Another body off - build thread and questions
Discussion
I've had my 450 Chimaera for a couple of years. When I bought it, I managed to put a screwdriver through the O/S outrigger and knocked the seller down accordingly (expecting just an outrigger replacement). It's been a great car and drives well (made it to Beligium and back for Spa GP last year) but has been off the road since the MOT ran out in November.
I took the car to RT Racing to have the outriggers replaced with the body on on Sunday last week, hoping to have the car back on the road and ready to enjoy the summer this week. Unfortunately I got a call on Monday to tell me that repairs will also be needed to some of the main chassis rail and the body needed to come off - not good!! I had wanted to do this since I bought the car (and read all of the other threads on here) but was thinking I had another few years before it would need to be done.
So, car was brought back down on the Friday, garage rented (I don't have anywhere at home to do it) and work has begun.
I'm following the guide to taking the body off from Autogasp, and taking lots of pictures and notes as I go. The most I have done before is replacing wishbones, discs and pads etc so this is definitely on the ambitious side.
I thought I would start a thread as I enjoy reading others, and will no doubt have lots of questions as time goes by that can be kept in one place - hopefully some that have done this before will be able to assist!
Saturday
The car was taken to the rented unit, jacked up, put on axle stands and wheels removed.
Car before work started:
I thought I would tackle removing bonnet and spray penetrating spray on any accessible bolt to try and make the ongoing job easier.
Unfortunately, even the easy jobs aren't necessarily so - the allen bolts on the bonnet assembly wouldn't come off.
I got a couple of pictures of the O/S outrigger - the entire corner has fallen away and missing a few inches under the car.
I took the car to RT Racing to have the outriggers replaced with the body on on Sunday last week, hoping to have the car back on the road and ready to enjoy the summer this week. Unfortunately I got a call on Monday to tell me that repairs will also be needed to some of the main chassis rail and the body needed to come off - not good!! I had wanted to do this since I bought the car (and read all of the other threads on here) but was thinking I had another few years before it would need to be done.
So, car was brought back down on the Friday, garage rented (I don't have anywhere at home to do it) and work has begun.
I'm following the guide to taking the body off from Autogasp, and taking lots of pictures and notes as I go. The most I have done before is replacing wishbones, discs and pads etc so this is definitely on the ambitious side.
I thought I would start a thread as I enjoy reading others, and will no doubt have lots of questions as time goes by that can be kept in one place - hopefully some that have done this before will be able to assist!
Saturday
The car was taken to the rented unit, jacked up, put on axle stands and wheels removed.
Car before work started:
I thought I would tackle removing bonnet and spray penetrating spray on any accessible bolt to try and make the ongoing job easier.
Unfortunately, even the easy jobs aren't necessarily so - the allen bolts on the bonnet assembly wouldn't come off.
I got a couple of pictures of the O/S outrigger - the entire corner has fallen away and missing a few inches under the car.
[b]Sunday[b/]
The first proper day on the car and I'm happy with the progress made.
Main parts that were tackled were:
- Removing exhaust
- Remove Y-Piece
- Remove N/S Manifold
- Remove rad and some bits of the cooling system
Manifold and expansion tank removed
Engine bay at the end of day one
The first proper day on the car and I'm happy with the progress made.
Main parts that were tackled were:
- Removing exhaust
- Remove Y-Piece
- Remove N/S Manifold
- Remove rad and some bits of the cooling system
Manifold and expansion tank removed
Engine bay at the end of day one
[b]Monday[b/]
Day two and a second pair of hands (dad) to assist.
Managed to get the bonnet off and out of the way on the wall
Both seats out
Starter motor and other O/S manifold removed (some bolts are a little inaccessible and have to be resigned to very small turns of a spanner)
Fuel tank drained, disconnected and removed
Plenum, coil and a few other bits removed
A few questions for those in the know:
I have tried bleeding brakes using bleed nipple on the calipers and pumping down pedal (with just one and more than one open). Not getting huge amounts out (sounds like air) and still plenty of fluid in the reservoir. What am I doing wrong?!
Clutch bleeding - any tricks here or just use bleed nipple on top of slave cylinder?
Chassis bolts in front of gear knob (the inaccessible ones). What tools are needed? What's the best approach?
Power steering - bleed system and remove reservoir before removing body or worry about it later?
How much does the engine weigh? I need to get an engine stand and want to make sure it is appropriate.
That it at the end of day two. Less time to work on the car for the next couple of days but will keep updates coming....
