear good news from the importer. Impossible (in his opinion) to get a statement of compliance from TVR which is required for any car that has had 200 produced in the year it was manufactured. He said there were 5 TVR's in NZ that were 'boat anchors'!..
http://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicle/importing/step-two...
Looks like I'm going to have to put it in storage or sell, and I think it's best to sell. I'm around this Thursday/ early Saturday/late Sunday for viewings, and I'll put a few ads/pictures up during the week. Just giving people on the forum a bit of a heads-up.
Paul
Hi Paul,
sorry to hear you are having to sell the car- it sounds a good one. A friend of mine mentioned something a while back about he knew somebody looking for an S so have emailed him to see if this is still the case. If so, I will get him to contact you through the forum.
All the best,
Jeremy
I'm planning a move to New Zealand and I don't hear good news from the importer. Impossible (in his opinion) to get a statement of compliance from TVR which is required for any car that has had 200 produced in the year it was manufactured. He said there were 5 TVR's in NZ that were 'boat anchors'!..
http://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicle/importing/step-two...
Looks like I'm going to have to put it in storage or sell, and I think it's best to sell. I'm around this Thursday/ early Saturday/late Sunday for viewings, and I'll put a few ads/pictures up during the week. Just giving people on the forum a bit of a heads-up.
Paul
Hi Paul,
sorry to hear you are having to sell the car- it sounds a good one. A friend of mine mentioned something a while back about he knew somebody looking for an S so have emailed him to see if this is still the case. If so, I will get him to contact you through the forum.
All the best,
Jeremy
Good luck with the sale, and the move to pastures new. I remember coveting your car when it for sale by the chap in Wales that made all of the modifications, but being non-standard it would be risky importing it to the USA. If you could find a specialist to help you, it would be amazing to have the car in New Zealand.
Ps. Doesn't the 'immigrant vehicle' rule apply? http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/factsheets/44a/d... . Failing that, the 20 year waivers should apply. Probably need a third brake light, maybe some other small stuff but the frontal impact and emissions should be ok.
Pps. Any idea what came of Nick and the hardtop? That's an odd situation, I hope he's Ok.
Ps. Doesn't the 'immigrant vehicle' rule apply? http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/factsheets/44a/d... . Failing that, the 20 year waivers should apply. Probably need a third brake light, maybe some other small stuff but the frontal impact and emissions should be ok.
Pps. Any idea what came of Nick and the hardtop? That's an odd situation, I hope he's Ok.
Edited by Loach1 on Tuesday 10th June 11:49
Thanks for the responses folks. Unfortunately I am still unable to get in touch with Nick Holbrook about the roof which is really frustrating. Regardless, I have put the car up for sale on pistonheads:
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/t...
I will look into the options for holding onto the car as well, but the autohub chap I spoke to about shipping the car was pretty certain the age had no bearing.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/t...
I will look into the options for holding onto the car as well, but the autohub chap I spoke to about shipping the car was pretty certain the age had no bearing.
pcashman said:
I will look into the options for holding onto the car as well, but the autohub chap I spoke to about shipping the car was pretty certain the age had no bearing.
This might be of interest. It talks about 20 year exemption from frontal impact standards, and pre-1990 exemptions for other standards. Might be worth finding a classic car expert in NZ to do the paperwork?http://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicle/classes-standards/...
Good idea re: emailing the university David. I'll give that a go. I'm pretty sure his email and phone are working, but I'm not getting any joy from there.
It is a really fun car, and I've always kept within my limits, but I would imagine it could be a bit trouser-change-inducing if pushed. I have no idea how it compares to others, as it is the only one I have driven. I've changed the wheels/suspension to make it more comfy on longer drives, but the track set up is easy to return to and pretty crazy.
It is a really fun car, and I've always kept within my limits, but I would imagine it could be a bit trouser-change-inducing if pushed. I have no idea how it compares to others, as it is the only one I have driven. I've changed the wheels/suspension to make it more comfy on longer drives, but the track set up is easy to return to and pretty crazy.
just had this thread pointed out to me by a friend.
for the record id like to set a few points straight.
after selling the car to Paul in Feb 2013 he left with a promise that if i stored it for a month or so then he would collect the hardtop.
I waited in vain for him to contact me about collecting the hardtop.
