Last Chimaeras

[TimmyArt]

Hi Guys - posted the same question on Chim forum with no answer as such...
I've just bought a 2000 Chim 450 with faired in headlights. Anyone know how many they made like this and are they the same as Griff's at a different angle? I've only seen a few others in pics/adverts

Cheers

[Alex]

I don't think any came from the factory like that. Most likely a Zertec conversion.

[Ribol]

Alex said:

I don't think any came from the factory like that. Most likely a Zertec conversion.

The last Chimaeras had faired in lights, 16" rims F&R and seats with bolsters from the factory. Some also had stainless dashes, but not all.

Not sure how many they made though.

[TimmyArt]

Ribol said:

Alex said:

I don't think any came from the factory like that. Most likely a Zertec conversion.

The last Chimaeras had faired in lights, 16" rims F&R and seats with bolsters from the factory. Some also had stainless dashes, but not all.

Not sure how many they made though.

Mine has the lights but normal seats and 15" fronts and a wooden dash. I'm sure its a factory job. pic here - http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/largepic.asp?i=65...

[RIP_puffsorted2]

TimmyArt said:

Ribol said:

Alex said:

I don't think any came from the factory like that. Most likely a Zertec conversion.

The last Chimaeras had faired in lights, 16" rims F&R and seats with bolsters from the factory. Some also had stainless dashes, but not all.

Not sure how many they made though.

Mine has the lights but normal seats and 15" fronts and a wooden dash. I'm sure its a factory job. pic here - http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/largepic.asp?i=65...

If thats from the factory it must be one of the very first, there are plenty of X and Y plates running around that are not the later style. I believe the last ones got the Estoril alloys from the 500 as well.

[glow worm]

In April this year I bought a Std. facelift II 2001 450 Chim with covered lights and Cerbera seats. It has the wooden dash option, alloy stalks (not Leven) and colour coded steering wheel,15" fronts 16" rears,Bilstein Shocks all TVR standard.....I think the first ones were late 2000 till 2003, all 450s. I used to have a 1999 Chim and that was the facelift I version.

Tim, mines Pacific Blue (A Jaguar colour) but very similar to your Starmist Blue.

TVRs attempt at production figures are these, but I don't think anyone knows for sure (the Tuscan Vert ones don't match the figures I was given!!)

Edited by glow worm on Monday 1st September 16:52

[Zippee]

Didn't the later cars with the faired in lights have cerbera seats as standard unless the heated seats were specified?
I may be talking bks but I swear I remember someone saying the heated seats were only available in the normal style rather than the cerb style...

[Derek Smith]

glow worm said:

At the TVR press conference in London when Burdette and Santacreau were introduced I used the phrase 'the salad days' of TVR production. Smolenski then said that production of TVRs had never reached more than 280 a year (this might have been 250 as my notes are a bit scribbled, probably caused by shock). I normally go into such situations well prepared but in this case it had not occurred to me to have the production figures to hand. Further, there were press there and I did not want to contradict NS in a public arena. I then did my research (too late I know) and one of the staff at TVR said something along the lines of: "the real thing that killed TVR was the six years we produced a 1000 cars or more. We just couldn't keep up."

Further, I had spoken with a dealer in the previous month and he'd said that his firm sold over 200 TVRs annually during a 3-year period.

It seemed a very odd thing for NS to say. I still think it was right not to get into an argument with him at the time but when I tried to approach him after the meeting it was made apparent that I should bother someone else.

Nice looking car, Keith.

Edited by Derek Smith on Monday 1st September 14:37

[V8 GRF]

As I've said before that table is way to accurate and doesn't match with things I've been told, for example only 2 Sagaris IIs and different figures to what have been told to Keith (glow worm) to name just two differences. The total numbers may be somewhere or thereabouts but the figure for Griffths produced is different yet again to other numbers I've seen.

From the thread the table first appeared on it was explained that it was produced to assist an owner importing their car into New Zealand and was needed to prove that TVR was a'low volume manufacturer' Therefore the specific nature of the numbers didn't need to be accurate just 'thereabout'.

Edited by V8 GRF on Monday 1st September 15:40

[glow worm]

Zippee said:

Didn't the later cars with the faired in lights have cerbera seats as standard unless the heated seats were specified?
I may be talking bks but I swear I remember someone saying the heated seats were only available in the normal style rather than the cerb style...

