Great to be back in Tivver land
Discussion
As a Dutchman who has worked and lived in the UK since 1982 I did know that TVR existed but did not really have any interest in them.
It was on a fateful day in 1992, when I was driving on the M4 and a Griffith burbled past me. I knew then I had to get me one.
In 1993 I ordered my first Chimaera (4.5 Starmist Green) which I collected in the early spring the next year. It was great and I was hooked.
In the summer of 1995 I took the Chimp (and wife) on an European tour that took us through Holland, Germany, Czech Republic and the whole of Poland.
In Gdynia on the Baltic we took a RoRo ship back to Hull in the UK with a stopover in Copenhagen.(it had only a few cabins and we had to eat with the Polish crew)
A great trip, I wonder if I was the first TVR traveling in Poland as it was the first year they actually had super unleaded petrol.
Had some great experiences on the trip with a very pissed off Czech border guard, a puncture in Poland, a disappointed German Porsche driver who thought he could drive faster than the Chimp, being booked by the BiB for doing 103 miles on the M11 on the way home and never receiving a summons !!! .(will give details on any of these above if interested)
As I was not really sure which I preferred, the Chimp or the Grif, so I ordered a new Griff 500 (in that poofy turquoise color my wife preferred but then who argues when you can order a new Griff) which I collected in the spring of 1996.
Both times we visited the factory in Blackpool to see the building in process.
I must say that 5 liter is really on the limit of my driving experience and I had a few 360 degrees spins in the Griff when I lost it (never had that in the Chimp !!)
Sadly I had to sell the car in 1997 when I started my own business and reverted back to an Escort (uhhh).
This year as I approach 60 (feeling 18) next January I got in touch with my pension advisor who told me I could draw down a load of cash TAXFREE !!!
My idea was to buy a nice classic car and started to look at big Healy’s, E-Types, Stags, etc.
Now the problem is that I am as technical with cars as a Chimpanzee and the cars I looked at where either very nice and very expensive or rust buckets.
I then thought, what am I doing and I had the vision.
Buy another TVR, at least they don’t rust and you love them.
So off I went to look at Tivs, I had made up my mind it had to be a Chimp as they are better for touring.
So last month I found a great one, a 1999 T reg 4 liter Chimp in Rosso pearlesc (or whatever you call it, red not being my favorite color but it is growing on me believe it).
The car had only done 6280 miles !!! as the owner lived in Spain and only drove the car when in the UK. It looks new, smells new and is great !!
I collected it on 25th October and my cunning plan was to drive it only in dry weather.
Is it me or what, the moment I have the car the Russian mafia wants to team up with the Italian mafia and close the TVR factory.
As a lapsed TVRCC member (I still have all the old sprints from 1994 till 1997 and am greatly impressed with the new format and quality of Sprint) I quickly rejoined the club and found out about the great Thunder. So on Sunday despite the ‘not so dry weather’ the Chimp, wife and I joined our first protest march!! Was it great or not !!
Having never been to Club functions before I was most impressed and had a lot of laughs seeing Tivs lost all over the place. (uhm, got a little lost myself after stupidly following a Griff who I thought knew what he was doing).
I must now decide which regional section to join. I live in South Bucks (Wooburn Green) but the Berks section seems to be the closest in Reading.
Anyway, it feels good to be BACK !!!!
Klaas
It was on a fateful day in 1992, when I was driving on the M4 and a Griffith burbled past me. I knew then I had to get me one.
In 1993 I ordered my first Chimaera (4.5 Starmist Green) which I collected in the early spring the next year. It was great and I was hooked.
In the summer of 1995 I took the Chimp (and wife) on an European tour that took us through Holland, Germany, Czech Republic and the whole of Poland.
In Gdynia on the Baltic we took a RoRo ship back to Hull in the UK with a stopover in Copenhagen.(it had only a few cabins and we had to eat with the Polish crew)
A great trip, I wonder if I was the first TVR traveling in Poland as it was the first year they actually had super unleaded petrol.
