My nightmare... errr restoration thread.

[Brap_Brap]

rev-erend said:

Brap_Brap said:

adam quantrill said:

Methinks the Right Rev knows exactly what Canada is, and he's pulling your chain...

Wasn't there a bit of France there too though?

Entschuldigung, Sie bitte? Ich verstehe nicht.

This country was built by Scots, Krauts, Chinese and Ukranians for the most part. All the frogs ever did was bh about it and try to tear the country to pieces, and triumph gay rights.

Ooops - my mistake.

That really is an insult to a Canadien.

Are you in the French bit that wants to be a separate country from the rest of Canada.

Heh yeah, to a Canuck it's a faux pas. No I'm not a Quebecois, I'm a proud redneck Albertan that wishes your BNP party was here to vote for.

[Brap_Brap]

Yeah I'm in town tomorrow. 5208 8th Ave, SE. Drive down the alley until you see two mid 70's Datsun Z cars, I'll be slaving away inside. If for whatever reason I'm not there, I'm likely on a 10 minute run to the beer store.

Hmmm speaking of Marshall, he said he could get me a full fledged price quote for a bunch of new chassis parts and it's been almost 2 weeks and not a word. I better call him Monday and remind him.

[Brap_Brap]

I got my rad back today. Slammed for the sum of $461 after taxes.


They did a fairly decent job of the sides, core and top, but the bottom just sucks



Considering the job I could have done on this pitted rusted out sh|t, I'm not happy with the job done for the price it cost at all. In fact, tomorrow this lumpy PoS will be stripped clean to bare metal, painted and pictures taken. I will then take the improved rad pics back to the rad shop and tell them how stty I feel their work is compared to amateurish mine.

Oh well, at least it's a rad and I can drive the car with it.


I went with the same theme for this as with everything else, black, gun metal and steel/alum/silvery. Black pump, gun metal brackets

It does tend to be a repeat of the same colours over and over again, but OTOH, you have to paint it something...

To be continued...

Edited by Brap_Brap on Saturday 4th July 04:21

[Brap_Brap]

Transmitter Man said:

I want one of those pumps with bracket.

Anyone got one spare?

Phil
420 SEAC

Got a manual rack? I'll swap you. I hate power robbing, feeling stealing PAS with a passion. I was actually thinking about depowering this rack if it had a ratio of 17.5:1 or higher. I wonder what it steals in HP?

• Note: Depowering a rack involves more than just removing a pump, a few lines, then filling the line holes with bolts. You'll be fighting against the friction of the PAS seals inside the rack itself. Those seals need to be removed too, and then it will turn like a true manual. (I say this in passing in case anyone's ever considering it.)

And now the next installment in Brap's nightmare...



One very filty and corroded looking Mass Airflow Sensor aka MAS

I think you guys call it an AFM or air flow meter, although it does nothing to help the flow, nor does it meter how much air enters the intake.

I was trying to mask off the LUCASfer part number on this but the label came off with the tape anyhow.


While it does look good where it's been polished, it looked like crap in the tight spots. It was too uneven looking I decided to paint it.




MAS painted black, studs polished, air filter end plates and mount bracket painted in my theme's other colour.

To be continued...

Edited by Brap_Brap on Sunday 5th July 04:28

Edited by Brap_Brap on Sunday 5th July 04:30

Edited by Brap_Brap on Sunday 5th July 04:40

[Brap_Brap]

That's no hijack. It could be a tvr special. I thought it rather odd it was welded together and not cast.

In other restoration news...

I just bought these calipers for the rear. http://importpartsspec.com/cart/list/partnumber/AA... for $88.87USD each. That's pretty darned cheap compared to what you guys would pay there. http://www.britishparts.co.uk/.sc/ms/dd/Jaguar%20X... Shipping and taxes will be cheaper too. It pays to search the web.

I got my rebuilt starter back today. $167

The bad news is going to be my alternator. Since LUCASfer no longer makes the 45amp model we had to stuff 75 amp guts into the old casing. He got it reassembled and tested it but it over charges and messes up the voltage regulator. He said for it to work right we need to swap the stator as well which means the old casing needs to be machined for a larger bearing. Not insurmountable but a PITA nonetheless.

