Aaargh - MOT failure - chassis rot - 1991 V8S
Discussion
So, the time has come. Body off, full chassis refurb required.
The MOT inspector found a finger sized hole in the chassis in the tube section between the outriggers and rear suspension mount on the off-side - in a really tricky place to get at. Austec have found further areas that are on the way out on the near-side, so it requires several whole sections to be cut out and re-fabricated. Looking at cost of £3k+ perhaps
but then as it is today its worth a quid I suppose.
At least once it is done it'll be better than new and good for possibly another 20 years I suppose.
The potential for an interior refurb is going to have to go on the back burner, again.
Austec have to finish a Cerb's chassis before they can start on mine, so it'll be three weeks before they even start. They are going to photograph it all, so will post these once they are available.
I think I need a
The MOT inspector found a finger sized hole in the chassis in the tube section between the outriggers and rear suspension mount on the off-side - in a really tricky place to get at. Austec have found further areas that are on the way out on the near-side, so it requires several whole sections to be cut out and re-fabricated. Looking at cost of £3k+ perhaps
but then as it is today its worth a quid I suppose. At least once it is done it'll be better than new and good for possibly another 20 years I suppose.
The potential for an interior refurb is going to have to go on the back burner, again.
Austec have to finish a Cerb's chassis before they can start on mine, so it'll be three weeks before they even start. They are going to photograph it all, so will post these once they are available.
I think I need a
tubbystu said:
So, the time has come. Body off, full chassis refurb required.
The MOT inspector found a finger sized hole in the chassis in the tube section between the outriggers and rear suspension mount on the off-side - in a really tricky place to get at. Austec have found further areas that are on the way out on the near-side, so it requires several whole sections to be cut out and re-fabricated. Looking at cost of £3k+ perhaps but then as it is today its worth a quid I suppose.
At least once it is done it'll be better than new and good for possibly another 20 years I suppose.
The potential for an interior refurb is going to have to go on the back burner, again.
Austec have to finish a Cerb's chassis before they can start on mine, so it'll be three weeks before they even start. They are going to photograph it all, so will post these once they are available.
I think I need a
Stuart: Sorry to hear about the reason for your MOT failure and I shall tip one tonight for you. Bad time of the year to have to sort a big problem like that out. Will be watching for your thread on the repairs and hope everything goes smoothly. Hopefully one of your close friends (mates) will give you a TVR fix (TVR drive) while yours is at the shop. If you were closer to us (alot closer) I wouldn't hesitate to be the first to sign up to get your grin back. At least there should be some good driving time left in the season once you have it all sorted. Interior can always be sorted at a later time as safety should take a priority. Good luck Stuart from this side of the pond.The MOT inspector found a finger sized hole in the chassis in the tube section between the outriggers and rear suspension mount on the off-side - in a really tricky place to get at. Austec have found further areas that are on the way out on the near-side, so it requires several whole sections to be cut out and re-fabricated. Looking at cost of £3k+ perhaps
but then as it is today its worth a quid I suppose. At least once it is done it'll be better than new and good for possibly another 20 years I suppose.
The potential for an interior refurb is going to have to go on the back burner, again.
Austec have to finish a Cerb's chassis before they can start on mine, so it'll be three weeks before they even start. They are going to photograph it all, so will post these once they are available.
I think I need a
Sorry to hear of your corrosion woes! I'm in the same boat unfortunately, but its rusty outriggers on my S2. Body is currently jacked off the chassis by approx 4 inches and I'm considering my options. i.e employ double jointed welder / fabricator or completely remove body. Can't move the car at the moment because I took the suspension to bits before I discovered the rust!! Bother.......
me too....thought it was just the outer corner plate of the off side that looked a bit shabby....planned to cut it out and weld a new one in, but when I did, I have found a "nice" little slot of a hole that lines up perfectly with where the ends of the rubber pads go on the outrigger and "front" tube
Looks like it will be a body up and weld in a new foot long section there....bugger...
Ant
Looks like it will be a body up and weld in a new foot long section there....bugger...
Ant
So, update and some photos.
It has taken a while because of delays to the Cerb, thus holding the bay and other irritations and it is at Austec........... Who I think are great and the work is top drawer but sometimes things can take a little time IYGMD.
Body off and initial view of chassis state
The majority of the back end is at best shot and much will require remaking
Especially the suspension mounts.
Oh, and it has been regularly wax-oiled and is garaged.
Once it is fully stripped, chassis is off to the shot blasters for the final reveal of the rot.
Bill now likely to be £5k+ but that will include chassis work and two-pack chassis respray, new bushes/fixings all round, rebuild of shock absorbers, new water hoses and fuel lines, tidy up of engine bay etc. As well as the original service and MOT it went in for
I have choice of colour for the chassis paint. Red ? White ? Silver ? Sky-blue-pink ?
Red would be same as factory choice.
White would show wear etc quickly but might be too much.
Silver
?
Purple as the factories brand colour ?
Yellow ?
Body colour is BRG (Jaguar varient I think, ie fairly dark BRG )
Anybody got any thoughts / preferences ?