Had some great experiences on the trip with a very pissed off Czech border guard, a puncture in Poland, a disappointed German Porsche driver who thought he could drive faster than the Chimp, being booked by the BiB for doing 103 miles on the M11 on the way home and never receiving a summons !!! .(will give details on any of these above if interested)
As I was not really sure which I preferred, the Chimp or the Grif, so I ordered a new Griff 500 (in that poofy turquoise color my wife preferred but then who argues when you can order a new Griff) which I collected in the spring of 1996.
Both times we visited the factory in Blackpool to see the building in process.
I must say that 5 liter is really on the limit of my driving experience and I had a few 360 degrees spins in the Griff when I lost it (never had that in the Chimp !!)
Sadly I had to sell the car in 1997 when I started my own business and reverted back to an Escort (uhhh).
This year as I approach 60 (feeling 18) next January I got in touch with my pension advisor who told me I could draw down a load of cash TAXFREE !!!
My idea was to buy a nice classic car and started to look at big Healy’s, E-Types, Stags, etc.
Now the problem is that I am as technical with cars as a Chimpanzee and the cars I looked at where either very nice and very expensive or rust buckets.
I then thought, what am I doing and I had the vision.
Buy another TVR, at least they don’t rust and you love them.
So off I went to look at Tivs, I had made up my mind it had to be a Chimp as they are better for touring.
So last month I found a great one, a 1999 T reg 4 liter Chimp in Rosso pearlesc (or whatever you call it, red not being my favorite color but it is growing on me believe it).
The car had only done 6280 miles !!! as the owner lived in Spain and only drove the car when in the UK. It looks new, smells new and is great !!
I collected it on 25th October and my cunning plan was to drive it only in dry weather.
Is it me or what, the moment I have the car the Russian mafia wants to team up with the Italian mafia and close the TVR factory.
As a lapsed TVRCC member (I still have all the old sprints from 1994 till 1997 and am greatly impressed with the new format and quality of Sprint) I quickly rejoined the club and found out about the great Thunder. So on Sunday despite the ‘not so dry weather’ the Chimp, wife and I joined our first protest march!! Was it great or not !!
Having never been to Club functions before I was most impressed and had a lot of laughs seeing Tivs lost all over the place. (uhm, got a little lost myself after stupidly following a Griff who I thought knew what he was doing).
I must now decide which regional section to join. I live in South Bucks (Wooburn Green) but the Berks section seems to be the closest in Reading.
Anyway, it feels good to be BACK !!!!
Klaas
Hi Klaas 
Great to have you back - we thought we'd lost you to euro boxes! Looking forward to seeing a photo of your lump-sum tivver on your profile - maybe you can post a few images of your previous cars on this thread if you have them as digital images? We keep talking about a lazy early summer trip through France in the Chimaera but finding the time is the problem. Talking with some guys at ACE cafe on Sunday who had toured on the continent rekindled that desire so maybe it's time to plan.
PS Keep a check on the chassis and outriggers - the fairies that told you tivvers never rust were being economic with the truth - they were talking about the bodywork
- next time you get it serviced, get the garage to give the usual parts a good clean, repair any flaking powder coat and then apply waxoyl or equivalent.
Great to have you back - we thought we'd lost you to euro boxes! Looking forward to seeing a photo of your lump-sum tivver on your profile - maybe you can post a few images of your previous cars on this thread if you have them as digital images? We keep talking about a lazy early summer trip through France in the Chimaera but finding the time is the problem. Talking with some guys at ACE cafe on Sunday who had toured on the continent rekindled that desire so maybe it's time to plan.
PS Keep a check on the chassis and outriggers - the fairies that told you tivvers never rust were being economic with the truth - they were talking about the bodywork
- next time you get it serviced, get the garage to give the usual parts a good clean, repair any flaking powder coat and then apply waxoyl or equivalent. Gassing Station | General TVR Stuff & Gossip | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff