1988 TVR 280 S

Finished in Arctic White with a red targa roof, this lovely TVR 280S has a matching cream and red interior. Very of-the-period, its twin up-swept exhaust pipes are visual cues that fire us straight back to the early nineties, the sweet-spot era where old school looks fused seamlessly with modern usability.

Bought by its previous owner as a lock-down project, he set about recommissioning it after a 12-year lockdown of its own. He stripped it down, even separating the body from the chassis. The chassis was blasted and professionally repaired as necessary before being blasted again and coated by Global Coatings of Knutsford who applied a zinc primer followed by an epoxy paint. This was oven-baked and then allowed to cure for seven days.

Dynax 50 was applied to any exposed chassis parts and POR-15 was used as a base coat for minor parts, followed by either a stoneguard or a top coat, variously Hammerite black, VHT matt black, or BRG or Arctic White depending on the component; fastidious, is the world you’re searching for.

It was the same for the mechanical components; we’ll detail the work later in the listing but it was meticulously done and has left the car “driving beautifully” according to the owner.

Now only being offered for sale due to a downsized garage, this is your chance to get your hands on a freshly fettled example that needs only gentle cosmetic freshening to bring it back to its former glory.

Our assessor notes that the panel and door alignment is “very good” with “no issues noted”. Now, you might think that sounds like he’s damning with faint praise but this is a TVR and so probably wouldn’t have rated a score that high when it was brand new. That these align as neatly as they do is actually praise of the highest order and testament to the curation it received during the lockdown period.

The panel condition is good too, and the paintwork has been rated as good, having been titivated here and there rather than fully resprayed. Conservation rather than restoration, if you like.

Decoration is minimal, but then a shape this gorgeous doesn’t need tacky baubles, which means you’ll find simple black rubbing strips along the four corners and a red decal down the sides.

Plus, of course, those gorgeous 15-inch alloy wheels. Made by O.Z. type number 0175H, they’ve been recently refurbished and are in great shape. They were also fitted with matching Dunlop Sport BluResponse tyres in 2020, so they still have plenty of meat left on them.

We will never get tired of telling you that experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but it does perhaps give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

The limited chromework is fair, and while the removable/folding roof combination opens and closes as it should, it has been patched up and could do with being repaired properly or even replaced (#161). The seller had a quote in November 2021 (so it may have varied since) for a mohair replacement and full inner and outer refurbishment of the Targa style panels from Car Hoods Northern Ltd for £1,095, to be fitted at the owner's premises, so that shouldn’t break the bank.

Flaws? Well, there is a small graze to the trailing edge of the wheelarch (#109), and the same area shows some touched-up chips and grazes. More minor redial work is obvious to the front end, and it’s clearly been resprayed as there is some orange peel to the finish and overspray on the air intake grille.

There’s also some cracking and peeling on the boot lid, and some shade differences to the windscreen pillars. Oh, and the windscreen is delaminating, and the nearside door mirror is cracked (#82).

Overall, it’s a good, usable example that looks great from ten metres away but could be tidied up should the new owner want to improve it to match its mechanical condition.

The interior, which is, we’d remind you, 34 years old, is in a good condition. Wonderfully OTT, it features vast swathes of cream leather and red carpets, all topped off with a red dashboard top. It’s gloriously of-the-moment and will take you straight back to the early nineties when you lusted after cars like this and could only dream of driving such a beast, much less actually owning one.

We haven’t checked the electrical system but if you’d like to pop along to prod and press stuff then please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button to make an appointment.

However, as you can see, the warning lights, which are housed in a crescent-shaped display, remain stubbornly unilluminated when the TVR is running, which is good news. It shows good oil pressure too, which is further reassurance that the engine is a good ‘un.

The boot contains a natty space saver spare alloy wheel.

Faults? Well, the handle for the driver’s door window is broken (#45) and it can be found in the glovebox. The TVR would benefit from a good clean, too.

The mechanical recommissioning of 2019-20 comprised, in brief:

· The engine was rebuilt with new unleaded cylinder heads plus new gaskets and seals, core plugs and paint. A new water pump was also fitted,

· the gearbox was stripped and checked before being rebuilt with new gaskets and seals,

· the tank cradle and trailing arms repaired by Chris Dickenson and painted by Global Coatings,

· the fuel tank was stripped and cleaned inside before being painted. The system was then rebuilt with all new rubber fuel pipes and a marine pipe from tank to fuel pump, the fuel distributor was rebuilt too, and the fuel injectors were cleaned,

· the anti-roll bar was modified to use rose-jointed drop links and then polybushed,

· all chassis parts were assembled using new nuts, bolts, and washers with Copperslip where appropriate and Dynax 50 to protect them from corrosion,

· the cooling system was rebuilt with a new aluminium radiator, twin electric cooling fans taken from a Subaru WRX, plus new coolant hoses, heater matrix, thermostat housing and thermostat. A Shaun Taylor stainless-steel swirl pot was fitted along with and heavy duty clamps throughout,

· work to the braking system included a new master cylinder, Kunifer pipes (metric throughout now) Goodridge flexible hoses, rebuilt calipers (new pistons and seals etc. from Brake Caliper Solutions Limited), plus new discs and pads, clips and backing plates,

· the suspension was replaced with new GAZ standard coilovers all round with specific spring rates for the S. The height at the front is 170mm, and the rear is 190mm. Base settings are 12 turns from bottom of the shock unit and 10 clicks on shock adjusters.

This work left the car running sweetly and starting well. Please see the video for details. The engine bay is in a good condition and it shows decent oil pressure.

The underside looks to be in good order, with the white-painted chassis a real high point but then what else would you expect given the lengths the previous owner went to to protect it?

NB. The battery is held down with a ratchet strap, and we would advise the new owner to secure it using a more appropriate method as soon as possible.

The TVR comes with three envelopes of receipts for the restoration that was carried out in 2019-20. More recently, there is one from Torque RTV, an independent TVR specialist who carried out four-figure wok in 2020 tuning it and setting up the geometry.

Other envelopes include one with technical information, one with old MoT certificates and tax discs, and another detailing its history. There’s a disc with photos on too, plus a few magazines and books, including two Haynes workshop manuals.

Its MoT certificate is valid until February 2023 and the recent Vehicle History Check is clean.

If cars from the sixties and seventies demand a certain commitment to be able to enjoy classic motoring - and the noughties onwards mean sealed-unit inaccessibility - cars from the eighties and nineties are the sweet-spot that can give near-perfect reliability alongside everyday usability.

They’re the stuff of childhood dreams too, and when they do break, you can work on them with nothing more than simple hand tools and an enquiring mind.

Which means our guide price of between £9,000 and £12,000 is a cost-effective entry into the modern classic world - and few cars are as evocative as a TVR like this.

Capable of being fettled and improved by someone with only a modicum of engineering know-how, this delightfully useable example can be improved as and when money and motivation allow, giving you the opportunity to have enormous amounts of fun behind the wheel and in the garage, all while adding value with every job you complete.

Doesn’t get much better than that, does it?

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; we are open weekdays 9am-5pm, to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.