Oh yeah he did contact me frequently, I had numerous messages both by email and on my phone pestering me with questions about the car "how do you do this" and "can i do that" and "any idea how this bit works" oh and my favourite "any idea what wire x behind the dash does ?" - so after getting a little pissed off with this I finally managed (after much suggestion) in getting him to join the forums here. but nothing about collecting his hardtop which by now was getting in my way.
In the end I blocked his phone number to my phone - cos the calls an texts re all the above were getting on my nerves - however I did still receive emails, so was not uncontactable
It wasn't until June that I had a tentative message re "sending him the hardtop" - fact is it was supposed to be collected sometime in March or early april as already stated, but I did look into sending it for the sake of friendliness.
However I struck out as most couriers it seems will not deliver hardtops for some reason - not even paisleyfreight were interested. So with my summer archaeological dig fast approaching i gave up looking and appraised him of the situation. (this was all mentioned at breakfast club one of the last times i attended iirc)
After I got back from the digging (lots of fun btw, and I found loads of good Iron Age stuff) I waited again in vain for Paul to email me back.
I started my final year at Uni all fine, but unfortunately due to poor health I had to later leave my course unfinished and take an official leave of absence.
After becoming ill I also had to give up my garage unit, friends helped me put the main things in it into a small storage place - including the bloody hardtop.
I havent been been to any meets (ive missed breakfast club big time), havent updated my blog, havent been on forums much and not on PH at all in the last 8 months, I have missed it but tbh have been more concerned with getting back to good health. It hasnt helped that I had my main email account hijacked either, though I do now have that back.
So thats the current situation - the damn hardtop is taking up space somewhere i have to pay for.
Ok theres other stuff in there too, but thats probably the biggest item.
Thats also a small problem atm - as its probably the biggest item it was also one of the very first thing put into storage, with everything else piled up around and in front of it.
The plan is once i feel ok to move everything back into a more garage like unit where I can access everything and start using it all again. (all my carp fishing equipment, summer stuff, stacks of bmw wheels, tyres, other old car parts as well as all my tools and even my main pc are there)
On a better more positive front its looking like I should be ok to go back to finish my uni course (without penalty) this september, and im hopefully gonna be looking for something fast an loud come July ish (assuming im able to drive it ok without too much pain).
for the record id like to set a few points straight.
after selling the car to Paul in Feb 2013 he left with a promise that if i stored it for a month or so then he would collect the hardtop.
I waited in vain for him to contact me about collecting the hardtop.
Oh yeah he did contact me frequently, I had numerous messages both by email and on my phone pestering me with questions about the car "how do you do this" and "can i do that" and "any idea how this bit works" oh and my favourite "any idea what wire x behind the dash does ?" - so after getting a little pissed off with this I finally managed (after much suggestion) in getting him to join the forums here. but nothing about collecting his hardtop which by now was getting in my way.
In the end I blocked his phone number to my phone - cos the calls an texts re all the above were getting on my nerves - however I did still receive emails, so was not uncontactable
It wasn't until June that I had a tentative message re "sending him the hardtop" - fact is it was supposed to be collected sometime in March or early april as already stated, but I did look into sending it for the sake of friendliness.
However I struck out as most couriers it seems will not deliver hardtops for some reason - not even paisleyfreight were interested. So with my summer archaeological dig fast approaching i gave up looking and appraised him of the situation. (this was all mentioned at breakfast club one of the last times i attended iirc)
After I got back from the digging (lots of fun btw, and I found loads of good Iron Age stuff) I waited again in vain for Paul to email me back.
I started my final year at Uni all fine, but unfortunately due to poor health I had to later leave my course unfinished and take an official leave of absence.
After becoming ill I also had to give up my garage unit, friends helped me put the main things in it into a small storage place - including the bloody hardtop.
I havent been been to any meets (ive missed breakfast club big time), havent updated my blog, havent been on forums much and not on PH at all in the last 8 months, I have missed it but tbh have been more concerned with getting back to good health. It hasnt helped that I had my main email account hijacked either, though I do now have that back.
So thats the current situation - the damn hardtop is taking up space somewhere i have to pay for.
Ok theres other stuff in there too, but thats probably the biggest item.
Thats also a small problem atm - as its probably the biggest item it was also one of the very first thing put into storage, with everything else piled up around and in front of it.
The plan is once i feel ok to move everything back into a more garage like unit where I can access everything and start using it all again. (all my carp fishing equipment, summer stuff, stacks of bmw wheels, tyres, other old car parts as well as all my tools and even my main pc are there)
On a better more positive front its looking like I should be ok to go back to finish my uni course (without penalty) this september, and im hopefully gonna be looking for something fast an loud come July ish (assuming im able to drive it ok without too much pain).
