Cerbera Jig?

[longbow]

Finally split my chassis from the body today, and unfortunately am convinced that it is out of alignment. For a start it doesn't lie truely flat on the floor (..yeah yeah, the floor IS flat!) and when dropping it out, the chassis contacted the body on the front drivers side, but on the passenger side there was about 7mm of clear air! Surely this can't be normal..... On a lighter note I found some groovy and very artistic cartoon drawing on the GRP facia behind the main dash, it was signed and dated by someone at the factory. Maybe the same person that left a half empty pack of polo mints behind one of the rear seats!! Ah, quality control at its best at TVR in 1996

[kojak]

I might be wrong, but i'm sure Joolz said to me that the body is not equal, in which case, yours might be the norm.

[trackcar]

Kojak's right .. don't use teh body as a guide to symmetry on a tvr ..

however if your floor is indeed flat and the chassis isn't level on it then that does indeed suggest further investigation is required..

[cerby6pot]

Hi did you document the steps to separate the two? I would be interested in knowing whats involved. I feel I will have to do it at some point but the idea freaks me out. How long did it take?

[longbow]

Well, it does take a while, lets say 3 days of moderate graft. The workshop cd details what needs to be removed, but doesn't say exactly how. The chassis to body fixing bolts are easy to get to, but you need to remove the front seats, and parts of the rear seats to get to them, plus you need to lift parts of the carpet. The fuel tank needs to come out and the fuel pump wiring disconnected. The main console needs to come out, and the steering column.... But its not an insurmountable amount of work, and it is good experience.... Taking the body off is something you're only likely to ever do once, so in that respect its worth the effort.........

[david smith]

weve had similar posts before .. I think most of us will need this service at some stage ... Im goner hang on for a while longer - probably till the engine needs attention - then it will have its time!

hope it can wait another couple of years ... wife will throw a fit .. rolling pound signs!!

DAS

[trackcar]

It's fair to point out that the body and chassis do not need to be separated to repair the chassis weak points .. you just need to cut access points into the fibreglass bodywork .. as these are covered with carpet again afterwards you never see the repaired parts so not a big issue. In the three days it takes to remove the body you can repair the chassis and go away with the wife for the day you have left over

The main parts that need replacing are the outriggers as usual on a tvr and the chassis tubes adjacent the exhaust manifolds .. accessed by chopping through the transmission tunnel and removing the exhaust manifolds.

[simonsparrow]

trackcar said:

It's fair to point out that the body and chassis do not need to be separated to repair the chassis weak points .. you just need to cut access points into the fibreglass bodywork .. as these are covered with carpet again afterwards you never see the repaired parts so not a big issue. In the three days it takes to remove the body you can repair the chassis and go away with the wife for the day you have left over The main parts that need replacing are the outriggers as usual on a tvr and the chassis tubes adjacent the exhaust manifolds .. accessed by chopping through the transmission tunnel and removing the exhaust manifolds.

Good to know about the pragmatic options too, how long does it take to replace the tubes near the exhaust manifolds (roughly)?

[trackcar]

You'd want to allow at least 12 hours for that job in a workshop, but that's start to finish including glueing the carpets back in and rebonding the fibreglass. In your own agarge and for your first time allow 18 hours as it's always best to think 5 times before you cut once!! lol