Cheap(?) TVR Chimaera 400
Discussion
After sitting on the fence for years, and with time, space and funds finally permitting, I've at last taken the plunge and bought myself a TVR, albeit at very much the entry level.
As someone who isn't afraid to get stuck in with the spanners (see my XC90 thread), I was after something that was basically sound but that needed a bit of improvement or some odd jobs doing. I found a likely candidate with a dealer just north of Bristol, and after a couple of emails and a phone call, I travelled up on Saturday to have a nose and a drive.
Here she is:
It's a 96(N) 400 in Starmist Green. A late mk1 car, it's only had 3 owners and has 77,000 miles on the clock, with a very nice service history. As described very honestly by the seller however, it's far from perfect, with obvious issues including a heavily stonechipped nose, some crazing on the bootlid, an interior need of a good clean, a new dash, and carpets that are heavily sun bleached.
Liked the seller from the off. Genuine enthusiast who runs a club, and sells member's cars for a fixed fee, of which this is one. No pressure, very open and honest, and after making us a brew, the first thing he was put the car up on the ramp, hand me a torch, and take me through the issues his mechanic had found. This included brake fluid moisture content over 4%, a couple of suspect looking (but not leaking) fuel hoses, a potential issue with the dizzy vac advance, a cracked offside exhaust manifold, and some tired droplinks
The chassis, based on the bits I can see is solid, albeit not pretty. First job will be to get under there and coat it with something that will protect it, including as much of the riggers as I can access. The MOT history is good, with no mention of corrosion at any point. Of course there's always a risk that you'll be in for riggers or other chassis work on a car this age, but the price will certainly allow for some remedial work if needed. The car is being MOT'd this week and therefore will come with a fresh 12 month ticket.
The car is sitting on Protech adjustable suspension all round, and there are a number of new looking parts clearly visible underneath including a clutch slave cylinder. The car had a full clutch replacement about 20,000 miles ago.
Engine bay is clean. There's a bit of oil about underneath but nothing pouring out, and the car isn't leaving marks on the ground. Engine starts easily without throttle hot or cold, settles to a steady idle, and pulls well. It's perhaps a little bit flat on light throttle and low revs, which could be related to the vac advance, or perhaps the cracked exhaust manifold which does "phut" audibly load. Pulls really strongly past 3,000 RPM and sounds absolutely glorious doing so.
There is a bit of an intermittent rattle/knock at idle that comes and goes for a second or two at a time, only when the engine is hot, and which disappears the second the engine is picked up off idle or loaded in any way. Oil pressure seems OK according to the dash gauge. A quick Google suggests this is actually not unheard of on the Rover V8, and many people report it being fixed by fitting a thrust plate to the cam. Either way, I'm quite happy getting stuck in and investigating, including dropping the sump and checking the rod bearings and mains (will probably try an oil change first though)
Interior is OK at distance, but needs some love. The seats have no holes or tears, but really need a good clean and feed. The carpets are tidy, again with no holes or serious wear, but the green colour has faded badly. They will come up almost as new when re-dyed. Dash is absolutely shot however, and is cracked and peeling in multiple places. It needs replacing, and seems like a good opportunity to fit a metal replacement (I don't personally like wood in cars).
It's clearly been loved for much of its life, with a very comprehensive folder of what's been done to the car, and a full accompaniment of bills and receipts.
Car was up for £10,795. After a sensible conversation around an adjustment for the engine noise, we agreed on £9,500. I pick it up on Saturday morning.
Plan is to get it home, drop the oil out and put some decent 10W/50 brew in with a new filter and see if it impacts the engine noise in any way (just in case it is oil pressure related), then make a list of jobs and start tackling them in priority order. This is going to be an ongoing project though. I very much intend to get out there and enjoy it pretty much from day 1, and tinker in the evenings or on rainy days.
Will post an update over the weekend. Thanks for reading.
As someone who isn't afraid to get stuck in with the spanners (see my XC90 thread), I was after something that was basically sound but that needed a bit of improvement or some odd jobs doing. I found a likely candidate with a dealer just north of Bristol, and after a couple of emails and a phone call, I travelled up on Saturday to have a nose and a drive.
