My nightmare... errr restoration thread.
Discussion
GV said:
What did you use to pack the body out to get the right level once it went back on to the chassis?
I haven't gotten to that yet, although I kept the rubber shims that were on the car. It seemed to have two quarter inch thick shims under everything that takes weight, as well as two shims per outrigger sill plate. The only exception was under the boot, and it had 3 shims.I don't know how level or square the body was to the frame originally, and I'd happily take any advice or tips on how to ensure it's done right this time.
wedgienauld said:
What a brilliant thread, Buddy. Thats what I call dedication!
Thanks. 
In other news for my thread, I've got some cool pics to show regarding the packing the car to the frame, and just general progress pics. I've had them stored in my camera for a month or more but I dropped my camera and the USB transfer no longer works. I need to get to a friend's place. Her computer has a camera memory card reader.
Basically my "to do" list is:
hoses/wires under bonnet
fill/bleed brakes
fill coolant
hook up hand brake cable to lever
aquire exhaust header gaskets and bolt on silencer
install gear shift lever
install seats and put together car interior
replace wire mesh on front spoiler (half done... need to buy a pop-rivet gun)
install headlamps.
Pics coming... it's xmas... I have the time.
My God... what a labor of love that has to be.
Mike gave me a ride in the car just after he got it. I thought he was crazy then and I still do and I'm looking forward to another ride in the spring when the restoration is completed. Hell, I even want to drive it!
Brap phoned me today (a rare event) and the conversation drifted to the 390 which he had told me a long time ago, he was thinking of selling. Obviously he hadn't. He then told me about this thread and asked me to read it. He said I'd be proud.
Mike deserves every pat on the back that he gets. Without stealing the spotlight from him I want to take a 'little' bit of credit for his efforts at restoration. Back when he was a little ankle biter aka rug rat, he was always curious about things mechanical and whenever I had to repair something or other, he was there and he would ask questions such as what... how... why... and so on. He got to hand me the tools or hold parts or whatever. I could have shooed him away but that was not my style. I planted a seed and many years later it turned into this thread... My nightmare... errr restoration thread.
I will finish by saying...
You've come a long way since your first Corolla GTS engine rebuild. You have done a damn good job Mike, I AM proud and you should be too.
Dad...
Mike gave me a ride in the car just after he got it. I thought he was crazy then and I still do and I'm looking forward to another ride in the spring when the restoration is completed. Hell, I even want to drive it!
Brap phoned me today (a rare event) and the conversation drifted to the 390 which he had told me a long time ago, he was thinking of selling. Obviously he hadn't. He then told me about this thread and asked me to read it. He said I'd be proud.
Mike deserves every pat on the back that he gets. Without stealing the spotlight from him I want to take a 'little' bit of credit for his efforts at restoration. Back when he was a little ankle biter aka rug rat, he was always curious about things mechanical and whenever I had to repair something or other, he was there and he would ask questions such as what... how... why... and so on. He got to hand me the tools or hold parts or whatever. I could have shooed him away but that was not my style. I planted a seed and many years later it turned into this thread... My nightmare... errr restoration thread.
I will finish by saying...
You've come a long way since your first Corolla GTS engine rebuild. You have done a damn good job Mike, I AM proud and you should be too.
Dad...
CrazyJake said:
My God... what a labor of love that has to be.
Mike gave me a ride in the car just after he got it. I thought he was crazy then and I still do and I'm looking forward to another ride in the spring when the restoration is completed. Hell, I even want to drive it!
Brap phoned me today (a rare event) and the conversation drifted to the 390 which he had told me a long time ago, he was thinking of selling. Obviously he hadn't. He then told me about this thread and asked me to read it. He said I'd be proud.
Mike deserves every pat on the back that he gets. Without stealing the spotlight from him I want to take a 'little' bit of credit for his efforts at restoration. Back when he was a little ankle biter aka rug rat, he was always curious about things mechanical and whenever I had to repair something or other, he was there and he would ask questions such as what... how... why... and so on. He got to hand me the tools or hold parts or whatever. I could have shooed him away but that was not my style. I planted a seed and many years later it turned into this thread... My nightmare... errr restoration thread.
I will finish by saying...
You've come a long way since your first Corolla GTS engine rebuild. You have done a damn good job Mike, I AM proud and you should be too.
Dad...
This is as touching as Phil's video....Hard to add anything... May get some summer runs together Mike.Mike gave me a ride in the car just after he got it. I thought he was crazy then and I still do and I'm looking forward to another ride in the spring when the restoration is completed. Hell, I even want to drive it!
