Tam : Gluey gear gaiter needs re-sticking.

[Mr M]

Old bits of glue now visible and looks rather naff. The transmission tunnel cover strangely seems to lift off from the back and isn't attached to anything except at the front. I also need to turn the gear knob 45 degrees so it's facing the right way while I'm at it. Can anyone give me any clues as to whether it's a quick and easy job ?

[shep1001]

Yes very easy. When you lift the tunnel off you will see there is a lug on the underside of the tunnel that slides under a clip bolted to the body. At the front there is a wing nut that secures the tunnel that you can remove by removing the ashtray and having a fiddle with your fingers!

You fix the gear knob by setting in the correct position and tightening the collar nut underneath it against the knob

Edited by shep1001 on Monday 8th April 23:00

[Mr M]

Thanks Andy. Your knowledge is great :-) That'll give me something to do this week.

[Mr M]

Andy, I've located the wing nut but no way will I get that off, let alone on again as I can't see what I'm doing or even get a grip on it. Have I misunderstood something\do I need to remove the gear knob\Handbrake lever too. Alternatively I'll just have to glue as best I can in situ. There seems to be a bit of looming under there relating to reverse lights etc which I don't want to pull around too much if I can help it.

Cheers.

[shep1001]

Mr M said:

Andy, I've located the wing nut but no way will I get that off, let alone on again as I can't see what I'm doing or even get a grip on it. Have I misunderstood something\do I need to remove the gear knob\Handbrake lever too. Alternatively I'll just have to glue as best I can in situ. There seems to be a bit of looming under there relating to reverse lights etc which I don't want to pull around too much if I can help it.

Cheers.

Yep you need to remove the gear nob, I did not bother putting the wing nut back on, did not see the point. Tunnel is easier to remove if you pull the handbrake on hard then tilt it upwards without the targa panel in place so it does not hit the roof

Remove the wing nut by feel, there should be enough room to reach under there

[Mr M]

Thanks Andy I'll give that a try. Just got some EvoStick Impact ready for when I do succeed.

[Mr M]

All good so far Andy. Handbrake is up full but not high enough to enable removal of the panel yet. I'll keep working on it though.

Must admit defeat this evening I don't think there's a logical way it's coming off without resetting the level of the handbrake. It's a good 45 degrees which I would have thought fairly normal though.

Edited by Mr M on Wednesday 10th April 18:45

[Mr M]

Assuming the handbrake isn't set too low here.



and that I'm lifting it the right way.




Not as practical as I thought I was ! Looks like I'll be needing a new handbrake gaiter as all the jigging around has split it in the middle. Oh joy.

[monty quick]

be careful you do not damage the leather at the front of the centre section or the dash (the 'professional' fitting my new stereo managed to damage both!).

[Mr M]

I'm not surprised David ! To be honest I've hit a bit of a brick wall with it just now. All I can think is that when the car was made the handbrake locked at a higher angle. Having a break from it at the moment as it's ******* me off .

[monty quick]

Forgot to say that most people suggest releasing the handbrake adjuster so you can get the handbrake almost vertical. Bit late now you have already damaged the gaiter but it will probably be worth the extra work to reduce the stress levels of trying to lift the tunnel cover off with the hanbrake at 45degrees.

[Mr M]

Thanks David I wasn't aware that could be done. I'll look into that.

> Bit late now you have already damaged the gaiter

I think that's just poor material and old age but shifting it around hasn't helped.

Edited by Mr M on Thursday 11th April 14:16

[shep1001]

Mr M said:

Thanks David I wasn't aware that could be done. I'll look into that.

> Bit late now you have already damaged the gaiter

I think that's just poor material and old age but shifting it around hasn't helped.

Edited by Mr M on Thursday 11th April 14:16

Looking at your pics, mine would just lift off the handbrake from that angle with the roof removed. Not sure what's different about yours?

[Mr M]

Yes, odd. One would assume they are identical. It's just not going over the handbrake at all. Perhaps there's a knack to it I haven't discovered as yet.

[shep1001]

Mr M said:

Yes, odd. One would assume they are identical. It's just not going over the handbrake at all. Perhaps there's a knack to it I haven't discovered as yet.

On mine the leather hand brake gatier is not attached so I can slide the tunnel over the handbrake alone. Mine also has the metal alloy surround. Other than that not sure. You have tried it without the targa panel in so you can get a steeper angle on the tunnel?

[Mr M]

Thanks Andy - The handbrake gaiter is attached. That could be the issue. The gear gaiter is disintegtating with every attempt so looks like a couple of new gaiters are going to be on the cards anyway but with great tenacity I'd like to see this through. Here's a couple of pics of how far it'll go and yep the roof is off.

PS Yes I also have an alloy surround. I'm trying to get my head around how the assembly sequence would run in construction then at least I could deconstruct it. Perhaps there wasn't an assembly sequence :-).

It's just occurred that maybe the gaiters were stuck on after the console was fitted, in which case I may as well attempt same. Thought it would have made a better job doing it with the console off though.

Edited by Mr M on Thursday 11th April 18:42

Edited by Mr M on Thursday 11th April 18:46

[duff-man]

I take it that this is different from the T350 that in that there's another bit of fiberglass that holds the leather bits and Metal handbrake surround in place (it's secured from underneath using 3x10mm nuts with some washers?)

[Mr M]

Not sure, I'll have a look in moment though :-).

update .. it's the same :-)

Edited by Mr M on Thursday 11th April 20:33

[Mr M]

Well, to quote Derek and Clive. "The worst job I ever 'ad"..... was removing the centre console off a TVR Tamora.



made worse by the final and furthest away nut which holds the alloy handbrake surround, stuck fast and just rotating its fixture around with it. This had to succumb to some brute force for which I'll have to patch up. Now I need a beer or three. The key was removing the alloy surround of the handbrake.

Thanks for your help Andy.

[darkmark07]

Blimey, that was a mission; I'm sure that mine came out far more easily that that!

Interestingly, I have almost exactly that problem and almost exactly the same colour-scheme interior.

Out of interest, what glue are you planning to use to rectify?

Thanks,

Mark