Discussion
SSPPGG said:
will be good to compare notes, mine is the patina'd tatty looking green one with an unpainted bonnet.....and hopefully a bloody windscreen!
Yep the big national companies that fit screens are okay for everyday stuff like Mondeos and Vectra's, but $hite bordering on dangerous with anything out of the ordinary. One national company that that advertises on telly assured me that they could replace the screen in my Cobra Replica - not a problem sir. To make life easier for them, I even took the whole assembly -frame and screen - out of the car for them as I didnt trust them to refit it correctly, a good decision as it turned out.First time I got it back and picked it up in order to fit it, it cracked straight away because it wasnt a good enough fit in the frame and the movement in the frame stressed the screen and cracked it.
The second time I got it back, I picked it up and the end part of the screen surround fell off! It was like a Benny Hill moment. My wife and I just stood and looked at part of the frame on the floor, whilst I was still holding the rest of it.
After the third attempt when they bodged the screen into the frame with a rubber strip - the original was bonded in - deforming the frame even more and consequently making it a loose fit round the screen, I gave up and got a screen and surround from the kit manufacturer.
I also had a robust conversation with the manager of the local depot, but for all the sense I got out of him, I might as well have talked to the wall. At least the wall wouldnt have lied to me!!! I was well out of pocket but at least I had a screen that I was sure wouldnt come apart at speed.
I dread to think what could have happened if I had allowed them to fit the frame and new screen back into the Cobra. It really doesnt bear thinking about.
My advice to you would be to get a screen fitted by someone who has knowledge of fitting them to TVR's already. Do not use anyone who isnt a TVR specialist for this sort of thing and especially not some muppet whos using your car to practice his cutting skills on.
SSPPGG said:
nope, had the chassis, all wishbones and every other bit I could find blasted and zinc coated at applied surface treatments in wolverhampton - good job, at 200 all in. Was worth the extra for molten zinc spray
the chassis is now with redditch shotblast and powdercoat to do the powdercoat work.
hi mate. Just got a quote to blast my chassis and zinc prime...300quid plus pickup/drop of...how did you find your place...looked for a zinc coaters who can shot blast or the other way round??the chassis is now with redditch shotblast and powdercoat to do the powdercoat work.
Dunno why, but I;m struggling to find people to do things for me in the southeast...
Cheers,
Virgil
virgil said:
hi mate. Just got a quote to blast my chassis and zinc prime...300quid plus pickup/drop of...how did you find your place...looked for a zinc coaters who can shot blast or the other way round??
Dunno why, but I;m struggling to find people to do things for me in the southeast...
Cheers,
Virgil
mine was about 200 to blast and hot zinc coat, that was for chassis and all components.Dunno why, but I;m struggling to find people to do things for me in the southeast...
Cheers,
Virgil
i've built a few cobra replicas, and just "know" where to go locally for stuff.
virgil said:
hi mate. Just got a quote to blast my chassis and zinc prime...300quid plus pickup/drop of...how did you find your place...looked for a zinc coaters who can shot blast or the other way round??
Dunno why, but I;m struggling to find people to do things for me in the southeast...
Cheers,
Virgil
Hi Virgil, you could try Abbey Gritblasting Services - http://www.abbeygritblasting.co.uk - We use them for larger frames and structures. They do a 'hot zinc spray' finish which is great for chassis, you can if you want have them paint it? They are just outside Ipswich in Woodbridge? Hope that is not too far? All the best, PeteDunno why, but I;m struggling to find people to do things for me in the southeast...
