Hairsy

Tim, Yes, I had a 4.0 Chimaera. It was a '96 or '97 I think. It didn't have a single reliability problem in the 14 months or so I owned it. I test drove a lot of them and there was a massive difference in the quality of them. With no exception, the quality of the car was the same as the quality of the service history. I'd buy another TVR (if can ever afford to) but I wouldn't even look at one which didn't have a full TVR history, with receipts. And I'd ring the garages to confirm. Costs are astronomic but the car comes back from every service feeling new again. This is partly a feature of the quality of the servicing but also a feature of the fact that the cars MUST be maintained regularly because they deteriorate. I had a number if niggly things (central locking motor loose, indicator stopped working, that kind of thing) but they were all very easy to fix. If you get one which doesn't have a solid roof, you have to have a cover or keep it in a garage. The Cerbera is in a league above the Chimaera in both performance and complexity. The V8s are completely different with the Chimaera based on the old Buick and then Rover V8 which has been around for 40 odd years in it's current form. The Cerbera has TVRs own V8 and the Cerbera was the test bed for the engine. Awesomely powerful and torquey but the reliability comparison is exactly what you'd expect comparing a 40 year old design and a brand new one. As a driving experience all the modern TVRs are unparalleled in my opinion (by modern I mean Chimaera / Griffith onwards). I'm now feeling sad as the memories come flooding back ... Dave

Tim, There's a few Yahoo groups. Try http://autos.dir.groups.yahoo.com/dir/Recreation___Sports/Automotive/Makes_and_Models/TVR?show_groups=1 They're a very helpful bunch although rather more beards than you get on here. Cheers Dave

Roy, its excellent. Every now and then it slows down but then my ipaq does that from time to time anyway. Everyone who sees it in action is amazed and wants one !

Yes, a massive difference. There are two reasons : 1) The braking is being applied further from the centre of the wheel so it is applying greater 'leverage'. 2) There is more disk having braking applied to it for each revolution of the wheel. More friction gets applied each time the wheel goes around Not sure if these make sense - if not it's my wording that's the problem ! Dave P.S. Both of these assume that you are moving the caliper further out - it'd be fairly pointless otherwise !

We did this a couple of years ago at Silverstone. A shedload of Z32s, a few Supras, a Lotus Carlton, a Chimaera and a 1600 Caterham all on the track together. A few of the Supras were very quick and overtook Zs, others were overtaken by Zs. The Carlton was mega quick (mainly down to the lunatic driver). Neither the Chimaera nor the Caterham were overtaken by any of the Zs. The Caterham tracked behind the Chimaera for a few laps and then got fed up with the amount of rubber which was being deposited on it's windscreen and finally overtook.

I found the easiest way was behind the ecu behind the passenger footwell. Dave

I'm always up for a pint - and glad to hear the picture is being appreciated. One of these days, I'll make it over your way. I have been contemplating a paraglider flight over to you from the New Forest. It's a tad risky crossing the water but life's full of risks. Unless you're buying a 300 from on here of course in which case it's a cast iron guarantee. Bad Hairsy. In your bed.

I very rarely post these days but feel compelled. 1) Cars go wrong. That's life. 2) Buying a car privately is risky. That's life too. 3) Slagging someone off when you haven't even spoken to them is going to lead to people judging you slightly unfair. 4) Was the purpose of the original post to prompt sympathy ? OK, I'm sorry to hear it. It's sad to have that disappointment. Believe me I've been there. But I never started slagging people off. I accepted it and got on with life.

I doubt it Stu - his box has had all the bits removed that aren't necessary and when Nissan fitted the whining part, it definitely wasn't necessary.

I hear Collins do a good prefeshional dictionary.

Wheelbarrow

That's it ... just keep rubbing it in !!! Of course, really pleased that everyone had a good time - see you there next year.

It has to be the choice of those running the forum whether this sort of thread is acceptable. However, bear in mind that it's this kind of thing that has resulted in most of the longest standing members of this forum no longer bothering to come on here unless they're bored. As a result, the current members have lost out on a wealth of experience. And that's real experience and not the "folklore of technical knowledge" which abounds these days. When people question whether something like this should be on the forum, consider the long term benefits of keeping the forum closer to 'on topic' and not allowing threads which some people are going to find distasteful. Which, in this case, I do. Dave

And thanks to you Paul for being the only person who hasn't rung me up this morning and made me feel worse by saying they're on the way and wanting to make arrangements to meet up !!!

Many thanks for the sentiments everyone. I will think about flying - hadn't considered that. Otherwise I'll try turning up at the port. As everyone says, it's only a race though ... Dave P.S. Craig, will call you shortly

As many of you know, I'm a huge Le Mans fan. Missed last year due to honeymoon but managed to get 15 or so friends (some from here, others not) to sign up for this year. Been looking forward to it for months and a day before we're due to leave Rachel (my wife) gets massive stomach pains and is ambulanced in to hospital. She's been in a couple of days now and they can't find thr problem. There is a possibility that they'll find the problem and I'll still have time to get down there for the weekend but I'll need to get another ferry or Eurostar ticket. Does anyone know a good way to get reasonably priced tickets at short notice ? Can I just turn up ? A brief search gave the result of 'rip off prices for anyone desperate enough to book at the last minute'. If anyone could help me then I'd be eternally grateful. Cheers Dave P.S. And anyone reading this when they return and wondering why I blew you out - I'm sorry !

I've got sympathy with both views. The current rules have made the races far more interesting than they've been for a couple of years (with the exception of the limitation on the number of rain treads available which is approaching homicidal). However, I do agree with Glen also. But perhaps the good olg days were more about the drivers who were around at the time. The days of Senna / Prost / Mansell were fantastic. Three very different approaches to being fast - talent & arrogance / meticulous calculation / brute force. And they were driven by two things : to win AND to be in front of the others. I preferred the old days but the new rules have made the best of what the sport is today.

But not sorry enough to stop yourself pressing Enter presumably. At least you didn't say you were sincerely sorry. Why don't you just join the forum and post your advert in For Sale section ? I don't care if you're making money or not - you're advertising. You really do wind me up.

Andy's right although it's probably not aftermarket. It was a factory option for short people who can't park. No offense to short people. Or people who can't park. Or markets.

I've got the dent in my garage to prove it !

So that housewives can't reverse all the way into the shop.

I think it's Honda actually but a fantastic advert. I seem to be the only person in Wales who's seen it though.

Blimey Warren, you've had more cameras than you've had engines !

Don't get fooled into going for more megapixels than you need. I have an old 1 megapixel camera which I use and I always end up reducing them in size. You only need really high resolution if you're printing. Dave

12 cube tray on the top shelf, next to the peas