Chimaera chassis tidy up

[Prizam]

Well, i have started ordering parts now so cant go back on it.

I plan to do a partial lift, sand, clean and paint the chassis.

Replace all...

Drop links
wishbones
springs
dampers


And probably...

New big breaks
Wheel refurbish
Lick of paint / bodywork repairs


The car its self has just under 10k on the clock. Its a 1996 and the powder coating seems to have held up reasonably well... but the original outriggers have a lot of surface rust on them.

It was a "Barn find" for me when I got it. Had been sat under a damp cover in a damp barn. The paint was shagged so the seller gave it a spray job and sold it on. Apparently purchased in the 90's as a TAX write off for the guy who owned part of Sega. Done a few hundred miles in it then left it to rot.

lots of electrical issues later and I have refurbished most of it, but not the chassis / outriggers.

The recent procurement of a scissor lift means I don't have any excused left to get on with the job.



This thread is here to document it all and ask for help along the way.


The first question i guess is, what size are the nuts holding the body to the outriggers? Need to order some new ones.

As she stands now....

[FoxTVR430]

Welcome to the TVR club.
Very nice, good find and only 10K on the clock!!!
Its really good to see another one being rescued.

Good luck, I will be following this thread with interest.

[Prizam]

I wish I could nod and agree...

I have had the car around 4 years now. Covered maybe 3k miles in that time?

Still... she sits in a nice warm garage under a cover on trickle charge so at least she is no longer "returning to nature".



Any idea on bolt sizes?

What wishbones should I go for? Original or tubular?

Can you get power flex bushes for a TVR ?

Should i go for GazGold suspension, or purchase and tart up This

[kris450]

10k !!! Wow.

Good stuff and best of luck. Very satisfying when it's all done I can vouch for that. Hopefully this should give you a decent starting point.

https://chimrebuild.wordpress.com/12-reference/

[Prizam]

kris450 said:

10k !!! Wow.

Good stuff and best of luck. Very satisfying when it's all done I can vouch for that. Hopefully this should give you a decent starting point.

https://chimrebuild.wordpress.com/12-reference/

Epic website, bookmarked that one. Guess i need a mix of M5/6/7/8 and 10 bolts then.

This weekend will be cleaning up, sanding and degreasing. Dont have time to do a proper restoration like the guy in that website. Wish i did though!

The car, whilst having stupidly low mileage, is not in that great a condition.

[ClassiChimi]

But if that milage is correct then all the transmission should be like new, if it's been stood then yes everything will have degraded badly but if your doing a lift there's no reason why your car won't be one of the Best Buy the time your done.
A bible is useful but then some of the body lift threads are a great read and I found them very informative.

Goodliuck fella,

[simonwedge]

Prizam said:

What wishbones should I go for? Original or tubular?

Can you get power flex bushes for a TVR ?

Should i go for GazGold suspension, or purchase and tart up This

My opinions on your questions;

The original wishbones are perfectly fine unless you're going racing in which case get tubular.

Yes you can but the original type bushings are hard wearing, perform well and give a decent ride/handling balance. Again, if you're going racing get power flex.

If it were me I'd go with the original Bilstein/Eibach combo. Quite a few people on here have gone to Gaz (including me) and are now changing back again. Nothing wrong with Gaz you understand but the originals are still very good. You'll also save hundreds if you get the ones on PH classified now - I've been sorely tempted myself.

Simon

P.S. Been following your 7-series thread, good work there!

Edited by simonwedge on Saturday 27th February 06:41

[Prizam]

simonwedge said:

Prizam said:

What wishbones should I go for? Original or tubular?

Can you get power flex bushes for a TVR ?

Should i go for GazGold suspension, or purchase and tart up This

My opinions on your questions;

The original wishbones are perfectly fine unless you're going racing in which case get tubular.

Yes you can but the original type bushings are hard wearing, perform well and give a decent ride/handling balance. Again, if you're going racing get power flex.

If it were me I'd go with the original Bilstein/Eibach combo. Quite a few people on here have gone to Gaz (including me) and are now changing back again. Nothing wrong with Gaz you understand but the originals are still very good. You'll also save hundreds if you get the ones on PH classified now - I've been sorely tempted myself.

Simon

P.S. Been following your 7-series thread, good work there!

Edited by simonwedge on Saturday 27th February 06:41

So, the opinion is to keep it standard. That is my preferance anyway.

