2003 3.6 Speed 6 Tuscan newbie questions

2003 3.6 Speed 6 Tuscan newbie questions

Author
Discussion

DP400

Original Poster:

323 posts

262 months

Friday 14th March
quotequote all
Hi All
After a period of 8 years away from a TVR having sold my 400SE to buy a 911 Im now looking to get back into one of blackpools finest.

Im going to have a look at this at the weekend.... https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/16987816 and am new to speed 6 engines but I'm aware of the internet talk of unreliablity / rebuilds etc. Theres no mention of any rebuild in the listing so I presume the engine is still as it left the factory.

Can anyone give me any advice what to expect with a 2003 3.6. Im struggling to find any definative info on what improvements were made to the engines and when, and how that effects reliablity / desirabilty / resale values etc. Is a 2003 3.6 still likely to suffer with engine issues and if so what sort of issues, or were they improved by this date and no longer a disaster waiting to happen as some internet talk can make you believe if your a newbie thinking of buying one!

Sorry for asking quite broad questions but I just want to try to get a better idea what to expect with a speed 6.

Many thanks to anyone who can offer me the benefit of their experience.

Edited by DP400 on Friday 14th March 12:13

Antoinne

10 posts

1 month

Friday 14th March
quotequote all
Grey inside and out. It's a bit grey!

If there is no record of the engine being rebuilt by one of the respected companies, then walk away. If the chassis hasn't been replaced, walk away. At that price you don't want to be doing any engine or chassis work. The chassis might look ok from underneath, but what are the tops of the tubes like, that you cannot see.

Check the paint on the roof panel and the paint on the roll over hoop behind it. There seems to be a mark on one of the photos. Maybe it is just shadow? The warning triangle is velcroed to the boot lid carpet. Did the owner leave it there, or has the dealer just stuck it back there. Remove it immediately. They often fall off and then sand the roof panel and you drive round corners.

The Three D Mucketeer

6,293 posts

239 months

Friday 14th March
quotequote all
TVR put 3.6 Engines in Tuscans when they had too much stock of 3.6s originally destined for Tamoras and T350s. I understand 3.5s are higher reviving than 4 Litre engines , if that floats your boat , no sure on the Gearbox/Diff ratios.

Basil Brush

5,269 posts

275 months

Friday 14th March
quotequote all
There's a lot more traffic on the Tuscan FB group these days than here. Someone on there may well know the car.

DP400

Original Poster:

323 posts

262 months

Friday 14th March
quotequote all
Basil Brush said:
There's a lot more traffic on the Tuscan FB group these days than here. Someone on there may well know the car.
Thanks, will post the same question on there

mk1fan

10,697 posts

237 months

Friday 14th March
quotequote all
Having both 3.6 and 4.0 my experience is;

3.6 wants to rev more than the 4.0. Not higher just eager to go up the revs. The 4.0 feels torqueier in the way it revs.

Plenty of Tuscans to chose from so be assured that you can take your time.

Engine issues stemmed from using poor quality consumables in the engine [by the factory], poor choice of materials for rotating items in the engine (again by the factory) the lack of guidance on max revs, cars being stood for long periods and poor warm up by owners - especially after periods of storage.

Plenty of people were getting in their cars. Giving it 2-mins to warm up and reving it to 7500.

Gladers01

1,034 posts

60 months

Monday 17th March
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DP400 said:
Thanks, will post the same question on there
How did the viewing go?

DP400

Original Poster:

323 posts

262 months

Monday 17th March
quotequote all
Nice car but wanna look at a few more

Gladers01

1,034 posts

60 months

Monday 17th March
quotequote all
DP400 said:
Nice car but wanna look at a few more
Wise move, they say not to buy the first you see, which i did, that was a March '03 Tamora 3600cc and the engine was rebuilt at 24k miles due to soft components fitted at the factory, cams/followers etc.

Once rebuilt was fine afterwards with no further problems.

Happy hunting !