New owner

[BobE]

Hi Everyone. I picked up first TVR today a Mark 1 Tuscan 4 litre and was stunned by the fuel economy driving back home to Gloucestershire from Hampshire. I was taking it very easy cruising just above the legal limit on motorways and dual carriageways and assuming the digital readout fuel contents is anywhere near correct it was doing circa 40mpg....I know it will plummet when the right foot gets exercised but even so quite remarkable. Now I've got a few questions that you guys might be able to help me with prior to car going into David Gerald TVR at the end of the week for a full service and check over.
a) Driving sedately the water temperature readout was around 73 degrees - seems a bit low - what thermostat is fitted to the Speed Six?
b) When I open the passenger door the window drops down and as the door fully opens drops right down and then when the door shuts it only goes part way back up. I assume this is a positioning sensor problem - is there an easy fix?
c) Can anyone recommend a good fully fitted indoor car cover - there's a lot of manufacturers on the web and some must be better than others.
d) Has anyone sorted out a space-saver wheel/tyre that will fit both the front and rear?
e) Are there DIY kits for an opening full bonnet rather than the breathtaking prices offered by certain dealers/specialists. Can the T350 parts be adapted to fit?
Thanks in advance for your help and comments!
Photos to follow. My previous two cars were an LM500 Marcos and a Noble GTO3R. My initial thoughts of the TVR is between the two for driving impressions. It doesn't come anywhere near the Noble for stability and road holding but is better than the Marcos. I'm looking forward to getting to grips with the beast...

[nrick]

Hi Bob

I'm in Gloucestershire as well if you need anything.

a) There are a couple of stats fitted, normally most people are worried about the temp being too warm
b) Might be worth reseting the positions but sounds like an encoder maybe
c) I have a carcraft one I think
d) Just get car cover from greenflag etc and a can of filler just incase.
e) Search for MrChips he has made some brackets, it is a DIY job. There are lots of threads.

BobE said:

Hi Everyone. I picked up first TVR today a Mark 1 Tuscan 4 litre and was stunned by the fuel economy driving back home to Gloucestershire from Hampshire. I was taking it very easy cruising just above the legal limit on motorways and dual carriageways and assuming the digital readout fuel contents is anywhere near correct it was doing circa 40mpg....I know it will plummet when the right foot gets exercised but even so quite remarkable. Now I've got a few questions that you guys might be able to help me with prior to car going into David Gerald TVR at the end of the week for a full service and check over.
a) Driving sedately the water temperature readout was around 73 degrees - seems a bit low - what thermostat is fitted to the Speed Six?
b) When I open the passenger door the window drops down and as the door fully opens drops right down and then when the door shuts it only goes part way back up. I assume this is a positioning sensor problem - is there an easy fix?
c) Can anyone recommend a good fully fitted indoor car cover - there's a lot of manufacturers on the web and some must be better than others.
d) Has anyone sorted out a space-saver wheel/tyre that will fit both the front and rear?
e) Are there DIY kits for an opening full bonnet rather than the breathtaking prices offered by certain dealers/specialists. Can the T350 parts be adapted to fit?
Thanks in advance for your help and comments!
Photos to follow. My previous two cars were an LM500 Marcos and a Noble GTO3R. My initial thoughts of the TVR is between the two for driving impressions. It doesn't come anywhere near the Noble for stability and road holding but is better than the Marcos. I'm looking forward to getting to grips with the beast...

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

I doubt you'll get 40 MPG Bob..read out problems I'd guess.

[Dischordant]

Welcome to the fold =)30mpg is about the best you can hope for.

a)The way the cooling system is on the Tuscan you'll find the engine cooling works too well on colder days and struggles on hot days, I wouldn't worry.
b)No idea sorry
c)http://www.tvrcc-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Hamilton_Classic_Range_10__discount_for_members.html - seems to do the job fine
d)People who have looked into it tend to decide it isn't worth it - just keep cans of filler and car cover and you should be fine
e)As above - will want to do this myself at some point!

[nawarne]

Bob,
40 mpg is not realistic. Do your calculation on a tank fill to tank fill, noting the mileage travelled between the two.

Window lift issue is PROBABLY, the window encoder. This is a small pcb mounted on the lift motor with a machine screw. Usually a spray with WD-40 on its connector and the pcb itself cures these foibles. (So, you'll have to remove the door card to gain access to the lift mechanism.)
Might be worth standing outside the car and going through a couple of LOCK - UNLOCK cycles on the key remote as well...this sort of re-synchs the electronics?

Main bonnet hinge conversion is fairly easy. Mr Chips has been mentioned. I got my hinges from him. Do a search on here to see what is involved. Walford, on here has used a set of hinges from a donor car and results look very good.

In terms of handling, get the car properly set up with a full geo. This usually helps, but does not completely eliminate the innate Tuscan handling issues.

Enjoy the car!!
Nick

[BobE]

Thanks everyone for your answers. The fuel consumption was based off the litres left in the tank before and after the journey and I realise that might not be very accurate. It's probably the last time the car gets driven with such a degree of restraint....I'll do some searches using the names etc mentioned on the other topics. Thanks again.