I have been under the car today and it is not as bad as i thought. It looks like the whole chassis has been coated in waxoil... i think. Using break cleaner i managed to clean up small aieas and it looks good undernith.

Wishbones are shot... Not worth trying to save them. Springs and dampers also look rather shot. Cheaper to replace then to repair. Though i will keep the originals.

Suspect i will get the ones from the clasifyieds now, they look good and should repond well to a lick of paint.


The outriggers are quite good too. I gave them a wire brushing and a coat of generic anti-rust paint a couple years ago. This now has spots of rust commming through, but all in i think it is just surface rust.

I also notised i have an oil leek from the sump gasket, strange as it has never left a drip on te garage floor before.


Whats the best thing to remove waxoil? break cleanr seemed to disolve it, but once evaporated it regrouped and stuck on again. Should i just buy a vat of break cleaner?


Mid section - Chassis to outrigger


Rear section - Chassis to outrigger


Frount section - outrigger poles. Treated surface rust


Frount section - Chassis uprights



Down the length


As always, the worst bit that seems to attract the stone chips. The frount outriger triangle support thingy.. Wishbones and springs.




Wishbones, i dont think ever had any treetment on them. and are fobared. And the same goes for the springs and dampers.

Intrestingly, the rears have ajustable springs on tem. but the frounts dont. Is this normal?

[jazzdude]

If you are going to go to the trouble of getting all the suspension off, for peace of mind why dont you jack the body off the chassis? It really is just an extra days work taking out the radiator, seats, petrol tank and carpets to undo the bolts. I also took the manifolds out so I gained an extra 3-4" clearance which for the outriggers was essential.

My car has an excellent chassis which looked really good and was covered in waxoyl, but after steam cleaning looked like this.



It looks worse than it was, after cleaning all the grime off it was really a case of repainting again.



The outriggers, although they had been replaced 7 years ago were also very good. The corner plates though were full of dirt and grit and the only way to get this out properly was to have the body lifted.

Putting the suspension back together with the body raised is also a plus as you have much more space under the arches to work and putting the bolts back in is very easy.

[Argent]

When I bought my Griff I cleaned down the chassis with white spirit, it dissolved any waxoyl well.

Regarding shocks I replaced the Bilsteins with Pro Tech 400's and much prefer them.

A.

[Prizam]

Thanks. I have a load of white spirit and brake cleaner on order.

Whare is the best place to get replacement wishbones from? I definatly need the frounts, but might do the rears too.

Might also treat the car to a big brake kit at the same time.




Reguarding lifting the chassis... i really dont think i need too. With the ramp and the tools i have i think i can do it all wihout a body lift.

[jazzdude]

Prizam said:

Reguarding lifting the chassis... i really dont think i need too. With the ramp and the tools i have i think i can do it all wihout a body lift.

I did it with 4 axle stands, a jack and some blocks of wood. I left it on the stands and then supported the body on the wood, so it is all in the air.

If the bolts don't give you any grief, and mine didn't, even though my car has 10 times the mileage yours has, it really was easy. I am not a mechanic and did it on the drive, with nothing but a good socket set.

It really is the best way to get the outriggers done properly rather than blindly squirting gunk into the gap top of the outriggers.

I also took the exhaust off and dropped the diff so I could get into all of the rear and centre section.

With the cleaning, I'd start of with a steam clean to shift most of the waxoyl, then get one of those garden hand held spray bottles for your white spirit, squirt it on, brush it around with a paint brush, squirt more white spirit, and when you see the it starting to run, then clean with a rag.

If you break it up into small jobs, the 4 corners, the outriggers and the chassis between it is easier to do over a few evenings.

Edited by jazzdude on Sunday 28th February 21:19

[Prizam]

Some how I think the chassis off is a lot more difficult than you make out Will consider it though.

When you say steam clean, do you mean steam, or pressure wash?

Is their a difference in work involved to do the 1" lift as opposed to the full lift?

[Richard 858]

I'd suggest Richard Thorpe (RT Racing) for wishbones, or John Read (Grantura Engineering) if you do opt for tubular.

[TJC46]

Prizam said:

Regarding lifting the chassis... i really dont think i need too. With the ramp and the tools i have i think i can do it all without a body lift.

A full body lift is the best way. Besides the rust you can see, nearly every weld will have rust where the powdercoat has broken down.