Today's project will be my valve covers. I've decided to keep them the original black colour but instead of paint I'll get them ceramic or powder coated, whichever is the cheaper of the two. Once they've been cleaned up and dropped off at the coatings shop it's gusset plate making time; the welder's coming this week. The guy doing the welding is doing it all TIG and really likes the idea of working on the wedge. He told me, "for me to park my truck here and weld on site I'd normally charge $90 an hour, but because I really like your car I'll do it for $55/hr".

Does anyone have any pictures of beefing their frame up? I'd like to see what you've done.

Edited by Brap_Brap on Monday 6th July 20:34

[Brap_Brap]

Transmitter Man said:

Chris,

I think you could be right about the bracket as I seem to remember reading the same elsewhere. However I'm sure most any engineer could modify another to fit. There looks like some welding on the one in the pic!

Mike,

My car's on the road and I'd like to keep it there as a rolling restoration through the summer.

I'd be very happy to work out a deal with you so please feel free to pm me any time.

BTW, I missed out on a MK5 Cortina PS rack on ePay. It sold for £103.00 ouch

Phil
420 SEAC

I will.

Do you happen to know the ratios of PS vs manual?

[Brap_Brap]

Wedg1e said:

Brap_Brap said:

Do you happen to know the ratios of PS vs manual?

My PAS rack is about 3.5 turns lock-to-lock.

That's not quite what I want to know. That number makes no sense unless you also know the wheel cut, ie: turning degrees from straight ahead. I'm more interested in the rack's rack/pinion ratio. Something 20:1 would be an easy to drive manual, something 17.5:1 is getting a little heavy when parking but usable. Something 16:1 or less would be a pig to drive. 17.5:1 would still be quick enough steering for drifting, 20:1 would not.

[Brap_Brap]

Thanks. Is that the PS ratio? Ratio for both? If that's the PS ratio, why bother? It's a waste of road input, power and weight. If that IS the case, I'll definately be depowering my rack.

[Brap_Brap]

As I was cleaning my valve covers today it struck me that the two elevations on top of the casting were much like the two elevations on my car's TVR badges, or as depicted with colours in TVR's 2D logos. I decided I could try and exploit this a little.

I only did one cover to see if I liked it. I could always buy some paint remover if I didn't like it.


Cover sanded with 320 grit then 1200 grit wet. Primed, sanded 600 grit wet, painted gloss black enamel for the base coat.


Masked with a first dust coat of gun metal grey.


Masking that narrow is a pretty tough job accurately. I'll have to get a super fine paint brush and touch up a couple of spots.

I'm going to have to look at this a couple of days and decide if it's what I really want, OTOH, I think the two tone effect is very nice.

[edit]

Before and after really shows how dramatic the change in appearance is. [/edit]

Edited by Brap_Brap on Tuesday 7th July 04:22

[Brap_Brap]

Barkychoc said:

Anyone wanting to take their alternator to bits here's my contribution

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Nice job.

[Brap_Brap]

Things completed today...

I painted the other valve cover having decided I liked the paint job and theme.

I went to hose/pipe shop and they are replacing all hard and soft brake/clutch lines with DOT approved stainless steel. Since I need so many feet they dropped the price from $12/ft to $8 which was nice of them.

I also renewed my fuel delivery system.


I think somebody forgot a hose clamp!


I'd like to know what sort of moron would install this ID hose on that OD bung!


It's a good thing I replaced every fuel hose as they had deteriorated badly


A brand spanking new fuel pump.


Ready to reinstall.

The swirl pot had some rust inside so I bought a bottle of CLR and let it sit in the pot for about 5 minutes then dumped it. A lot of rust came out. I filled it with CLR one more time, let it sit, it came out clean, hence the rust inside is gone. I rinsed it with water, blew it out good and dry with an air compressor, then painted it. I put a see through fuel filter between the pot and the pump so I can keep an eye on rust in the fuel system.



