Discussion
Hi all, can anyone satisfy my curiosity, excuse the waffle but bear with me... I'm half interested in buying the Chimaera bible and just missed out on one on Ebay that went for 40 quid, fair enough... So I had another look again a week or so later and found 2 more, 1 for 70 quid and one for 80, I tried to haggle with one saying i just missed out on one for 40 but no luck there. So I googled it and came across a site www.tvrbooks.co.uk, they were on there for £43 so I messaged the guy and asked if they were new or used, the reply came back from a guy called Steve Heath saying they were new, (although his email was steve@ecumate etc etc) So questions are...
Is Steve Heath alive and kicking selling his book from a very basic, home made looking site for 43 quid? if so why are people trying to sell second hand ones for more than double?
Or is it some bloke who is photocopying all the pages and gluing them together and making money that way? (i think not somehow)
Or is it a scam? in which case why pick on a market where there is all of 1, me! surely you'd go for the boy racer Saxo brigade where there is millions of em
Any one enlighten me!
Is Steve Heath alive and kicking selling his book from a very basic, home made looking site for 43 quid? if so why are people trying to sell second hand ones for more than double?
Or is it some bloke who is photocopying all the pages and gluing them together and making money that way? (i think not somehow)
Or is it a scam? in which case why pick on a market where there is all of 1, me! surely you'd go for the boy racer Saxo brigade where there is millions of em
Any one enlighten me!
I don't know for definite but this older thread would imply that Steve Heath (or a Steve Heath 
) was Ecumate
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
) was Ecumatehttps://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Belle427 said:
No disrespect meant to the author but this forum is better for info, the Facebook groups are too.
I agree, but could prove useful if i were to be in the middle of a job and need a tip or 2 without having to keep pestering you guys every 5 mins and waiting for the necessary help, It's just a handy tool to have for extra info, I'm not a mechanic, nor even an amateur mechanic just a bloke with a desire to tidy up a project car (with most of the work done at a garage admittedly), but i want to have a go myself at certain jobsIt’s mostly an overview about the cars and changes made during its production run.
It still has useful information for that reason but is not a Haynes manual type of thing.
I found it an interesting read but because of the vague nature TVR built the cars it could never be that specific because even TVR didn’t document the many small changes made often on a daily business.
If Fred built your car it’s likely to be different from Bob who built mine sort of thing.
I found it useful when identifying which fuse box was fitted to my car which also changed usually based on who could supply fuse boxes to TVR at that time.
It wasn’t long before I found the book was unable to deal with specifics of my car and only here on PH could people who had a similar year car help identify various things.
I think I gave mine away to another owner once I’d learnt more about the car.
It’s still a good read and does house lots of data that’s useful.
ECUMATE was also a decent tool that I owned for awhile which was like a more basic ROVERGAUGE so could show some information on how the Ecu was reading things like stepper motor control etc.
Rovergauge has superceeded it as it’s a much more comprehensive tool with lots more information at hand via the data it produces.
The 14 CUX used on our cars is a very highly adapted Ecu with lots of parameters so very good but diagnosing it’s faults as it becomes older can be time consuming and throwing parts at it often a mine field which is why Rovergauge has become the go to tool for narrowing down the problems associated with keeping the system and its aging parts alive.
It still has useful information for that reason but is not a Haynes manual type of thing.
I found it an interesting read but because of the vague nature TVR built the cars it could never be that specific because even TVR didn’t document the many small changes made often on a daily business.
If Fred built your car it’s likely to be different from Bob who built mine sort of thing.
I found it useful when identifying which fuse box was fitted to my car which also changed usually based on who could supply fuse boxes to TVR at that time.
It wasn’t long before I found the book was unable to deal with specifics of my car and only here on PH could people who had a similar year car help identify various things.
I think I gave mine away to another owner once I’d learnt more about the car.
It’s still a good read and does house lots of data that’s useful.
ECUMATE was also a decent tool that I owned for awhile which was like a more basic ROVERGAUGE so could show some information on how the Ecu was reading things like stepper motor control etc.
Rovergauge has superceeded it as it’s a much more comprehensive tool with lots more information at hand via the data it produces.
The 14 CUX used on our cars is a very highly adapted Ecu with lots of parameters so very good but diagnosing it’s faults as it becomes older can be time consuming and throwing parts at it often a mine field which is why Rovergauge has become the go to tool for narrowing down the problems associated with keeping the system and its aging parts alive.
BritishTvr450 said:
It’s mostly an overview about the cars and changes made during its production run.
It still has useful information for that reason but is not a Haynes manual type of thing.
I found it an interesting read but because of the vague nature TVR built the cars it could never be that specific because even TVR didn’t document the many small changes made often on a daily business.
If Fred built your car it’s likely to be different from Bob who built mine sort of thing.
I found it useful when identifying which fuse box was fitted to my car which also changed usually based on who could supply fuse boxes to TVR at that time.
It wasn’t long before I found the book was unable to deal with specifics of my car and only here on PH could people who had a similar year car help identify various things.
I think I gave mine away to another owner once I’d learnt more about the car.
It’s still a good read and does house lots of data that’s useful.
