TVR Chimaera

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Which classics still have the potential to get up and go? Robert Couldwell remembers the cars, the people… and how to make a classic hot car!

With a production run spanning ten years the Chimaera was one of TVR’s most successful models and justifibly so. Here was a car that boasted muscular looks and performance back in 1993 but was fairly civilised and usable – a modern take on the Big Healey in oh so many ways, not least the fact that this Blackpool blaster is one of the last old school sports cars, the like we won’t see again.

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Offered with modifid 4.0 (240 bhp) and 4.3-litre(280 bhp) versions of the Rover V8, the running gear was Griffith 4-litre with softer springing, Bilstein dampers instead of Konis, an anti-roll bar and catalytic converters. In February 1994 the Borg Warner T5 gearbox replaced the less robust Rover one and in August of that year the new ‘Serpentine’ engine employing a single poly-vee belt driving a new alternator, power steering and water pumps surfaced. From late 1994 the 5-litre (325 bhp) was offered and at one time there was a mouthwatering choice of 4, 4.5 or 5-litre versions!

There is little visible difference between the first cars and the latest; in 1996 the door opening buttons were moved to the mirrors, the boot lip lengthened, the rear panel colour-keyed and the grille divided. In February 1998 the number plate lights were changed, 12 month’s later the boot hinges were hidden and in 2001 the headlights were faired in and the seats improved.

The biggest problem with these cars is ironically lack of use and subsequently care; there’s many ratty Chimaeras around meaning that a bargain buy may not be. Rust isn’t a major worry with the chassis but poor accident damage is. Mechanically the car fares rather better although certain spares are becoming scarce. TVR went for a contemporary interior and most of the instruments and switches are specific which can cause difficulties as replacements are hard to find. All cars had rather average quality leather upholstery which doesn’t wear particularly well and the dashboard is either covered in leather which doesn’t respond well to sunshine. Vinyl ones are better. Buy the best you can – it will reward you in the long run. You can pick up a decent example in the region of £8000 or less but top cars can add up to ten grand more.

This series is all about hotting up classics but it has to be said for many, a standard Chimaera in good order (and a refettle by a reputable specialist can work wonders) is fast enough. And if you want the pep of a 5-litre then it may be best to get one from the outset…

Hotting one up

Surely the only reason you could have for improving the already prodigious performance of any version of the Chimaera is to take it to track days. While TVR’s power claims for the Chimaera were somewhat optimistic the lowest powered 4 litre still produces around 215bhp in a car weighing barely a ton giving road-tested 0-60 figures below five seconds and maximum speeds above 150 mph. The 4-litre HC, the 4.3 and 4.5-litres are faster still but the real hot rod is the 5.0 with 0-60 in just over four seconds and a maximum of nearly 170 mph.

I asked TVR specialist and racer Doug Elwood of David Gerald Sports Cars (http://www.davidgeraldtvr. com) how you should improve the performance of your Chimaera and he said that if you have a 4.0 you should buy a 5-litre and if you already have one of those then you will need deep pockets to make it go much faster…

You can take two of the three cats out but that will cost £500 plus and Doug reckons the car will feel brighter but it won’t be much faster.

You can put in a more extreme cam which will compromise road driveability and you can add a mappable ECU and add a smooth bore inlet tract for a couple of horse power but you will have spent £2000 for little effect.

For track days Doug believes that provided your engine is performing to original spec you should concentrate on the handling and brakes. Make it faster on the corners rather than on the straights and you’ll be quick enough!

Another TVR guru is Dom Trickett who owns TVR Power which, until he bought it six years ago was a subsidiary of the TVR factory which modified every Rover V8 installed in production TVRs. Dom probably knows more than any one about the Rover V8 having supervised the development and modification of literally thousands of them. He also believes that the first place to go with improving a Chimaera is handling but does offer a wide range of engine upgrades. He aggrees with Doug that the first stop is changing the engine management system by installing the highly effi- cient MBE system which does away with the need for many of the standard engine bay peripherals which can cause problems in older cars, such as the air mass meter and stepper motor. In addition coil packs replace the standard distributor and a new programmable ECU complete with bespoke map is complimented by a brand new engine wiring loom. Also a trigger wheel is fitted to enable fully mappable fuel and ignition. This is not cheap at £2490 as a drive in-drive out fitment but it will improve the driveability as well as fuel consumption.

Next step is a complete engine upgrade at £3250 plus VAT which involves driving your car into TVR Power who will strip, inspect and hone the bores, replace main bearings, big end shells and rings, balance crank, rods and fl ywheel and replace anything worn. They will also uprate the cam, port the cylinder heads, cut three-angle valve seats and skim the block.

TVR Power will then give an impressive three year unlimited mileage warranty and the work will result in around an extra 20bhp, much better driveability and fuel consumption improved from around 22-26 mpg which will actually give a return on the expenditure. Similar upgrades are available for the 4.0 HC, 4.3 and 5-litre engines and there is even talk of a supercharger which would take the 4-litre to a genuine 300bhp for around £5000. Details of the various upgrades are shown on TVR Power’s excellent web site: http://www.tvrpower.co.uk.

The standard cooling system is just about up to the job provided that the radiator which could be up to 20 years old is not silted up. Aluminium radiators can be fitted and the high efficiency fans fitted to later cars can be fitted to earlier ones.