Here she is:
It's a 96(N) 400 in Starmist Green. A late mk1 car, it's only had 3 owners and has 77,000 miles on the clock, with a very nice service history. As described very honestly by the seller however, it's far from perfect, with obvious issues including a heavily stonechipped nose, some crazing on the bootlid, an interior need of a good clean, a new dash, and carpets that are heavily sun bleached.
Liked the seller from the off. Genuine enthusiast who runs a club, and sells member's cars for a fixed fee, of which this is one. No pressure, very open and honest, and after making us a brew, the first thing he was put the car up on the ramp, hand me a torch, and take me through the issues his mechanic had found. This included brake fluid moisture content over 4%, a couple of suspect looking (but not leaking) fuel hoses, a potential issue with the dizzy vac advance, a cracked offside exhaust manifold, and some tired droplinks
The chassis, based on the bits I can see is solid, albeit not pretty. First job will be to get under there and coat it with something that will protect it, including as much of the riggers as I can access. The MOT history is good, with no mention of corrosion at any point. Of course there's always a risk that you'll be in for riggers or other chassis work on a car this age, but the price will certainly allow for some remedial work if needed. The car is being MOT'd this week and therefore will come with a fresh 12 month ticket.
The car is sitting on Protech adjustable suspension all round, and there are a number of new looking parts clearly visible underneath including a clutch slave cylinder. The car had a full clutch replacement about 20,000 miles ago.
Engine bay is clean. There's a bit of oil about underneath but nothing pouring out, and the car isn't leaving marks on the ground. Engine starts easily without throttle hot or cold, settles to a steady idle, and pulls well. It's perhaps a little bit flat on light throttle and low revs, which could be related to the vac advance, or perhaps the cracked exhaust manifold which does "phut" audibly load. Pulls really strongly past 3,000 RPM and sounds absolutely glorious doing so.
There is a bit of an intermittent rattle/knock at idle that comes and goes for a second or two at a time, only when the engine is hot, and which disappears the second the engine is picked up off idle or loaded in any way. Oil pressure seems OK according to the dash gauge. A quick Google suggests this is actually not unheard of on the Rover V8, and many people report it being fixed by fitting a thrust plate to the cam. Either way, I'm quite happy getting stuck in and investigating, including dropping the sump and checking the rod bearings and mains (will probably try an oil change first though)
Interior is OK at distance, but needs some love. The seats have no holes or tears, but really need a good clean and feed. The carpets are tidy, again with no holes or serious wear, but the green colour has faded badly. They will come up almost as new when re-dyed. Dash is absolutely shot however, and is cracked and peeling in multiple places. It needs replacing, and seems like a good opportunity to fit a metal replacement (I don't personally like wood in cars).
It's clearly been loved for much of its life, with a very comprehensive folder of what's been done to the car, and a full accompaniment of bills and receipts.
Car was up for £10,795. After a sensible conversation around an adjustment for the engine noise, we agreed on £9,500. I pick it up on Saturday morning.
Plan is to get it home, drop the oil out and put some decent 10W/50 brew in with a new filter and see if it impacts the engine noise in any way (just in case it is oil pressure related), then make a list of jobs and start tackling them in priority order. This is going to be an ongoing project though. I very much intend to get out there and enjoy it pretty much from day 1, and tinker in the evenings or on rainy days.
Will post an update over the weekend. Thanks for reading.
Edited by Limpet on Tuesday 18th April 11:00
Great stuff and I've always really wanted one of these myself. They sound ace, and I love the sense of occasion that you get with a TVR as well. I met so many great people through the club and meets when I had mine, and I definitely miss that now I don't have one anymore.
I wish you all the best with it. Enjoy collecting it.
I wish you all the best with it. Enjoy collecting it.
Excellent purchase, the sound and theatre TVRs of this era make is just marvellous. Your example seems like a bargain current market of HOW MUCH??? Fords and other modern classics too!
Hope the further investigations and work go well, the outrigger check is always a little nerve racking so I hope that goes well.