ECUMATE was also a decent tool that I owned for awhile which was like a more basic ROVERGAUGE so could show some information on how the Ecu was reading things like stepper motor control etc.
Rovergauge has superceeded it as it’s a much more comprehensive tool with lots more information at hand via the data it produces.
The 14 CUX used on our cars is a very highly adapted Ecu with lots of parameters so very good but diagnosing it’s faults as it becomes older can be time consuming and throwing parts at it often a mine field which is why Rovergauge has become the go to tool for narrowing down the problems associated with keeping the system and its aging parts alive.
No I agree it's not a proper manual, but useful to browse through to identify things, I had one with my last tvr, wish I never let it go with the car, apparently it's worth 80 quid lolIt still has useful information for that reason but is not a Haynes manual type of thing.
I found it an interesting read but because of the vague nature TVR built the cars it could never be that specific because even TVR didn’t document the many small changes made often on a daily business.
If Fred built your car it’s likely to be different from Bob who built mine sort of thing.
I found it useful when identifying which fuse box was fitted to my car which also changed usually based on who could supply fuse boxes to TVR at that time.
It wasn’t long before I found the book was unable to deal with specifics of my car and only here on PH could people who had a similar year car help identify various things.
I think I gave mine away to another owner once I’d learnt more about the car.
It’s still a good read and does house lots of data that’s useful.
ECUMATE was also a decent tool that I owned for awhile which was like a more basic ROVERGAUGE so could show some information on how the Ecu was reading things like stepper motor control etc.
Rovergauge has superceeded it as it’s a much more comprehensive tool with lots more information at hand via the data it produces.
The 14 CUX used on our cars is a very highly adapted Ecu with lots of parameters so very good but diagnosing it’s faults as it becomes older can be time consuming and throwing parts at it often a mine field which is why Rovergauge has become the go to tool for narrowing down the problems associated with keeping the system and its aging parts alive.
BritishTvr450 said:
I’d rather put 80 quid in the tank and drive it.
You’ll find out much more about the car
80 quid, I’d be sorely disappointed at what information it houses for that money.
Give that a wide berth.
Boys on here know more about TVR than any book
Hey that was a joke, that's what someone is asking for one on eBay, that's what this thread is about, why are people thinking they can get 80 quid for one as I just found out they are on the web for 40 brand new from steve heath himself apparently, or even 30 quid off here lol that's worth a punt for an interesting readYou’ll find out much more about the car
80 quid, I’d be sorely disappointed at what information it houses for that money.
Give that a wide berth.
Boys on here know more about TVR than any book
Andy70 said:
Hey that was a joke, that's what someone is asking for one on eBay, that's what this thread is about, why are people thinking they can get 80 quid for one as I just found out they are on the web for 40 brand new from steve heath himself apparently, or even 30 quid off here lol that's worth a punt for an interesting read
Because people think it’s ok to profiteer from unsuspecting people. As you have worked out, that’s clearly bad form.
Sad really that some people want to profit off the back of other enthusiasts.
Then you have others who collect parts and stuff who sell them at reasonable prices so making a fair profit from there hard work and helping other enthusiasts at the same time.
Very good form
I also have the Steve Heath book, and will keep it more as enthusiast's paraphernalia.
As a useful book to help diagnose and fix the things we face, it is not.
In fact, when I was about to change the CV joints, I learned more by raising the car and looking at it than the book told me.
As a useful book to help diagnose and fix the things we face, it is not.
In fact, when I was about to change the CV joints, I learned more by raising the car and looking at it than the book told me.
BritishTvr450 said:
Andy70 said:
Hey that was a joke, that's what someone is asking for one on eBay, that's what this thread is about, why are people thinking they can get 80 quid for one as I just found out they are on the web for 40 brand new from steve heath himself apparently, or even 30 quid off here lol that's worth a punt for an interesting read
Because people think it’s ok to profiteer from unsuspecting people. As you have worked out, that’s clearly bad form.
Sad really that some people want to profit off the back of other enthusiasts.
Then you have others who collect parts and stuff who sell them at reasonable prices so making a fair profit from there hard work and helping other enthusiasts at the same time.
Very good form
dishonest yes but goes on none the less Sardonicus said:
ts called TVR TAX dear boy and its not like some so called specialists/independents aren't at it also dishonest yes but goes on none the less
The “specialist” car industry especially is full of it as can be found via many major brands, Ferrari and Lamborghini are experts at it dishonest yes but goes on none the less I guess sometimes and some companies at least find reliable parts which saves you taking a punt on stuff but even that’s becoming more of a hazard.
I remember breaking my handbrake warning switch when doing a body off and just bought one from a reputable TVR dealer rather than risk having to do it twice with some nasty cheap part but probably just paid over the top for it.
Doing that job twice would cost a lot more in time than just buying a decent part was my only consideration at the time.
I bought my copy brand new directly from Steve Heath when I first got my Griff in 2017. As others have said, it's not a traditional workshop manual but I did find it useful to learn more about the car. I do still refer to it for some technical details and to augment what I find online.
In short, I'm happy that it has been worth the £40 or so that I paid for it.
In short, I'm happy that it has been worth the £40 or so that I paid for it.
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