Speed Eight Performance dealers/installers: Autobedrijf Post Uiterweer, Alphen a/d Rijn; Beek Auto Racing, Den Haag; Bertil Evers Car Company, Velp; Kim's Speed Shop, Spijkenisse

zondag 17 november 2013

Chimaera spyder: project?

Very rough and ready, quick & dirty Paint rendering...

It's well known that Peter Wheeler's chief inspiration for his '90s models came from the charismatic sports racers from the 1950s and '60s - so why not take the concept one step further and make an open sports racer out of the Chimaera? After all, if Jaguar could do it with their XK8 boulevard cruiser to create the stunning XK180 concept... ;)
The concept would be; no roof (so the interior should be 'ruggedified' by deleting carpets in favour of body colour inside floors etc), reduce to the very essence, a lightweight bruiser for track days and special occasions. A Tuscan Convertible-style twin hoop roll bar would be mandatory I think, as would be some proper carbon fibre buckets from the likes of Reverie.

Of course, this would be built from a damaged/neglected car rather than to cannibalize a perfectly decent Chim... :o)



zaterdag 12 oktober 2013

More useful TVR products from ACT

Given the number of duct tape repairs I've seen on Cerbera airboxes right where the intake hoses are supposed to find a secure connection, these new carbon fibre backing plates from Tim are sure to make a good few friends on our shores.



And now, V8S (and old school Morgan Plus 8) owners can finally swap that nasty corrugated intake hose for a smooth bore silicone item. :) Replacing the 90 degree (well actually it's more like 105 degrees, then 15 the other direction) intake hose with the corresponding ACT item (in black rubber or silicone depending on your preferences)on Griffiths and Chimaeras tends to liberate 3-5 horses on its own, so I would expect a small gain on this application too. You won't feel the difference from that alone, but together with a set of carbon superflare trumpets... cheapest 10-15 bhp/ 20Nm (over a very wide rev range) you'll find on a Rover V8-engined car. :)


maandag 3 juni 2013

Speed Eight Chimaera on the rolling road

 
At Beek Auto Racing, after finalising the full 4.3 'S' spec with the 123tune fully mappable ignition distributor by 123ignition.
 
Full engine spec:
 
4.3 litre, standard sized valve (39.8/34.6 mm) engine with big journal crank, fully balanced and tuftrided
Forged pistons
Lightened and balanced rotating assembly incl. flywheel
Ported heads, new valves and valve train components, bespoke Piper cam
ARP rod bolts and head studs
45 mm ported intake manifold
ACT 45 mm carbon superflare trumpets; thermal trumpet base gasket
ACT carbon twin throttle plenum and intake hoses
Huge Bosch airflow meter (BMW 4.4-4.8l V8); Siemens 'Vectra' injectors
ACT stainless performance exhaust manifolds + decat pipes
123tune USB programmable ignition
Magnecore ignition leads
 
Result - 300 hp @ 6000 rpm or 50-60 hp over a standard 4.3 engine -  with excellent driveability at all rpm and load levels, superb response and a very wide power band (2000-6000 rpm). Also, the lightened internals and carbon plenum have reduced the weight by about 15 kg...
 
 
The red line is the result of the run with the mapped 123tune ignition (5000-6000 rpm) - +26 hp maximum, + 40 hp at 6000 rpm!