Help and advice needed
Discussion
Its been a long time since I posted here and a long time since my Cerbera has been on the road. Over 12 months now and it was only on the road then a couple of months after being off the road for 11 months prior to that.
A brief background the car got vandalised, sent to Austec for a respray and an engine rebuild (4.2 to much higher spec 4.5 with 4.2 heads) new ACT manifolds and exhausts. Got it back, respray and some other work was not up to scratch. Sent it back came back a few months later however suspension was past its best as it had been sat around plus chassis was looking quite rusty. Decided to take it apart and get all suspension components powder coated, paint chassis, poly bushes get Nitrons rebuilt new Eibach etc. I started the process, removed everything got it powder coated put the poly bushes in, got the Nitrons back. However the rebuild was put on hold due to various things getting in the way, work, babies, moving house etc.
So this weekend I have a weekend to myself as the family are away. Gone to carry on where I left off and the corrosion on the chassis is really bad and I've found a sizeable hole in one of the outrigger vertical diagonals. I'm sure there would be more to be found if I carry on looking. So I'm depressed just when I thought I'd finally get it back on the road and get a chance to play with the new engine.
So I'm looking at my options, I have to be realistic and i know that I will not have the time or the skill level to be fair to do full body off chasis replacement myself at home. So I guess I either need to look at shipping it off to someone to do the whole thing for me or sell it to someone who is able to do the chassis replacement themselves, however looking at the prices that Cerberas are attracting nowadays I don't think I'd be able to justify going for this option with the huge amount of money I've spent over the past couple of years on it.
Can anyone recommend someone to sort the car out, I'd be looking for it to be done very well with everything replaced that is required, basically so it comes back as good or better than new. What about the team who built the racing Griffith?? for the late Peter Wheeler? I do need recommendations here as I have been badly let down previously with work being done on the car.
Are new chassis still available from Multipart, I think I would prefer this option than having my own chassis rebuilt as I'd always be nervous about the state of the chassis internally. Anyone know what finish Multipart provide is it powder coated?
Apologies for all the questions and the length of post.
A brief background the car got vandalised, sent to Austec for a respray and an engine rebuild (4.2 to much higher spec 4.5 with 4.2 heads) new ACT manifolds and exhausts. Got it back, respray and some other work was not up to scratch. Sent it back came back a few months later however suspension was past its best as it had been sat around plus chassis was looking quite rusty. Decided to take it apart and get all suspension components powder coated, paint chassis, poly bushes get Nitrons rebuilt new Eibach etc. I started the process, removed everything got it powder coated put the poly bushes in, got the Nitrons back. However the rebuild was put on hold due to various things getting in the way, work, babies, moving house etc.
So this weekend I have a weekend to myself as the family are away. Gone to carry on where I left off and the corrosion on the chassis is really bad and I've found a sizeable hole in one of the outrigger vertical diagonals. I'm sure there would be more to be found if I carry on looking. So I'm depressed just when I thought I'd finally get it back on the road and get a chance to play with the new engine.
So I'm looking at my options, I have to be realistic and i know that I will not have the time or the skill level to be fair to do full body off chasis replacement myself at home. So I guess I either need to look at shipping it off to someone to do the whole thing for me or sell it to someone who is able to do the chassis replacement themselves, however looking at the prices that Cerberas are attracting nowadays I don't think I'd be able to justify going for this option with the huge amount of money I've spent over the past couple of years on it.
Can anyone recommend someone to sort the car out, I'd be looking for it to be done very well with everything replaced that is required, basically so it comes back as good or better than new. What about the team who built the racing Griffith?? for the late Peter Wheeler? I do need recommendations here as I have been badly let down previously with work being done on the car.
Are new chassis still available from Multipart, I think I would prefer this option than having my own chassis rebuilt as I'd always be nervous about the state of the chassis internally. Anyone know what finish Multipart provide is it powder coated?
Apologies for all the questions and the length of post.
I can understand how frustrated you feel.
It is possible just to replace the outriggers with the body in situ. I think the going rate is about a thousand pounds but not sure who offers the service.
I am nearly at the end of doing a body off rebuild after I crashed mine. I have documented most of it on this thread....
