MG Metro to TVR S3 – mission accomplished | Season 2 – Episode 46

👋 Hey friends! In this video, we are sharing the story of how Stuart Anderson was influenced as a young man to take on a mission to trade up from a 1990s MG Metro to a wonderfully noisy 170 hp TVR S3.

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We recently met with Stuart Anderson in Arklow, County Wicklow on Ireland's east coast. On a warm day in June we took a spin around the countryside and enjoyed the sounds and the smells from Stuart’s 1993 TVR S3, that has been given the affectionate name of ‘Trevor’ by the family in a nod to the founder of TVR, Trevor Wilkinson.

While the UK's Blackpool is world-famous for its bright lights, promenade and Pleasure Beach, it was also the home to sports cars company TVR Manufacturing Limited. The TVR company, founded in Blackpool in 1947 took its name from an abbreviation of the name of the company’s founder Trevor Wilkinson – ‘TreVoR’.

TVR recognised by 1953 that manufacturing their cars bodywork in Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) was more cost-effective, in 1958 the Grantura was launched as TVR’s first production car.

Like many companies, TVR has seen its share of different owners and economic hardships and that story is still true in 2022 with rumors of a new TVR Griffith launching in 2024.

The TVR S3 featuring in our story was first launched in 1990. The S3 was a front engine 2-seat convertible with rear wheel drive. Power came from a 170 hp Ford Cologne V6 petrol with 170 hp.

Manchester native Stuart Anderson, now living in Arklow, Co Wicklow shared with us how hearing the noise of the TVR for the first time ignited his lifelong ambition to own an S3. In his own words, “I had just passed my driving test and I was filling up with fuel in my MG Metro and a family friend rocked up to the petrol station in his TVR and completely deflated me and so I said, one day because of the noise, I’m going to own one”.

What appeals most to Stuart is the car’s colour of Woodlands Green metallic and the cream leather interior. In his search for the perfect car and being mindful of TVR’s reputation for rotten chassis, Stuart sought out a car that had extensive, body-off chassis restoration work completed along with a photographic history.

Purchasing his TVR for £4,000 in April 2021 and in the process of negotiating the expensive VRT (Vehicle Registration Tax), he discovered that the car was actually manufactured in 1992 and registered in 1993 and so can avail of cheap classic car road tax.

Spending to date is around €3k - €4k on plugs, oil, filters, tyres, GasPro shocks and red alloy rocker covers. The latest spend is an alloy racing radiator and red silicone hoses finish of the look of the engine.

Make: TVR
Model: S3
Colour: Woodlands Green metallic
Year: 1993 (built 1992)
Engine: Ford Cologne V6 2933 cc 170 hp
Top speed: 140 mph
Length: 395.7 cm
Width: 166 cm
Height: 122.3 cm

When we asked Stuart what his S3 was like to drive,? He described how when you put your foot down the car “comes alive” and the feeling while hard to explain is best described as having a ‘fizz’ with the noise intoxicating. Even the smell of the S3 can stimulate Stuart’s emotions as he describes the olfactory effect of “oil and petrol and all that good stuff”.

What Stuart dislikes about his S3 is having to buy batches of expensive parts from the UK, blaming Brexit. Also, the current scuffed condition of the paint and the scratches on the GRP bodywork is not to his satisfaction and he intends have this refreshed in the UK next Winter.

As for the list of things he likes about his 1993 TVR S3, the lines of the car’s GRP bodywork and the colour and interior are both firm favourites and also that it is a 2-seat British sports-car and was built in Blackpool just 50 miles up the road from Stuart’s birthplace, means the car reminds him of home.

For Stuart Anderson his TVR S3 is a mission accomplished! The roads of County Wicklow await…..

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Sources of information:

1. 1001 Cars you must drive before you die
2. www.encyarpedia.com
3. www.rgsatalanta.com
4. www.tvr-car-club.co.uk

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