Anyone know of my TVR Grantura mk1 4970NA?

Anyone know of my TVR Grantura mk1 4970NA?

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James.007

Original Poster:

17 posts

22 months

Sunday 22nd January 2023
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The initial message was deleted from this topic on 22 January 2023 at 14:12

James.007

Original Poster:

17 posts

22 months

Sunday 22nd January 2023
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James.007 said:
I have recently purchased the remains of a MK1 Grantura but unfortunately the car was buried in a garden, I could only rescue some of the body parts the chassis was none existent and engine and running gear all gone. I am trying to find out the cars ID so chassis and engine number so I can apply for the V5 and get her back on the road.
Any information would be much appreciated

frontfloater

367 posts

149 months

Sunday 22nd January 2023
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Surely at that age, the number-plate would have been black & white, not black on yellow? The plate colours changed in 1973, and Wiki says that the last Granturas were made in '67. So it may not be the original number.

porterpainter

766 posts

44 months

Sunday 22nd January 2023
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How much or the car did you recover? If it’s just those body panels, then you’re not going to get the v5 for it unless you have much more evidence of ownership.

Wishing you luck with your restoration

James.007

Original Poster:

17 posts

22 months

Monday 23rd January 2023
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frontfloater said:
Surely at that age, the number-plate would have been black & white, not black on yellow? The plate colours changed in 1973, and Wiki says that the last Granturas were made in '67. So it may not be the original number.
I believe the registration number to be correct as in the late 1950's the registrations started with numbers as they had run out of letters first, this would correspond with a MK1 Grantura I date the car at 1958 - 1960. I also think that the car had been raced due to the cut out in the bonnet allowing for extra cooling so it may have been put back on the road in the 70's or it was just a fashion to change to the new colour scheme.

James.007

Original Poster:

17 posts

22 months

Monday 23rd January 2023
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porterpainter said:
How much or the car did you recover? If it’s just those body panels, then you’re not going to get the v5 for it unless you have much more evidence of ownership.

Wishing you luck with your restoration
I have both doors and a wrong dashboard that's it. I managed to speak to a previous owner who had put the body on a Triumph spitfire as the wheel base is the same and used the spitfires ID so was running and road worthy, but after that the next owner used it as a garden ornament and was based in Yorkshire, I bought the car in Cambridge, but that's all I know.
I hired someone who has access to the DVLA's database and the car is not on listed, that's due to the age and last time it was MOT'd and taxed so couldn't have been on the road for over 20 years or more.

Monkeythree

514 posts

236 months

Monday 23rd January 2023
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Speak to Mervyn Larner at the TVRCC and see if he has anything recorded for it. If you want to keep the original registration number then you will need a lot of supporting evidence to send to the DVLA. Google FBHVC V765 and you will find a helpful guide.

Granturadriver

629 posts

268 months

Monday 23rd January 2023
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In Germany, you wouldn't be able to do much with the body alone. Because the chassis number has to be stamped into the frame, you would need a tubular frame to be able to register the car again. The body panels alone would not be enough.

Is it different in England for old cars?

Is it even possible to re-register a vehicle that only has individual body panels?

porterpainter

766 posts

44 months

Monday 23rd January 2023
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I have both doors and a wrong dashboard that's it. I managed to speak to a previous owner who had put the body on a Triumph spitfire as the wheel base is the same and used the spitfires ID so was running and road worthy, but after that the next owner used it as a garden ornament and was based in Yorkshire, I bought the car in Cambridge, but that's all I know.
I hired someone who has access to the DVLA's database and the car is not on listed, that's due to the age and last time it was MOT'd and taxed so couldn't have been on the road for over 20 years or more.
[/quote]

Chances might be that the reg is that of the triumph. Without the chassis and the chassis plate you’re not going to have any joy with keeping that reg.

For all the dvla could know, those panels may have been replaced and there’s still a chassis out there with that reg legitimately linked to it (with v5 and chassis with vin number).

Did you buy it from Amos? I saw something similar in his garden.

[quote=Granturadriver]In Germany, you wouldn't be able to do much with the body alone. Because the chassis number has to be stamped into the frame, you would need a tubular frame to be able to register the car again. The body panels alone would not be enough.

Is it different in England for old cars?

Is it even possible to re-register a vehicle that only has individual body panels?
[/quote]

No, it’s the same here. My knowledge of registration with new chassis is limited, I would imagine it might be classed as a kit car which is given a special ‘Q’ plate here.

TwinKam

3,168 posts

102 months

Monday 23rd January 2023
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Now this might be an apocryphal tale, but amusing nonetheless... allegedly there are more D-Types now than ever left the factory due to the fact that each and every piece of discarded racing debris was built back up into a 'genuine' car.
Possible then, not possible now.
Yes, I expect you'll get a Q-plate and you won't be able to call it a TVR either, there's such a 'Cerbera' running around somewhere that's registered as a Ford based kitcar, and that's complete, IIRC the chassis was changed and the paperwork was unfortunately botched.
But good luck with your project.

James.007

Original Poster:

17 posts

22 months

Tuesday 24th January 2023
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Monkeythree said:
Speak to Mervyn Larner at the TVRCC and see if he has anything recorded for it. If you want to keep the original registration number then you will need a lot of supporting evidence to send to the DVLA. Google FBHVC V765 and you will find a helpful guide.
Many thanks, I think that to get any supporting evidence will be very difficult especially with only the few body parts I have left, but I will try every avenue, I may even re-design the car as a more modern day version maybe what the new TVR should have looked like.