Cheers,
Virgil
PeteGriff said:
Hi Virgil, you could try Abbey Gritblasting Services - http://www.abbeygritblasting.co.uk - We use them for larger frames and structures. They do a 'hot zinc spray' finish which is great for chassis, you can if you want have them paint it? They are just outside Ipswich in Woodbridge? Hope that is not too far? All the best, Pete
Just called and waiting for a price. She did say the hot zinc spraying is somehting they only like doing in large batches as it takes some setting up apparently...we'll see how it goes!At this rate it'll be a box of angle grinder wire wheels and some miffed neighbours!
the story went a bit like this..
him "ive got an LS in the garage that im not using"
me "hmmmmm"....
so out with the ls1, and in with an ls3....
ill be putting a tr6060 6 speed in to replace the older t56
should have the new engine in by the weekend, looking forward to more ponies under the right foot
him "ive got an LS in the garage that im not using"
me "hmmmmm"....
so out with the ls1, and in with an ls3....
ill be putting a tr6060 6 speed in to replace the older t56
should have the new engine in by the weekend, looking forward to more ponies under the right foot
[quote=SSPPGG]the story went a bit like this..
him "ive got an LS in the garage that im not using"
me "hmmmmm"....
so out with the ls1, and in with an ls3....
ill be putting a tr6060 6 speed in to replace the older t56
should have the new engine in by the weekend, looking forward to more ponies under the right foot[/quote
Great news! Not heard of that box before have you any more info? The LS1 did not last long then!!
him "ive got an LS in the garage that im not using"
me "hmmmmm"....
so out with the ls1, and in with an ls3....
ill be putting a tr6060 6 speed in to replace the older t56
should have the new engine in by the weekend, looking forward to more ponies under the right foot[/quote
Great news! Not heard of that box before have you any more info? The LS1 did not last long then!!
7 TVR said:
Great news! Not heard of that box before have you any more info? The LS1 did not last long then!!
Here you go http://www.tremec.com/performance/tr6060.html7 TVR]SPPGG said:
the story went a bit like this..
him "ive got an LS in the garage that im not using"
me "hmmmmm"....
so out with the ls1, and in with an ls3....
ill be putting a tr6060 6 speed in to replace the older t56
should have the new engine in by the weekend, looking forward to more ponies under the right foot[/quote
Great news! Not heard of that box before have you any more info? The LS1 did not last long then!!
the LS1 is just fine, ran really strong (430hp) going to a new home in a friends cobra replica, i sort of fell on the new ls, ls7 clutch etc and with a mind to tt, decided the later heads were a must for improved breathing, and ive got some spare forged pistons suitable in the event i go that route.him "ive got an LS in the garage that im not using"
me "hmmmmm"....
so out with the ls1, and in with an ls3....
ill be putting a tr6060 6 speed in to replace the older t56
should have the new engine in by the weekend, looking forward to more ponies under the right foot[/quote
Great news! Not heard of that box before have you any more info? The LS1 did not last long then!!
the 6060 is just a new t56, partsworld currently sell them at 1250, including bellhousing, slave etc, so a pretty good deal, but mounts, prop etc will need to be changed. its a bit chunky see pic, but pretty much the same size as the t56 i removed
Edited by SSPPGG on Tuesday 14th August 10:21
anonymous said:
[redacted]
mine is not sprayed yet, up at sportmotive as we speak for that.here is one shamelessly stolen from the fibreon site (the chaps that make tyhe bonnet, so i am sure they wont mind!)
sportmotive make engine mounts, gearbox mounts etc that will pick up on the original TVR mounts, so no need to modify the chassis at all, unless you want to.
For this engine, I will look to add to some bracing across and around the engine bay under the engine, and around the bellhousing area, as this is the area on the TVR that has least bracing, a little like the effect you see on later speed 6 cars, where there is a plate stiffening the chassis right across the chassis under the engine
Edited by SSPPGG on Thursday 16th August 19:05
a brief update......
engine waiting to go in
i'd almost forgotten how much more wires were installed in the LS conversion...the ls3 uses a different ECU, and therefore the whole engine loom is replaced
and behind the dash
and getting the new fuse/relay box as well as the ecu and battery in here took some doing (using the smaller red top battery it all fits inside the old battery box)
|http://thumbsnap.com/3htJ6dve[/url]
but after a solid days work, its in and fired up (only for a couple secs)
i'm waiting on a hydraulic fitting for the slave cylinder connector to an AN fitting, which is coming from the US, so i cant fit the gbox yet, so exhaust/water pipes etc will all have to go on after the gearbox....[url]
ordered a new rad (mine leaks) from these chaps http://www.aaronradiator.co.uk/..they do ali ones at £240, which seems reasonable.
