The little things that matter

[A900ss]

I've just fitted a new boot strut to my Chimaera.

£20, less than 1 minute to fit but really satisfying every time I now open the boot and it raises gracefully rather than maybe/maybe not staying open. (It also opens a few inches wider now to help getting roof in and out).

What little jobs have you done on your Chim that make a nice tactile difference?

PS - I'm not associated with them but if you're interested here is where I got mine. http://www.sgs-engineering.com/gsc2278-tvr-chimaer...

[zed4]

I must do that!

[MADMAX2]

Just neatly put a battery cut off switch discreetly and secretly in the car i just hope i dont get Alzheimers in the near future

[jojackson4]

Bonnet pins
stting it drilling but it does not move now

[SILICONEKID343HP]

You can get adjustable one`s so you have a chance to have little as possible pressure on the boot . My bonnet is now warped so been removed

[ChimpOnGas]

A900ss said:

What little jobs have you done on your Chim that make a nice tactile difference?

I've just made my electric windows zip up & down like a regular car, very un-TVR

I've also fixed my door mirrors, they're now super reinforced internally so far stronger than when the car left Bristol Avenue 17 years ago.

Two little improvements, but very satisfying

[A900ss]

ChimpOnGas said:

I've just made my electric windows zip up & down like a regular car, very un-TVR

I've also fixed my door mirrors, they're now super reinforced internally so far stronger than when the car left Bristol Avenue 17 years ago.

Two little improvements, but very satisfying

I'm planning on cleaning the window mechanism on Friday. Not looking forward to removing the door cards though as my arms aren't 'child like'.

[jojackson4]

ChimpOnGas said:

A900ss said:

What little jobs have you done on your Chim that make a nice tactile difference?

I've just made my electric windows zip up & down like a regular car, very un-TVR

I've also fixed my door mirrors, they're now super reinforced internally so far stronger than when the car left Bristol Avenue 17 years ago.

Two little improvements, but very satisfying

How and what have you done Dave window wise my mirrors are armored like yours and 12 months in still firm

[ChimpOnGas]

A900ss said:

ChimpOnGas said:

I've just made my electric windows zip up & down like a regular car, very un-TVR

I've also fixed my door mirrors, they're now super reinforced internally so far stronger than when the car left Bristol Avenue 17 years ago.

Two little improvements, but very satisfying

I'm planning on cleaning the window mechanism on Friday. Not looking forward to removing the door cards though as my arms aren't 'child like'.

To tip, remove your door speaker, go in through the speaker hole & use a 10mm ratchet ring spanner to remove the nuts from the arm rest studs inside the door.

A ratchet ring spanner makes life immeasurably easier.

jojackson4 said:

How and what have you done Dave window wise my mirrors are armored like yours and 12 months in still firm

There's a lot of discussion on here about why the TVR windows are so often painfully slow, the consensus seems to be the wiring is of inadequate gauge and a relay is often suggested as the fix.

Before accepting this I double checked the theory with my test meter, and sure enough there's a 2v voltage drop (10.5v) at the motor.

I traced this drop right from the switch to the motor, but simply disconnecting the wiring at the lift motor showed the drop was more a consequence of excessive load at the motor itself than the admittedly rather weedy gauge wiring.

So why is the poor motor straining so much?

Well, the problem I found on my car was that the two runner channels (front & rear) do not sit perfectly parallel to each other.

The way TVR mounted them results in these runners becoming fractionally closer together at the bottom, this creates a wedging effect on the door glass as it falls lower into the door.

You dont notice it when lowering the windows because gravity & the weight of the door glass is on your side, but raise the windows from their fully lowered position and the motor has one hell of a job pulling the glass out of that wedge effect caused by those two runners being too close together at the lower six inches of their run.

The relationship between the two channels is not easy to adjust, but you actually only need to gain a millimetre or two on each.

Both channels contain a rubber "U" section guide, this is designed to stop the window rattling in the aluminium channels.

I carefully shaved out part of the lower 6" run of this guide rubber on both channels with a very sharp craft knife.

There's still plenty of rubber guide section to support the glass & stop it rattling, but by fractionally opening up the distance between the runners at their lower 6 inches I was able to get the windows moving up & down smoothly and very fast indeed.

I then re-checked the voltage drop at the lift motor, and sure enough the meter reads a healthy 12.5v for the first time ever.

No relays & additional runs of wiring required, just smooth & reliable windows that zip up & down like never before.

Sure the wiring is a bit on the inadequate side and my fix may seem a bit crude to some, but its exactly what it needed.

It definitely didn't need a relay to fix it, the problem in my case was all about the fact my front & rear runners were never fitted perfectly parallel to each other by TVR.

A simple but extremely satisfying & effective fix to something that had frustrated me since I bought the car four years ago.

[brett84]

the best thing i've ever done on mine was speakers in the headrests, makes long journeys so much more enjoyable

[phazed]

brett84 said:

the best thing i've ever done on mine was speakers in the headrests, makes long journeys so much more enjoyable

This I gotta see,..........please.

[fatboychim]

phazed said:

This I gotta see,..........please.

Mx5 seats I reckon

[phazed]

fatboychim said:

Mx5 seats I reckon

I didn't think it would be that simple!

O/T, I really have to change mine. I need a lower seat and more support, any ideas?

[brett84]

yeah MX5 seats, upgraded the speakers and it's amazing having clear sound even when hammering it with the roof off
heres one before the interior was finished

[fatboychim]

That interior looks really nice, are the MX5 seats higher than the standard ones?



This has been posted before but I think it's a good option,

http://www.intatrimtelford.co.uk/index.php?page=sh...

By the time you source Elise or similar style seats and have them retrimmed these aren't much more expensive and are made to your spec like these

[StarmistBlue400]

I'm crap at all things mechanical and electrical so for now I will just give my drivers window a little help with my hand

Loving those seats.

[zacherynuk]

New wipers for me were a 10 minute job, went for the leven replacement ones with the squirt on the blade. Good quality squirt, firm springs (and no rust) a great improvement especially in this low-sun time of year.

Edit: And of course the hot start kit, superbly happy with that 20 minutes of labour recently too

[stueyp34]

£2.50 for a relay and a buzzer means I won't leave the headlights on again when I leave the car

[SILICONEKID343HP]

fatboychim said:

That interior looks really nice, are the MX5 seats higher than the standard ones?



This has been posted before but I think it's a good option,

http://www.intatrimtelford.co.uk/index.php?page=sh...

By the time you source Elise or similar style seats and have them retrimmed these aren't much more expensive and are made to your spec like these

That`s my mates car ,think they only cost around £300

[A900ss]

stueyp34 said:

£2.50 for a relay and a buzzer means I won't leave the headlights on again when I leave the car

Tell me more.

I've gone soft with modern German motors.

How can I do this?