For all things Rover V8, the TVR Griffith and Chimaera and TVR T-Cars
Finger follower free Speed 6
So what is wrong with finger followers? In a word, nothing, but with the proviso that everything else is spot on. And therein lies the problem. Instead of years of development behind the Speed 6 following its original concept and creation, all energy had been dedicated just to getting it to last long enough to be able to make its way onto the low-loader under its own steam.
The alternatives
What is beyond doubt is that when the Speed 6 is running well, it is a dream. The choice of clutch, gearbox and ratios, diff, suspension set-up and steering is superb. I’ve driven a few sports cars in my time and the T-cars, from the Tamora onwards, are the best. But I wouldn’t buy one because of the chance of an expensive rebuild coming just when I couldn’t afford it, which is just about all the time.
So enter the FFF from Racing Green.
The FFF stands for Finger Follower Free. The Racing Green engineers have opted to replace the finger followers with bucket tappets. This is a tried and tested system. Indeed it is used on the TVR AJP8, a high performance engine noted for longevity, although this might be due to the fact that only those bereft of an interest in living would use all the
power. I know of one AJP8 that has over 120,000 miles on the clock and is used regularly for track days.
The photographs, kindly supplied by Steve Nesta of www.nestapix.com, show what is obviously a nice bit of kit and they don’t lie. The original idea was to machine the original head but in the end the much better option of having a new casting was the chosen route.
Racing Green have gone further. They have designed a new simplex timing chain system to replace the original duplex one. This gives a saving of 1.4 kg. Whilst the equivalent of saving a bag of sugar might not sound much in the great scheme of things, this is a fair percentage of the rotating mass, metal which does not have to be accelerated and slowed each time the engine is revved slowing throttle response and lowering efficiency. In re-engineering, Racing Green have replace the splash-fed ball bearings on
the lower sprocket to pump-fed caged needles. No modification of the block is required for this improvement, not even for the oil feed as there was a blanked feed already present in the original setup.
The simplex chain can be fitted to a standard finger-follwer head if required and the original duplex chan can be retained on an FFF setup.
Racing Green have other modifications on offer as well.
There are two other modifications on offer as well. A modified ECU and injector set-up and, most excitingly for those of us keen on good quality engineering, a five-speed Quaife box with electronic paddle-shift operation.
Spare parts supply was never a strong point of TVR so it is odd that since its demise as a producer of cars the choice for the owner has increased tremendously. That Racing Green have chosen to invest so much in TVR is indicative of the support the cars still have. With the reassurance of
such an established and well respected company behind their product the bette noir of TVR, not so much reliability as sudden and considerable costs, has been put to bed.
The last of the TVRs were lovely. No one who has driven a Tamora can fail but to forgive its less than stunning looks. The T350, looking like the classic M-type brought up to date, is a lovely drive. The Tuscans are for those who want their car to look as good as it goes, and for those for whom performance is everything, the Sagaris will exceed all expectations. And requirements.
Pictures from top to bottom:
Top: the new simplex timing chain showing the oil feed to the new needle roller bearings.
Middle right: the FFF head fitted to a new block.
Middle left: a cutaway Quaife box with the paddle shift steering wheel.
Bottom: the new FFF head showing the lovely machining.
All photographs copyright Steven Nesta. All right reserved.
Go to www.nestapix.com for more photographs.
Thanks from RV8R for permission to use the photographs.