James.007

Original Poster:

17 posts

22 months

Tuesday 24th January 2023
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Granturadriver said:
In Germany, you wouldn't be able to do much with the body alone. Because the chassis number has to be stamped into the frame, you would need a tubular frame to be able to register the car again. The body panels alone would not be enough.

Is it different in England for old cars?

Is it even possible to re-register a vehicle that only has individual body panels?
It's the same here, the panels are not enough, I don't think I'm going to be able to register the car, but looking at the number plate there seems to be a number plate under it stuck or painted on the bodywork, next time I'm at the garage I will take a closer look.
I think as a car designer I should make the modern day version a convertible to save weight maybe on a Lotus 7 style chassis.

James.007

Original Poster:

17 posts

22 months

Tuesday 24th January 2023
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porterpainter said:
No, it’s the same here. My knowledge of registration with new chassis is limited, I would imagine it might be classed as a kit car which is given a special ‘Q’ plate here.
I think you could be right, but I don't want a Q plate so there maybe a way to make a brand new car and using the old registration or a brand new registration once it gets type approval.

James.007

Original Poster:

17 posts

22 months

Tuesday 24th January 2023
quotequote all
TwinKam said:
Now this might be an apocryphal tale, but amusing nonetheless... allegedly there are more D-Types now than ever left the factory due to the fact that each and every piece of discarded racing debris was built back up into a 'genuine' car.
Possible then, not possible now.
Yes, I expect you'll get a Q-plate and you won't be able to call it a TVR either, there's such a 'Cerbera' running around somewhere that's registered as a Ford based kitcar, and that's complete, IIRC the chassis was changed and the paperwork was unfortunately botched.
But good luck with your project.
That's interesting to here, apparently Bugatti registered cars that were never made and is why there so hot on it now.
I think what ever route I choose to save the car or what's left of it would be good as I couldn't leave her rotting away.




James.007

Original Poster:

17 posts

22 months

Tuesday 24th January 2023
quotequote all
porterpainter said:
No, it’s the same here. My knowledge of registration with new chassis is limited, I would imagine it might be classed as a kit car which is given a special ‘Q’ plate here.
Chances might be that the reg is that of the triumph. Without the chassis and the chassis plate you’re not going to have any joy with keeping that reg.

For all the dvla could know, those panels may have been replaced and there’s still a chassis out there with that reg legitimately linked to it (with v5 and chassis with vin number).

Did you buy it from Amos? I saw something similar in his garden.

The only thing I do know is it's not the Triumph registration as I spoke to the previous owner who put it on the spitfire chassis.

Yes I see what you mean about the chassis and vin plates regarding the V5.

I think there's another plate under the yellow one as I can see a black outline on the bodywork, next time I'm at the garage I will have a look. A few TVR people working on Granturas think it was raced at some point. I think I need to way up what is the best solution, I'm looking at possibly designing a brand new car now as I have a close friend who is ex TVR factory, I will update on progress.

porterpainter

766 posts

44 months

Tuesday 24th January 2023
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Keep us updated with how you get on.

I imagine trying to make a new car with those old panels would be a time and money hole, but of course it’s it’s entirely up to you what you do with it.

A very rotten MK1 Grantura popped up on eBay last year with the roof chopped off it and other damage (but with a chassis and some engine). I would imagine that those panels you have combined with a similar car would become someone much more original and valuable.

If nothing else, you have some very cool wall art there…I’d love to buy that bonnet off you if you ever decide to sell it.

Edited by porterpainter on Tuesday 24th January 22:16

James.007

Original Poster:

17 posts

22 months

Tuesday 24th January 2023
quotequote all
porterpainter said:
Keep us updated with how you get on.

I imagine trying to make a new car with those old panels would be a time and money hole, but of course it’s it’s entirely up to you what you do with it.

A very rotten MK1 Grantura popped up on eBay last year with the roof chopped off it and other damage (but with a chassis and some engine). I would imagine that those panels you have combined with a similar car would become someone much more original and valuable.

If nothing else, you have some very cool wall art there…I’d love to buy that bonnet off you if you ever decide to sell it.

Edited by porterpainter on Tuesday 24th January 22:16
I will take a closer look at the body parts when I'm next at the garage and to see if there's another number plate under what's already there. I will post progress when I start the restoration of the panels, as you say a very costly and time consuming job, but I have a soft spot for the old girl and I have to save her what ever form I can get her back on the road in.



porterpainter

766 posts

44 months

Wednesday 25th January 2023
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Hopefully you can find some interesting history on the car, even if there’s no enough to get a valid v5 for it.

I’ve recently started restoring a 1956 Berkeley, which had body panels with decades of paint like yours do. I imported some paint remover from Coopers Strip Club in NZ which does a good job of removing the paint without sanding (you use wire wool). Not cheap, but effective. Here’s a before and during (still not finished it) picture of mine getting down to the green gel coat:



James.007

Original Poster:

17 posts

22 months

Wednesday 25th January 2023
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Hopefully, fingers crossed.

I'm going to try a heat gun and a scrapper first being careful not to heat the panels to much just enough to soften the paint. If that doesn't work I will use the same method.
Car looks good a very time consuming process, I'm not looking forward to it but all part of the fun so they say.

GeneralBanter

973 posts

22 months

Wednesday 25th January 2023
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Is your plan to rebuild the car as a Grantura starting with the just the body panels you have and a new chassis? If so well done for going for it !