A friend is looking at buying a 2000 Chimaera with 60 000km on the clock - looks in good condition but as they are unsupported by any agents in South Africa he is a bit uncertain - how reliable are they and what should one look out for?

Mechanically they are fairly simple and reasonably robust. The key area to check is the condition of the chassis, particularly the outriggers. These can rot badly and it's a body off job to replace them properly....

If it's a second (toy!) car and he's reasonably handy with the spanners, then go for it!

Chimps are simple beasties.

Biggest PITA during long term ownership would be lifting the body to replace rotten outriggers. Not a difficult job, but requires the help of others.

As above, mechanically all fairly straight forward. Some of the later cars had very poor powder coating, check the front and rear inner corners of the outriggers.
Original alarms can be troublesome, often best replaced with summat more modern.

I had one for a year and loved it loads.... not sure why I sold it to be honest. Most of the bits are vauxhall or rover... so they are pretty cheap.... (Or you can go to TVR dealers and pay a premium for the same parts if you want).


Rotting outriggers and cracked exhaust headers are the two biggies... but if you know how to use a spanner and a welder its a fun car to play with.

is rot such a big issue in SA even?

All above is sound advice, had an early 4.0L for a few years and it was great, mechanicals are pretty robust and dead easy to work
on.

Like most Rover V8's cam lobes can wear out, header gaskets are also prone to blow, both make a ticking sound which can be confusing, although it can work in your favour when buying

Rotten outriggers are sometimes difficult to see as they can rot from the top, although doubt there is much salt on the roads where you live.

Chimera forum on Pistonheads is one of the busiest on there, might be worth sniffing around to get more info.

If the money is right, i wouldn't hesitate, iv'e got a Tuscan Speed 6 now which is great, but still miss the V8 Torque and noise.

Thanks Guys - will pass this on to friend.

Hi Ivan

If its a Silver car I thinks its been on the market for a while.

Cheers

Fred W B

Hi Fred - no it's a metallic red one with 69K on it.