is there anybody there

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Having had a good look today i can see the rear wishbones are ok it was just flaky powdercoat, The fronts have gone so have the outriggers, im going to strip the chassis over the weekend to see whats salvageable and whats scrap.

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J400GED said:

Rotten in all the usual places mate.

I don't know about you but I was actually pleased to finally be able to see what the state of my chassis was, rather than guessing/worrying what it may be.

Everything is fixable.

I hope you've been taking copious amounts of pictures?

Hi Ged I suppose it's not that bad really considering how long it has been stood, (October 2009) when it failed the mot, I have a video camera as well so plenty of reference to go back too, also my other son has a chim so I can always take at look at his, its a good feeling to reach this milestone, the next one will be the repairs then the finale.

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I've got a touch of the doubts creeping in, not because of my ability but financial constraints, in beginning to wonder if its not a £ too far, I have been advised by Ian at sport motive to put it on eBay as a project, so at the moment the job has stopped and I am standing at the crossroads.

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J400GED said:

Jim,
That's a real shame that you are having doubts.
Whatever you decide to do, take your time and make sure you are certain before you make your decision.
Is there a particular cost that you have found that is causing the doubt?

Hi ged, I got a quote for the outriggers supplied and fitted, plus powder coating the chassis, it comes out at around £ 2000 then there's wishbones shocks plus all the other bits and pieces, it was my intention to strip the chassis myself then por15 it but I was advised against it by Ian at sport motive, he said its crap and flakes off, I will have to have a serious think.

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I won't rush in, I will sit on it for a few days I think, its time to put the thinking cazp on, according to Ian at sportmotive I need to spend £4000 on bits alone.

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Barreti said:

POR15 is only crap if it has been applied badly.
I've been painting mine in bits as I've had various stuff out - such as the cage around the diff for instance.
Where I've previously applied it to bare and etched steel it is hard and tough. you can chip it if you aren't careful but it certainly won't peel or flake off.

I'd put my money on POR15 rather than powder coating any day. Especially if I was in your position of having the time to do the job properly rather than throwing money at it.

It was ian at sportmotive that put me off por15 he also put me off diy fitting of the outriggers, he said that I would need specialist skills and equipment to do the job, to be honest he gave me the jitters. I'll consider. My options for a day or two.

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Barreti said:

Without wanting to dis Ian at SP the only specialist skills you need to replace your outriggers is welding and some brain cells for a bit of forward planning for making sure you put everything back where it was before you cut it apart.
He may have been talking about replacing the outriggers without lifting the body. Which is a whole different ballgame and I certainly bow to his knowledge and skills in that department.

My thinking is if I were to make a jig which is fit to my old outriggers, I could then remove the old ones and weld the new ones in the same jig so they should fit without any problems, its how I treat the chassis I could get itvshot blasted locally, and then how do I treat it?

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That's it then, its back on its back on, I am pretty confident I could do the outriggers, in suppose I could source a few used parts shocks, discs ect, does anyone know if por15 would stick to shot blasted metal?

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WinstonWolf said:

You're at the worst part right no, you probably think you've *broke* your car at the minute. Getting it back together isn't as bad as it seems...

You are not wrong there, it seems a bit daunting at the moment.

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WinstonWolf said:

Be grateful you're not doing it in January, you have to battle the cold as well as the car

Ha ha I think it may stretch beyond January.

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Barreti said:

Before you cut anything make sure you measure everything
Then measure it again to be sure.

Then if you think you've got it all, measure it again.

Are you getting the idea?

I still got the seatbelt outer bracket about 5mm out after umpteen measuring sessions.

Don't drill the corner flitch plates until you have the body back down. I used a 90deg air drill to get to the bolt holes in the foot wells because space is so tight for a drill.
And make gaps between the tube corner joints and the flat corner flitch plates big enough to get your finger in to allow you to clean the tops out every once in a while. You'll see on your chassis the farting little drain holes TVR left at the corners which quickly clogged and were neither use nor ornament.
Don't be tempted to push the flitch plates further down the chassis tubes to do this though, they fit into recesses in the floor and won't fit if you move them.

If you cut any tube other than back at the chassis put a tube inside the joint for strength before you weld the new section on.

You should be able to por15 blasted metal, but use their 'metal ready' etcher before you paint to give it some grip.
It's like water, but if you don't do this properly and thoroughly it will peel off.
I think I'd do this a couple of times to be sure.

It will seem slow, filthy and hard work, but it's bloody satisfying when it's done. The very best of luck and keep us updated so we can encourage and advise you.

Edited by Barreti on Tuesday 7th July 22:58

My outriggers are rotten to the end except for the very end tubes that run to the main top chassis spar, also the center tube is ok, I was thinking of buying a ready made outrigger kit, and joining it on so to speak, also I am only about 3/4 of an hours drive from frost automotive who sell por15, I will be sure to take some pics of every stage and post them on here, thanks for you're input.

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carsy said:

Jim, i used BSR powder coating in Thornton Cleveleys, Red Marsh Ind Est. They blasted it, hot zinc sprayed it then powdercoat. They did the chassis, all wishbones which were new but the powdercoat job on them was crap so they re did them for me. All uprights and diff brackets etc etc for £150.

It was about 4 yrs ago now and they did a great job although when returning it to me they did say they under estimated / undercharged. But kept to his word of £150. He even picked the chassis up from my house and delivered it back to me. 4yrs on its still immaculate.

Thanks that sounds more like it, I'll give me a ring once I get the outriggers sorted.

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J400GED said:

Hi Jim,
The cost I stated earlier was for if you were to contract the work out. Obviously, if you are doing the chassis repairs yourself it is a materials only cost.
Mine was hot zinc sprayed and then 2 part epoxy painted.
Again, if you are POR 15 coating yours then the cost would be for blasting the chassis - still best to get it initially blasted to see the full extent of the repairs required and then again post repair but pre paint/coating of the chassis to help key the coating - then materials cost for the POR15 treatment.
That would all be significantly less than the £2k previously mentioned.

Glad you haven't given up mate.

Hi Ged, I was round the lockup last night, I decided to make a start on stripping out the chassis, unfortunately as it was pouring down I had to work under the suspended body shell and it got the better of my back, I found myself making promises to the car that I would rebuild it no matter how much or long it takes, I must be going senile in my old age.