james280779

Starting to come together, with the new carpets etc I don't think the seats are 'lost' and actually look pretty good. Still a work in progress but from what I started with (last pic) I am fairly happy

The older Celica Wheels are 14" which is too small but only just. It seems anything above 16" definately OK but possibly even a 15" wheel might be alright, luckily I have both 15 and 17 . I guess there is only one way to find out....

I have been thinking the standard front brakes on my '88 are from a Celica of the same era. it seems alot of the Celica guys upgrade with later Toyota brakes from a supra or celica , some as late as '99 four piston caliper and matching rotor, some state they fit straight onto the 70's celica with larger wheels as clearance is the only issue. I have found some Calipers locally from a mid 90's supra with twin pistons which should surely be an upgrade, from just looking at them they seem like they should fit straight onto exisiting bolt holes, has anyone got experience of going this very inexpensive upgrade route? I am aware there will probably be larger discs required but they are fairly inexpensive compared to the calipers. I intend to just refurb the rears, I am not after super performance just an improvement at a cheap price as alot of other work is currently being done on the car. thanks

I think they look absolutely fine, and when i sell the car it will come with both sets of seats. Travis did you make new runners or mount on the old ones? I have currently mounted on old ones but still need new holes to mount them further back. just seen the old holes so answered my own question. I am putting new carpets in at the same time so I will at least cover that up. ta James

I am in the process of redoing my interior. The leather itself was in great condition (no holes or tears) but looked tatty and a terrible colour. I bought a leather dye kit, stripped it out and have been redying Black (from 80's blue). It looks fantastic. the carpets were grey and falling to bits, a new carpet kit was about 300 quid from Coverdale also in black. I have replaced all the rusty screws spraying the new ones to match the interior, refurbed the original speaker covers, new steering wheel, seats (Elise) , hydro dipped all the crap black plastic, v8 alloy trim to add. Only halfway through but it is looking fantastic and will have cost me well under 800 quid all up including shipping all the parts to Oz. Its time consuming but fairly easy. My car only has 16500 miles from new but almost every screw, bolt and nut was loose. Glad I am doing this job even just for the safety side of it.

Not when the driver is 6'5 and 110 kilos. I am fed up of having to twist my leg to the side in order to change gear and having to always have the sunroof open so I don't bang my head on every bump. everyone has a different perspective. I need more room as I currently avoid driving it because its uncomfortable,

there will be in a couple of weeks .... I have seen pics of them in the older G cars and I know of a couple in later Esprits. I will post some when I finish the project.

Hi Jacques, yes the elise seats are alot smaller but far more comfortable. For me the added bonus is the extra foot of leg room. They are also really easy to get onto the original runners and are exactly the same width as the originals.

I have had several TVR's over the last 15 years, in fact I recently sold my custom 4.7 Chimaera to a guy from Nederlands. If set up properly they handle fantastically well, It (as a marque) doesn't handle as well as the Esprit for sure but they make up for that in noise and exhilaration. They handle a lot better than the vettes I have driven, I always find the LS to be such a lazy engine, none of that from the speed 6. Its probably also the quickest car/s I have ever driven and would leave the Esprit standing (on a straight road). I find them extremely comfortable to drive however I am 6'5 and the TVR is designed for taller people. Peter Wheeler himself was 6'5 so the Chimaera, Cerbera, Griffith and Tuscan were actually designed around his frame. I believe shorter people struggle and often have pedal boxes installed so they can reach the pedals. All in all I think they are a fantastic car and I will be buying another one soon. Possibly a Tuscan S or a Cerb with speed 6 front

I have had this same dilemma, I have now opted for the seats from a mk1 elise with the inflatable back support. Very similar to the GT3 seats minus that side pinching issue. Will be installed very soon, I have put them onto the original runners but because the seats are so much smaller than the originals there is now a huge gap behind the seats. I am going to have to drill 4 new holes and move them back further. They also have the fibreglass backs so I am spraying them same colour as the car.

fair huh I ordered some parts for a car that was being exported. They were quoted a four week turn around. This was in April, come June I am still chasing parts - I wanted them fitted and exported with the car. End of July I have to cancel the shipping as still waiting for parts. The arrive early August and I have no choice but to put them into the car and send as is- fair enough, I swallowed the extra couple of hundred quid it cost to rebook. The fun starts when I try to claim back the VAT (exported = no VAT) HMRC states I have to claim back from supplier, He is simply refusing to give the money back (its over 500 quid). States there is no proof of export despite having bills of lading, statements from mechanic fitting and photos - I was a cop for a decade and there is more than enough for any court. Been ongoing for months. Then he changes his story and is stating they were not his parts but poor aftermarket copies (despite being bespoke, packed in SJ boxes with SJ receipts). The the story changed again, and again. On top of that when I went to fit the parts some were faulty (poor workmanship), offered refund but will cost me more than that to ship back (he knows this). Tried to come to a civil agreement where he covers part of the cost of getting it repaired to the standard it should have been but he simply refuses. Inbetween this I stupidly ordered another part which has been paid for. Never arrived nor sent from what I can establish. I tried explaining my legal rights and he claims I am blackmailing and threatening him. If I meet him I might just do that but remaining professional at the moment. He now refuses to even speak to me.

Funny I have never had anything but problems, currently got ongoing court action against SJ - probably the most obtuse rude person I ever had the displeasure of meeting....... and I was a cop for over 10 years

I will try and get a photo later, basically the bonnet is almost touching the headlight pod when both closed on the drivers side. there is about a 1cm gap on the other. If I open the bonnet the headlight opens fully every time so its not the bushes. The bonnet hinge seems to go under the front plate part of the car and I cannot feel anywhere to adjust it. Its a new problem which has only just developed so its puzzling the hell out of me.

Anyone got any experience of the bonnet moving?? Mine seems to have dropped a cm or so on the drivers side and its stopping the headlight pod from opening fully. If I push it a couple of times it comes up fully. Its not the usual motor turning not moving/ worn bushes, it seems to stop it opening fully by the bonnet being too low then the motor stops . Push again and it comes up a bit more and again until its fully up. I cannot see how to adjust the bonnet - anyone help

and spoiler too , its a bit of a mish mash. Started off as silver with blue interior, bought by a private collector then sprayed norfolk yellow with new bumper/ spoiler. It was then sprayed Lamborghini Orange and developed the leaky fuel tank issue so the museum (by this time was only used for display purposes) got rid of it asap , I then changed interior to black and added all the black detail so it looks alot nicer. spent a small fortune getting it back on the road as it only had done approx 1000 miles this century, thats now doubled lol