I find my backside gets hot enough without heated seats.... drivers should learn to drive faster.!!!...

Edited by glow worm on Monday 1st September 19:47

[alex.tvr]

I used to have a 2002 (Feb 02) 450 Chim, faired in lights, Cerb seats, Ali Dash and stalks, 16" F&R, and clear indicator lenses front and side. Purchased Oct 02, and from what I've read they started making the 'final' Chims from Mid 2001. Last one I know of was on an 03 Plate, and I've also seen a 500 built to this spec. The Plexiglas (sp?) for the faired lights was (is) like rocking horse pooh AFAIK, but I'm sure there must be a few bodyshops out there capable of doing conversions. TVR Powers Chim had faired in lights, but I believe that was a 97 ??

When I purchased mine from Newtown Motors (Wales TVR dealer), they phoned the factory to ask how many chims had been made that year (upto Oct 02) the answer was 70 as far as I remember. I'm guessing less than 150 of the fianl Chims were made. In the time I owned mine I only saw 4 others in the flesh - 2 being at Fernhurst TVR when I sold mine to move to New Zealand

Alex

Edited by alex.tvr on Tuesday 2nd September 05:11

Edited by alex.tvr on Tuesday 2nd September 05:17

[Ribol]

alex.tvr said:

they phoned the factory to ask how many chims had been made that year (upto Oct 02) the answer was 70 as far as I remember.

My car (X Reg) was one of the last 400s made, I rang up the factory to find out if there was some way of finding out how close to the end of production mine was. I rang/wrote on several occasions and gave up in the end, they did not seem to have any means of answering the question, or have any interest in doing so. I started a thread on here comparing chassis numbers and that made even less sense and got nowhere.

I don't thing paperwork was TVRs forte

I bet if someone took a shot at Gordon Brown from a passing TVR the Police would turn up all the stats on all the TVRs still on the road in minutes

[TimmyArt]

Mine is July 00 so must have been one of the first plexiglass ones by the sounds of it then. It has got ali stalks but not from new I dont think..

Question about the wheels - do the estoril 16" go straight on the front? and does that make the ride/handling too bumpy?? I used to have them on my 400 but 15" fronts.

[glow worm]

The offsets between front and rear are different, from what I gather people appear to fit rears on the front. Your steering stops may need adjusting to stop the wheels fouling on the body at full lock. I've kept to 15" with OZ split rims for summer and I'll be putting the std. wheels back on in winter.

Edited by glow worm on Tuesday 2nd September 09:31

[julianc]

glow worm said:

In April this year I bought a Std. facelift II 2001 450 Chim with covered lights and Cerbera seats. It has the wooden dash option, alloy stalks (not Leven) and colour coded steering wheel,15" fronts 16" rears,Bilstein Shocks all TVR standard.....I think the first ones were late 2000 till 2003, all 450s. I used to have a 1999 Chim and that was the facelift I version.

Tim, mines Pacific Blue (A Jaguar colour) but very similar to your Starmist Blue.

TVRs attempt at production figures are these, but I don't think anyone knows for sure (the Tuscan Vert ones don't match the figures I was given!!)

Edited by glow worm on Monday 1st September 16:52

It's certainly a cracking car, Keith.

BTW, I can't see you having the time to read quantum physics books when you have two such beauties to drive!

Julian

[V8 GRF]

TimmyArt said:

Question about the wheels - do the estoril 16" go straight on the front? and does that make the ride/handling too bumpy?? I used to have them on my 400 but 15" fronts.

Yes they fit perfectly and improve the handling to a noticeable degree, with reduced understeer, and you get the proper rated tyres in 16"
As Keith (glow worm) said in his post the offsets are different and they sit slightly inside the front arches but that is mostly a cosmetic thing. The fouling can occur on the suspension arms with full lock and the amount depends on your particular car. If the rack is mounted perfectly central then they won't foul but more likely you'll get fouling on on one side and that can be prevented with a couple of steering lock stoppers.

If you want to put spacers on they will prevent any fouling and bring the wheels out a touch, 3mm is the recommended size I think.

[mack]

Ribol said:

...I don't thing paperwork was TVRs forte ...

I'll second that!!!
My Griff's V5 still shows the car as being registered in Jul'89 - 2 yrs before production even started!!!