More photos to come as work progresses
Paul............. get a bloomin' move on !! 
It has taken a while because of delays to the Cerb, thus holding the bay and other irritations and it is at Austec........... Who I think are great and the work is top drawer but sometimes things can take a little time IYGMD.
Body off and initial view of chassis state
The majority of the back end is at best shot and much will require remaking
Especially the suspension mounts.
Oh, and it has been regularly wax-oiled and is garaged.
Once it is fully stripped, chassis is off to the shot blasters for the final reveal of the rot.
Bill now likely to be £5k+ but that will include chassis work and two-pack chassis respray, new bushes/fixings all round, rebuild of shock absorbers, new water hoses and fuel lines, tidy up of engine bay etc. As well as the original service and MOT it went in for
I have choice of colour for the chassis paint. Red ? White ? Silver ? Sky-blue-pink ?
Red would be same as factory choice.
White would show wear etc quickly but might be too much.
Silver
?Purple as the factories brand colour ?
Yellow ? Body colour is BRG (Jaguar varient I think, ie fairly dark BRG )
Anybody got any thoughts / preferences ?
More photos to come as work progresses
Paul............. get a bloomin' move on !! Some more photos, showing shot-blasted chassis (with etch primer coat) revealing full extent of rot for first time 
Its not pretty.......
Where it all started - holes in rear suspension mounts on both sides found by MOT inspector.
Fuel tank cradle
Outriggers - and these were done 4 or 5 years ago.
Several main members of core chassis need to be cut out and replaced too.
In addition, there is also a blown weld from the original factory build that needs to be sorted.
More to follow as work progresses.
Its not pretty.......
Where it all started - holes in rear suspension mounts on both sides found by MOT inspector.
Fuel tank cradle
Outriggers - and these were done 4 or 5 years ago.
Several main members of core chassis need to be cut out and replaced too.
In addition, there is also a blown weld from the original factory build that needs to be sorted.
More to follow as work progresses.
The outriggers and fuel tank cradle is about the norm in the tin worm department, but very worrying is the rot around the rear chassis section, where the trailing arm attaches, and ive never seen rot on the main section of the chassis before. S OWNERS CHECK YOUR CHASSIS VERY CAREFULLY,, i would dread to think what could have happened if the rear trailing arm decided to part company with the chassis.[ would most likely have happened under load i.e. severe acceleration or cornering at speed]. Rot in the front outriggers is not a major safety problem, but in the rear [seatbelt anchor points] it is. Check VERY CAREFULLY the points where the trailing arm attaches, if you think im going a bit over the top, HAVE A CLOSE LOOK AT THOSE PHOTOGRAPHS it scared me and i dont have my S anymore. Check out some of the other tvr forums, there are chims, griffs and cerbs from 94-99 needing chassis work, and im pretty sure in time the tuscan models will join the list. My own chim is a 96 model and as i purchased it at the end of summer 2008 i decided over the winter to do a full bodylift. There was no holes in the outriggers etc but in general there was plenty of powdercoat missing and plenty of surface rust. In my opinion i did this before any serious corrosion could occur and my chassis should now outlast me. So once again gents the op"s pics should have you all getting your cars on a ramp and inspecting them thoroughly. Sorry if this thread comes across as all negative, but it is BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. thanks Tom. 
Edited by TJC46 on Sunday 15th August 18:15
TJC46 said:
S OWNERS CHECK YOUR CHASSIS VERY CAREFULLY,, i would dread to think what could have happened if the rear trailing arm decided to part company with the chassis.................................
................Sorry if this thread comes across as all negative, but it is BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. thanks Tom.
................Sorry if this thread comes across as all negative, but it is BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. thanks Tom.
One of the main reasons I started this thread was as a warning to others how bad it can get. The car is garaged, but used often in all weather conditions (except snow & ice obviously) all year. It is going to cost the thick end of the value of the car (at least ) but once done will be better than new. 
Its been at Austec for 5 months already.Longers said:
Agree with what Tom has already said, that's not good news Stu. Hope it's soon sorted.
Mid-late September I guess currently. Thanks.Longers said:
As for the chassis colour, it's not a Lotus so that rules out the green/yellow combo for me! I agree with Tinks, red would be my choice 
It is going to be red, for nothing more than originality's sake and I'm not sure what anything else would look like 
Some more piccies - off to the powder coaters at the end of the week and last time I'll see the chassis before being painted.
Quite a lot of new metal
And thankfully the dustmen had already been.
It was outside having been leant vertically against the wall to let the last of the water out of the chassis. It seems I was carrying at least 1" or maybe up to 2" of water in the bottom box section allowing it to rust from the inside.
Still without the water ballast at least it'll go faster
I will not see it again until mid September so next photos should show repainted chassis in at least partial rebuild
Quite a lot of new metal
And thankfully the dustmen had already been.
It was outside having been leant vertically against the wall to let the last of the water out of the chassis. It seems I was carrying at least 1" or maybe up to 2" of water in the bottom box section allowing it to rust from the inside.
Still without the water ballast at least it'll go faster
I will not see it again until mid September so next photos should show repainted chassis in at least partial rebuild
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