I am looking at buying a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend’s ’84 Tasmin and have a few questions.

The car has 50k documented miles and seems to be in decent overall shape. It has a reasonable maintenance history, but is a looking a little more tired than I would expect for the age/miles. It has spent some time in the north east (I am in North Georgia) so I wonder if this might be a factor. Do these cars just not wear very well?

I know I will be wanting to clean up the frame/chassis. Are there any particularly weak areas to which I should pay attention as part of an inspection (this is a Series 1 car)? Is it a big deal to pull the body off the frame/chassis later for restoration?

I am not particularly keen on the looks of the “federal” front bumper with the inset side/direction lights. I know Series 2 have the side/direction lights in the lower spoiler, but other than having to sort this out, is the later bumper a direct bolt-on replacement for the bigger/early ones?

Thanks in anticipation.

Mark,
I have just finished going through a 1984 Tasmin/280i that came out of a Georgia barn, and also have a 1987 280i, one of the very last to come into the country as TVR was pulling out of the market. If the car in question spent some time in the northeast, check the chassis thorougly for any rust, including the outriggers (under the side rocker panels).
You mentioned the Federal front bumper. The one on my 84 had rotted off the car and I replaced it with the European bumper and a spoiler with integrated driving lights from a 350i. (you can see my car detailed on my website at www.cmw-tvr.com under "Restoration of a 1984 280i 'Barn Find'). If you would like to discuss the car further, feel free to get in touch with me at cmw-tvrcox.net.

Marshall

Marshall,

Thanks for the tips. The 350i front bumper and spoiler looks a whole bunch better to my eyes that the "federal" item.

I'll check in via email.

Mark

And Marshall would know better than me, but a lot of the surviving cars have surprisingly low mileage (my '86 has 40K). Grady

Grady, Thanks for your input. I've moved on from the first cars I found and have bought an '86 Series 2 with 60K. Needs some tidying, but nothing major. Just as I committed to the one I have bought another popped up "locally" on eBay in the Columbus, Ga., area (about 2 hours away max.) See eBay item 90228726983. I spoke with the owner last week. An '86 with just 11k on the clock. It sounds like a great prospect for a winter 2008/9 project. I'd have to juggle my storage a bit to get another project indoors, but I am tempted.

Funny how they pop up. I spent a year or two looking and finally bought mine up east and had it shipped in. 3 weeks later, an excellent one turned up on eBay 2 miles from my house.

I'm guessing you bought the white one on eBay. The blue one looks good too. In fact I don't recall seeing a real dog in a while. But I'd prefer not to discuss current prices.

Grady