Southways Automotive - Kit, Classic & Sports Car Specialists

Season's Greetings to all our Facebook 'friends'. Thanks for following us, and stay tuned for more of the same next year :)
Rich and Steve

That's quite something 😮

Here's a project that I've been busily scurrying away on in the background - I've written a book, in conjunction with Veloce Publishing (if you like car books, you need to check them out - it's pretty much all they do).
Specifically, a buyer's guide for anyone fortunate enough to find themselves in the position of being in the market for one of TVR's best-kept secrets. Or, just for someone who likes the TVR S. Or TVR, generally. Or doesn't like cars much, but is having troubl...e sleeping - it's a book for all peoples, and its release date is TODAY!
In true Facebook fashion, we've decided to give one of these books away. Standard procedure is as follows:
'LIKE' our page 'LIKE' this post 'SHARE' this post
One you have completed these tasks three, we'll pick a winner at random on the 13th of December, and you'll receive your copy in the post shortly after (once you've provided us your address - we're good, but we're not THAT good).
Best of luck everybody! :)
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Xmas list sorted.
Serious question - how fast would that car be going if it was upscaled? :o

Customer : "How's my chassis looking?"
Us: "Yeah, it looks all white actually!
.............hello?"

Good effort, that!

We don't do Throwback Thursdays very often, but we fancied remembering the ol' square-peg-in-a-round-hole! Well...today we are anyway.
It's the turn of the Imp; The car many said couldn't be done! For those new or unfamiliar, this 1973 Hillman Imp Deluxe (affectionately known as 'Hilda', by its original owner) came to us in 2012 after years in the doldrums. It had no engine, and needed a fair bit of work. The goal was 100bhp - no hugely difficult task on an original Imp engin...e, but crucially, it was a RELIABLE 100bhp. Seeing as the car was far from original anyway (what the the original engine being somewhere else now, possibly as part of the innards of a fridge), the decision was taken to use a different powerplant. Many different options were considered, before we landed on PSA's TU engine. Nothing exciting, or dramatic - just simple, reliable, and a sizeable chunk of increased BHP over the original system.
Cries of "It won't fit!" and "It'll handle really badly" or "The gearbox will shit itself!" (the latter may yet prove to be true) were rung around the hills of Internet forums found literally to be nowhere of importance. A few encouraging words from various people in Imp circles were also leant, and being that we were also in the midst of building something else that apparently 'couldn't be done' (the M3 Touring), we ploughed on.
It took a long time. It cost a lot of money. It provided a huge amount of grief and some sleepless nights! Was it worth it? From a financial point of view, certainly not! From an emotional point of view? I guess so 🤔😃
The car has been on the road now for over two years. It's been together, then pulled apart, then together again, then pulled apart again! The clutch has been in and out more times than I can remember, but it's finally at a point where it (touch wood) seems to be working happily. It drives better than we ever could have imagined, and has nearly 2000 miles under its wheels. Those wheels changed colour along the way, when we actually took ownership of the Imp from our own customer Tim, about 85% of the way through the project (it's still not fully finished!) Unfortunate circumstances meant he had to bow out, but rather than see it pulled apart for spares, he was keen that we took the car on and made sure that all the efforts and cost to date hadn't been in vain. A deal was struck, and the Imp soldiers on. It's thanks to Tim that it even survives to this day.
Here follows a series of pictures, some old, some new, which show some stages along the way. It's a story that's continuing to grow in size, but hopefully not drama!
#tbt #throwbackthursday
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Makin' some riggers!

A long time sat around for this Wedge. I reckon it was waiting to be restored though, and guess what? It's its lucky day! Well, quite a few days....

Makes a change from Rover V8 lumps I guess!

That has not been done right.

We don't often play with these, compared with the other TVR offerings of the '90s. But when we do.....
This Cerbera 4.5, in last week for bonnet heat-matting replacement, sewn and fitted by us.

So here it is! The Christmas present we've been promising TVR fans around the world (honestly, Facebook tells us where you are - hi Singapore!) using a series of crap mystic clues, and images garned from Google. We present to you, a (very) rare TVR! Yes, the FHC (fixed-head coupe) is a rare beast by anyone's numbers, but this particular car is a factory-built 350i FHC.....+2. That means it has two seats in the back (of a sort), and that also means that there were a grand tota...l of only six of these cars produced. SIX! And, to cap it all off, according to some research conducted by its loving new owner (and a brief hamfisted attempt by us the other lunchtime), it appears that this car is number 6 of 6. The final version TVR made. OK, so it needs a bit more than a chassis sorting out, but you always start with the foundations, and that's why it's come to us!
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That sweet, sweet moment when you first manage to drag one that hasn't run for 15 years back to life!

Hasn't run in 15 years! Time to do something about that....

Enjoy cool car photography? Want cool pictures of your car? Andy's page is worth a look 👍

You might have already seen it, but this is worth a watch. Love him or loathe him, Clarkson is excellent at this kind of stuff!

superb service good comunication

Very pleased with the service that I received from Steve and Richard. They are not only hugely knowledgeable but are real enthusiasts and will treat your car as if it is their own.