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
It was not technically that difficult but you would need a fair amount of mechanical skill plus things like an engine crane. I got a replacement chassis so i could swap bits over to the new chassis straight away which made life a lot easier. Having a reasonable amount of space is also quite helpful. You could probably do it in a single garage but it would be quite fiddly I'd imagine.
Don't sell the car as it is, you won't get much for it if it needs that work done. The first thing I would do would be to investigate getting the outriggers replaced.
It is possible just to replace the outriggers with the body in situ. I think the going rate is about a thousand pounds but not sure who offers the service.
I am nearly at the end of doing a body off rebuild after I crashed mine. I have documented most of it on this thread....
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
It was not technically that difficult but you would need a fair amount of mechanical skill plus things like an engine crane. I got a replacement chassis so i could swap bits over to the new chassis straight away which made life a lot easier. Having a reasonable amount of space is also quite helpful. You could probably do it in a single garage but it would be quite fiddly I'd imagine.
Don't sell the car as it is, you won't get much for it if it needs that work done. The first thing I would do would be to investigate getting the outriggers replaced.
Are you a member of the TVR Car Club. Sprint Magazine is packed with adverts for specialist garages offering body-of chassis renovation.
Alternatively, you could reread the many threads on this Forum of owners that have done magnificent body-off jobs, and copy what they have done using a trusted local independent garage.
I'm planning a body-of in the future and intend to use a trusted local garage for the dissassembly and then ship the chassis to specialists recomended by other PHers. However, there are always arguments. I would love to hot dip galvanise my chassis, then stove enamel. Yet some say hot dip could distort it.
Alternatively, you could reread the many threads on this Forum of owners that have done magnificent body-off jobs, and copy what they have done using a trusted local independent garage.
I'm planning a body-of in the future and intend to use a trusted local garage for the dissassembly and then ship the chassis to specialists recomended by other PHers. However, there are always arguments. I would love to hot dip galvanise my chassis, then stove enamel. Yet some say hot dip could distort it.
w111pac said:
Are you aware that there is a recent goverment scheme that you could take advantage of. you'll have to MOT it though
Somebody wash that mans mouth out with carbolic soap...Edited by w111pac on Saturday 5th September 15:29
Look at it on the bright side, when it's finished you'll know you'll have one of the best Cerberas around amd it'll only need small niggly things to do after that. Lets face it, most of us will be having these dilemmas soon.
Chassis corrosion is just the first problem of many to come.
Its an aging car which lets face it was never meant to be a BMW...
Ask yourself this question, are YOU willing to wait for it to be done up for the road and spend all the extra cash on doing it?
If you were to sell it, how much would you pocket? and then if you were to add the money you would be spending on making to road worthy and reliable... how much in total will that bring your budget up to?
... now with this budget in mind, you could possibly consider a Porsche? a vette? an M5?.... less troublesome in long run, plenty of power... and much better all round weather cars....
but...
if your lifestyle is TVR, then you keep it and keep throwing money at it...
some owners are lucky - they dont get stung, other owners just keep throwing more and more money into a never ending abyss... time to think with your mind and not your heart, is my advice based on what you've gone through.
Good luck whichever way you go
Its an aging car which lets face it was never meant to be a BMW...
Ask yourself this question, are YOU willing to wait for it to be done up for the road and spend all the extra cash on doing it?
If you were to sell it, how much would you pocket? and then if you were to add the money you would be spending on making to road worthy and reliable... how much in total will that bring your budget up to?
... now with this budget in mind, you could possibly consider a Porsche? a vette? an M5?.... less troublesome in long run, plenty of power... and much better all round weather cars....
but...
if your lifestyle is TVR, then you keep it and keep throwing money at it...
some owners are lucky - they dont get stung, other owners just keep throwing more and more money into a never ending abyss... time to think with your mind and not your heart, is my advice based on what you've gone through.
Good luck whichever way you go
Call Jason at STR8SIX i had my body off done there, and the price was much better than any other place i asked. you wont need a new chassis just repair your one. BTW, and unlike the griffs and chims, it is impossible to do an outrigger replacement on the cerb without taking the body off.
good luck
good luck
w111pac said:
Are you aware that there is a recent goverment scheme that you could take advantage of. you'll have to MOT it though
My mate did this with an old Punto - was still a good runner as well but seemed the best way to go with it. shame likeEdited by w111pac on Saturday 5th September 15:29
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