Discussion
Took the car for a heath check and here’s what needs done (labour is £55 per hour) :
1) Requires a 12k service - £500
2) Suspension re-bush on all 4 corners (upgraded polyurathane) - 16 hrs £880 plus parts £175
3) Brake Flexes Corroded (replace with good ridge) - 3 hrs £165 plus parts £95
4)Chassis requires paintwork on the main frame - 8 hrs £440 plus parts £20
5) Engine mounts - 3 hrs £165 plus parts £45
6) Fan belt - £8 no labour.
Do these prices look reasonable ? The guy is a TVR trained mechanic and used to work for Brandon motor company (ex. TVR Dealer in Edinburgh) and now runs his own company - V8 Sports and Classics.
Advise comments please …
Cheers
Neil.
1) Requires a 12k service - £500
2) Suspension re-bush on all 4 corners (upgraded polyurathane) - 16 hrs £880 plus parts £175
3) Brake Flexes Corroded (replace with good ridge) - 3 hrs £165 plus parts £95
4)Chassis requires paintwork on the main frame - 8 hrs £440 plus parts £20
5) Engine mounts - 3 hrs £165 plus parts £45
6) Fan belt - £8 no labour.
Do these prices look reasonable ? The guy is a TVR trained mechanic and used to work for Brandon motor company (ex. TVR Dealer in Edinburgh) and now runs his own company - V8 Sports and Classics.
Advise comments please …
Cheers
Neil.
YOU CAN BUY NEW STANDARD WISHBONES WITH STANDARD BUSHES OF COURSE FOR ABOUT £550,FITTING IS NOT DIFFICULT I DID MINE MYSELF ALTHOUGH HAD IT SET UP BY SPECIALIST,IS YOUR MAN ABLE TO DO THAT? ,SERVICE IS A BIT STEEP TRY OFFORD 'S IN CAMBRIDGE CHEAPER THAN THAT, FITTING BRAIDED HOSES IS NOT DIFFICULT REASONABLE DIY JOB FOR 2,TAKES AN AFTERNOON AT MOST.BUY A BIBLE AND HAVE A GO!!ITS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE.
I replaced my lower wishbone- it's not a hard job at all. (Just make sure you have two short 17mm or 19mm spanners)
The others look pretty simple to do. For 880 in labour, I'd do it myself.
The hard bit is to push out the old bushes- you'd need to work out if it was worth buying new ones though.
The others look pretty simple to do. For 880 in labour, I'd do it myself.
The hard bit is to push out the old bushes- you'd need to work out if it was worth buying new ones though.
I expect that VAT will be on top of those prices. If money is no object then go for it. Else:
1) Requires a 12k service - £500
The going rate IF they do all they are supposed to. It's nice to have a specialist invoice for the service history.
2) Suspension re-bush on all 4 corners (upgraded polyurathane) - 16 hrs £880 plus parts £175
That's a lot of money! Is this needed or just recommended? Personally I like the standard suspension in good condition (including the plastic spacers on the bushes). You may find poly bushes are too hard if your local roads are like mine.
3) Brake Flexes Corroded (replace with good ridge) - 3 hrs £165 plus parts £95
A straight forward job that your local trusted all makes garage could do in an hour. Or DIY.
4)Chassis requires paintwork on the main frame - 8 hrs £440 plus parts £20
Easy DIY if you've got somwhere to do it else local garage.
5) Engine mounts - 3 hrs £165 plus parts £45
Access is a bit tight but DIY or local garage. This was recomended to me but all I needed was the bolts tightnening up.
6) Fan belt - £8 no labour. This seems cheap 'till you realise the Chimaeras dont have fan belts.
You could save yourself a lot of money if you gets your hands dirty/ knuckles scraped.
1) Requires a 12k service - £500
The going rate IF they do all they are supposed to. It's nice to have a specialist invoice for the service history.
2) Suspension re-bush on all 4 corners (upgraded polyurathane) - 16 hrs £880 plus parts £175
That's a lot of money! Is this needed or just recommended? Personally I like the standard suspension in good condition (including the plastic spacers on the bushes). You may find poly bushes are too hard if your local roads are like mine.
3) Brake Flexes Corroded (replace with good ridge) - 3 hrs £165 plus parts £95
A straight forward job that your local trusted all makes garage could do in an hour. Or DIY.
4)Chassis requires paintwork on the main frame - 8 hrs £440 plus parts £20
Easy DIY if you've got somwhere to do it else local garage.
5) Engine mounts - 3 hrs £165 plus parts £45
Access is a bit tight but DIY or local garage. This was recomended to me but all I needed was the bolts tightnening up.
6) Fan belt - £8 no labour. This seems cheap 'till you realise the Chimaeras dont have fan belts.
You could save yourself a lot of money if you gets your hands dirty/ knuckles scraped.