Brap phoned me today (a rare event) and the conversation drifted to the 390 which he had told me a long time ago, he was thinking of selling. Obviously he hadn't. He then told me about this thread and asked me to read it. He said I'd be proud.
Mike deserves every pat on the back that he gets. Without stealing the spotlight from him I want to take a 'little' bit of credit for his efforts at restoration. Back when he was a little ankle biter aka rug rat, he was always curious about things mechanical and whenever I had to repair something or other, he was there and he would ask questions such as what... how... why... and so on. He got to hand me the tools or hold parts or whatever. I could have shooed him away but that was not my style. I planted a seed and many years later it turned into this thread... My nightmare... errr restoration thread.
I will finish by saying...
You've come a long way since your first Corolla GTS engine rebuild. You have done a damn good job Mike, I AM proud and you should be too.
Dad...
Glad you never lost sight of what you were going to end up with.
for showing others your efferts and 
on me on completion. Congrates from this TVR family.I meant to update this some time ago, but alas, life happens.
In order to stress the GRP less I cut these 1/8th inch thick washers/shims that fit the factory gromet. I wanted to place the stress over a larger area. (These are body mounting bolts)
I also increased the washer size.
All the rubber packing we replaced anew. Originally the car had 1/4 inch slabs of rubber, but I used 1/8th inch pieces to help level the car to the frame better and also to help fix the door to body clearance. If you look closely at the picture, the left side is an eighth of an inch higher than the right. This difference and forced twist of the body helped my O/S door shut better. The door as you can see by the scraping below used to hit the body, but that eighth inch extra padding six feet away was enough to twist the body oh-so-slightly that the door now closes properly.
That extra 1/8th inch packing on one side only really helped me get the door to body gap more even, and it no longer hits the body when closing the door.
All in all I replaced all the old packing rubber with these 1/8th inch pieces. Since some of the mounting plates had been replaced with sections of the chassis, proper body to frame alignment was guess work. What I did was first level the chassis, then I leveled the body. After measuring differences from side to side (ie: GRP to steel) I had to pack the N/S an 1/8th inch higher than the O/S. Overall it came out level to the chassis once snugged down.
At the very front of the car near the radiator the GRP had worn through where the original body mounting holes had been, on both sides. There was nothing to bolt to anymore so with a u-bolt, some rubber padding and some metal I made my own front body mounts.
The underside of my homemade u-bolt mount. It's packed as bolt,rubber, steel, rubber, GRP, rubber, a steel backing plate, and two washers and nuts.
My improvised mount beside the worn through hole of the original mount. I did the same to the other side.
Today I worked on getting my fuel tanks connected to the filler neck while my friend Jay made me 4 new fuel tank straps out of light sheet metal strips with rubber glued to them to protect the tanks. As you can see the filler neck was pretty corroded.
The 5/8ths ID overflow line was pretty rotton so I replaced it, but the 2 inch ID pieces looked sound so I kept them. I let them soak in a few applications of tire cleaning foam to make the rubber supple again to help it seal well under new hose clamps.
Filler neck all refurbed and installed.
I never did get to sling my tanks today... needed nylon nuts and the store was closed... tomorrow.
My goals for tomorrow is to get the tanks slung, the handbrake cable hooked to the brake handle and to get my steering UJ's and rod installed. If time allows I'd like to try filling and bleeding my brakes too. I hope nothing leaks!
In order to stress the GRP less I cut these 1/8th inch thick washers/shims that fit the factory gromet. I wanted to place the stress over a larger area. (These are body mounting bolts)
I also increased the washer size.
All the rubber packing we replaced anew. Originally the car had 1/4 inch slabs of rubber, but I used 1/8th inch pieces to help level the car to the frame better and also to help fix the door to body clearance. If you look closely at the picture, the left side is an eighth of an inch higher than the right. This difference and forced twist of the body helped my O/S door shut better. The door as you can see by the scraping below used to hit the body, but that eighth inch extra padding six feet away was enough to twist the body oh-so-slightly that the door now closes properly.
That extra 1/8th inch packing on one side only really helped me get the door to body gap more even, and it no longer hits the body when closing the door.
All in all I replaced all the old packing rubber with these 1/8th inch pieces. Since some of the mounting plates had been replaced with sections of the chassis, proper body to frame alignment was guess work. What I did was first level the chassis, then I leveled the body. After measuring differences from side to side (ie: GRP to steel) I had to pack the N/S an 1/8th inch higher than the O/S. Overall it came out level to the chassis once snugged down.