Day two and a second pair of hands (dad) to assist.
Managed to get the bonnet off and out of the way on the wall
Both seats out
Starter motor and other O/S manifold removed (some bolts are a little inaccessible and have to be resigned to very small turns of a spanner)
Fuel tank drained, disconnected and removed
Plenum, coil and a few other bits removed
A few questions for those in the know:
I have tried bleeding brakes using bleed nipple on the calipers and pumping down pedal (with just one and more than one open). Not getting huge amounts out (sounds like air) and still plenty of fluid in the reservoir. What am I doing wrong?!
Clutch bleeding - any tricks here or just use bleed nipple on top of slave cylinder?
Chassis bolts in front of gear knob (the inaccessible ones). What tools are needed? What's the best approach?
Power steering - bleed system and remove reservoir before removing body or worry about it later?
How much does the engine weigh? I need to get an engine stand and want to make sure it is appropriate.
That it at the end of day two. Less time to work on the car for the next couple of days but will keep updates coming....
Good job! Looks like a lot of rust... some wishbones you can blast and reuse, some may have to be bought new... youll need a complete set of bolts/washers/nuts for everything, new bushes, fuel/brake lines
http://www.rtracing.co.uk/ has a complete kit with the bolts you need
http://www.rtracing.co.uk/ has a complete kit with the bolts you need
Great work so far. I have to say I find these threads the most interesting.
It's great timing as J400 GED's thread has slowed down whilst the chassis is away.
I just wish I had the chance to do the same but it would be the garage space and ⚽ s to do it.
Good luck and keep the info coming.
Pete
It's great timing as J400 GED's thread has slowed down whilst the chassis is away.
I just wish I had the chance to do the same but it would be the garage space and ⚽ s to do it.
Good luck and keep the info coming.
Pete
To get to the top chassis bolts (by knees) I pulled the carpet back the cut a flap in the sound deadening stuff behind it.
The access holes are easy to find if you use your fingers and press along the top/side of the ridges that form the sides of the tray that the window switches are in.
The only tools that I used were a spanner (can't remember the size but the same as the other body bolts I think), a metal ruler to unstick the carpet from backing and a knife to cut a flap in the backing.
Let me know if you want some pictures of where they are and I will dig some out.
There is just enough access to get a spanner through the hole to remove (and replace) these two bolts.
To drain the fluids I just loosened the bread nipples one at a time and got someone to pump the relevant peddle. Sort of bleeding with air! I did go round and do all four wheels in turn as it has a split system.
The access holes are easy to find if you use your fingers and press along the top/side of the ridges that form the sides of the tray that the window switches are in.
The only tools that I used were a spanner (can't remember the size but the same as the other body bolts I think), a metal ruler to unstick the carpet from backing and a knife to cut a flap in the backing.
Let me know if you want some pictures of where they are and I will dig some out.
There is just enough access to get a spanner through the hole to remove (and replace) these two bolts.
To drain the fluids I just loosened the bread nipples one at a time and got someone to pump the relevant peddle. Sort of bleeding with air! I did go round and do all four wheels in turn as it has a split system.
Edited by chimyellow on Tuesday 21st April 13:49
Just a quick post to say "May the force be with you" as we approach International Star Wars Day......and to make sure that my attention is drawn to every move you make.
My 1999 (so crap painted) 94,000 mile chassis will need a full body off in the next couple of years. I just need to build a garage first and install a two post lift........and then set about it myself. If I have the patience to dot without resorting to Clarkson style engineering
My 1999 (so crap painted) 94,000 mile chassis will need a full body off in the next couple of years. I just need to build a garage first and install a two post lift........and then set about it myself. If I have the patience to dot without resorting to Clarkson style engineering
The last couple of days have seen far less obvious changes as a lot of time has been spent under the car or spending ages trying to resolve small issues! Thanks for the advice so far, plenty more will be needed! The garage isn't too bad for what it is, and having the space definitely makes life a lot easier. It does however put an element of time pressure on the whole job.
Tuesday
Now that a lot of the larger bits are removed, it is now a case of going round and ensuring all the small bits have been done. The main bits that were attacked were:
- Washer bottle and carbon cannister removed from front O/S wing and pipework (carbon cannister) fed through to engine bay
- Alternator and associated wiring removed
- Power steering drained and PAS reservoir removed
Although it could have been left until the car is dismantled, it was much easier to remove PAS and hoses to give space to work.
Wednesday
I'm hoping to get the body lifted at the weekend so plenty still to do.