engine waiting to go in
i'd almost forgotten how much more wires were installed in the LS conversion...the ls3 uses a different ECU, and therefore the whole engine loom is replaced
and behind the dash
and getting the new fuse/relay box as well as the ecu and battery in here took some doing (using the smaller red top battery it all fits inside the old battery box)
|http://thumbsnap.com/3htJ6dve[/url]but after a solid days work, its in and fired up (only for a couple secs)
i'm waiting on a hydraulic fitting for the slave cylinder connector to an AN fitting, which is coming from the US, so i cant fit the gbox yet, so exhaust/water pipes etc will all have to go on after the gearbox....[url]
ordered a new rad (mine leaks) from these chaps http://www.aaronradiator.co.uk/..they do ali ones at £240, which seems reasonable.
Edited by SSPPGG on Tuesday 21st August 13:11
Edited by SSPPGG on Tuesday 21st August 13:16
still waiting on gearbox bits, so i though id have a look at the PAS system.
im using a stock impreza rack, with a pinion rotated 180 degrees, and spline recut to the modified to the tvr UJ spline. (pic earlier in this thread)
the bolts threads will need 20mm spacers (might tig them to the underside of the brackets) or just make them in ali,
track rods need shortening, and i might need to cut the taper in the steering arms a little deeper, as the taper is correct, just a little shallow for the impreza arms, or i might find a different arm/tre that'll work with no mods.
I think itll all work out fine.
pics (camera fone....apologies!)
![](http://thumbsnap.com/sc/V3IuwlM2.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/iWPELbK3" Target="_blank">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/iWPELbK3.jpg)
im using a stock impreza rack, with a pinion rotated 180 degrees, and spline recut to the modified to the tvr UJ spline. (pic earlier in this thread)
the bolts threads will need 20mm spacers (might tig them to the underside of the brackets) or just make them in ali,
track rods need shortening, and i might need to cut the taper in the steering arms a little deeper, as the taper is correct, just a little shallow for the impreza arms, or i might find a different arm/tre that'll work with no mods.
I think itll all work out fine.
pics (camera fone....apologies!)
Edited by SSPPGG on Wednesday 22 August 23:16
Edited by SSPPGG on Thursday 23 August 06:50
Edited by SSPPGG on Thursday 23 August 06:50
Edited by SSPPGG on Thursday 23 August 06:53
Didnt do much this weekend, apart from tidy up all the wiring under the dash, but is did decide to fit the scooby TRE to the ford steering arms.
after measuring the height of the rack, and the old arms, versus the new arms, (and because the scooby TRE taper though the same pitch is is thicker), i needed to enlarge the holes in the steering arms to make the TRE sit deeper and give me more thread above for the castle nut.
I used an old scooby TRE, to make up a "widgit", and using some very coarse grinding paste, enlarged the holes in the steering arms. so the scooby TRE now fit. took 20 mins to make up the "widgit" and about 10 mins per side to slowly grind the holes.
If it all went horribly wrong, there is plenty of material to open the hole to m14, and use rose joints, but this was worth a try, and worked out fine. I still have this option if i need more adjustment than i can achieve by raising the rack height to correct any bump steer, but as it is, this is where the TVR setup was originally.
The threaded portion you see above the steering arm protrudes 5mm more than it did before, which puts the centre of the TRE and steering arm correct to the TVR geometry (within 1mm anyway).
Also pent some time making sure the UJ will all clear the chasisis, this setup uses the original TVR UJ, but i will need to shorten the steering column in the wheel arch by about 20mm
Also made up the wiring harness for the rack.