At the very front of the car near the radiator the GRP had worn through where the original body mounting holes had been, on both sides. There was nothing to bolt to anymore so with a u-bolt, some rubber padding and some metal I made my own front body mounts.
The underside of my homemade u-bolt mount. It's packed as bolt,rubber, steel, rubber, GRP, rubber, a steel backing plate, and two washers and nuts.
My improvised mount beside the worn through hole of the original mount. I did the same to the other side.
Today I worked on getting my fuel tanks connected to the filler neck while my friend Jay made me 4 new fuel tank straps out of light sheet metal strips with rubber glued to them to protect the tanks. As you can see the filler neck was pretty corroded.
The 5/8ths ID overflow line was pretty rotton so I replaced it, but the 2 inch ID pieces looked sound so I kept them. I let them soak in a few applications of tire cleaning foam to make the rubber supple again to help it seal well under new hose clamps.
Filler neck all refurbed and installed.
I never did get to sling my tanks today... needed nylon nuts and the store was closed... tomorrow.
My goals for tomorrow is to get the tanks slung, the handbrake cable hooked to the brake handle and to get my steering UJ's and rod installed. If time allows I'd like to try filling and bleeding my brakes too. I hope nothing leaks!
Edited by Brap_Brap on Sunday 10th January 09:26
Two weeks later and progress is slow... almost done though! 
This weekend I got my fuel tanks hung with new straps. The rubber strips that were glued to the straps didn't stick worth a damn so I used this 1.5 x 0.25 inch tar/rubbery sort of tape. I'm not sure what's it's for but it was lying around the garage and it worked nicely. It's the sort of tape that is much like the windscreen sealant you'd use under a windscreen on older vehicles.
The mounting bolts for the fuel tank are welded to a backing strap under the carpet. On one side of the car they were all rusty from roof leaks, so I made a new pair for that side of the car.
After that I began working my way up the car, back to front, and reconnected various things such as the hand brake cable, reverse lights switch and the gear shift lever. The interior is now ready to put back together although I've not started that yet.
I continued moving up the car and got all my brake lines connected and bled. The brake pedal has no sponginess and you can hold your foot down with good pressure and the pedal does not drop. I did run into two different brake line leaks. I hadn't quite tightened my new brake line fittings enough but got that sorted quickly.
A word to the wise!... (I wasn't wise lol) If you ever replace all four calipers, make sure ALL your bleed screws are closed before you begin bleeding your brakes. While I was busy bleeding the front left corner, brake fluid was pi$$ing all over the floor from rear left bleed screw.
After bleeding the brakes I was going to do the clutch too, but I ran into a snag. The new stainless steel clutch line I had made required a double male coupling too be used between the clutch line and the master clutch cylinder. The people who custom made the hose told me that this was necessary in order to provide me with a swivel fitting. IE: I could tighten the hose at the master cylinder without spinning the hose itself in circles. The problem I have is that the double male coupling doesn't have enough thread. The hex head for a wrench on the coupling bottoms out on the master cylinder before the tapered fitting seat meets the flare inside the master cylinder hole. I need to track down a longer coupling with more threads or revert to using the original copper clutch line. We'll see what happens...
After that disappointment I began reconnecting the wiring loom to the engine. I had gambled on not labeling a lot of engine wires when I disconnected them. There's only so many sensors and injectors and such, and it's pretty obvious where everything goes. The only wire that did have me confused for a while was a black plug on the O/S loom. I had 4 grey plugs for injectors, and a blue plug for the cold start injector. WTF did the black one go to? It took about 10 minutes, a few swear words and a beer to finally realise it plugs into the back of the EAV.
Actually, there's on other plug (or two push on wires) I haven't found yet. There's that sensor (or whatever) in the top of the rad. I think that's the otter switch? I'm puzzled where the damned wires are for it. It's like they vanished. Do I need an otter switch?
On another note, I have to remove my rad again... like a dummy I forgot to bolt on the oil cooler first. I'll do that this week.
Basically I'm left with hooking up coolant hoses, plumbing the oil pump to the oil filter and cooler, and adding gasoline for that moment of gloom and doom if the engine doesn't start.
Spring is coming, the car's almost ready and am I ever getting excited!
