Back on the road again . . .
Discussion
The V8S is finally back on the road again after being laid up since last September. The original plan to replace the exhaust manifolds, one of which had a hairline crack was halted by the neccessity to decorate the new house and work commitments too. The pressure was on to get her running again in time for Le Mans, so last weekend me and a mate finished fitting the new ACT s/s manifolds. There was also an unnoticed pinhole crack on the other side too on the old set which made the whole job worthwhile doing. Also replaced both engine mountings while the manifolds were off as it would have been even more of a b*stard job otherwise. Oil change and new plugs then MOT'd and taxed this morning. Once again the joy of a burbling V8 ringing in my ears. :cloud9:
keithyboy said:
. . . waiting on a trailing arm replacement . . .
Harry
What happened to the old one - corrosion . . . or bent with the increased torque?
Bit of both, the NS was an original one, the OS is 3 years old
. Outwardly it was fine last summer for waxoiling
but the weld where the large diameter tube joins the box section gave way I assume from the inside surface 
. It happened 1/4 mile away from goodwood after much spirited driving
. Thing p*ssing me off though is I am still waiting for TVR(carparts) to bloody supply a replacement
. I was told 1 week to supply, Paul at Austec said last time they said that it took 3 weeks. It has been 5 weeks now and Le Mans is less than 2 weeks away 
. Not a happy bunny, this is the longest I have not driven the car too. Harry
Mine went half way round the long right-hander at Hethel. In case you're wondering, yes it did have a fairly dramatic effect on the handling! In my case the smaller round tube tore half way down. It appeared to be a fatigue failure, presumably from a combination of hard suspension and high speed curb hopping on sticky tyres.
A friendly neighbourhood lotus engineer was able to weld it up well enough for me to get home, amazing what an expert welder can do in 30 minutes with the right tools, he did a fine job and it would probably have been fine for weeks of normal driving.
As it happens Tower View were able to take it in almost immediately, and after discussing the options we agreed that they would have replacement trailing arms fabricated. The new ones are much stronger than the originals and are still going strong after 80k miles of hard use.
Incidentally, if the rears have failed then it is worth checking the state of the front wishbones, they can tend to bend up at the outer end and eventually this can weaken them.
A friendly neighbourhood lotus engineer was able to weld it up well enough for me to get home, amazing what an expert welder can do in 30 minutes with the right tools, he did a fine job and it would probably have been fine for weeks of normal driving.
As it happens Tower View were able to take it in almost immediately, and after discussing the options we agreed that they would have replacement trailing arms fabricated. The new ones are much stronger than the originals and are still going strong after 80k miles of hard use.
Incidentally, if the rears have failed then it is worth checking the state of the front wishbones, they can tend to bend up at the outer end and eventually this can weaken them.
GreenV8S said:
...Incidentally, if the rears have failed then it is worth checking the state of the front wishbones, they can tend to bend up at the outer end and eventually this can weaken them.
Cheers for that cheery note Peter
, I'll get them to check that as well. It is having a full re-alignment once the replacement is fitted the ride height is being raised 10mm or so all round and perhaps a softening of the spring rates as the A/B road combination around here is having its toll on my arse
. Could be going to Le Mans in the touring at this rate
. Harry
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