This only needs 3 wires, power, ignition live, and engine run live. I think i will take this from the fuel circuit as the ECU only runs the fuel pump after the engine is fired (other than a short pulse to get some fuel in the rails)...i cant think of anywhere else to get a engine run only live...
I also made up some heat shield for the bottom of the bonnet, its not stuck down, as the bonnet needs painting
hope to see my gearbox bits this week sometime
after measuring the height of the rack, and the old arms, versus the new arms, (and because the scooby TRE taper though the same pitch is is thicker), i needed to enlarge the holes in the steering arms to make the TRE sit deeper and give me more thread above for the castle nut.
I used an old scooby TRE, to make up a "widgit", and using some very coarse grinding paste, enlarged the holes in the steering arms. so the scooby TRE now fit. took 20 mins to make up the "widgit" and about 10 mins per side to slowly grind the holes.
If it all went horribly wrong, there is plenty of material to open the hole to m14, and use rose joints, but this was worth a try, and worked out fine. I still have this option if i need more adjustment than i can achieve by raising the rack height to correct any bump steer, but as it is, this is where the TVR setup was originally.
The threaded portion you see above the steering arm protrudes 5mm more than it did before, which puts the centre of the TRE and steering arm correct to the TVR geometry (within 1mm anyway).
Also pent some time making sure the UJ will all clear the chasisis, this setup uses the original TVR UJ, but i will need to shorten the steering column in the wheel arch by about 20mm
Also made up the wiring harness for the rack.This only needs 3 wires, power, ignition live, and engine run live. I think i will take this from the fuel circuit as the ECU only runs the fuel pump after the engine is fired (other than a short pulse to get some fuel in the rails)...i cant think of anywhere else to get a engine run only live...
I also made up some heat shield for the bottom of the bonnet, its not stuck down, as the bonnet needs painting
hope to see my gearbox bits this week sometime
Edited by SSPPGG on Tuesday 28th August 13:27
Edited by SSPPGG on Tuesday 28th August 13:34
had a fun week this week
my box of stuff arrived from the US, which contained :-
a custom shifter for the 6060, and offsets the gearstick to a perfect location to fit the transmission tunnel
hydraulic connector, which connects the GM clutch hydraulics to an AN fitting, so that makes life easier
url]
|http://thumbsnap.com/IfxTiCRA[/url]
a convertor plate, so that can fit a prop to the back of the gearbox using 2 spicer joints, and bin the "rubber donut" affair that GM typically use, as these commonly suffer with short props as the angle changes can be a little higher , so the gearbox is now fitted, and the propshaft measured and ordered from dave mac propshafts.
url]
|http://thumbsnap.com/eusArdsH[/url]
so the gearbox is now fitted, and the propshaft measured and ordered from dave mac propshafts.
I also finished fitting the modified PAS rack, and connected up the UJ and steering column. It is cosy, but it all fits with no clearance issues, and the only modification to the chassis was taking a small nick out of the corner of one of the 4 plates that the rack bolts to, to permit clearance for one of the pipes, but its small, and will be hidden under the pinion. (and i did this before the chassis was powdered as i thought it would be a little cosy)
ive been asked a few times about the pump i plan to use.....
Pump Type
you need the TRW ephs unit from the later Mk4 astra, circa 2003, which I think was referred to as the Gen2 unit. Those fitted to the original MK4 Astra's (late '90's) weren't as reliable. Make sure its the TRW unit as ZF supplied some and they need a CAN signal to work as do the TRW ephs units fitted to the Vectra.
I don't know what the flow output of the Saxo unit that TVR use, but i tested it and the flow or pressure was insufficient.
The Astra is around 6l/min max but the pressure is around 90bar. So the pressure is going to be fine. You can get a situation called catch up where the rack moves so quickly the pump can't keep up and the steering gets very heavy. I had this when i tested the saxo type pumo.
With an LS pump, the flow was around 8-9l/min - made the steering too light steering.