This weekend I got my fuel tanks hung with new straps. The rubber strips that were glued to the straps didn't stick worth a damn so I used this 1.5 x 0.25 inch tar/rubbery sort of tape. I'm not sure what's it's for but it was lying around the garage and it worked nicely. It's the sort of tape that is much like the windscreen sealant you'd use under a windscreen on older vehicles.
The mounting bolts for the fuel tank are welded to a backing strap under the carpet. On one side of the car they were all rusty from roof leaks, so I made a new pair for that side of the car.
After that I began working my way up the car, back to front, and reconnected various things such as the hand brake cable, reverse lights switch and the gear shift lever. The interior is now ready to put back together although I've not started that yet.
I continued moving up the car and got all my brake lines connected and bled. The brake pedal has no sponginess and you can hold your foot down with good pressure and the pedal does not drop.
I did run into two different brake line leaks. I hadn't quite tightened my new brake line fittings enough but got that sorted quickly.A word to the wise!... (I wasn't wise lol) If you ever replace all four calipers, make sure ALL your bleed screws are closed before you begin bleeding your brakes. While I was busy bleeding the front left corner, brake fluid was pi$$ing all over the floor from rear left bleed screw.
After bleeding the brakes I was going to do the clutch too, but I ran into a snag. The new stainless steel clutch line I had made required a double male coupling too be used between the clutch line and the master clutch cylinder. The people who custom made the hose told me that this was necessary in order to provide me with a swivel fitting. IE: I could tighten the hose at the master cylinder without spinning the hose itself in circles. The problem I have is that the double male coupling doesn't have enough thread. The hex head for a wrench on the coupling bottoms out on the master cylinder before the tapered fitting seat meets the flare inside the master cylinder hole. I need to track down a longer coupling with more threads or revert to using the original copper clutch line. We'll see what happens...
After that disappointment I began reconnecting the wiring loom to the engine. I had gambled on not labeling a lot of engine wires when I disconnected them. There's only so many sensors and injectors and such, and it's pretty obvious where everything goes. The only wire that did have me confused for a while was a black plug on the O/S loom. I had 4 grey plugs for injectors, and a blue plug for the cold start injector. WTF did the black one go to? It took about 10 minutes, a few swear words and a beer to finally realise it plugs into the back of the EAV.
Actually, there's on other plug (or two push on wires) I haven't found yet. There's that sensor (or whatever) in the top of the rad. I think that's the otter switch? I'm puzzled where the damned wires are for it. It's like they vanished. Do I need an otter switch?
On another note, I have to remove my rad again... like a dummy I forgot to bolt on the oil cooler first.
I'll do that this week.Basically I'm left with hooking up coolant hoses, plumbing the oil pump to the oil filter and cooler, and adding gasoline for that moment of gloom and doom if the engine doesn't start.
Spring is coming, the car's almost ready and am I ever getting excited!
Great stuff Brap Brap, I'm pleased you haven't forgotten us! Looks like you're in the final straight now.
What plans have you for the bodywork? Just looks a bit dusty, but have you thought about getting a top notch wax 'n polish somewhere just to compliment all that hard work of yours and save you some elbow grease?
What plans have you for the bodywork? Just looks a bit dusty, but have you thought about getting a top notch wax 'n polish somewhere just to compliment all that hard work of yours and save you some elbow grease?
Mike: Sounds like you are getting excited again about the car and that is excellent. Do you want to borrow 1 of my polishers while the weather is still not where we want it??? All 3 cars have spots set up for the World of Wheels (Feb. 19 - 21, 2010.) so may see you there if you go to it. Keep up the good work and posts. Stopped by with the books a couple of times but you weren't there.
pacman1 said:
Great stuff Brap Brap, I'm pleased you haven't forgotten us! Looks like you're in the final straight now.
What plans have you for the bodywork? Just looks a bit dusty, but have you thought about getting a top notch wax 'n polish somewhere just to compliment all that hard work of yours and save you some elbow grease?
There's too many small stress cracks and such to gloss over anything. I'll just take it to the car wash, enjoy it until winter sets in and sand it down ready for a respray in 2011. What plans have you for the bodywork? Just looks a bit dusty, but have you thought about getting a top notch wax 'n polish somewhere just to compliment all that hard work of yours and save you some elbow grease?
The paint actually isn't that bad, but all that garage dirt and dust has done a number to my leather. I'm not sure what to clean it with.