Does anyone else have this bypass on their heater hoses at the back of the intake manifold?

Edited by Brap_Brap on Thursday 9th July 06:16

[Brap_Brap]

V8TVR1978 said:

Mike: Do I see a little copying of an e-mail on those valve covers????
They look good and very Scottish if you ask me.

Nah, I didn't even check my email until after the first cover was done. It was simply staring me in the face as I carefully pried off the TVR badge. As for Scots, my Dad's a born Glaswegian (sp?) and my middle name is Cameron (from the clan of same name). In fact according to my grandmother every first born male has had Cameron somewhere in his name for hundreds of years, except my Dad who's a Guthrie to honour someone on my paternal side.

At least I didn't paint it in the family tartan.

Edited by Brap_Brap on Friday 10th July 01:29

[Brap_Brap]

mike.williams said:

Does anyone else have this bypass on their heater hoses at the back of the intake manifold?


Yes!
Mine has, I believe they all do. My understanding is that the heater has a simple valve afair to allow warm/hot water into the cabin. When you have the heater in the cold position, this valve stops the flow, so you need the bypass to allow the water to go back to the engine...
Now thats what I believe..... but I'm sure someone else on here can confirm or dismiss it!

ps. wish I had the time/patience/comitment/guts/etc to do what you're doing!
Fantastic job!
Where are you in Canada? (I've got friends in Calgary and Vancover Island)
ATB, Mike

I'm a Calgarian, and thanks for the info. Shouldn't the heater matrix inlet valve (ie: cable operated from dash) control that anyhow? What I mean is, lots of cars have a hot water control valve w/out needing a bypass.

Edited by Brap_Brap on Friday 10th July 01:32

[Brap_Brap]

Today's efforts look sharp imho.

With all new shiny (re-mfg) brakes in the mail, and all hard/soft lines being recreated in beautiful stainless I figured I better tackle the remainder of my brakes, ie: the hand brake.


There's no way I could bolt this to a new rear caliper in good conscience.


A single unit polished, primed and painted. I only did one side so I could have something to compare to upon reassembly, but they are simple enough I could/should have done them both at once.


One unit done, albeit awaiting a cotter pin and new pads. It sure looks better than before! (yes the right one is backwards... for purposes of illustration)

I've got a few hours left tonight... I'm gonna go do the other side the same.

[edit] Actually no I wont. Beer and the green leafy sh*t did me in.[/edit]

Edited by Brap_Brap on Sunday 12th July 04:49

[Brap_Brap]

I just used a bench grinder with a brass wire wheel for 90% of it. The remainder I do with a much smaller wire brush on a drill. For any tiny cracks I can't get I used a rust disolving agent.

[Brap_Brap]

Wedg1e said:

Think he said he was doing it all with wire brushes and elbow grease

Not quite. Some small things like the stuff I've been doing I've painted in order to keep the production line going, but as for things of real importance, they're all awaiting TWO coats of powder coat for $350 from the guy that ceramic coated my headers. I showed him pics of the car, he loves it, that's the price he gave me. Even the welder who came by today is working for cheaper. Everywhere I go I show the person pics of the car and say, "Sir, this is a show car and is uber rare, I expect your BEST workmanship". Every time so far they've drooled over the wedge, promised their best, and even DROPPED their normal "going rate".

Seriously though Wedg1e, do you honestly think I'd waste money on replacing perfectly good copper brake lines with stainless while scrimping paint for powder coat on the important stuff? There's not ONE single cut corner in my restoration. Do you think I'd order 4 expensive calipers when the 4 I had worked just fine? No Sir, I'm making this car BETTER than TVR ever dreamed of.

I like this little thread/project of mine. I've got some dubious nay sayers predicting piles of parts left over, (they spur me on to better things) and I've got people who back the project, even to their own expense.

I might not have the fastest wedge when I'm done, but I will have the best.

