J400 GED Chimaera Chassis refurb

[J400GED]

I checked the throttle pot, afm and base idle and these are all now correct.
It still struggles to hold idle on a cold start, so next on the list is cleaning the stepper motor and if that doesn't help, I will have exhausted all the £0 cost things I can think of, so next will be the spark plug shrouds - the plugs, leads, dizzy cap, rotor arm and vacuum capsule are all new - so all the igition system downstream of the coil will be new barring the dizzy itself.

It's been fun doing the shakedowns having had this week off and glorious weather to boot.

[PRTVR]

J400GED said:

I checked the throttle pot, afm and base idle and these are all now correct.
It still struggles to hold idle on a cold start, so next on the list is cleaning the stepper motor and if that doesn't help, I will have exhausted all the £0 cost things I can think of, so next will be the spark plug shrouds - the plugs, leads, dizzy cap, rotor arm and vacuum capsule are all new - so all the igition system downstream of the coil will be new barring the dizzy itself.

It's been fun doing the shakedowns having had this week off and glorious weather to boot.

I would not discount parts because you have replaced them, I had a V6 that I was changing the plugs on, afterwards it was running rough, so one by one I substituted a spark plug for a known good one, ended up running a little better but still rough, ended up I had two faulty spark plugs, something I only found by putting all the old plugs back in and changing them one at a time, a 30 min job ended up taking all day.
Good luck with getting it sorted and thanks for sharing all your work.

[J400GED]

Finally got round to checking the ignition timing today
I had already accurately determined TDC (when I had the engine out) and marked the pulley wheel accordingly.

It was reading 4deg BTDC @ idle and 20deg BTDC @ 3500.

So I adjusted it to 10deg BTDC @ idle.

Will do a cold start in the morning and see how it copes, then take it for a run to see how it drives as well.

I also plugged in my rover gauge for the first time...... now to analyse the results

[J400GED]

Did a cold start yesterday morning - starts a lot better

Unfortunately, the rain came yesterday as well,

so I thought it prudent not to go for a run to see the difference in performance/check for pinking.

[Cokes]

Project refurb complete ?

[J400GED]

Cokes said:

Project refurb complete ?

Not quite. Just got to get the suspension geometry set up.

[Cokes]

J400GED said:

Cokes said:

Project refurb complete ?

Not quite. Just got to get the suspension geometry set up.

Oh crap, forgot about that. Another thing to add to my list.

[J400GED]

Cokes said:

Oh crap, forgot about that. Another thing to add to my list.

Next year is re-spray and roof.

[Cokes]

J400GED said:

Next year is re-spray and roof.

All shiney and new

With all the work we've done and including my interior and boot re trim, what would you value our cars at ?

[J400GED]

Cokes said:

All shiney and new

With all the work we've done and including my interior and boot re trim, what would you value our cars at ?

Priceless!

Mine's 20 years old today!

[Cokes]

[J400GED]

Cokes said:

[ClassiChimi]

Cokes said:

All shiney and new

With all the work we've done and including my interior and boot re trim, what would you value our cars at ?

The work involved etc should be at least 20 K ..... Keep her awhile and she'll be worth that easy.

I know the market suggests cheaper than that but it's been depressed for years,,, just like houses the harder they are to get the more the price, keep the Tiv for another five years and they might start to rocket but it's never been about value to me its about the value of a reliable well built and maintained motor that turns my head

[Cokes]

I only started to wonder so I can sort out an agreed valuation with the insurance.
Starting a new post so I don't take up your thread Ged.

[J400GED]

Cokes said:

I only started to wonder so I can sort out an agreed valuation with the insurance.
Starting a new post so I don't take up your thread Ged.

Not a problem at all mate.

[Nosh]

Not sure someone goes through this (seemingly) very satisfying journey to make their car worth more....

.....you love it and it deserves it, right??

Nosh

(PS - I even found myself mumbling to my car today, with soothing words - sheesh!)

[J400GED]

Nosh said:

Not sure someone goes through this (seemingly) very satisfying journey to make their car worth more....

.....you love it and it deserves it, right??

Nosh

(PS - I even found myself mumbling to my car today, with soothing words - sheesh!)

I think Cokes' point is to make sure he has high enough insurance cover rather than wanting to sell and make some money.

[Nosh]

J400GED said:

I think Cokes' point is to make sure he has high enough insurance cover rather than wanting to sell and make some money.

Yup

N.

[Cokes]

Of course everything is for sale at the right price but I've fallen for this car in a big way.
I know her top to bottom, inside and out and as such we've formed a bond, an understanding that if I take care of her, she'll take care of me

[J400GED]

As I have just had the suspension geometry set up this morning, this will hopefully be the last post from me on this topic.

Thanks to all for reading this topic, I hope you've enjoyed it.

Thanks to those with encouragement and advice.

At present, the next phase of refurbishment on the Chimaera is a full respray, which is planned for Spring 2016.

That will then leave the roof and interior.