V8TVR1978 said:
Mike: Sounds like you are getting excited again about the car and that is excellent. Do you want to borrow 1 of my polishers while the weather is still not where we want it??? All 3 cars have spots set up for the World of Wheels (Feb. 19 - 21, 2010.) so may see you there if you go to it. Keep up the good work and posts. Stopped by with the books a couple of times but you weren't there.
I wish I had another month to get it ready... I'd park it in the "TVR section" along side your cars if I could. Cest la lie.I guess I'll just have to wait until the Euro car show at Stanley Park this year.
The polisher could be useful but I really need touch up paint more than anything else.
Brap_Brap said:
V8TVR1978 said:
Mike: Sounds like you are getting excited again about the car and that is excellent. Do you want to borrow 1 of my polishers while the weather is still not where we want it??? All 3 cars have spots set up for the World of Wheels (Feb. 19 - 21, 2010.) so may see you there if you go to it. Keep up the good work and posts. Stopped by with the books a couple of times but you weren't there.
I wish I had another month to get it ready... I'd park it in the "TVR section" along side your cars if I could. Cest la lie.I guess I'll just have to wait until the Euro car show at Stanley Park this year.
The polisher could be useful but I really need touch up paint more than anything else.
Edited by V8TVR1978 on Tuesday 26th January 03:03
V8TVR1978 said:
You could always take a small flat piece of your car to a good paint shop that can match the paint for you and that would be a quick fix and possibly do till you have the time for a respray.
I've got the actual paint code for the car but Jay was telling me that he doesn't think a British paint code will mean anything here. I don't see why not? I'll phone a bodyshop or two today and find out.Have you given any thought to going to the All British Field Meet in Vancouver this year? It's a great show with over 600 cars. There were 2 2500M's when I was there.
Mike:
Yes we want to trailer Sherry's car to Vancouver in May if possible. (Bronte had over 1000 when I was there this last summer.) You hoping to take your car there?? You have mail at "CTRL".
Was talking to someone from the UK who has been following this thread with some friends and they may do what you have as he says you have been an inspiration to him. Nice to see that your thread is helping other people.
Yes we want to trailer Sherry's car to Vancouver in May if possible. (Bronte had over 1000 when I was there this last summer.) You hoping to take your car there?? You have mail at "CTRL".
Was talking to someone from the UK who has been following this thread with some friends and they may do what you have as he says you have been an inspiration to him. Nice to see that your thread is helping other people.
Edited by V8TVR1978 on Wednesday 27th January 14:43
Brap_Brap said:
V8TVR1978 said:
You could always take a small flat piece of your car to a good paint shop that can match the paint for you and that would be a quick fix and possibly do till you have the time for a respray.
I've got the actual paint code for the car but Jay was telling me that he doesn't think a British paint code will mean anything here. I don't see why not? I'll phone a bodyshop or two today and find out.Have you given any thought to going to the All British Field Meet in Vancouver this year? It's a great show with over 600 cars. There were 2 2500M's when I was there.
PS Some great write ups and photos in this thread. Keep up the good work.
Brap_Brap said:
pacman1 said:
Great stuff Brap Brap, I'm pleased you haven't forgotten us! Looks like you're in the final straight now.
What plans have you for the bodywork? Just looks a bit dusty, but have you thought about getting a top notch wax 'n polish somewhere just to compliment all that hard work of yours and save you some elbow grease?
There's too many small stress cracks and such to gloss over anything. I'll just take it to the car wash, enjoy it until winter sets in and sand it down ready for a respray in 2011. What plans have you for the bodywork? Just looks a bit dusty, but have you thought about getting a top notch wax 'n polish somewhere just to compliment all that hard work of yours and save you some elbow grease?
The paint actually isn't that bad, but all that garage dirt and dust has done a number to my leather. I'm not sure what to clean it with.
Works well I believe, but you need to get some polish on afterwards or it becomes dirty again quite quickly.
brogenville said:
BIG BUMP!
Must be an update by now!?
Amazing stuff by the way, hope you've been able to enjoy the car by now.
I know that Mike has been having computer problems so I will update on what I know. A couple of weeks ago I stopped by where Mike was doing the work on the car and he was just moving the car to his place as they had to give up the garage. The last time that I went by his place the car hadn't been moved and I know he was waiting on some parts. In a week or 2 I'll try to get him motivated my way. ( He will either get back at it if he now has the parts or HATE me. ) There are a couple of shows coming up that we could show the people around here the different styles of TVRs with our 4 cars. Let's all keep our fingers crossed for him.Must be an update by now!?
Amazing stuff by the way, hope you've been able to enjoy the car by now.
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