Vehicle Description
1985 TVR 280i Convertible
The abbreviation TVR stems from the name of the company's owner
Trevor Wilkinson, his first garage sporting the letters T, V and R.
In 1946, he purchased an old wheelwright's workshop in Beverley
Grove, Blackpool to start an engineering business that he named
Trevcar Motors. Initially, the company performed general
engineering work (not always automobile related) and would also
refresh and service cars and trucks. In 1947, local auto enthusiast
Jack Pickard joined the company. Trevcar Motors was subsequently
renamed to TVR Engineering (dropping several letters from
Wilkinson's first name), and it continued to find general
mechanical engineering work through the following years.
Lovingly known as the wedge design, this consignment can change
personalities with the drop of the top (or a reconfiguration) as
you have the full top up, a targa style top, or a full top-down
convertible. With some recently new parts put on, and the Ford
Cologne 2.8 Liter V6 with fuel injection by Bosch, it's showing in
the East Hall in beautiful black. A somewhat rare example with only
472 produced in 1985.
Exterior
Oliver Winterbottom (what a great British name, cheerio pip pip and
all that rot!) was the designer of record and some of his
inspiration came from a previous design of the Lotus Elise.
Although many say that the car looks like an Alpha Romeo Camiano
concept car. Either way we have the wedge. Pointy front, hidden
headlights, integrated black bumpers and some inlet on the hood it
retains its original look. Straight steel with well minded gaps are
throughout, and this car is draped in factory black. Some gold
accenting in the form of a thin pinstripe rust the gamut of the
sides of this car at the beltline. On back the high trunk line
hovers above Triumph-esque horizontal tail lighting, and a black
ribbed bumper below. Dual exhaust tips peek out from underneath the
bumper. The top is in fine condition with a clear plastic rear
window. Gold snowflake styled wheels with shiny trim rings are
wrapped by like new rubber on all 4 corners.
Interior
A swing of the burl accented doors and we see black vinyl mixing
with some wood burl on the handles. Seats are black bolsters and
gray inserts and these conform nicely to nearly any body style.
Square and rectangle design right out of 1985 abounds inside for
the dash which has more burl, and blackface gauges lined up neatly
in front of the driver. Just above the center console is a padded
covered black vinyl box that houses the temp sliders and an Alpine
AM/FM/CD radio with built in equalizer. On the console is the shift
lever, parking brake and window toggles, along with a storage tray.
Behind the two buckets is a small carpeted storage area. A shout
out to the trunk which is lined with black carpeting in good
condition, and a black vinyl wrapped spare tire.
Drivetrain
Under the hood is a gaggle of wiring and hoses and directly in the
center is a Ford Cologne 2.8 Liter V6 fuel injected with Bosch fuel
injection and a 4-speed manual transmission on back. The entire
engine bay is clean and the consigner states that the clutch slave
cylinder, radiator, and battery are all new.
Undercarriage
A powder coated tubular space frame is underneath, and clean
floorpans showing just some light patina abound. Independent coil
springs are on front, and independent with MacPherson struts are on
back. Power disc brakes are noted all around, and there is a new
steering rack put on in the past year.
Drive-Ability
We went Targa style for the test drive, and after a quick firing up
and warm up we were off! Great acceleration, good handling, and a
steady straight stopper on the panic stop all was well. I did
notice the speedometer is not working and the A/C is not blowing
cold. Last the exhaust seemed unusually throaty, and we discovered
a hole in it.
Convertible, Targa, or full on top down this car can be used year
round. The iconic wedge shape popularized in the mid 1980's, gold
snowflake wheels, and snappy two-tone cloth interior, a seldom seen
example here in the good old USA.
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 600 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia
on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is
www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914.
Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the
vehicle in person.