Chassis clean down
Discussion
123nobster said:
Hi all
Planning to clean down prime and paint chassis over the winter months.
Is this possible without the use of a pit or 4 post ramps?
Any advice would be gratefully appreciated
Thanks in advance
Nobby
I'm doing it at the moment. More of a reassurance to myself that the chassis is in good condition really, as I've not had the car long. Seems to be pretty good so far!Planning to clean down prime and paint chassis over the winter months.
Is this possible without the use of a pit or 4 post ramps?
Any advice would be gratefully appreciated
Thanks in advance
Nobby
I have it up on 4 axle stands. They're big axle stands, very high and I have them on the highest setting. Bit if a fiddle getting the car up that high with one small jack though!
Access underneath is ok, I can get under there with a wire brush bit on a grinder and I'm slowly getting rid of all the POR 15. I have some epoxy chassis paint which I'll paint on once it's all prepared.
You can only get to the bottom and the sides of the chassis rails and outriggers though, not the tops, where they often corrode. Bit for the sake of touching up chassis paint, it's easy enough to do on good axle stands.
123nobster said:
Hi Dan
What sort of height do you think you have on the axle stands?
Do you feel you can get far enough away from the debris coming off the grinder?
Cheers
Nobby
I've been doing it this evening. It's not particularly pleasant, but it's doable! I'll measure how much height I have in the morning. I'll get a pic too. What sort of height do you think you have on the axle stands?
Do you feel you can get far enough away from the debris coming off the grinder?
Cheers
Nobby
phillpot said:
Cleaned, repaired and painted on axle stands...... 
This looks great, but I'm wondering where it leaves you if you lift the body a few inches only to find the outrigger corners are rotted out.Which from what I've seen seems highly likely.
It's not like you have enough space to weld up the corners, and if they're rotted out the only real answer is replacement anyway.
So you go to all that trouble to lift the body a few inches, only to find a proper repair will require new out riggers.
I'd fear it could end up just being a waste of time.
Painting the outriggers from underneath with the body on seems like even more of a waste of time to me, surely doing so only serves as a placebo.
You may feel like your improving the situation but all the many rotten outrigger photos I've seen show the top of the corners rot out first, and all that is completely inaccessible with the body on.
So all you're really doing when painting from beneath with the body on is a cosmetic job, and perhaps making yourself feel a bit better about the situation.
Ultimately the truth is you're just living in denial, if we're honest with ourselves we all know needs doing.
I think the only real answer is a full body off, cut the old outriggers from the car & fit new.
With the body off & the engine and transmission removed, the rest of the chassis can be addressed properly too.
The problem is I suspect deep down we all know this already, but we also know it's going to be expensive relative to the current market value of the car.
But one thing you can't get away from is the huge body of inarguable photographic evidence showing where & how the TVR chassis corrodes.
Lets be honest here, denial is a dreadful thing
These are simple cars to maintain, but they are all approaching 20 years old these days, and any car of that age is likely to need some structural remedial work.
If you've ever restored a vehicle with a badly corroded steel monocoque, you'd realise just how (relatively) simple a TVR chassis to restore.
Once you've committed to taking the body fully off your TVR to address the issue properly, you can completely forget the whole chassis corrosion anxiety thing for a good 15 years or more of every day driving.
Or indefinitely if your TVR is a weekend toy.
A patched up steel monocoque will see you re-visiting corrosion every 5 years as you chase the rust around the shell.
For those baulking at the cost of a TVR full body off chassis restoration I recommend you compare it with a full bare shell restoration on a steel monocoque.
Or in the case of something like an MGB the cost of a replacement shell, and what do you end up with if you restore an MGB, an Austin Cambridge convertible that's what.
There's simply no comparison with a TVR Chimaera... unless you want to spend £60,000 on a Frontline MGB.
The TVR separate chassis design is both a weakness & a strength, we all know it can corrode badly but when it comes to restoration complexity & costs a separate chassis with a removable body is always going to be a massive advantage.
Consider also the fact that the TVR's removable body is formed from corrosion proof fiberglass, and that the rest of the Chim/Griff design is made up from simple, proven, robust & cheap to maintain mechanical components.
And you very quickly start to realise you have yourself one of the most practical classic sports cars to maintain.
People should just offset the fact these cars are currently massively undervalued, against the relatively reasonable costs of a full structural restoration.
Buy one for £8,000...run it for a couple of years sorting out all the little foibles... then throw £4-£5,000 at it to get the chassis restored properly.
You'll have spent less than £15,000 on a car that will give an Eagle E-Type a run for its money in terms of performance, practicality and character.
And you've just saved yourself well over £100,000..... that £4-£5,000 full body off chassis restoration on your TVR doesn't look so expensive now does it
Just my opinion you understand
Edited by ChimpOnGas on Monday 21st October 12:00
This is my S3 but very similar (didn't take many pictures of the Chimaera)....
Full body off is obviously ideal but apart from lack of space and equipment I didn't want the job to turn into a "will I ever get this back together" rebuild. This way both cars were done in a week, biggest hold up was waiting for paint to dry
Full body off is obviously ideal but apart from lack of space and equipment I didn't want the job to turn into a "will I ever get this back together" rebuild. This way both cars were done in a week, biggest hold up was waiting for paint to dry
phillpot said:
This is my S3 but very similar (didn't take many pictures of the Chimaera)....
Full body off is obviously ideal but apart from lack of space and equipment I didn't want the job to turn into a "will I ever get this back together" rebuild. This way both cars were done in a week, biggest hold up was waiting for paint to dry
Nice job Full body off is obviously ideal but apart from lack of space and equipment I didn't want the job to turn into a "will I ever get this back together" rebuild. This way both cars were done in a week, biggest hold up was waiting for paint to dry
I'm loving some of these improvised car jacking techniques, but then I don't work for H&S!! I have spend many hours crawling under mine and it does feel a bit claustrophobic at first but you grow in confidence as you go.
Please remind me what is involved in the 2 inch chassis lift from what I remember it is almost as complicated as a full body off??
I agree that it is the only way to see 100% the condition of the scaffold tubing sometimes referred to as outriggers. I would like to lift mine for piece of mind but feel it's a bit beyond simple old me.
Please remind me what is involved in the 2 inch chassis lift from what I remember it is almost as complicated as a full body off??
I agree that it is the only way to see 100% the condition of the scaffold tubing sometimes referred to as outriggers. I would like to lift mine for piece of mind but feel it's a bit beyond simple old me.
quattrophenia said:
I'm loving some of these improvised car jacking techniques
The jack on the car ramp is only supporting one corner of the body, not the full vehicle weight!quattrophenia said:
from what I remember it is almost as complicated as a full body off??
Bit less to disconnect, brake pipes, lot of wiring can stay connected but, as I said earlier, my main reasons were space and time, wanted to keep the cars on the road and not turn either into a major (and inevitably long term) project. or you could order a stainless steel chassis or only the outriggers for example>
here also some outrigger options and pica's even of a SS chassis...no paint
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
said:
Everything will be available for you to buy in person and also from TVR Power’s online store, so purchasing your new OEM chassis and components couldn’t be easier. For the connoisseur, zinc coated and even stainless steel OEM chassis are also an option, with prices available upon request.
http://www.tvrpower.co.uk/news/slug/tvrpower-oem-chassis/here also some outrigger options and pica's even of a SS chassis...no paint
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
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