Another Restoration
Discussion
My 99 car was pronounced in good nick when I bought it from a dealer. 11 months and 6000 miles later it failed the MOT on outriggers. The later cars are famous for a poorer powder coating following TVR bringing the work in-house, I believe. Didn't know that when I bought it.......
Good luck to all refurbees this winter - may next summer bring you loads of joy and glad tidings.
Good luck to all refurbees this winter - may next summer bring you loads of joy and glad tidings.
When I was chatting to Steve yesterday he said that the worst cars are '98 onwards. He has done three 2000 cars already. I will keep this updated with photos when I can but it is expected that I will have it back by the end of January with a bit of luck.
The thing for me is that I know I will have car that is sound for years to come.
Merry Christmas everyone!
The thing for me is that I know I will have car that is sound for years to come.
Merry Christmas everyone!
pb450 said:
This is an excellent thread Mark. I was thinking of doing the same thing myself but you've beaten me to it! 
I've had my '98 Chimaera for 20 months now. It was inspected before I bought it and Rob Ingleby said the outriggers had a couple of years in them, possibly more. He poked and prodded and said he wanted to find a hole but couldn't. To me this was code for 'nearly knackered. It indicated to me that their days were numbered.
So has it failed an MOT? No. (Last MOT was October and it passed without advisories.) Will it pass next year? Who knows. Are the outriggers holed on top in those difficult to reach places? Probably... I aim to keep the car for some years so I figured that it was best to get some life out of some new outriggers and have the job done at my convenience, rather than in a panic after a failed MOT.
Also, it makes sense to have it done during the winter, when the car sees little use - especially with the weather is the way it is now! Shockers are original and one has just started weeping, so Nitrons will go on as part of the underpinning refurb.
So it's booked in on Monday 13th January. By the following weekend the body will be off and I will take plenty of pictures. Can't wait to see if my hunch is correct!
It seems too much for me to start another outrigger thread but if anybody is interested I'm happy to post and share the experience. A good number of us will be in this situation in the coming years. First it's flaky immobilisers, then it's rusty outriggers...
I reckon you should start another rebuild thread Peter as when you see the chassis you won't just get the outriggers done, and once its all zinc primed and powdercoated or painted, you wont have to touch it for 20 years I've had my '98 Chimaera for 20 months now. It was inspected before I bought it and Rob Ingleby said the outriggers had a couple of years in them, possibly more. He poked and prodded and said he wanted to find a hole but couldn't. To me this was code for 'nearly knackered. It indicated to me that their days were numbered.So has it failed an MOT? No. (Last MOT was October and it passed without advisories.) Will it pass next year? Who knows. Are the outriggers holed on top in those difficult to reach places? Probably... I aim to keep the car for some years so I figured that it was best to get some life out of some new outriggers and have the job done at my convenience, rather than in a panic after a failed MOT.
Also, it makes sense to have it done during the winter, when the car sees little use - especially with the weather is the way it is now! Shockers are original and one has just started weeping, so Nitrons will go on as part of the underpinning refurb.
So it's booked in on Monday 13th January. By the following weekend the body will be off and I will take plenty of pictures. Can't wait to see if my hunch is correct!
It seems too much for me to start another outrigger thread but if anybody is interested I'm happy to post and share the experience. A good number of us will be in this situation in the coming years. First it's flaky immobilisers, then it's rusty outriggers...
. who is doing the work for you ? Mark
Edited by portzi on Wednesday 25th December 12:32
Malcster said:
What was your build number / last 4 digits on your VIN?
Must be pretty close to mine - it's a 2000 on a W also!
I'm build 2154. Might well have shared some factory time together!
It's done 32k miles, outriggers in good shapre (original) but have been cared for / POR15'd etc. Engine seems to be running well, no issues.
I've just had a look and the last four numbers are 1312. It was registered in May 2000 so I guess it was hanging around a dealer for a while before being sold.Must be pretty close to mine - it's a 2000 on a W also!
I'm build 2154. Might well have shared some factory time together!
It's done 32k miles, outriggers in good shapre (original) but have been cared for / POR15'd etc. Engine seems to be running well, no issues.
ETA I've been researching the chassis numbers. The build year of mine was 2000 (Y before the B001) so was the 312th car of 2000 which does make it a very late MkII. They were certainly churning them out back then!
Edited by Trevor450 on Friday 3rd January 12:39
The chassis work is well under way. New outriggers are on and tacked in place - there is obviously further welding to do to complete these.
There are parts of the backbone that were worse than first thought so some bits are being cut out, sleeved and replaced.
The exhaust manifolds cause problems in this area. All of this is being cut out and replaced.
The whole chassis view - the outriggers are being replaced in 3mm steel which is twice the thickness that TVR used.
Underneath from the rear - obviously still lots to do.
Grotty outriggers - fit for scrap only.
Engine bay heat shielding is serviceable.
