Corroded chassis members repair questions

Corroded chassis members repair questions

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anonymous-user

Original Poster:

53 months

Sunday 8th April 2012
quotequote all
Another question for those with more know how than I.

A previous fix to my car entailed someone trying to minimize the clutch hose rubbing on the chassis, by siliconing a piece of heat shield material around the hose and to a vertical chassis member adjacent to the drivers side manifold.

I wasnt really impressed when I saw it, and certianly wastn 10 minutes later after removing it. Can this be fixed in situ?






Drivers side wheel arch is to the immediate left of the photo


Second question!!

On the passenger side of the bay, the top chassis rail has a small pinhole on the top side, again close to the manifolds, as this is on the front to back top rail of the chassis, is this potentially worse than the corroded vertical member above??



ANY help is good help right now. Not in a happy place atm. :-(

Edited by djstevec on Sunday 25th May 01:25

kevin63

4,661 posts

252 months

Sunday 8th April 2012
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Mine wasn't as bad as yours (2001) but this is how it turned out after the heat shielding was added.






spongy

2,236 posts

160 months

Sunday 8th April 2012
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to be honest sir i would consider a body lift at this point.Have really looked at chassis threads over the past few months and a couple of weeks ago would have partialy disagreed with people saying the outriggers etc are better done with a lift....hand on heart i now agree rolleyes.you will get to the stage where you will be left with no tubes.If you were closer to me i would help you with this as a project..as i will need help in a year or so.

spongy

2,236 posts

160 months

Sunday 8th April 2012
quotequote all
about the not happy place...we are all prone to these days....ive kinda had one today concerning the new stone chips to my front end ......not done by me...and the new scratches again not by me..frown

spongy

2,236 posts

160 months

Sunday 8th April 2012
quotequote all
Sir if you join in my way of thinking at the mo i am looking at my chassis as a temporary make do untill my funds allow a new one,this kinda takes the pressure off when i find nasty things.

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

53 months

Sunday 8th April 2012
quotequote all
spongy said:
Sir if you join in my way of thinking at the mo i am looking at my chassis as a temporary make do untill my funds allow a new one,this kinda takes the pressure off when i find nasty things.
Yeah this pretty much sums up my thinking right now mate.

That call to TVR Power about chassis is gonna come much sooner rather than later!!

spongy

2,236 posts

160 months

Sunday 8th April 2012
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I can see a group buy coming up.:DGot to agree its horrible to find rot like this,and i cant keep doing it....so its either sell the car...or rebuild it so i know every bit inside out.To be honest if this was any other car i would have thrown in the towel.....but i love this car so much i dont think we will ever part company.when i do my build it will take years so i will just spread the costs and start saving now.if a good chassis comes up i may get it and start in earnest.keep with it bud i do feel for you...have an egg.biggrin

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

53 months

Sunday 8th April 2012
quotequote all
Oh the cars going nowhere, she's here for the long term. Body off is probably where this is all heading. Just not planning on major chassis work as APM have my engine in bits at the moment too. Having a drink, watching the golf.


ukkid35

6,138 posts

172 months

Sunday 8th April 2012
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Your photos are so depressing.

Ten years ago I bought an aluminium bodied 928 with a galvanised chassis so I'd never have to deal with this nonsense, and after 25 years and 220k miles it's virtually free of corrosion. But like you my heart got the better of my head and I bought a Cerb with a fibreglass body thinking - what can possibly go wrong?

The degree of corrosion protection that their chassis enjoyed is almost criminal, it's definitely non existent.

And then there's the coolant tank overflow.... It just dumps coolant directly on to the passenger side chassis rail next to the exhaust manifold - WTF!!!

These cars are one hell of a lot of fun, but without last weekend at Spa to remind me, I'd be wondering what on earth I was thinking. I feel like I'm on borrowed time, because to get any real value out of mine I've had to raise the concept of 'deferred maintenance' to an art form, otherwise the car would never move an inch.

Tanguero

4,535 posts

200 months

Sunday 8th April 2012
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Looking at those pictures I would say it going to be a body off job to repair it properly. Worse still if the top rail is pin-holed from inside as well as an upright on the same side, personally I wouldn't drive it at all until it had been done! The only load bearing member of any strength left on that side is the bottom rail and in an accident I wouldn't put any money on that not folding up on you. Not worth the risk.


anonymous-user

Original Poster:

53 months

Sunday 8th April 2012
quotequote all
Tanguero said:
Looking at those pictures I would say it going to be a body off job to repair it properly. Worse still if the top rail is pin-holed from inside as well as an upright on the same side, personally I wouldn't drive it at all until it had been done! The only load bearing member of any strength left on that side is the bottom rail and in an accident I wouldn't put any money on that not folding up on you. Not worth the risk.
Hey Peter,

Well car isn't going anywhere for a while I feel. Issues are on opposite sides of the bay, but am thinking more and more that I need to get the body off and either refurb what I can, or leave the body on for now but do what I can to all the other bits and bobs to get ready for a TVR Power chassis if/when they make cerb chassis available.

scotty_d

6,795 posts

193 months

Monday 9th April 2012
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Hi

I think that clutch hose plate was put there to hide the rot by the looks of it.