I don’t know if the master cylinder is in the same place as the Griffith, but if you get air in that, it requires a steep slope to park on to get the air to the top. If the brakes feel like they haven’t got air in, it’s probably worth running new stuff through rather than too much dismantling.
Good luck!
Hope the further investigations and work go well, the outrigger check is always a little nerve racking so I hope that goes well.
I don’t know if the master cylinder is in the same place as the Griffith, but if you get air in that, it requires a steep slope to park on to get the air to the top. If the brakes feel like they haven’t got air in, it’s probably worth running new stuff through rather than too much dismantling.
Good luck!
A green Chimaera - that's an excellent choice of vehicle, if I do say so myself...
Your interior looks very similar to how mine was a few years ago, and I followed a very similar journey to the one you're contemplating - a new carpet set, metal dash and general clean-up. Here's the result, to give you some inspiration:
As you can see, the one thing I did which went beyond the usual interior refresh was to have quilted door cards made up, for that extra Bentley vibe. It cost a few hundred pounds at a local trimmers, but in my opinion it really lifts the interior, and is well worth doing.
Good luck with the project, I'll be following with interest...
Your interior looks very similar to how mine was a few years ago, and I followed a very similar journey to the one you're contemplating - a new carpet set, metal dash and general clean-up. Here's the result, to give you some inspiration:
As you can see, the one thing I did which went beyond the usual interior refresh was to have quilted door cards made up, for that extra Bentley vibe. It cost a few hundred pounds at a local trimmers, but in my opinion it really lifts the interior, and is well worth doing.
Good luck with the project, I'll be following with interest...
I love this, hope to have a 400 and at some point a speed 6 car.
You have to remember there is no such thing as a perfect TVR. They all have something about them.
My dad has a 5000 mile S3 still has its TVRisms. That being the flakey dash, the flipped heater controls or internment speed of the electric windows. It really does just add to the character of the car and experience you have in it.
You have to remember there is no such thing as a perfect TVR. They all have something about them.
My dad has a 5000 mile S3 still has its TVRisms. That being the flakey dash, the flipped heater controls or internment speed of the electric windows. It really does just add to the character of the car and experience you have in it.
Thank you everyone for the kind and positive comments, and for the tips.
Pub2Pub_Ben - your interior is absolutely stunning. I'd been pondering the different metal finishes for the dash, but I really do think the engine turned aluminium works well. I would never have thought of those quilted door cards to be honest, but they look great and make the world of difference.
There seem to be lots of sources for the dash panels. Can I ask where you got yours from? The dash and interior generally is going to be very high on the priority list, as it's letting the whole car down today.
Car is now paid for, registered to me, MOT'd (clean pass), taxed, and insured from Saturday AM. Feeling very real now. Saturday can't come soon enough, and am now counting sleeps like a child!
Cheers all
Pub2Pub_Ben - your interior is absolutely stunning. I'd been pondering the different metal finishes for the dash, but I really do think the engine turned aluminium works well. I would never have thought of those quilted door cards to be honest, but they look great and make the world of difference.
There seem to be lots of sources for the dash panels. Can I ask where you got yours from? The dash and interior generally is going to be very high on the priority list, as it's letting the whole car down today.
Car is now paid for, registered to me, MOT'd (clean pass), taxed, and insured from Saturday AM. Feeling very real now. Saturday can't come soon enough, and am now counting sleeps like a child!
Cheers all
Limpet said:
There seem to be lots of sources for the dash panels. Can I ask where you got yours from?
Hi, it's been a few years now and I can't find the paperwork, but I'm pretty sure I got my turned dash from SC-Power. Be careful when you visit their website however, as the level of temptation their supercharger kits trigger is dangerous...Limpet said:
Car is now paid for, registered to me, MOT'd (clean pass), taxed, and insured from Saturday AM. Feeling very real now. Saturday can't come soon enough, and am now counting sleeps like a child!
