General opinions wanted etc....

I know various motoring journalists rate it as the best TVR ever made, and it seems to be plenty of car for the money.

Opinions?

 

Ignore me

 

I haven't, but I really REALLY want to!

 

It has the Speed Six engine... which is a timebomb. The end.... its not if, its when it will need a rebuild!

I still like em though. If I ever get a spare weekend I just know I am going to end up impulse buying a Tuscan I know they are UTTER shite... but I fancy one.

Best buy is a late model Cerebra I think... if you don't mind having a roof that is. I do though

 

oh god.... I am looking Pistonheads TVR classifieds

Ricjh you git!

 

as mentioned engines are hit and miss, pistonheads paints a bad picture though

go for as late model car as you can afford, remember any factory warranty is worthless

also parts availability can be a problem, some guy on PH has been after a new rear screen for months!

they do rule though, if i can get a good price on my chimaera i'm probably gonna look at getting one.. or a Tamora(same car - no roof )

 

step away from the keyboard

 

get a sagaris

 

That is the one i would buy if i wanted a TVR

 

Sports cars should not have roofs Rich! its all about the wind in your boufant and the sun on your mooey!

 

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/172890.htm

 

engine replaced at 18 000 miles

 

I know... I thought it was a Typo... but NO!!! a speed six engine did indeed seem to do 18,000 miles before being replaced Totally!!

But it did require 11 rebuilds to do those 18,000 miles

 

 

This is the only thing that put's me off buying a TVR

What is it that makes the engines so crap?

 

Yeah, sorry you have too much cash!

Good info so far - keep it coming.

As for buy a Sagaris..... if you walked into an estate agents and had 250k to spend, would you expect to be shown properties ove Ł1 million? Mongs

 

thinking of getting a TVR pon?

would love one, just wouldn't want the unreliability that comes with them...













shit i drive a ford

 

They stop working. HTH

 

so how much is a 350c then?

honest...not internet " my mate got one for Ł1400 the other day and it was a minter" price!

my friend just sold his chimaera, not that rapid, but very reliable and sounded horny

 

Personally, i would save a little more and get a nice RS4 or there's always the M5 option

 

A bit like fords then

I meant, what's the weak component in them which makes them unreliable

 

Bit of a difference between a relatively lightweight powerful RWD sportscar, and a heavy 4 seater motorway cruiser.

Anyway, it wasn't a "what would you get" post.

Rory - 20-25k ish...

 

?!?!?!?!? why the HELL would someone who was looking to buy one of a 350c then look at an M5 or an RS4?

I mean you might as well say why doesn't he save himself some money and buy a Rally Grifter instead

 

3.41... posted same time. We had the same thoughts.... I was ruder, more cutting and funnier though

 

 

I would tend to agree.....

 

the early engines had a batch of bad "finger followers" that failed and took the whole engine with it this was the major black mark against the speed 6, most of the rebuilds were done as good will gestures by the factory.

The rest of the engine failures are not so easy to idenitify, the main rumor is that the original Al Melling design was changed by TVR to reduce costs. this subsiquently reduced resistance to abuse, most engines are thought to have failed to to improper warm up procedures and lack of maintenance. However there are reports that peope have religously followed the warm up proceedure full TVR services and engines have still failed.

FYI a full rebuild is about Ł6k drive in drive out

and this is the exact reason these cars are so cheap, 20k for a 2004 car offering those looks with that performance can't be found anywhere else, the downside is your looking at gambling 6k for a rebuild. Also there are reports of rebuilds needing rebuilds so even have a new engine is no long term guarantee...

basically this is a car you buy with your heart and not your head and if you don't have plenty of spare cash for maintenance then forget it.

 

and that was the start of the end of TVR....

I also heard they changed Mellings designs and the materials as well doh

 

Doh thanks for the info mate, very informative


Do people ever use a V8 / other engine out of anything else instead of just rebuilding the standard TVR one?

 

yes, few out there with Chevy lumps now.

 

the whole engine at a guess

 

Ahhhhh i see

I take it those are more reliable & would be a cheaper option than a full rebuild?

 

possibly, but for me it'd spoil the car.

 

About half the price.

 

would an m3 engine not be a sensible replacement?

 

yeah theres been a few LS1 type conversions going on your looking at a realistic figure of 10k for a proper conversion aparently so its a good option if you need a rebuild, would be proper reliable and more power potential (other than supercharging there isn't much potential in the speed 6)

the only problem i would see would be resale issues and insurance, insurers don't look favourably on engine transplants as i found out with the 4i