Have been having friendly banter with guy at work about his tvr and my datsun as he calls it, he has a 95 n reg griffith 500 5ltr 68 k full tvr history, and yes you guessed it tonight it finally happened, we left work at same time, and the inevitable happened.

Ive driven his a few times b4 i got my tt, and to be honest i thought nothing could be quicker, its sound and feel are awesome.

We went from 40, then almost a stand still then from 100, so a good measure. result; from 40 to 80 = same, standstill to 150 = same ish to 80 after 80 i was off, i gained about six car lengths ahead, couldnt believe it im still in awe, then again from 100 i was off again, up to 140 this time, same sort of gap

When we stopped at rbout he shouted i think you got me, to which i couldnt resist shouting"yeah not bad for a datsun"

Originally posted by SRRAE

 

 

 

Grant, if you want you can send the Vid to me and I will put it on the net.

 

Stuart [/b]

 

Stuart,

 

If you email me your address i'll dig the vid out and post it.

 

grant@wassell.co.uk

 

Grant

Originally posted by John Dixon

Drove the factory red rose 4.5 Cerbera last year, and have to say it was awsome. OK in a straight line it didn't feel that much faster than the Z, but it was deceptive, if you looked at the speedo it was MUCH faster.

All in though it was in a completely different league. Steering was perfect and it handled far better. The brakes were unbelievable.

Much as I love my Z, I'm saving for a Cerb.

 

If you're saving up for a Cerb, make sure you save for a year or two more after you've reached the purchase price.... for running costs! I lost 8.5k on mine (2yrs old when I got it) in a year.

 

My mate has lost (depreciation) and spent (running costs) about 20k in nearly 2 years of ownership. Ouuuch. That's why I got rid of mine.

 

But - they are awesome cars. Would love to have another one but purely as a weekend toy. 4.5 Red Rose this time though!! :D

By way of example : Interim service on my Chimaera - that's interim 6,000 mile service : £800. And there was nothing seriously wrong with it. But after every service, it came back like a new car - which explains why they breakdown if not looked after.

 

It's the one marque where I'd suggest always going for main dealer servicing. There are a couple of decent specialists but when I was looking for mine, the difference between those with full main dealer history and those without was enormous. Cheap servicing is definitely a false economy.

 

Dave

I must admit, I love the looks and sound of the Cerberra, but I keep on hearing that if the engine goes haywire you have to send it to Blackpool for a rebuild! As TVR will not release the parts for other people to rebuild them!

Jesus thats good going. Is your car standard?

RE ....Jesus thats good going. Is your car standard?

No its not standard, its de catted, huge stainless zorst, induction kit, jwt chip and some big boolers

Sounds nice, but what the **** are big boolers?! :D lol

No it's not, but I've just gone from dialy use in my 300turbo to daily use in a 400SE. The 400 feels faster, but definately isn't - it's all over by about 135 for one thing, and the Nissan would sit at that all day.

 

It's also noisy, bouncy, and harsh to drive, where the Nissan was smooth and sophisticated - but the grin factor is huge by comparison!! when I had the 2 side by side I would always use the TVR so long as it was dry, unless I was going a very long way.

 

The things that I have to correct you lot on though are cost of ownership, and relative performance:

 

Relative performance: Straight line motorway, and wet roads, the Nissan has it all day long - you are right. On the other hand, for the tight and twisty stuff the TVR's will kill you if the drivers got the balls to get committed (you will be able to tell - it will be on continuous slight oversteer / opposite lock). If it comes up, you won't see me for very long - sorry but it's true.

 

Cost of ownership. You have got to be kidding me here right? Weather nice on your planet? If there is one person on this board who hasn't spent as much running their car as buying it, then they've only had it a week - don't shoot the messenger if you've just bought one! With the Nissans they are very complex (so there is a lot to go wrong) and very expensive for parts e.g. £15ea for spark plugs at main dealers, or £375 for a radiator. Whereas the TVR is simple, and built out of old Ford / Rover / pushbike bits - all relatively cheap - e.g. I've just put the entire exhaust on one for

 

So in summary: For me the Nissan was the better car in daily use, but the cost was prohibitive. The TVR though is the much better ridiculous toy car, for use as a 'weekend warrier'. Sorry, but that's my opinion and I think I'm entiled to it.

dont understand how youve spent 2k in over 8.000 miles i have never had to spend any where near that and ive had mine for 19.000 miles....my zed seems cheap on maintance one of the best most reliable cars i have ever owned and i have owned more than 16 cars in 14 years thats due to being extreamly fussy....this zed is definatley value for money...

Originally posted by gavo

Oh and before anyone starts shouting bout allegros, i think theyre wonderfull too, especially the square steering wheel one

 

No offence Gavo but my first and only ever accident was with an Elegro. Therefore, I hope every little one of those tortoise shaped turds on wheels rusts or just stops moving, closely followed by all the Maxi's.

 

There, I got it off my chest!

Now this is a lovely motor.

 

http://www.classicdriver.net/upload/cars/2/1694001/biga.jpg

And because of crappy EU laws cars like that will never apear again. :cry:

 

 

Hmmmmm supercharged Aston Martin. :D

Im old enough to remember when the 240Z was first introduced.

I was living in the USA at the time, and somewhere around 1972 all the car magazines were raving about this new sports car, the 240z. I wanted one, and was desperate to get rid of my Jaguar E type before the clutch went completely. The 240z would not be availaable for about 3 months, so in desperation, I settled for another new entry into the market, a BMW 2002. The 240z hit the market soon after I bought the BMW, at about $3500 (the BMW at $3200)

 

I kept the BMW about 6 months, (it resembled a shoe box on wheels) and bought a Corvette.

 

The point is, the 240z was an absolute bargain. The auto magazines and the industry over in the USA realised the potential problems with the way the sheet metal body panels were designed, with simple butt joints and spot welds, serious traps for moisture. However, this simplicity of design was inevitable given the low price.

 

At the time, the was no other sports car around at anywhere near the price thats was as good as the 240z, and was the car that launced the Japanese industry in the sports car market.

Yep, my old man had a string of early '02s, a couple of 2002s, a Ti and couple of Tiis. He replaced the last one with a brand new 323i and that really was a POS, engine rebuild after 3 months!!

 

IMHO the 2002 was a fantastic car, for the time. I remember blasting down the A20 with my dad, racing a friend who had a brand new Dolomite Sprint. Funny how slow these cars would be considered now, but at the time the 16v sprint and Krugelfischer Fuel injected Tii were the dogs danglies.

 

The Triumph Sprint is still sited as one of the reasons why BMW will not release the name of Triumph and why it was not passed to the consortium that bought Rover.

 

Tim :D