[edit] Welder came today, everything measured and tacked up, but no crap steel replaced yet. There's not a nut or bolt left in the chassis now and it is ready for sand blasting, more welding/gussets and powder coating. Unfortunately the 1.5" half shaft nuts killed the neumatic impacter, but thankfully it did get them off.[/edit]

Edited by Brap_Brap on Monday 13th July 04:36

[Brap_Brap]

I hate to say it, and I certainly mean NO insult WHATSOEVER, but that looks like st. No, I'm not taking the p1ss as I sometimes do after a day of work/beer then posting. :guilty: You've got a pitted with silica upper wishbone that you will have to then sand (to do things properly) for a smooth paint/powder finish, or paint/powder over silica without going down to bare metal. (which really matters)

For the time and effort it took you to put a "preserved juices" (if it's as greasy as mine) tvr part, blast it, sand it, paint it, I could have done it in 2/3rds the time by eliminating the sanding and just getting to bare metal.

It's just MHO, but as a mechanic for Conklin Shows [for 10 years of my life] (now defunct, then the largest amusmement ride/carnival in the world) I've done a lot of "fixing".

As I said, no offence, but in a case like that, a wheel might be quicker and just as good.... uh... better.

Edited by Brap_Brap on Monday 13th July 04:49

Edited by Brap_Brap on Monday 13th July 04:51

[Brap_Brap]

V8TVR1978 said:

Will stop by soon but with a different truck again just to confuse you. Good Luck with things.


PS: How come people give you that comment when you show them pics or when they come around????? All I get is "That a Triumph????"

I don't know why. *shrug* It's probably because your cars share the same body style as a GT6.

I don't suppose you've got a 1 ton flatdeck? I'm just thinking of ways to get it to Consolidated Compressor for blasting.

[Brap_Brap]

...and when you've had your chassis blasted, I take it you'll meticulously sand it back to a perfect finish before you powdercoat it, or will you leave it to the tender mercies of the powdercoat boys?

I'll spend an hour or two on it for sure. Meticulous, no, smooth, yes.

Chassis, suspension... they're underneath, for Christ's sake. If I want to see my face I'll buy a mirror. If I was THAT pedantic, I'd buy some new wishbones and powdercoat them from the start.

It's got nothing to do with appearance and everything to do with the quality of the job.

As for the time and effort, about 20 mins in the sandblaster. Can your brass brush get inside those enclosed sections? Thought not.

I've got wire brushes as small as 1/8". I can get almost anywhere but where I can't a little muriatc acid works wonders.

Still don't see why you think I've implied you're doing a poor job..

I never said or implied you did. I should have stated things a little more clearly, so I'll try rephrasing things.

I know that some people had practically written off my car when I stupidly lifted it so high it darned near crashed through the garage wall. People have joked about spare bits not going back on the car etc. Wayne joked about my Scottish ie: cheap valve cover job. Things like that make me work harder at the car, and that is all I meant. Honestly, it really was all I meant.


Edit: oh, and I use Aluminium Oxide, nothing silica about it.

I thought I read Alox and glass?

I'm no longer under any illusion that a TVR wedge is ever going to be a valuable asset

They already are valuable. I paid the equivalent to $13,500 for my car not incl. shipping etc. I could look through the AutoTrader mag here and I'd be hard pressed to find a 22 y/o survivor car selling for that much. Any other 20+ y/o car I've ever bought I paid $500 or less for.

FWIW Wayne's had one of his tiv's appraised at $100K although I think he might get $50k at best. I asked him if my car could fetch $40k if put back to showroom condition. His answer was "easily".

Edited by Brap_Brap on Monday 13th July 18:59

[Brap_Brap]

V8TVR1978 said:

Is Consolidated Com. up by Pick A Part(Barlow/Glenmore)???? Hopefully my trailer is finished in another week or two and I do have the Bobcat Unit.

Yes, but it's not the blast pit you can see from the boneyard. It's S of 90th.

Could you help me get it there this week maybe? Wednesday, Friday or Saturday work around my work schedule.

Edited by Brap_Brap on Monday 13th July 19:37