Wicker Man said:
I
6) Fan belt - £8 no labour. This seems cheap 'till you realise the Chimaeras dont have fan belts.
6) Fan belt - £8 no labour. This seems cheap 'till you realise the Chimaeras dont have fan belts.
Errr so what drives the water pump/alternator/air con/PAS then?
The belt is referred to a as a fan belt for historic reasons.
I also think your time estimates are extremely aggressive. For example: To remove the four hoses, fit the new ones and bleed the system and then chcek it in under an hour is very optimistic! 3 hours may well be a touch the outher way though.
Oh dear, I certainly don't want to get into an arguement with Mr Heath, even if my fans are electric!
I know I have a very good local garage. They continually suprise me with their fast, thorough and cheap work. Eg labour to replace rear wheel bearing £65 when a TVR specialist quoted £300.
I know I have a very good local garage. They continually suprise me with their fast, thorough and cheap work. Eg labour to replace rear wheel bearing £65 when a TVR specialist quoted £300.
that daddy said:
i agree wish SHPUB on that one an hour to change brake hoses and bleed,2 hours max would be realistic have you seen the location of the rear inner fittings,and the old retainer nuts corrode as well,that suspension work does seem awful expensive though.
I would back up SHPUB & that Daddy's statement regarding the brake hoses, when i went to do mine, the old ones were so corroded that i didnt dare touch them for fear of damaging the correded connections to the solid pipework. Check the condition before you attempt it as specailist equipment will be needed if they do break. It took my Indie at least 4hrs to do mine cos of the corrosion.
TVRThomo said:
2) Suspension re-bush on all 4 corners (upgraded polyurathane) - 16 hrs £880 plus parts £175
That sounds about right to me, i had all my bushes changed to Powerflex by Joo at Trackcar Solutions (http://trackcarsolutions.net) and he took several days. Get in touch with him, he is very respected and approachable and will give you an honest opinion.
Andy
that daddy said:
hard to comment on some of this, but goodridge hoses are £57 to your door,those engine mounts take no longer than an hour and thats being careful, both of course.
Where can I buy these from ?
Podie said:
I agree with what Frank is saying about the wishbones... what's the point in putting new bushes into (probably rusty) old wishbones...
Wishbones are actually in very good condition is just the spacers that have gone on the front bushes ? Maybe ask for the ones that need to be replaced and leave the other alone ?
that daddy said:
i agree wish SHPUB on that one an hour to change brake hoses and bleed,2 hours max would be realistic have you seen the location of the rear inner fittings,and the old retainer nuts corrode as well,that suspension work does seem awful expensive though.
The retainer nuts are really corroded so i'm asuming that he has allocated 3 hours due to this fact alone !?!
Wicker Man said:
I wouldn't dream of trying to shift brake hoses unless I'd given the connectors a very generous soaking with penetrating oil the day before.
Couldn't agree with you more
Thanks again for all the suggestions. I might try an get some quotes from a local garage and compare or just bite the bullet and get the work done. She is a well looked after car for her age and I would like to keep it that way rather ... epecially the chassis !
I've just replaced all 4 front wishbones and it wasn't too hard, most difficult bit was connecting the drop links onto the bottom wishbone. I was working in a car park using scissor jack and axle stands so not the best facilities and I would allow 4 - 5 hours per side, DIY.
Also just upgraded front brakes to 260 XR4i, what a difference, also put new discs and pads on the back and, relevant to this post, fitted Groodridge hoses.
These I got of t'internet - brakes 4 U - for £61.34 delivered, these were stainless steel hoses and took about an hour and a half to fit. My car's a 94 400 and the connestors weren't coroded just awkward to get at. Be very careful on the back hoses not to overtighten the banjo boltss, I sheared one and it took me ages to source a replacement.
Hope this helps, I would say that apart from the service the other items are either DIYable or perfectly realistic for your local friendly workshop to do. I had my clutch replaced 2 years ago, sourced the parts thru PH recommendation and had them delivered to my local mechanic and he did the job for a very reasonable price, its only a clutch at the end of the day. The important bit is to get the right parts to suit the nature of the car.
Also just upgraded front brakes to 260 XR4i, what a difference, also put new discs and pads on the back and, relevant to this post, fitted Groodridge hoses.
These I got of t'internet - brakes 4 U - for £61.34 delivered, these were stainless steel hoses and took about an hour and a half to fit. My car's a 94 400 and the connestors weren't coroded just awkward to get at. Be very careful on the back hoses not to overtighten the banjo boltss, I sheared one and it took me ages to source a replacement.
Hope this helps, I would say that apart from the service the other items are either DIYable or perfectly realistic for your local friendly workshop to do. I had my clutch replaced 2 years ago, sourced the parts thru PH recommendation and had them delivered to my local mechanic and he did the job for a very reasonable price, its only a clutch at the end of the day. The important bit is to get the right parts to suit the nature of the car.
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