Oliver Edwards's Grantura - 7C157
Last updated - 26-06-02
Photo's to receive!!
The Grantura is chassis number 7/C/157. This indicates that is originally had a Coventry Climax engine in it, and the Alfin drum brakes at the front confirm this, however when my Father and I bought it in September 1995 it had a Wolseley 1498cc engine. As this is the original MGA engine, when we were offered a rebuilt 1622cc engine and gearbox cheaply we bought these to make it go a bit faster. A previous owner has removed the body and rebuilt the chassis, and all the brakes and suspension have been done. The body is quite a mess, most panels have been hit at some stage and the rear light had been moved, so I have had to totally strip all the layers off paint off and rebuild much of the body. Finally I am getting to the filler and sanding stage, which means the car is starting to look like a car again. The interior has been totally lost, only the seats look maybe original. The dashboard has been replaced with a Ford Cortina Mark 2 one, so we will have to make up a new TVR style one. There is no headlining or carpets, but I am sure that after owning a Vixen and a Taimar I can sort these out. I tried to trace the car through the club and the DVLA in the UK, but no one has any record of the car before 1989! It has lost it's original UK registration and so looks like it has been off the road for many years. As there was no registration and the front indicators and back lights had been filled in I think it may have been used for racing/hillclimbing, though it does not appear to have had a roll cage fitted. The club's first knowledge of it is in 1989 when it was red with a Ford 1600cc crossflow engine in it, so it hasd had a lot of attention over the years even if not much of it has been in the right direction. Eventually we would like to put a Climax engine back in, and then maybe do some hillclimbs or rallies with it, but first it must get back on the road. Tracking down all the parts is proving to be the biggest headache, especially instruments for the dashboard. One day it will be finished, let's hope it is worth it! Unfortunately I do not have a digital camera, and the scanner is not working at the moment, but if you are in the TVR Car Club some pictures can be found in late 1995 when I started doing the Grantura reports in "Sprint" magazine. These have dropped off recently, as there is never much progress to report.
Current Owner:
Oliver Edwards (UK)
To contact the owner, please route inquiries through the registar.
Registar: serel@zeelandnet.nl