Edited by BountyHunter on Wednesday 11th June 18:58
btw Paul you may have been a total pain in the ass 
but heres to show no hard feelings - and i hope it helps
http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/factsheets/44b/s...
to summarise it says you can often import cars built in small numbers that dont meet compliance to NZ with the main rules being they need to be of special interest and are collectors items and were manufactured as a high performance coupe or convertible.
oh and if after that you still need a certificate of compliance, have you asked if anyone else has one ?
people importing TVR's into France may have them etc, the newly risen TVR may be able to issue one, or maybe even the dealerships that still exist may be able to help.
dont give up at the first hurdle.
but heres to show no hard feelings - and i hope it helpshttp://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/factsheets/44b/s...
to summarise it says you can often import cars built in small numbers that dont meet compliance to NZ with the main rules being they need to be of special interest and are collectors items and were manufactured as a high performance coupe or convertible.
oh and if after that you still need a certificate of compliance, have you asked if anyone else has one ?
people importing TVR's into France may have them etc, the newly risen TVR may be able to issue one, or maybe even the dealerships that still exist may be able to help.
dont give up at the first hurdle.
For the record:
When I bought the car in Feb 13, I paid for the roof and transport of the roof. I have this in writing from Nick's own hand. I told Nick at the time of buying it that I was going to NZ for most of May, and asked if he would be able to store it until then. He agreed to do this. As soon as I returned from NZ, I emailed Nick on 30/5/13 to arrange transport of the roof. Apart from the email which I have copied below from 19/6/13, I have not had any communication from Nick since he confirmed the V5 had been sent on 4/15 until he replied to this topic.
I did email Nick in Feb/March/April a total 7 times. Some were questions about the car, one was regarding the lack of V5 document and some were thanking him for the info supplied. Apart from that, I have just been trying to contact him about the roof. I emailed Nick 9/9/13; 1/10/13; 5/11/13 and tried calling using different phones to try to arrange transport, but received no answer or reply.
So Nick, I am sorry to hear about any confusion, and that you have not been well. Hopefully this clarifies things, and I hope between us we can arrange for the roof to change hands.
Thanks for the information in the second post. If I can confirm beyond doubt that the car can be imported to NZ and used on the road, I will gladly do this.
Thanks to this forum, I have hope that this can be sorted out.
Paul
Edit - I'm happy to pick up the roof myself, or with a member of the forum that kindly offered to assist, as emailed 11/2/14
When I bought the car in Feb 13, I paid for the roof and transport of the roof. I have this in writing from Nick's own hand. I told Nick at the time of buying it that I was going to NZ for most of May, and asked if he would be able to store it until then. He agreed to do this. As soon as I returned from NZ, I emailed Nick on 30/5/13 to arrange transport of the roof. Apart from the email which I have copied below from 19/6/13, I have not had any communication from Nick since he confirmed the V5 had been sent on 4/15 until he replied to this topic.
I did email Nick in Feb/March/April a total 7 times. Some were questions about the car, one was regarding the lack of V5 document and some were thanking him for the info supplied. Apart from that, I have just been trying to contact him about the roof. I emailed Nick 9/9/13; 1/10/13; 5/11/13 and tried calling using different phones to try to arrange transport, but received no answer or reply.
So Nick, I am sorry to hear about any confusion, and that you have not been well. Hopefully this clarifies things, and I hope between us we can arrange for the roof to change hands.
Thanks for the information in the second post. If I can confirm beyond doubt that the car can be imported to NZ and used on the road, I will gladly do this.
Thanks to this forum, I have hope that this can be sorted out.
Paul
Edit - I'm happy to pick up the roof myself, or with a member of the forum that kindly offered to assist, as emailed 11/2/14
Edited by pcashman on Thursday 12th June 13:59
Update: The 20 year exemption does apply! Auto hub guy was wrong. I need diagonal seat belts/high rear brake light, then it should pass entry certification, warrant of fitness and registration. I have to look into these mods and transport, but it is promising.
Nick. Any reason you are not answering/returning calls/emails? Let me know when it suits you to talk. Cheers
Paul
Nick. Any reason you are not answering/returning calls/emails? Let me know when it suits you to talk. Cheers
Paul
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