1994 TVR Chimaera project

[pmc]

Here is my latest project, a 1994 TVR Chimaera. I've wanted one for around 20 years and I'd been saving up to buy one when an opportunity came up that was too good to pass up. I hadn't planned to buy one that was as much of a project but it's mostly there and it was cheap. The chap I bought it off (a friend of a friend) had bought it with the intention of turning it in to a race car and started to strip it (hence the lack of interior) and then moved away and it sat in his Mum's garage for the next 8 years.

The good bits - the bodywork is in pretty good condition, the wheels are tidy, the engine turns over by hand and has a genuine 65k miles, it has the T5 gearbox, the trim that is still intact (door cards, tunnel top, seats) are all pretty good, I have most of the bits to put it back together.

The bad bits - the outriggers need replacing, Paul (previous owner) never had is running (it was missing the ecu when he bought it from a TVR specialist), the carpets all got binned, some of the bits are going to be difficult to trim (round the windscreen and the back of the dash)

For some reason the plenum was off the car when Paul bought it. I think I've worked out why, in the box with the top of the plenum were two idle stepper motors, one old and one new. The old one looks like it had been sheared off as there is no thread on it.

As you can see there is plenty of work to do and money to be spent, however if I can do the work to it for £5k or less it will still be cheap TVR.  The initial plan is to get the engine running before ploughing money in to chassis work.


2022-12-19 15.11.42 by Pete Clayton, on Flickr

2022-12-19 15.12.47 by Pete Clayton, on Flickr

2022-11-23 13.02.17-1 by Pete Clayton, on Flickr

2022-11-23 13.03.14-1 by Pete Clayton, on Flickr

[legend]

lifted the body off one of these last month, was a bit of a nightmare.

[Kelvinator]

Sounds/looks like an awesome project, look forward to seeing more!

[bricol]

Went to the factory when they were building them . . . came away with a new found respect for Mr. Dutton

I did have a Chimaera for a short time though - enjoyed it, but being hassled by housewives in Mondeos in the wet got a bit wearing

[maf260]

If you complete it for £5k or less can I buy it off you for a small profit afterwards?!

[pmc]

Jan 3, 2023 18:16:43 GMT maf260 said:

If you complete it for £5k or less can I buy it off you for a small profit afterwards?!

I meant if I can do it for less than £5k on top of what I paid for it then it will still be bottom of the market money, however t's not likely I'll be selling it as it's one of my bucket list cars.

[pmc]

Jan 2, 2023 19:16:20 GMT legend said:

lifted the body off one of these last month, was a bit of a nightmare.

Yeah, I've watched some videos on it and it does look a big job. I'm not sure I have the space to do it and I don't want it to turn in to a multi year project so I'll probably get one of the specialists to do it.

[Phil2600s]

I love these. I've got a rare 430 Chimaera that's had new outriggers, new hood etc but needs finishing off. I really need to either sell it or finish it but there's never enough time! I'll be following this with interest. Might motivate me.

[legend]

Jan 3, 2023 19:55:56 GMT pmc said:

Jan 2, 2023 19:16:20 GMT legend said:

lifted the body off one of these last month, was a bit of a nightmare.

Yeah, I've watched some videos on it and it does look a big job. I'm not sure I have the space to do it and I don't want it to turn in to a multi year project so I'll probably get one of the specialists to do it.

the outriggers are at a funny angle too, so the chance of welding replacements on accurately is an issue. Taking the shell off is relatively simple, but it's very flexible and fragile, don't try it with the doors open.  The Chassis has now gone to some guys in Sheffield to replace the outriggers and blast and paint it

[Alpina99]

Well, yet another thread I've got to bookmark,
Love these cars, (but at 6ft 5ins & "less than anorexic" I doubt I could fit in one,)
This should prove to be a very interesting thread,
Looking forward to seeing future updates,
Nigel

[misteralz]

Jan 4, 2023 10:37:08 GMT Alpina99 said:

Well, yet another thread I've got to bookmark,
Love these cars, (but at 6ft 5ins & "less than anorexic" I doubt I could fit in one,)
This should prove to be a very interesting thread,
Looking forward to seeing future updates,
Nigel

It's one of the Wheeler era TVRs. He was a giant! I'm 6'3" in the old money and I fit in these and Cerberas without a problem. You'd probably have more trouble fitting in one if you were short.

[henspeed]

Watching with interest

[Alpina99]

Jan 4, 2023 10:47:48 GMT misteralz said:

Jan 4, 2023 10:37:08 GMT Alpina99 said:

Well, yet another thread I've got to bookmark,
Love these cars, (but at 6ft 5ins & "less than anorexic" I doubt I could fit in one,)
This should prove to be a very interesting thread,
Looking forward to seeing future updates,
Nigel

It's one of the Wheeler era TVRs. He was a giant! I'm 6'3" in the old money and I fit in these and Cerberas without a problem. You'd probably have more trouble fitting in one if you were short.

Wish you hadn't said that lol,

Nigel

[pmc]

No at lot to take pictures of currently. As I mentioned before when Paul had bought the car it was missing the ECU, he'd sourced one but I wanted to check it was a TVR one as they use a Landrover one with a different chip. It did have writing on the label which was a good sign but I took the lid off it to check the chip and that has some tape with 4.0 written on it so I'm hoping we're good with that.

2022-12-20 21.57.20 by Pete Clayton, on Flickr

2022-12-21 08.36.34 by Pete Clayton, on Flickr

I've put the ignition barrel back together (it had been taken apart because Paul thought he'd lost the keys and then found them) and I've put the column stalks back on. A battery has been purchased and connected up to get an idea of what is working. I couldn't test all of the lights because I'm missing the lower dash panel and switches where the radio goes but the column controls all worked, reverse lights, boot solenoid etc and importantly the touch key on the immobiliser turned off the light and I could get the ignition. Bits that didn't seem to work the main interior fan, the fuel gauge and the oil pressure gauge went straight to max, I also thought I'd turn the key just to see if the starter would engage briefly and not actually crank it yet but it just clicked so I presumed it might be jammed.

Yesterday evening I thought I would try connecting up the ECU mate code reader that came with the car to check it could communicate, but when I tried it couldn't talk to the ECU. I thought I'd have a quick google to find out what fuse was the ECU one is in case that was the cause and found a post where someone had changed the battery on an early Chimaera and then it wouldn't start. The early ones didn't have a remote fob and used the key to deactivate the alarm and it said if that wasn't deactivated the ECU, fuel pump and fuel gauge wouldn't get any power. I'd figured disarming the immobiliser would have been enough. As the doors and all the latches aren't on the car I plugged in the loom connector on one of the door locks to see if that would work and found when I pressed the microswitch on it a relay clicked and the alarm light stopped flashing. When I turned the ignition on the fuel gauge sprung in to life and the ECU mate could connect up, I also momentarily turned the key and the starter kicked in!

I've got a missing hose connector and blank for the plate at the bottom of the plenum on the way so that I can get that reassembled. The plan is to whip the plugs out and put a little oil down the bores. Then next week I'm planning to crank it over with the fuel pump relay pulled and plugs out to get some oil pressure, drain the fuel and put some fresh in and try and start it. It's my 40th next week and I have the day off so that seems like a good day to try a first start.

[ToolsnTrack]

I have a bit of knowledge on these..

youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfokIQ_fMTx-A6wE3oO2K4ehzf3Bhaq4a

Give us a shout if you get stuck

[pmc]

Today I whipped the plugs out and put a little oil down the bores. I left it for a bit and then pulled the fuel pump relay and thought I'd spin it over without the plugs in to get a bit of oil round the engine. I cranked it over for a few seconds and the oil pressure light didn't go out, I thought maybe it just needed a bit longer so tried again. I then noticed a big puddle of oil appearing under the car. It seems the ECU wasn't the only thing that had been removed but also the oil pressure sender! I'm glad I wasn't trying to run it. Oil pressure sender on order.

2023-01-07 10.58.13 by Pete Clayton, on Flickr

2023-01-07 12.48.30-1 by Pete Clayton, on Flickr

[Kelvinator]

Sounds like a visual and spanner check is in order before going too much further, just to see what else has been removed/loosened?

Great progress so far though, sounds like it's coming alive bit by bit.

[pmc]

I set myself a target of making the car run today (my 40th birthday). So have been doing various bits in preparation this week.

Reassembled the plenum and connected all of the pipes.

2023-01-13 10.32.00 by Pete Clayton, on Flickr

2023-01-13 10.31.35 by Pete Clayton, on Flickr

I ordered an oil pressure sender from one of the TVR specialists but when it arrived it appears I'm missing an adapter as well as the thread is too small. Time limited I went to a local motor factors and picked up an oil pressure switch for a V8 Landrover Discovery to plug the hole, it was only a fiver. I screwed it in and spun the engine over again without the plugs, the oil pressure light went out and no obvious leaks.

When I was trying to find the paint code from the VIN plate I noticed the engine number ended HC. TVR did a HC model of the 400 Chimaera which had high lift cams and a couple of other tweaks and is 35bhp up over the standard 400. I was told to take the VIN with a pinch of salt as cars got badged up as all sorts and they are not necessarily correct. I was told if it was a HC the pistons would be pocketed as they had to be for the cam. Whilst I had the plugs out I borrowed a scope and had a look, they look pocketed to me.

2023-01-12 21.09.46 by Pete Clayton, on Flickr

2023-01-12 21.14.19 by Pete Clayton, on Flickr

Today as planned I tried to start her.

Here's the first attempt (Ignore the date on the Go Pro I was struggling to set it this morning!)
first start by Pete Clayton, on Flickr

It took a couple of tries and she burst in to life!
2023-01-13 10.27.40 by Pete Clayton, on Flickr

The only issue is the revs wouldn't drop, it was sitting at between 2.5-3k rpm. Initially I thought a vacuum leak but then I noticed this.

2023-01-13 17.09.01 by Pete Clayton, on Flickr

The throttle pot was showing 21% even with it not running. I took the pipe from the MAF sensor off and looked at the butterfly and it's open a fair bit! From what I've read it should be pretty much completely closed, it looks like someone had been fiddling.

2023-01-13 17.11.10 by Pete Clayton, on Flickr

The annoying thing is the grub screw to adjust it is underneath so the plenum needs to come back off.

[pmc]

Good news, I posted some bits on one of the Facebook groups and asked if something was missing from the linkage here

2023-01-13 19.00.07 by Pete Clayton, on Flickr

I had a reply saying that a rotary spring was missing and also that it had been assembled incorrectly the tab on the lower part should sit inside the fork. I thought this might be a spindle out job (it will be for the spring) but I was told if I loosened the 4 bolts holding the bracket to the plenum I should be able to move it enough to slot it in. Sure enough I was able to do it and with that done the throttle butterfly looks pretty much closed, the ECU Mate was now showing 6% on the throttle pot. I started her up and it was now idling at around 1100 rpm cold so much better. The engine sounds a bit tappy so I'll need to look in to that. It might be it just needs and oil change and running for a while as it's been sat so long or it could be manifold gaskets/manifold, hopefully nothing too major.

[pmc]

When I bought the car it was missing the lower dash panel with switches and buttons. The other week I was looking on ebay and found a listing for 'TVR Chimaera Hazard And Warning Light Switch Mounting Panel'.

s-l1600 by Pete Clayton, on Flickr

I had presumed they were just fitted in to the fascia panel but there are actually metal mounting panels behind. I messaged the seller just to confirm they were correct and why I needed them and he replied to say that he actually had the switches and lights as well. We did a deal and I bought them. In one of the boxes with the car I had found the wiring harnesses for them so when they arrived I had a go at plugging them in to see what worked. A very helpful person on one of the facebook groups had drawn a diagram of which wire went where.

2023-01-26 18.58.43 by Pete Clayton, on Flickr

Success, everything works as it should. I'm going to clean up and paint the mounting plates before putting the switches and lights in.

When testing bits I did notice the brake lights didn't work.

2023-01-28 10.26.42 by Pete Clayton, on Flickr

That would explain it! New brake light switch ordered and fitted and they now work too.

2023-01-28 10.49.08 by Pete Clayton, on Flickr