TVR Chimaera ??

[Nigel Brook]

THOUGHT THIS WAS Z CLUB !, not an " I'd like a TVR,PORSCHE,ASTON MARTIN, ROLLS ROYCE, RELIANT ROBIN," club

 

[adrianfr]

MrG240Z, I had a Citroen DS back in the seventies, finest car I have ever owned. Fantastic engineering, beautiful to drive, I used to nip down to Italy for the weekend in it it was that nice to drive, and thats before the French Motorway network went down there, so it was all A roads. Suspension and brakes fantastic. Cant recomend them highly enough. I only lost it as I lent it to a friend who wanted to go to Wales in it and he cooked it on the M4 and seized the motor and it wasnt worth the cost of recovery and new engine. Adrian

 

[Zbirdy]

Nigel, I still have, and love my 240z.

 

[Andytt]

Nigel, I think you will find that most of us are car enthusiasts first and Z lovers second, the fact that most of us can own any car we please but choose to own Z's, besides most of us have spent more on our Z's than it would cost to buy any of the cars you mention, that should speak for itself, for those who drool over other machinery but cannot afford them yet so will make do with a Z for the time being, let them go out there and experience the rest I am sure that ultimately they will never forget what accomplished cars Z's are.
Now I think I will go and raid the piggy bank for that 2005 Mustang GT..........

 

[ZHead]

AndyTT and Sean are right Zbirdy - a well sorted V8 Z is a fearsome animal that will handle better, stop better and be more individual than any TVR.

A "standard" LS6 corvette engine in a 240/260 should do 0-60 in about 4 secs give or take half a second depending on setup. Top speed a bit more awkward because of the "london bus" aerodynamics favoured by Nissan for the S30.

Cost..... ? Anywhere between 8-9K for an Okish one to 70k for a beast and a half.

Just imagine..... the sound of a V8 with the stunning sweeping lines of an S30, marriage made in heaven, but in case Alan is reading it was NEVER designed to have a V8 in, is most definitely NOT an American sportscar or a muscle car (seriously) but it works sooooooo well when you put the V8 in you could be forgiven for thinking it might have been meant to be there.

 

[Wyn]

Would luv one......... for a day

Wouldn't want to be in one in a crash

deffo over priced imho
a 4.0 engined Z would look/be better imo

btw, can sort you out a complete chimera 4.0 engine/box package if you are feeling flush

 

[Black Bug]

To controversially counter some claims

Yes a V8 Z is a lovely thing but it's chassis was never designed for it whereas the TVR ladder frame definitely was. And if I was going to have a crash in either I'd much prefer to be in a TVR than a Z, particularly a Cerbera with it's integral roll cage.

And Don, you're in trouble, you've had me looking on Auto Trader!! Damn, you can get some serious car for not (relatively) a lot of money!

Cheers,
Rob

 

[Andytt]

When you put a V8 in a Z you modify the chassis to suit, in reality a well strengthened Z will be a much better place to be in an accident, besides £ for £ a Cerbera wouldn't see which way a V8 Z went

 

[Zbirdy]

LOL, you lot are all drooling now.
Im not really a spec buff, i simply like the shape of the chimaera, and i suppose the lightweight body and big lump are an added attraction, and that v8 roar of course. I wouldnt want to ruin a 240 though.
Cant see the joy in changing and destroying a classic sports coupe, by putting in something that shouldnt be there, especially a chevvy lump, yuk. Rip the heart out of your Z, sacriledge.
Don.

 

[Black Bug]

When you put a V8 in a Z you modify the chassis to suit, in reality a well strengthened Z will be a much better place to be in an accident, besides £ for £ a Cerbera wouldn't see which way a V8 Z went

Now, now

My point about the Z chassis is that you have to modify it to cope with the power - in fact there's a number of hybriders that have gone tubular because of the inherent limitations of the unibody.

How much would it cost to build a Z with sub 4s 0-60 and sub 10s 0-100 with a top end of 180+mph? You can buy a 4.2 Cerbera for £15k that will do that and you get air con

I mean if we really want to get in to a modified Z versus Cerbera discussion, there's a guy building a blown Cerbera at the moment with a projected 1000+bhp.