Most importantly, those chassis bolts in the centre tunnel are now free and out (god only knows how they will be reconnected with cables etc in place) - in the end I went with cutting the carpet method as I would probably make more mess trying to unstick/restick it around the dash later. Surprisingly easy, the first part of the car that didn't seem entirely welded together with rust!
Unfortunately, the wiring loom for the N/S injectors is fed between the fuel rail and the engine and with all of the connectors, will not feed back through (if that makes any sense, pic below). Therefore i need to remove fuel rail and trumpet base, made more challenging by silicon or equivalent - all bolts on the trumpet base are removed but it is not shifting.....
I have also disconnected most of the wiring from the underside of the car, but pictures of single cables are really dull!
Now to bleeding the brakes again and seeing if I can free the loom on the top of the engine......
Tuesday
Now that a lot of the larger bits are removed, it is now a case of going round and ensuring all the small bits have been done. The main bits that were attacked were:
- Washer bottle and carbon cannister removed from front O/S wing and pipework (carbon cannister) fed through to engine bay
- Alternator and associated wiring removed
- Power steering drained and PAS reservoir removed
Although it could have been left until the car is dismantled, it was much easier to remove PAS and hoses to give space to work.
Wednesday
I'm hoping to get the body lifted at the weekend so plenty still to do.
Most importantly, those chassis bolts in the centre tunnel are now free and out (god only knows how they will be reconnected with cables etc in place) - in the end I went with cutting the carpet method as I would probably make more mess trying to unstick/restick it around the dash later. Surprisingly easy, the first part of the car that didn't seem entirely welded together with rust!
Unfortunately, the wiring loom for the N/S injectors is fed between the fuel rail and the engine and with all of the connectors, will not feed back through (if that makes any sense, pic below). Therefore i need to remove fuel rail and trumpet base, made more challenging by silicon or equivalent - all bolts on the trumpet base are removed but it is not shifting.....
I have also disconnected most of the wiring from the underside of the car, but pictures of single cables are really dull!
Now to bleeding the brakes again and seeing if I can free the loom on the top of the engine......
Great to see someone else joining the 2015 Body off Club. 
Feel free to ask any/as many questions you may have - no matter how stupid you may think them, the only stupid question is the one you don't ask.
I have loads of pics on my chassis refurb thread if you want to reference them, plus some others.
Best of luck.
Ged
Feel free to ask any/as many questions you may have - no matter how stupid you may think them, the only stupid question is the one you don't ask.
I have loads of pics on my chassis refurb thread if you want to reference them, plus some others.
Best of luck.
Ged
t the bed.Quite a productive last few days, although I haven't been great at keeping this thread up to date.
Thanks for all of the offers of assistance/words of support - so far everything seems to be going ok ish (few grazed knuckles and head scratching aside!)
Query on the engine - when removing the ignition leads from the near side of the engine, the middle two have got evidence of coolant on the bottom of them. Not sure what could be causing this??
Everything has now been drained down, the last few cables disconnected and the body is off! Had issues with a couple of the chassis bolts that wouldn't come out or decided to shear (one of the lower ones behind fuel tank and passenger side seat belt mounting) but we were able to slice through both with a large angle grinder (a normal 4.5" wouldn't chop all the way through).
Having read lots of similar threads and approaches to lifting the body and storing the body when off the car, I eventually settled on using a chain winch (attached to an I beam) at the rear and and engine stand at the front to lift the body. A body stand was fashioned out of CLS timber, with some casters on the bottom to allow me to move it around to clean, repaint the underside and replace heat shielding. Everything seems stable so far..........
I'll let the pictures do the talking but it's fair to say that the outriggers have definitely seen better days and are made predominately out of iron oxide. The rest of the chassis looks ok, with the exception of a patch by the N/S exhaust manifold that has disintegrated a little and the rear upper wishbones that are more than a little flaky. The full extent of what is needed will be clear once shot blasted, but hopefully not too many surprises.
Having removed the body yesterday, we managed to get the engine and gearbox out today (although need to buy some bolts before I'm able to mount the engine to the engine stand). I'm hoping that I will be able to get the chassis stripped this week and then the process of cleaning, replacing and rebuilding can start.
Thanks for all of the offers of assistance/words of support - so far everything seems to be going ok ish (few grazed knuckles and head scratching aside!)
Query on the engine - when removing the ignition leads from the near side of the engine, the middle two have got evidence of coolant on the bottom of them. Not sure what could be causing this??