Haha I love the excitement for a new car. I got my first “proper” car a few weeks back, a Clio 3RS 200. I actually couldn’t sleep the night before I was so excited!Out of curiosity how old are you? I looked into insurance on my dads S3 and they quoted £19,000. And wedges were t much better. I was 21 at the time but now I’m 22 but don’t imagine the drop will be that much…
ToTheBrapMobile said:
Out of curiosity how old are you? I looked into insurance on my dads S3 and they quoted £19,000. And wedges were t much better. I was 21 at the time but now I’m 22 but don’t imagine the drop will be that much…
Just about closer to 45 than 50 . Although it doesn't offset the expanding waistline, receding hairline and general pain and discomfort when you get out of a chair too fast, insurance is really cheap now. This has come in at £240 for me and the better half, based on 8k a year (in reality it won't do anywhere near that).QBee said:
Thank you 
I have definitely decided against walnut but am open to alternatives. The carbon looks good, but I think turned aluminium is winning so far. Will check out the site though, cheers 
I'm looking forward to hearing more about the ownership of this one! Enjoy OP, its hard to drive them without a smile 
I'm 22 and the insurance on my Tamora was a grand a year (2k limited mileage)... a bargain when compared to the 600-700 my golf GTi costs.
ToTheBrapMobile said:
Haha I love the excitement for a new car. I got my first “proper” car a few weeks back, a Clio 3RS 200. I actually couldn’t sleep the night before I was so excited!
Out of curiosity how old are you? I looked into insurance on my dads S3 and they quoted £19,000. And wedges were t much better. I was 21 at the time but now I’m 22 but don’t imagine the drop will be that much…
Congrats on the Clio, is it one of the fantastic bright colours they were available in?Out of curiosity how old are you? I looked into insurance on my dads S3 and they quoted £19,000. And wedges were t much better. I was 21 at the time but now I’m 22 but don’t imagine the drop will be that much…
I'm 22 and the insurance on my Tamora was a grand a year (2k limited mileage)... a bargain when compared to the 600-700 my golf GTi costs.
Drove her just shy of 100 miles home today, roof off all the way and I’m still grinning.
Lovely thing and didn’t miss a beat. The noise is just wonderful and she’s certainly not short of grunt either.
Rock steady 70 degrees on the temperature gauge on the motorway rising to low 80s in traffic. Manifold noise is really annoying but have lucked in on a pair of good manifolds on eBay for a sensible price which will be here later this week. They don’t have pre-cats either.
Had a quick look at the dizzy and the vac advance is indeed fubared. There’s no resistance at all when you suck on the vacuum pipe so I suspect the diaphragm has gone. Disconnecting the pipe both ends, holding finger over the open end and sucking shows the pipe itself isn’t leaking. So, no vacuum advance and a small vac leak as a result, neither of which will be helping.
Car drives really well. Tracks straight, brakes and steering feel good, and there’s no rattles or clonks from underneath.
Going through the bags of stuff in the boot, there’s a load of good used spares including dizzy cap, rotor arms, ignition coil and amplifier, vacuum pipes and other bits. A couple of car covers and also a copy of the Steve Heath “bible” which is the next few days reading material!
She did well today, and didn’t miss a beat. Now tucked safely away in the garage just before the heavens opened. So far very happy with the purchase.
Lovely thing and didn’t miss a beat. The noise is just wonderful and she’s certainly not short of grunt either.
Rock steady 70 degrees on the temperature gauge on the motorway rising to low 80s in traffic. Manifold noise is really annoying but have lucked in on a pair of good manifolds on eBay for a sensible price which will be here later this week. They don’t have pre-cats either.
Had a quick look at the dizzy and the vac advance is indeed fubared. There’s no resistance at all when you suck on the vacuum pipe so I suspect the diaphragm has gone. Disconnecting the pipe both ends, holding finger over the open end and sucking shows the pipe itself isn’t leaking. So, no vacuum advance and a small vac leak as a result, neither of which will be helping.
Car drives really well. Tracks straight, brakes and steering feel good, and there’s no rattles or clonks from underneath.
Going through the bags of stuff in the boot, there’s a load of good used spares including dizzy cap, rotor arms, ignition coil and amplifier, vacuum pipes and other bits. A couple of car covers and also a copy of the Steve Heath “bible” which is the next few days reading material!
She did well today, and didn’t miss a beat. Now tucked safely away in the garage just before the heavens opened. So far very happy with the purchase.
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