I had to plate 4 parts of my Chassis just 2 weeks ago but all on the front end. It looks like you have the engine and box out, If you are that far in i would just body lift and build a better Cerb than came out black pool 10 odd years ago.

Good luck i know how you feel.

Scotty

M3John

5,974 posts

218 months

Monday 9th April 2012
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Blimey mate that doesn't look promising at all. I'll give you a call when i finish work today for a catch up.

Tanguero

4,535 posts

200 months

Monday 9th April 2012
quotequote all
djstevec said:
Hey Peter,

Well car isn't going anywhere for a while I feel. Issues are on opposite sides of the bay, but am thinking more and more that I need to get the body off and either refurb what I can, or leave the body on for now but do what I can to all the other bits and bobs to get ready for a TVR Power chassis if/when they make cerb chassis available.
Hi Steve, I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for a Cerbera chassis from any of the suppliers, I had been waiting for about three years and eventually gave up and am in the middle of a body off restoration now. To be honest, repairing the chassis is the least of the job. It is straightforward cutting and welding (with the chassis suitably well braced!!) What is taking me more time and costing me a lot more money is the 500 other things that you do while its in bits. Suspension refresh, brakes, brake hoses, gearbox rebuild etc.

Chassis tube is not expensive, I reckon enough for outriggers and top rails was no more than £150 including bending (I have a spare pre bent repair section for the engine bay top rail if you need it)

As yours is gone on opposite sides it wont have weakened it as much, but to be honest I would still be fairly nervous of driving it if it were mine. If you have the engine out at the moment, its not a bad time to be doing a body lift.

longbow

1,610 posts

234 months

Monday 9th April 2012
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There are quite a few of us now that have gone down the body off rebuild route and in the long run it really is the best way forward. Most cars will be off the road for at least a year or two as, has been mentioned, it is akin to a can of worms and you end up replacing or renewing everything as its the best opportunity you'll get such as steering rack refurb, suspension and diff bushes etc etc. If you're planning on keeping the car for the long term I'd say go for it, else you will be forever patching up bits and pieces - TVRs were certainly not 'built to last' from the factory, but they can be made that way with a fair bit of graft!!

spongy

2,236 posts

160 months

Monday 9th April 2012
quotequote all
winkHow true the above comment,i take my cars as long term projects,this way things dont seem to expensive.....till you come to sell and you add up all the reciepts eek lol

scotty_d

6,795 posts

193 months

Monday 9th April 2012
quotequote all
spongy said:
;)How true the above comment,i take my cars as long term projects,this way things dont seem to expensive.....till you come to sell and you add up all the reciepts eek lol
We Don't do that..... Well i did just from September till now back on the road and it is frighting now. It still need a good few £ put in to it so i will never sell this one now. Ouch

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

53 months

Monday 9th April 2012
quotequote all
Yeah just ordered some storage racking for the spare bathroom as I feel there's going to be many more components going in there in the next few days/weeks. Have to figure out a way to lift the body in a communal garage space with no possibilities of fixing in to the ceiling or storing the body/chassis when its off.

First thought was some form of scaffolding around/above the car for the lift day, some bogies to move the body when off, and low load the body to my mums until chassis ready (so long as she doesn't sell the house in the meantime!)

And call TVR Power tomorrow for a chat about chassis's ;-)

natben

2,743 posts

230 months

Monday 9th April 2012
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Last year I spent over £10k, on my Cerbera.!!!!!
If I thought I would have to spend this amount I would have NEVER have bought it. I would never have thought of spending this sort of money on a car . But somehow a TVR just gets under your skin and common sence is thrown out the window. It doesn't stop me waking up during the night on the odd occasion in a sweat cursing myself and the car but what I do have know is a well sorted car that I can take for a run without worry and that is certainly worth something, and the first time I have felt like this in 6 years of TVR ownership.


Just don't tell Mrs natben !!!

scotty_d

6,795 posts

193 months

Monday 9th April 2012
quotequote all
djstevec said:
Yeah just ordered some storage racking for the spare bathroom as I feel there's going to be many more components going in there in the next few days/weeks. Have to figure out a way to lift the body in a communal garage space with no possibilities of fixing in to the ceiling or storing the body/chassis when its off.

First thought was some form of scaffolding around/above the car for the lift day, some bogies to move the body when off, and low load the body to my mums until chassis ready (so long as she doesn't sell the house in the meantime!)

And call TVR Power tomorrow for a chat about chassis's ;-)
There was a chap in the Chimaera forum who did a body lift this way using scaffolding it looked like it worked very well.