Cheers,
Rob

 

[Wyn]

Now, now

How much would it cost to build a Z with sub 4s 0-60 and sub 10s 0-100 with a top end of 180+mph?
Cheers,
Rob

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=72205&item=7984369051&rd=1

Ok i'll change the record lol

 

[Andytt]

Well my 260Z will do 60 in less than 4 secs, 130 in 11 secs and 180mph+ and it cost me no more than the cost of a Cerbera, it does have a 6 point roll cage and other chassis strengthening mods and feels rock solid at any speed, certainly much more solid than any TVR I have ever driven, point is it will completely blow away a Cebera, totally different league in the performance stakes, and yes it is well known on Hybrid Z as a thoroughly engineered supercar, and as for turbos any body can bolt on a couple of turbos and get 1000+ horsepower and I can assure you it is much more feasible to do it to a Chevy V8, infact I toyed with the idea of buying one such engine from a guy in Calfornia but I thought I would get used to 550bhp first..............game set and match to the Z's,
Oh and my 260Z has aircon as well

 

[Andytt]

900ss: Brand new Full house LS1 with 650bhp and as much torque will cost the starting price of the Cossie lump supplied and engineered into the Z as a turn key car.

 

[SeanDezart]

".............and it cost me no more than the cost of a Cerbera" - but Zbirdy was quoting 70000 ?

 

[Andytt]

LoL........only drooling over the possibility of putting more V8's in our Z's to pulverise any TVR or any other so called supercar in sight, when does modifying a Z become sacrilegious, my feeling is that it starts when you convert a left hooker to right hand drive, fact is the popularity of Z's as a 21st century proposition is partly due to all the guys out there modifying their Z's and frightening contemporary supercars, Spike started this in the early 70's and now the game has moved on. and when you sit there feeling all smug with your so called standard non modified non sacrilegious Z, remember that all those modified Z's you see trouncing serious supercars are the cars giving yours credibility.

 

[ZHead]

If you take AndyTT's 660Z and look at the torque and horsepower figures and the acceleration times then look down the specs of the supercars in the back of a magazine like Evo you will be surprised.

A well sorted V8Z is most definitely a giant killer.

AndyTT we need to talk my gearing according to Mr F should see (theoretically) 186mph but we all know thatan S30 simply won't go that fast without mucho aerodynamic help. The guys on HybridZ seem to do it all the time, yours does it so I would be grateful if you would help me out by letting me take a peek, maybe the engineer too (Laurence Evans) to see how yours has been made so stable.

Oh .... might be an idea to take some nay syaers out in these when mine is finished to dispel bigotted myths STeve !!!!!!!! where are you ? We need the hugger orange involved too !!!

 

[zeeman1972]

Zhead, I'm still about, LS1 due for its first (of many ) installations over the next couple of weeks. Need to pop up to get that rad from you at some point. Sunshine and a taxed 260Z plus other stuff put pay to me ripping the engine out sooner; however, tax is up at the end of the month so.....

Reading through this thread has kept me amused for many days.

For my shillings-worth (beware potentially contentious comment following) I would say that there is realistically very little difference between a second-hand TVR and Hybrid Z, £ for £ you could get both to do exactly the same for approximately the same amount of money. Of course if you did some or all of the work on a standard Z yourself, it would be substantially cheaper and, if this is your bag, entirely different and personal i.e. suited to your tastes/requirements for a car!


My car, a 570Z if you will, will have a modified LS1 + 6 speed, Quaife dif, Arizona Z Suspension, Brakes and Control arms, various bits of body strenghting with roll cage plus a few other niceties (elec windows, Remote locking, etc). Budget £13k. Expected power 450bhp, with total turn key reliability, comfort and fair 26+mpg. In real time I would expect this car to at the very least be on par with a 5L Chimaera given driver equality.

I have looked to build a V8Z for many years because I love the feel and amusement of manual V8 cars and I love the look of 240/260Z's (plus I can fit in them which is more than I can say for TVR's, ahem!)

If you like the look and enjoy the ride of a car, buy it and drive it!

If you can't find all your favourites in one car, build it!



Zbirdy, I'd say, drive the car, if it puts a smile on your face like you swallowed a coat hanger then buy it! Provided you get it looked over by someone who knows their TVR's, then you pays your money and takes your chance like anyone else buying a second-hand car.

Hope all goes well.

Steve

 

[Andytt]

What ! another V8 Zman, and he is a club member too.................hmmmmm, another man in good company..................lololololol

 

[ZHead]

Like it or lump it the V8 brigade is getting traction - in the 80s it was Mr F and Luke Borg (yes I DROOLED over their cars back then, all this is their fault).

That makes 3 V8s I know of, another for sale at Mr F's albeit slightly smaller, Rover powered but WELL worth the asking price.

We have the spread from 13K to ridiculous but they will all go like stink and upset many hardened sixes.

Steve hit the nail on the head - if you grin like you have swallowed a coat hanger you have won the game, you love driving your car, it matters not whether it is a morris minor, a 6, an 8 or a V12, driving pleasure is what it's all about (oh, and whooping nay sayers at the drag strip, on the track and at shows )

 

[zedhead260]

1, Steve's
2, Andy's

Who's is the 3rd ??