I have now fallen in love with my car

This was a seminal weekend for me and the TVR. A nice long three days off with reasonable weather and much to do. Over the weekend I visited two car shows, received hundreds of compliments and spent good bonding time with my little one who now appears to have changed her mind about Daddy's noisy car.

The first show was Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe. A small show but a good turn out of fifty cars including everything from a 1930s Roller to hot rods, Aston Racers and MGBs. The Chimaera was more modern than most of the kit there - it's closest rival being a 1980s Sierra Sapphire Cosworth in mint condition. However, it held it's own well and saw an awful lot of attention. This was split between the adults coming over to start with the line "I used to have one of these..." and the young lads who loved the detailed engine bay and interior. It was by no means the star of the show but plenty lusted after it and wanted to know more. Which made me happy.

What I did find interesting was that no matter how well groomed I though my Chim was, next to concours material, it looks almost the less loved brother. But then the blokes who run these flawless machines every weekend spend more time polishing their chrome than enjoying their motor so good luck to them. I did notice a small rubber bung had been ripped from the front left side of the interior engine bay bodywork, exposing a bit of the fire glass and leaving a nasty hole through which rain could percolate into the innards. A bit of sealant has delivered a quick fix but I need to work out what it did so i can find another one.

The second was the much larger and considerably more established 'Cars on the Green' at Croxley Green run by the local Watford and District Classic Vehicle Club. It's a well know event that happens on May and August Bank Holidays and usually attracts a couple of hundred cars. Very well organised and a good spread. There was a huge variety there, all parked in reasonably obvious categories so you can compare similar vehicles next to each other. There were two other Chims there - no Cerbies or Griff which was a surprise. The first was the clean but not entirely inspiring red 450 below. It was nice but a bit stock for me.

The other was a more interesting 400 in Ash Green (I really love that colour) with a turned alloy dash and an aftermarket grill that added to the car's presence. It looked like it had aftermarket suspension too but the owner was off looking at other stuff so I couldn't ask him.

What struck me most about the show was that the best cars in terms of attention and quality were the late 70s, eighties and even nineties cars. People are clearly really starting to show love and attention to pristine models from these eras and good ones are starting to look rather special. Check out the brand new look on this Golf GTi 16v, the perfect Calibra below, a really lovely Fiat Coupe, and my personal star of the show this immaculate BMW M5. Just beautiful and there are so few of these about that aren't just M535i's.

Again - the Chim got lots of attention and it was nice to have a car there that people seemed genuinely interested in. There were plenty of rarer cars but the subtle modifications to my little beast obviously drew the same attention from others at as it did from me six months ago. Nice to know it's considered worthy of attention. Not quite as much as this bonkers Merc SEC. God know what engine it's running but the twin sets of quad side exit exhausts hint at the monster within.

The car's attention had made the little one think twice about her hatred of the car. And being able to clamber all over it whilst others can only look (see below) but not touch made her feel special. So Daddy's car is back in the good books, for now.

But it was none of the above that made me decide to keep this car for a bit. It was something much simpler. It was Shell V power. My god what a difference that fuel makes to this car!! I was told by my trusty mechanic that an older engine like this won't see a lot of benefit from a higher RON fuel. Time to find a new mechanic. It's a totally different car. The pick up from low revs is much stronger, it's smoother all round, it moves through traffic with less grumble and it starts like it should. The drives from place to place this weekend were a dream - so much so that I starting to wonder what about this car had not clicked with me so far. Perhaps it was just trying to tell me it wanted steak not gruel.

Where previously I have been unsure, today I am a Tiv owner reformed. Never again will garbage fuel enter it's tank.

My wife still hates it though. Frankly, I don't care. It stays.

A two year old says 'no' and first car shows in public

My daughter is two years old and has now had her first trip in the Chim. It started reasonably well, and then got progressively worse and ended up with a clear message that she didn't want to go in it again.

The car seat was the first puzzle. Getting it in the car under the roofline was tough but actually once it was in, it secured in very nicely. We have the maxi cosy thingy with the red bits and the ...oh, OK - so I have no idea what we have but it fits, it is secure and with the roll bar as well, no harm will come.

If getting the seat in the car was hard, getting the child in the car was harder. Beacuse the car seat is quite high, the apeture through which to place said child in said Tiv becomes very small. I eventually managed to get her in by offering her up horizontally through the gap like a sacrificial lamb. Once in, straps were easy enough to engage and she settled in nicely for the drive ahead.

I turned the key, the engine caught, and she nearly wet herself with fear. Big noises and two year old baby girls don't always mix well. Evetually the tears stopped and we drove off. She was rather silent throughout apart from when I asked her if she was OK to which the reply was always "No Daddy car". OK - so she hasn't fallen in love with it.

But the trip got worse. I took her with me to pick up some cash from a garage that owed me money on a car they had sold. I got there and left her sitting patiently in the car. Five minutes later, I got back into the car to find she had kicked the entire top of the dashboard off the car (NOTE: email seller about why the hell he replaced everything on the car except the dashboard reatining nut!!). It didn't take long to get back into position and keep it there with a new nut but it wasn't a great moment.

When we finally arrived home - she couldn't wait to get out. Since then she has refused to go anywhere near the car and I think we won't see her in it again for some time.

If I'm honest - this was a real disapointment. I had hoped she would love this car and we would enjoy hours fo father and daughter fun in it for years to come. Sadly - it's going to have to wait until she's a bit older.

In other news - some bloke came up to me in the street and offered me £17k for the car. I obviously attempted to bite his hand off but after we'd exchanged numbers he never called. Even worse, it made me think about the potential value of the car so I put it on Pistonheads for £15k to see what happens. What happened was a barrage of abuse from the forum and no enquiries. Anyway - it's still up there. If someone out there wants to spend £15k on a Chim, it might as well be mine!

The long weekend brings with it the chance to take the car out to a couple of shows. The Croxley Green 'Cars on the Green' on Sunday and the Royal Grammar School in High Wycombe Car show on Saturday. Anyone who wants to see the car in the flesh is welcome to have a poke around.

Photos and video of the weekend's antics to come next week.