Everything has now been drained down, the last few cables disconnected and the body is off! Had issues with a couple of the chassis bolts that wouldn't come out or decided to shear (one of the lower ones behind fuel tank and passenger side seat belt mounting) but we were able to slice through both with a large angle grinder (a normal 4.5" wouldn't chop all the way through).
Having read lots of similar threads and approaches to lifting the body and storing the body when off the car, I eventually settled on using a chain winch (attached to an I beam) at the rear and and engine stand at the front to lift the body. A body stand was fashioned out of CLS timber, with some casters on the bottom to allow me to move it around to clean, repaint the underside and replace heat shielding. Everything seems stable so far..........
I'll let the pictures do the talking but it's fair to say that the outriggers have definitely seen better days and are made predominately out of iron oxide. The rest of the chassis looks ok, with the exception of a patch by the N/S exhaust manifold that has disintegrated a little and the rear upper wishbones that are more than a little flaky. The full extent of what is needed will be clear once shot blasted, but hopefully not too many surprises.
Having removed the body yesterday, we managed to get the engine and gearbox out today (although need to buy some bolts before I'm able to mount the engine to the engine stand). I'm hoping that I will be able to get the chassis stripped this week and then the process of cleaning, replacing and rebuilding can start.
I have a number of things in mind to do whilst the body is off and everything is accessible (list below). What am I missing? Should I be doing anything else whilst it is relatively easy?
- Renew all fuel lines, brake lines and power steering hoses
- Replace all mounts (engine, gearbox, diff)
- Replace all bushes (thinking standard bushes all round with the exception of poly bushes for the diff) - the car is a road car with the occasionally track day thrown in so want the ride to still be reasonable
- Shot blast and paint anything that stays still for long enough
- New clutch as the old one is on it's way out (although not slipping as of yet)
- Engine - the cam was replaced fairly recently so shouldn't need doing. I'm planning on replacing the valley gasket, possibly head gaskets. Anything else will depend on the reason for coolant in the spark plug wells as per previous post
- Replace CV joints - small amount of shunting previously and much easier to do with the car in parts. Diff was rebuilt a couple of years ago so should be good with a paint and oil change
- All bolts
- Repaint the underside of the car and replace heat shielding in engine bay and transmission tunnel
- Renew all fuel lines, brake lines and power steering hoses
- Replace all mounts (engine, gearbox, diff)
- Replace all bushes (thinking standard bushes all round with the exception of poly bushes for the diff) - the car is a road car with the occasionally track day thrown in so want the ride to still be reasonable
- Shot blast and paint anything that stays still for long enough
- New clutch as the old one is on it's way out (although not slipping as of yet)
- Engine - the cam was replaced fairly recently so shouldn't need doing. I'm planning on replacing the valley gasket, possibly head gaskets. Anything else will depend on the reason for coolant in the spark plug wells as per previous post
- Replace CV joints - small amount of shunting previously and much easier to do with the car in parts. Diff was rebuilt a couple of years ago so should be good with a paint and oil change
- All bolts
- Repaint the underside of the car and replace heat shielding in engine bay and transmission tunnel
get rid of the original wishbones and trade up for tubular ones, they are more ridgit than original channel ones which will flex because of their shape so improved ride quality and less likely to chip as no corners, are you replacing all bearings and ball joints too?
Edited by portzi on Sunday 26th April 23:43
You may have some of these already on your list, but.....:
If your chassis is badly holed/corroded, do consider simply replacing the whole thing.
On the chassis, perhaps consider welding in some seat mounting plates - as you know, your seats are simply mounted through the fibreglass floor at present.
Consider renewing the heat shielding in the engine bay, easier with the body off. Yours does however look ok.
Do the headlights need refreshing? The reflectors tend to corrode over time.
Dampers/springs - check condition and consider upgrading while you have the suspension in pieces anyway (I think I can see Gaz Golds in one of your pics, so may not be necessary)
If your chassis is badly holed/corroded, do consider simply replacing the whole thing.
On the chassis, perhaps consider welding in some seat mounting plates - as you know, your seats are simply mounted through the fibreglass floor at present.
Consider renewing the heat shielding in the engine bay, easier with the body off. Yours does however look ok.
Do the headlights need refreshing? The reflectors tend to corrode over time.
Dampers/springs - check condition and consider upgrading while you have the suspension in pieces anyway (I think I can see Gaz Golds in one of your pics, so may not be necessary)
Edited by QBee on Monday 27th April 06:54
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