[Laser Sag]

Back when I had my MKII Tuscan it used to try to lull me into a false sense of security with the fuel level going down reasonably steadily until about an indicated 18 litres and then it would drop to around 5 litres in a couple of miles.
work on getting around 200 miles from a tank ( around 18 to 20 mpg) and you wont be far wrong.
Oh and enjoy.

[Dischordant]

yep assume 10 litres means OMG FILL UP

[MrChips]

Welcome to the club!!
Get some pics up!

I'll see if I have any hinges left but I think I sold the lot to rick at Salford Service Centre in Milton Keynes.
He re-did my DIY conversion for me and I think does offer it at a fairly decent cost.
If you're handy with a welder then I can send the dimensions over to you if that helps.

Also... I'm about to sell a fitted indoor cover. I'm out at the mo but send me a pm via here and I'll reply back

[benny4x]

hi
just got back from a 500 mile trip through wales,i got 240 miles per tank full,working it out from tank to tank fills = 22 mpg that was a mixed bag of driving styles and road types

[BobE]

Here are a few photos of the car:

[deeen]

Wow, looks great! Jealous!

[Jay500]

Hi, did you buy it from Camberley Marine and Sports cars? I looked at it there and has to be said no photo does the colour justice. Looked amazing outside in the sun!

[tvrboy55]

I went viewing the exact the same car in 2007 before I bought the one I have now. It was on a 04 plate k4 miles for 27k pounds.

[BobE]

Yes I bought it from Camberley Marine and Sports Cars but at fairly hefty discount because of the paint. It's in Rosso Pearlescent which TVR in their wisdom finished with a tinted lacquer which is not very UV stable so there is very slight fading on the panels most exposed to the sun. Eventually I'll get it refinished in Nightfire red or something similar - but it does currently look spectacular in the sun. I bought the car after looking at a further 6 around the country and this was by far the best. The interior is almost like new as is the underside of the car. I've never seen an eleven year old car where you could still read the ink stamped part numbers on the road springs. I've now had the underside waxoyled to preserve it. David Gerald TVR rate it the best Tuscan they've seen for years which was something of a relief when they gave it a thorough check over.
The car hasn't been for sale before - it's a one owner from new and was originally registered on a 'TVR' private plate. It's now on an age related plate,(2003 build),and has 27K miles on the clock.

[Jay500]

Glad its a good one, and a discount is always good. I went there to look thinking that i wouldnt have to buy it as i dont really like red but was totally blown away by the colour. I didn't think it would be for sale for long.

[likesachange]

That's a very Bonny car!

Hope it serves you well

[tvrboy55]

BobE said:

Yes I bought it from Camberley Marine and Sports Cars but at fairly hefty discount because of the paint. It's in Rosso Pearlescent which TVR in their wisdom finished with a tinted lacquer which is not very UV stable so there is very slight fading on the panels most exposed to the sun. Eventually I'll get it refinished in Nightfire red or something similar - but it does currently look spectacular in the sun. I bought the car after looking at a further 6 around the country and this was by far the best. The interior is almost like new as is the underside of the car. I've never seen an eleven year old car where you could still read the ink stamped part numbers on the road springs. I've now had the underside waxoyled to preserve it. David Gerald TVR rate it the best Tuscan they've seen for years which was something of a relief when they gave it a thorough check over.
The car hasn't been for sale before - it's a one owner from new and was originally registered on a 'TVR' private plate. It's now on an age related plate,(2003 build),and has 27K miles on the clock.

well it's not the same one that I viewed back in 2007, however the colour and comb are the same. I just loved it but it was just that little bit more than I could afford back then. Great car and enjoy it.

[swisstoni]

Without looking to pish on anyone's chips, has the engine had a rebuild? Most will have by now but as this looks like it has been very lightly used (and is in fantastic overall condition as a result) and could be a survivor?

[BobE]

swisstoni said:

Without looking to pish on anyone's chips, has the engine had a rebuild? Most will have by now but as this looks like it has been very lightly used (and is in fantastic overall condition as a result) and could be a survivor?

As far as I know the engine hasn't been rebuilt as there are no details in the history - but I'm told if it had been done by the factory then there would be no paperwork either. However the previous owner was a fanatic in allowing the engine oil to get up to temperature before using any high revs and I will do the same. The engine also has the early level cams but it runs perfectly and has had a compression test etc and everything is good. Who knows what will happen in the future but if it needs a rebuild that's what it will get. I'm not sure what the definition of 'most' is in relation to rebuilds but the data on PH seems to show a lot of the 2003 onwards cars are still on the original engine. I had a discussion with Fernhurst when I looked at another car and they said they had 42 engine failures in the first 43 cars they sold with the Speed Six engine so the earlier cars were much more susceptible to issues. I tried to access the 'maximum revs/maximum speed' recorded data via the instrument pack but couldn't get the final screen, (after pressing the rear fog light button for 2 seconds etc).