is this normal

[mbu10]

ok been to look at quite a few tvr's over the last couple of days.
anyway thought this unusual (conmpared to other cars i have had)is this normal
in first gear and clutch out letting engine just tick over (no right foot at all) engine is warm 60-70 deg c ( 4 l engine)
so the car is moving (does not stall) but is a little jerky while just letting tick over while moving the car
is this normal
thanks

[ATG]

So car is going forward in 1st gear and your feet aren't on the pedals? Yes, this does lead to slightly lumpy progress. The car does tend to kangaroo by itself a little. You've got a big engine with a somewhat uneven idle in a light weight car.

p.s. When I first drove a Chim I found it was much more dominated by its engine than any of the cars I had previously driven. There's lots of torque and not much weight. To drive the car smoothly takes a bit of getting used to ... basically more throttle/engine speed sensitivity. It's no big deal and becomes automatic very quickly. Crawling in traffic is not a problem. I guess you tend to use a bit more very light throttle to smooth the idle and dip the clutch a bit more than in another car. The only thing that can become a bore is the weight of the clutch peddle.

>> Edited by ATG on Friday 24th February 11:18

[Nuggs]

ATG said:

So car is going forward in 1st gear and your feet aren't on the pedals? Yes, this does lead to slightly lumpy progress. The car does tend to kangaroo by itself a little. You've got a big engine with a somewhat uneven idle in a light weight car.

And a lack of fuel, so I'd say that was pretty normal (and a slightly bizarre test if you ask me)

[mbu10]

well yes i must admit a bit bizzarre
but i am a lazy driver sometime especially in traffic
normally just throw in first let a car chug along and fall behind a little but i keep moving

on another side
one of the ones i have looked at a little rust on the frame 8 year old
but tapping with a metal torch it is just surface rust on the tubes
how easy is it to wire brush them down, apply that rust killer stuff to neutralise it and apply hammerite then loads of waxoil
what is the access like underneath and the easy way to do this.
argh becoming fantical before i have bought one

[chassis 33]

Be very very wary of rust. My car (1995 M) had what looked like superficial surface fust on the underside of the outriggers, it wasnt until i took the body off I found the true extent of the problem eg:

There's more here.http://community.webshots.com/album/4

Basically the body sits over the top of the outriggers for about 2/3 of the circumference of the tube; mud and water gather and corrode the metalwork becasue the powercoating isnt really up to much.

Sorry to scare you, but it will save you money in the long run!

The lurching is not ideal but very common, don't worry too much about that. It may mean the stepper motor needs a clean (especially if idle is uneven in neutral), thats only a 10min job, if you get a remap of the ECU things can be helped, but as standard it's not brilliant.

Regards
Iain

[ATG]

Quite a few enthusiastic enthusiasts shove the car up on axle stands and start scraping and paining under the car. Access to the chassis tubes is limited if you leave the body on, but people seem to find ways of scraping inaccessible bits. I imagine you get cramps, eyes full of rust and hair full of hammerite ... but a sense of masochistic satisfaction at the end.

[Nuggs]

Most Chims around 8 years old are likely to have some surface rust. This is pretty easy to take care of (I'd recommend using POR15+Wayoyl if you're planning on doing this yourself).

Beware though, there are plenty of areas of the chassis that are hard to inspect that may harbour structural rust; the outriggers being a prime example.

You should ask for details/evidence of how the owner has looked after the chassis e.g. Waxoyl every year or so, chassis prep carried out by garage etc. If the chassis hasn't been proprely looked after, even if it looks okay, I'd be very, very careful.

HTH

[griffter]

mbu10 said:

but tapping with a metal torch it is just surface rust on the tubes

IMHO better to see what isn't there, than not to be able to see what is (i.e. shocking rust hidden by fresh underseal).

mbu10 said:

how easy is it to wire brush them down, apply that rust killer stuff to neutralise it and apply hammerite then loads of waxoil what is the access like underneath and the easy way to do this. argh becoming fantical before i have bought one

It's a horrible job. Any 'easy way' won't do the job well enough. However, once you've done it, you know it's done, and done well.

[zippee]

mbu10 said:

ok been to look at quite a few tvr's over the last couple of days. anyway thought this unusual (conmpared to other cars i have had)is this normal in first gear and clutch out letting engine just tick over (no right foot at all) engine is warm 60-70 deg c ( 4 l engine) so the car is moving (does not stall) but is a little jerky while just letting tick over while moving the car is this normal thanks

TBH they all do that. Mines a 4l and when just running along at almost tickover it does start to lump quite a lot. Best this to do if you can is just change down to a lower gear.
A good example being coming down from an NSL to a 30mph limit and keeping her in 5th. It's OK as long as you have a light throttle on but when coasting can get quite lumpy.
Plus the fact it sounds sooo much better in 3rd gear.