Cerbera wanted - perfect chassis a must
Discussion
You need to remember that the latest Cerbs are now getting on for 8 years old and finding one with a perfect chassis will be difficult unless the car has had a body off rebuild and there is only a limited number of cars which have had this done currently.
If you read this forum very carefully you will soon discover that there are many other faults that occur with Cerbera`s that you should lookout for so i would not dismiss a car simply because the powder coating is peeling on the chassis!
Good luck in your search!!!
If you read this forum very carefully you will soon discover that there are many other faults that occur with Cerbera`s that you should lookout for so i would not dismiss a car simply because the powder coating is peeling on the chassis!
Good luck in your search!!!
esso said:
You need to remember that the latest Cerbs are now getting on for 8 years old and finding one with a perfect chassis will be difficult unless the car has had a body off rebuild and there is only a limited number of cars which have had this done currently.
If you read this forum very carefully you will soon discover that there are many other faults that occur with Cerbera`s that you should lookout for so i would not dismiss a car simply because the powder coating is peeling on the chassis!
Good luck in your search!!!
Very right! wouldn't mind some peeling off the 'powder coating'... if the chassis were at least powder coated in a proper way. Rather sprayed over, piled up outside in the rain before assembled. I remember Steve Heath's images of his 98 Cerbera's engine bay after removing the engine. Rot all over. He had to weld in some 14m of new pipes. Same on a 2001 Cerb I saw.If you read this forum very carefully you will soon discover that there are many other faults that occur with Cerbera`s that you should lookout for so i would not dismiss a car simply because the powder coating is peeling on the chassis!
Good luck in your search!!!
Since I will change the engine anyway, its the chassis I am focusing on.
The one shown above is just up the road from me,think i may have seen that one at dulfords when it was work in progress.perfect chassis a must is what we all want.....dont think many owners would go through the rebuild process just to sell it on.....may be wrong,and yes i have seen em for sale.my chassis for example i think is a good one in comparison to some,but i am still going to totally sort mine out soon....maybe after a chat with certain people at chatsworth.
Edited by spongy on Thursday 26th April 09:45
But there not all bad... My chassis was completed 8/1/97, the middle of winter and being honest my wishbones are 3 times as bad as the chassis . I had the engine out last month, only to find very light surface rust, which was delt with while I had the chance and extra heat shielding was fitted where the exhaust manifolds run. My out riggers are as good as the day they left the factory, but I do paint them ever year with out fail.
I don't know if I've been very luck or maybe the car has never been run in winter salty conditions, even tho I have used it on the odd nice winters day.
You may have seen a few threads of people restoring there rusty chassis, which does lead to people thinking all Cerb chassis are rotten, but that doesn't mean there all like that, but I can understand you wanting one recently restored for peace of mind.
But good luck in your search for a mint one
I don't know if I've been very luck or maybe the car has never been run in winter salty conditions, even tho I have used it on the odd nice winters day.
You may have seen a few threads of people restoring there rusty chassis, which does lead to people thinking all Cerb chassis are rotten, but that doesn't mean there all like that, but I can understand you wanting one recently restored for peace of mind.
But good luck in your search for a mint one
Extra 300 Driver said:
Whats the cost of a chassis overhaul, ballpark?
If you're giving it to an indy, then the initial condition of the chassis is all important. I saw one recently that had stood for a couple of years in a seaside town and the underside was just appalling. Ive no idea how the owner even managed to drive it to the garage. Conversation with indy guy mentioned a bill of £6k to restore it. Unsurprisingly owner said no.Ive done (with much help!!!) a fair bit of the unbolting of the body/chassis on my cerb and will hopefully get the body off by July. As Im no mechanic I've had to buy a lot of the tools to get it done so Id say Ive spent £300 or so on getting the right bits'n'pieces, but that's only 5-6 hours labour at a decent indy.
I have a very good lead on a blaster/powder coater for the chassis not far from where I live, which for zinc primed and powdercoat of the chassis and all suspension components, is ballpark £600-£700.
Then there's the repairs to the chassis that need doing, and depending on how extensive I want those fixes to go, I would say £500 tops.
So my guess for mine is minimum £1,500, but that's doing as much of the non-specialist work as possible myself.
The list of parts I want to replace while everything off however, will probably run into the £3k region.
I've also had a few phonecalls/chats with various parties regarding building a totally new chassis. A highly recommended fabricator, could make a one off chassis for about £5k, depending on the steel used and preventative coating desired.
TVR Power are still saying they will be making cerb chassis's (possibly by year end), but there's still some business decision to be made regarding cost v potential return, but if they do go-ahead with it, then £4k is a ballpark price.
If you're going down the route of pulling the engine out anyway, you might as well go down the route of getting something dirt cheap that needs work. There must be cars out there that have rotten outriggers and a knackered engine???
Once the engine is out, it shouldn't be too much effort to get the body off... Strip, repair, treat & coat the chassis, wishbones, etc... Then put it all back together with your donk of choice!
It would probably be cheaper that way too as a car with a mint chassis will probably be commanding more of a premium price... TBH - Something with a well looked after chassis will probably have a well looked after engine.
Just a thought.
M
Once the engine is out, it shouldn't be too much effort to get the body off... Strip, repair, treat & coat the chassis, wishbones, etc... Then put it all back together with your donk of choice!
It would probably be cheaper that way too as a car with a mint chassis will probably be commanding more of a premium price... TBH - Something with a well looked after chassis will probably have a well looked after engine.
Just a thought.
M
Tyre Smoke said:
looks good, with good provenance too. Hopefully should get a 10 in front of the current bid level.
yep, right. I've got the money to buy this week, what will you take?Gassing Station | Cerbera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff