400 unsual factory fitted parts??

[ANDYM]

My 400 has a couple of parts fitted that ive not seen on any other 400 to date!It has a Poly V drive kit, ie large alloy pulleys and wide groved belt, looks great and does the job !! it also has an Aluminium steering wheel boss all original steering wheel etc, anyone else got these parts fitted? I think SEAC's have the Poly V drive but not 100%

[bobfrance]

Nope, there's none of that on my 400SE.
Are you sure they were fitted by the factory?

I'd be interested in seeing a photo if you've got one tho'.

Bob

[ANDYM]

Being one of the first 15 made, not sure what number, i can only assume that the factory had a few odd parts maybe which found there way onto my car, they are definatly original, no one ever spent anything on it until I brought it!

will try and take a few snaps if you are interested though, I have seen a Poly V drive on a Works SD1 rally car!!

>> Edited by ANDYM on Monday 19th August 22:23

[Brm Brm]

My SEAC has a standard fan belt and pulleys and it was one of the last 420s. Are you sure its not an aftermarket upgrade, along with a uprated cam perhaps? My previous 400 also had a standard pulley arrangement.

[jvaughan]

My 400 ... Number 222 of the total 242 ( May 1992 ) doesnt have a poly "V" belt either .... it does have the optional wood steering wheel and gear stick though

[shpub]

Sounds as if someone has replaced the engine. as the poly belt usually means a serp engine and these did not come out until the 400 was virtually out of production. If yours is one of the first, then someone has been playing.

Another possibility is a set of replacement pulleys that have been fitted but all this would ring alarm bells with me especially as there have been some 400 ringers found just recently.

Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
www.tvrbooks.co.uk

[ANDYM]

Steve, the car is totally legit, all numbers match up, its been hpi'd and i have all the previous owners details too, the engine is definatly not a serpentine, its the original NCK Racing engine again numbers match including the airflow meter, bearing in mind i saw a picture of a Leyland works SD1 rally car with exactly the same pully arangements this must have been before , or around the same time of manufature of my 400.Having looked for a replacement belt, the ones ive been shown at the dealers , presumably serpentine are way too long!

Maybe a previous owner has added the pulleys, but I think they were fitted at the factory, the car has only covered 39,000 miles and the belt looks like its starting to crack with age, same goes for the ally steering boss, why fit that and keep the original steering wheel? possibly a few prototype parts that never went mainstream? I dont know, but they are nice bits and im glad they are fitted.

[ANDYM]

Thought i would resurect this post because having jsut looked through this months TVR Car Club mag there is an article and a few nice pictures of Sean Hayes SEAC and the Racer. Sean's SEAC has the exact same pulley's on that are fitted to my 400.I dont know if Sean posts on here but maybe he could answer my question about them being a factory fitted part again bearing in mind mine was one of the first 400's built in 1988 I still believe these were fitted at the factory, shame they didnt drop the complete SEAC engine in by mistake!!

[Nacnud]

In answer to your original question - Yes there are at least 400 unusual factory fitted parts on every Wedge

[2 sheds]

Some of the SEACs had poly V from the factory, the cars that had full rose joint suspension and solid lifter race spec engines, but these are very rare ( probably only 3 or 4, and not to be confused with the serpentine engines.
and Yes Sean has one of these.
Tim

[ANDYM]

Thanks Tim, I think that pretty much confirms that my Poly v drive was factory fitted, but now I am wondering if there are any engine mods that justified fitting it in the first place!
Probably more like a one off shall we try this on a 400 type thing!
Anyone else got the Aluminium steering wheel boss with original wheel??

[ANDYM]

Nacnud said: In answer to your original question - Yes there are at least 400 unusual factory fitted parts on every Wedge

[morgan elliott]

how do find out the build no of your 400 ?