I did a full body lift, and once you have lifted it high enough to roll out the chassis from underneath, it is a pleasure to work on the chassis in the comfort of your garage.

I lifted the body by myself using adapted cuplock scaffold and 4 threaded corners, so i could lift each corner a little at a time.


I left the body sat in the drive on home made supports for 6 months whilst i sorted out the chassis. Here is a link to some of my endeavours.

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

Good luck and keep us posted but remember..............You only want to do this once, so do it properly and lift that body!

P.s 2-pack paint is the way to go. Mine has been on for 6 years and still looks as good as it did when i first did it!

[jazzdude]

Prizam said:

Some how I think the chassis off is a lot more difficult than you make out Will consider it though.

When you say steam clean, do you mean steam, or pressure wash?

Is their a difference in work involved to do the 1" lift as opposed to the full lift?

You misunderstood me, I didn't take the body off, but lifted it off the chassis about 6" up.

A pressure wash won't get the waxoyl off, it's the heat in the steam that does the work.

I first did it leaving the manifolds in and you just cannot get it high enough as the manifolds stop the body going higher than a couple of inches.

Taking them out, although added an afternoon of extra work meant I could get the body up much higher to access those outriggers.

[Prizam]

Richard 858 said:

I'd suggest Richard Thorpe (RT Racing) for wishbones, or John Read (Grantura Engineering) if you do opt for tubular.

Have found RT racing on ebay, they do look the best. But feck me, £60 for a bag of bolts! Cant me more than a couple quids worth in their really.

Anyone know the chassis nut / bolt and wishbone nut/bolt sizes? Hopefully put an order in this week.

Am also in talks about a big brake kit.


Getting kind of excited... and scared for when my wife finds out.

[Prizam]

jazzdude said:

Prizam said:

Some how I think the chassis off is a lot more difficult than you make out Will consider it though.

When you say steam clean, do you mean steam, or pressure wash?

Is their a difference in work involved to do the 1" lift as opposed to the full lift?

You misunderstood me, I didn't take the body off, but lifted it off the chassis about 6" up.

A pressure wash won't get the waxoyl off, it's the heat in the steam that does the work.

I first did it leaving the manifolds in and you just cannot get it high enough as the manifolds stop the body going higher than a couple of inches.

Taking them out, although added an afternoon of extra work meant I could get the body up much higher to access those outriggers.

Thanks for this, and apologies if I come across as being a bit "moody", im not. really.

I know a lot of people who say steam cleaned, when all they did is use a pressure washer. I guess the fan of high pressure water kind of looks like steam... to an idiot.

I have a wallpaper stripper that I can bodge a high pressure nosel on to. So will use that.

Removing the fannymoulds isn't such a big job for me, i have done that before and can do them in about 20 minuets per side.


I know deep down you are correct about the body lift, but the extra work scares me a bit. Do you know if there is a bonified guide to doing a "few" inch lift that i can follow?

[carsy]

Prizam said:

Have found RT racing on ebay, they do look the best. But feck me, £60 for a bag of bolts! Cant me more than a couple quids worth in their really.

Anyone know the chassis nut / bolt and wishbone nut/bolt sizes? Hopefully put an order in this week.

Have a read here.

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

[jazzdude]

Prizam said:

I know deep down you are correct about the body lift, but the extra work scares me a bit. Do you know if there is a bonified guide to doing a "few" inch lift that i can follow?

Follow this:

https://chimrebuild.wordpress.com/

The most useful bit is where it shows you how to find the elusive bolts under the dash, either side of the transmission tunnel. Because of that picture showing the holes relative to the removed transmission armrests, I found them in 10 seconds and got the bolts out in a few minutes.

I drowned all the bolts with Liquid Wrench before starting and all of them were very rusty, but they all came out. It really was so much easier than I thought it would be and I am so glad that I took the extra time to do it as it has made this a worthwile project.

Yes it takes time, and I have given it a couple of hours 2-3 times a week for the last 7 weeks, but I decided it will take me 3 months to do at the outset and it will. But then I will not only have a nice painted and protected chassis, but also perfect wishbones with new bushes everywhere, ball joints, TRE, drop links, removed precats, ARP bolts and nordlocks on the manifolds and new rubber boots.

On top of that, as my seats are out I will also be re-connolising them.