Thanks from the Volvo guys.... Figured out my issues on the yellow V40 14th Dec - boost cut at 1.2bar. Should have turned down the MBC a bit for the Dyno..

Southways treat your car as if it were their own. My TVR V8S had the chassis refurbished by Richard and Steve and the workmanship and care they put into it was second to none. Fantastic communication ensured I was kept in touch with developments on an ongoing basis, absolutely no unexpected surprises. Not the nearest TVR specialist to me, but they were very highly recommended and well worth the journey to get to Fareham. I will definitely use them again!

Southways repaired the rotten chassis on my tvr and did a great job!

Southways have been working on my Nova kitcar since 2013, and during that time we have built a totally bespoke, one off product. Services included full strip down to component parts, sourcing replacements, chassis alterations, bespoke fabrication, engine change, introduction of water cooling into an air cooled car, and much much more. They have shown attention to detail and the utmost care at each and every stage during this process, and are thoroughly nice chaps to boot. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

Picked up my S1 yesterday following a full chassis refurbishment. Totally delighted with the result and would recommend Southways to anyone!

Top Job boys! Well done !

I was not afraid to send my TVR S2 chassis all the way from Belgium to England thanks to all the positive advices posted on here.

So I took the body off myself, was horrified by the chassis state and decide to send it to Southways Automotive.

It's now back in the garage and if I had to do it again tomorrow I would not hesitate one second.

Richard and his team have made an absolutely stunning job, their word was that my chassis was the worst they had to repair, a record not to be proud of.

Anyway, I received the best advices, the communication was excellent (more than 90 mails exchanged) with real passionate and very knowledgeable people.

Work finished, I came to pick the chassis up with a van and I now understand what they mean by "we do the extra mile", extreme caution and care was taken until it was safe in the van and again best advices received.

Chassis is now rock solid for years, I couldn't be more satisfied.

Great service, great guys, great price, went the extra mile for me sourcing and collecting parts, car diagnosed and fixed very quickly can't reccommend them highly enough.

Good to see you guys and the setup today, I feel reassured that my TVR Chimaera will be in good hands for its chassis refurb soon

Fantastic, did a great job on a TVR 400SE. Highly recommended, it's not local to me but well worth the journey.

Am very happy to be back driving my TVR V8S which has been totally rebuilt at southways and is as good if not better than new. See the V8S rescue mission blog. Very impressed and reassured by documentation and communication throughout. Highly recommended.

superb service good comunication

Very pleased with the service that I received from Steve and Richard. They are not only hugely knowledgeable but are real enthusiasts and will treat your car as if it is their own.

Thanks from the Volvo guys.... Figured out my issues on the yellow V40 14th Dec - boost cut at 1.2bar. Should have turned down the MBC a bit for the Dyno..

Southways treat your car as if it were their own. My TVR V8S had the chassis refurbished by Richard and Steve and the workmanship and care they put into it was second to none. Fantastic communication ensured I was kept in touch with developments on an ongoing basis, absolutely no unexpected surprises. Not the nearest TVR specialist to me, but they were very highly recommended and well worth the journey to get to Fareham. I will definitely use them again!

Southways repaired the rotten chassis on my tvr and did a great job!

Southways have been working on my Nova kitcar since 2013, and during that time we have built a totally bespoke, one off product. Services included full strip down to component parts, sourcing replacements, chassis alterations, bespoke fabrication, engine change, introduction of water cooling into an air cooled car, and much much more. They have shown attention to detail and the utmost care at each and every stage during this process, and are thoroughly nice chaps to boot. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

Picked up my S1 yesterday following a full chassis refurbishment. Totally delighted with the result and would recommend Southways to anyone!

Top Job boys! Well done !

I was not afraid to send my TVR S2 chassis all the way from Belgium to England thanks to all the positive advices posted on here.

So I took the body off myself, was horrified by the chassis state and decide to send it to Southways Automotive.

It's now back in the garage and if I had to do it again tomorrow I would not hesitate one second.

Richard and his team have made an absolutely stunning job, their word was that my chassis was the worst they had to repair, a record not to be proud of.

Anyway, I received the best advices, the communication was excellent (more than 90 mails exchanged) with real passionate and very knowledgeable people.

Work finished, I came to pick the chassis up with a van and I now understand what they mean by "we do the extra mile", extreme caution and care was taken until it was safe in the van and again best advices received.

Chassis is now rock solid for years, I couldn't be more satisfied.

Great service, great guys, great price, went the extra mile for me sourcing and collecting parts, car diagnosed and fixed very quickly can't reccommend them highly enough.

Good to see you guys and the setup today, I feel reassured that my TVR Chimaera will be in good hands for its chassis refurb soon

Fantastic, did a great job on a TVR 400SE. Highly recommended, it's not local to me but well worth the journey.

Am very happy to be back driving my TVR V8S which has been totally rebuilt at southways and is as good if not better than new. See the V8S rescue mission blog. Very impressed and reassured by documentation and communication throughout. Highly recommended.