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....

[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

[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.

[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?

[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.

[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?

[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?

[Prizam]

Thanks for the links guys...


I think i will pay the money for a bolt kit. Dont have the time / inclination to learn how imperial bolt sizes work. and knowing my luck will spend just as much as the bolt kit on random nuts and bolts... all of the wrong materiel.

I am also warming to the idea of a body lift. Does anyone know how much the body weighs once separated from the car? I can probably create a lift / harnis to keep it on the ceiling of the garage if it is not too heavy.

[Prizam]

Dont tell the missus, but i have been spending some money!


Big brake upgrade 283 x 24 with 4 pot TVR engraved calipers

New wishbones front and rear

New bolts front and rear

In progress - new springs and dampers all round.



Still need to get some rear pads though... Any ideas on how to avoid the TVR tax on these?


Hopefully make a start on the work next weekend. i guess i should probably service it too.

[Prizam]

OOoooff... Picked up some parts today. Bit of a sting in the pocket. guess i should crack out the spanners this weekend then.

[Prizam]

Quick test fit of the new brakes... They fit.




Front right stripped down and a bit of chassis cleaned up.




Close up..




Hover car...

[Prizam]

They are a kit sold from the PH for sale section. I don't think it has a branded name but looking under it all, it appears to be HiSpec kit with a TVR logo.

[Prizam]

over the half way mark now and starting to think about ware i can get my geometry set-up one completed.

Any recommendations for a good garage near Reading? Dont want to take it to the usual cowboys.

[Prizam]

Well, not a huge amount of interest from this thread, though i'm sure it has been done to death so not completely unsurprising.

Few piccys of the refurbish. now on the road, complete geometry setup and new brakes bedding in nicely. Just new rear tyres to fit.

Spraying up the rear wishbones after sanding, preparing.


Rusty ARB is no longer rusty


Refirbed top hub assembly, caster shims, camber adjustment and ball joint.




Brakes, disks, nuts, bolts, outriggers. Everything, etc...


Wheels got a refirb too


Some body work needed fixing, few chips in the clearcoat. Still could do with a better paint match.



Put a few hundred miles on her now, not a lot though.


Money shot. Should i polish up the exhaust too?

[Prizam]

I didn't find out how much the body weighs. Only did a partial lift and fortunately have a car lift in the garage.

Rear pads sorted. Euro car parts had them listed.

Much more work was done than in the pictures. New fuel lines and polishing up the old copper parts of the system spring to mind as something that took longer than it should.