Wiring
The thick red is positive (and needs an 80amp fuse) the thick brown is earth (that's Vauxhall for you)
The black goes to an ignition switched source and the green/white (or blue/white ) goes to a feed from the alternator, or a 12 V supply comes in after the engine has fired. The brown lead doen't get connected.
When you connect the ignition wires don't just connect them to the same source, one should go to the battery output from the alternator - the pump needs this 12v source to start slightly later. If not the unit will not quite ramp up normally - I think its runs at max speed before settling down. Its not a big problem, I think its something to do with stopping the system drawing too much current during engine cranking.
my box of stuff arrived from the US, which contained :-
a custom shifter for the 6060, and offsets the gearstick to a perfect location to fit the transmission tunnel
hydraulic connector, which connects the GM clutch hydraulics to an AN fitting, so that makes life easier
url]
|http://thumbsnap.com/IfxTiCRA[/url]a convertor plate, so that can fit a prop to the back of the gearbox using 2 spicer joints, and bin the "rubber donut" affair that GM typically use, as these commonly suffer with short props as the angle changes can be a little higher , so the gearbox is now fitted, and the propshaft measured and ordered from dave mac propshafts.
url]
|http://thumbsnap.com/eusArdsH[/url]so the gearbox is now fitted, and the propshaft measured and ordered from dave mac propshafts.
I also finished fitting the modified PAS rack, and connected up the UJ and steering column. It is cosy, but it all fits with no clearance issues, and the only modification to the chassis was taking a small nick out of the corner of one of the 4 plates that the rack bolts to, to permit clearance for one of the pipes, but its small, and will be hidden under the pinion. (and i did this before the chassis was powdered as i thought it would be a little cosy)
ive been asked a few times about the pump i plan to use.....
Pump Type
you need the TRW ephs unit from the later Mk4 astra, circa 2003, which I think was referred to as the Gen2 unit. Those fitted to the original MK4 Astra's (late '90's) weren't as reliable. Make sure its the TRW unit as ZF supplied some and they need a CAN signal to work as do the TRW ephs units fitted to the Vectra.
I don't know what the flow output of the Saxo unit that TVR use, but i tested it and the flow or pressure was insufficient.
The Astra is around 6l/min max but the pressure is around 90bar. So the pressure is going to be fine. You can get a situation called catch up where the rack moves so quickly the pump can't keep up and the steering gets very heavy. I had this when i tested the saxo type pumo.
With an LS pump, the flow was around 8-9l/min - made the steering too light steering.
Wiring
The thick red is positive (and needs an 80amp fuse) the thick brown is earth (that's Vauxhall for you)
The black goes to an ignition switched source and the green/white (or blue/white ) goes to a feed from the alternator, or a 12 V supply comes in after the engine has fired. The brown lead doen't get connected.
When you connect the ignition wires don't just connect them to the same source, one should go to the battery output from the alternator - the pump needs this 12v source to start slightly later. If not the unit will not quite ramp up normally - I think its runs at max speed before settling down. Its not a big problem, I think its something to do with stopping the system drawing too much current during engine cranking.
Edited by SSPPGG on Friday 7th September 15:47
Edited by SSPPGG on Tuesday 18th September 16:24
finally decided on a colour for the repaint of the griff, wanted to stay green, but lighter.... 
reminds me of one of my favourite cars running round le mans
|http://thumbsnap.com/0RxWSgQ7[/url]
the interior leather and vinyl is a strong biscuit colour, so i need to have a reasonably strong exterior colour too.
sent the dash off to be re-veneered, and will be getting a new carpet and hood retrim over the next couple of weeks.[url]
reminds me of one of my favourite cars running round le mans
|http://thumbsnap.com/0RxWSgQ7[/url]the interior leather and vinyl is a strong biscuit colour, so i need to have a reasonably strong exterior colour too.
sent the dash off to be re-veneered, and will be getting a new carpet and hood retrim over the next couple of weeks.[url]
Edited by SSPPGG on Tuesday 18th September 22:59
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