Rear wishbones, uprights and hub assemblies. The rear upper wishbones were new when I bought the car. The lower ones are all OK and all the bushes are pretty recent. These will be rubbed down and painted rather than powder coating them as they would all have to be rebutted.
The driveshafts, CV joints and bearings are all OK.
Front upper wishbones and bushes are OK and will also be painted.
Front lower wishbones are goosed. The new ones will have new bushes and ball joints.
Various bits cleaned and painted. The steering rack has had new gaiters.
Clutch has a few mm left but the fingers on the pressure plate are goosed. New one will be going in.
Various bits for powder coating
Broken rocker pad. Someone has replaced this rocker before as it is a different colour to all the others.
Inlet manifold cleaned up.
Water pump is relatively recent. Makes me wonder if someone has had cooling issues before. New oil pump will be going in the timing case.
Hard at it!
Bottom hoses are all OK.
It is also getting a new fuel pump, cam bearings in addition to the new cam, new sump (very thin in places) and a new oil pickup.
Should have a rolling chassis in a couple of weeks. He aims to have the repairs done this week or early next. It will then go off to be powder coated which is a week turnaround.
There are parts of the backbone that were worse than first thought so some bits are being cut out, sleeved and replaced.
The exhaust manifolds cause problems in this area. All of this is being cut out and replaced.
The whole chassis view - the outriggers are being replaced in 3mm steel which is twice the thickness that TVR used.
Underneath from the rear - obviously still lots to do.
Grotty outriggers - fit for scrap only.
Engine bay heat shielding is serviceable.
Rear wishbones, uprights and hub assemblies. The rear upper wishbones were new when I bought the car. The lower ones are all OK and all the bushes are pretty recent. These will be rubbed down and painted rather than powder coating them as they would all have to be rebutted.
The driveshafts, CV joints and bearings are all OK.
Front upper wishbones and bushes are OK and will also be painted.
Front lower wishbones are goosed. The new ones will have new bushes and ball joints.
Various bits cleaned and painted. The steering rack has had new gaiters.
Clutch has a few mm left but the fingers on the pressure plate are goosed. New one will be going in.
Various bits for powder coating
Broken rocker pad. Someone has replaced this rocker before as it is a different colour to all the others.
Inlet manifold cleaned up.
Water pump is relatively recent. Makes me wonder if someone has had cooling issues before. New oil pump will be going in the timing case.
Hard at it!
Bottom hoses are all OK.
It is also getting a new fuel pump, cam bearings in addition to the new cam, new sump (very thin in places) and a new oil pickup.
Should have a rolling chassis in a couple of weeks. He aims to have the repairs done this week or early next. It will then go off to be powder coated which is a week turnaround.
Trevor450 said:
I have been advised that it looks scarier than it is in reality (they have obviously cut some of those bits away so it isn't as bad as all that). I do think the car must have spent a lot of time outside prior to me owning it.
There's a lot of the chassis that is just not visable at all on these cars. Even when its up on a ramp, its virtually impossible to see most of the top of the main chassis rails which disappear along the manifolds and in the transmission tunnel. I noticed your main area of repair was the sections on the main chassis rail just above the front outrigger, again an area you can't access and repair without the body off or engine out. Mark
Edited by portzi on Wednesday 8th January 20:15
Trevor450 said:
This is exactly why I opted for the full body-off. Get the job done properly now and it will save a massive headache later on.
You right there Trevor, if your outriggers are rotten on anyone's car, then there's a good chance those main rails will need attention as well, but unfortunately l think everyone would love a body off, but at the end of the day it's that extra expense which a lot of people just don't have. So the moral is, if you can afford a body off, get it done if you or your mechanic have any doubt's about the rest of the chassis. !!I am very lucky that I have sold my house and have cash in the bank. It would been getting spent on some refurbishments on our new place but those will have to take a back seat. I would have struggled to afford this had I not had the cash - certainly massive sacrifices would have had to have been made.
I do appreciate that not everyone can afford to have it done but the extent of the rot on a late car (which are worse than earlier ones) does help illustrate the usefulness of taking the body off because it can be shocking what is found.
I do appreciate that not everyone can afford to have it done but the extent of the rot on a late car (which are worse than earlier ones) does help illustrate the usefulness of taking the body off because it can be shocking what is found.
Trevor450 said:
I am very lucky that I have sold my house and have cash in the bank. It would been getting spent on some refurbishments on our new place but those will have to take a back seat. I would have struggled to afford this had I not had the cash - certainly massive sacrifices would have had to have been made.
I do appreciate that not everyone can afford to have it done but the extent of the rot on a late car (which are worse than earlier ones) does help illustrate the usefulness of taking the body off because it can be shocking what is found.
I reckon there is a lot of cars out there with chassis like that !!I do appreciate that not everyone can afford to have it done but the extent of the rot on a late car (which are worse than earlier ones) does help illustrate the usefulness of taking the body off because it can be shocking what is found.
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