During a chassis restoration, what extras would you do?

[bigandclever]

So I am in the fortunate (until the bill!) position of having a chassis restoration done. While the body is up in the air for the next few weeks, what might be sensible / suitable things to consider having done?

Nitrons are being re-furbed, as are AP brakes. Exhaust is an ACT job so is staying. Engine had a top-end rebuild a couple of years ago, so nothing there. Gearbox and diff haven't been molested with in my ownership, so there might be something there, but there are no issues at present. At some point I'll probably get the laughable tealights at the front upgraded to headlights that work, and the roof re-trimmed, but these will wait till I have the funds to get a respray done so I'm lumping all that in the 'cosmetic' rather than 'mechanical' pile.

Any bright ideas? Thanks

[V8 GRF]

Obvious ones are sandblast and re paint/powdercoat of all suspension parts, new bushes throughout, new brake lines copper/braided flexies replace petrol hoses and everything else that can't be got at easily with the body on.

New clutch might be worth doing as well.

[TV8]

How about the brackets to bolt the seats to metal rather than the fibreglass floor?

[bigandclever]

V8 GRF said:

Obvious ones are sandblast and re paint/powdercoat of all suspension parts, new bushes throughout, new brake lines copper/braided flexies replace petrol hoses and everything else that can't be got at easily with the body on.

All being done, so that's good.

V8 GRF said:

New clutch might be worth doing as well.

Is this because it's easier to do now, or is it too tricky a job with everything in situ? (excuse the ignorance!)

TV8 said:

How about the brackets to bolt the seats to metal rather than the fibreglass floor?

What might I gain from that? (seats are from a Cerbera btw)

Edited by bigandclever on Tuesday 8th January 11:04

[V8 GRF]

bigandclever said:

V8 GRF said:

New clutch might be worth doing as well.

Is this because it's easier to do now, or is it too tricky a job with everything in situ? (excuse the ignorance!)

I don't think it's a difficult job but I guess as the engine's out it must be easier?

Just thought what about the engine mounts as well?

Adding some metal support to the seats as well as just bolting through the fibreglass might come in handy in potentially preventing the seats coming loose if you're unfortunate and have an accident. I've seen plenty of pictures of big accidents and the seats ripping out doesn't seem to be an issue but I guess it all helps.

[leerdam23]

TV8 said:

How about the brackets to bolt the seats to metal rather than the fibreglass floor?

+1

Seat should be screwed to the chassis, not the thin plastic. (IMHO)

Also, get the Diff looked over as its a little difficult to remove when in situ and the body on etc

[TA14]

bigandclever said:

TV8 said:

How about the brackets to bolt the seats to metal rather than the fibreglass floor?

What might I gain from that? (seats are from a Cerbera btw)

Extra weight.

[GTRene]

maybe they can ad some structural bars/steel on places were it can give more rigidity?

[JamesK]

Completely agree. When I get my chassis done it will have the extra bars welded in to fix the seat to the chassis rather than just the floor of the body. Someone on here did it and posted some pictures.

I'm no mumsnet subscriber but having a seatbelt attached to a chassis rail is much less use in an accident if the seat rips away from the floor and pulls you out of it!

100% strong recommendation to anyone who has body off chassis work.

[dbv8]

Heres what i did....

[TA14]

JamesK said:

I'm no mumsnet subscriber but having a seatbelt attached to a chassis rail is much less use in an accident if the seat rips away from the floor and pulls you out of it!

Is the seat belt fixed to the seat?

[swanny71]

Replace fuel lines
Replace heat shielding under the bonnet and on bulkheads
Earthing points

[JamesK]

TA14 said:

JamesK said:

I'm no mumsnet subscriber but having a seatbelt attached to a chassis rail is much less use in an accident if the seat rips away from the floor and pulls you out of it!

Is the seat belt fixed to the seat?

No, not on my pre-cat at least, but if the seat moves then my body is going to move relative to where the belt is on me which may, or may not I suppose, result in more serious injury.

I accept the counter argument and can't offer any scientific data on how much better it is with the seat bolted to the chassis but for peace of mind it is something that I want to do.

Edited by JamesK on Tuesday 8th January 17:29

[TA14]

JamesK said:

I can't offer any scientific data on how much better it is with the seat bolted to the chassis but for peace of mind it is something that I want to do.

I think that people just get spooked into doing this. If you were to be in an accident you're likely to leave the seat, even if only by an inch or so and the seat belt/harness would hold you in place. The floor only needs to be strong enough to hold the seat and I've not seen any evidence to suggest otherwise and forty years of experience didn't cause TVR to think otherwise. If you were really worried then you could sand the body down and glass some al mesh in. I'd put much more consideration into attaching some mounting points for a harness to give you that option in future.

[dbv8]

TA14 said:

I think that people just get spooked into doing this. If you were to be in an accident you're likely to leave the seat, even if only by an inch or so and the seat belt/harness would hold you in place. The floor only needs to be strong enough to hold the seat and I've not seen any evidence to suggest otherwise and forty years of experience didn't cause TVR to think otherwise. If you were really worried then you could sand the body down and glass some al mesh in. I'd put much more consideration into attaching some mounting points for a harness to give you that option in future.

The problem is the seatbelt will only hold you to a certain degree and is designed to stop you putting your head in the dash or through the windscreen. If you have a more serious accident and your body mass pushes the seat from its mounts in another direction then there is no support to restrain you.
A secure seat and harness is much better than a loose seat and simple seatbelt IMHO.

[TA14]

dbv8 said:

If you have a more serious accident and your body mass pushes the seat from its mounts in another direction

Have you ever seen that happen? I've seen a fair number of rolled, spun, front ended etc TVRs but don't remember the seat mounting being a problem.

[dbv8]

TA14 said:

Have you ever seen that happen? I've seen a fair number of rolled, spun, front ended etc TVRs but don't remember the seat mounting being a problem.

A fellow racer and freind lost his life at York. His car lost control due to a mechanical failure under braking at 130 and barrel rolled off the track. The seat came loose and despite a full 6 point harness was thrown about the car and smashed his helmet.
the very sad and rare incident has had a big effect on peoples thoughts on safety measures at the drag strips.
Maybe not a concern for 99% of TVR drivers but we can always consider our own circumstances and make an effort to improve safety in our cars.

[TA14]

dbv8 said:

A fellow racer and freind lost his life at York. His car lost control due to a mechanical failure under braking at 130 and barrel rolled off the track. The seat came loose and despite a full 6 point harness was thrown about the car and smashed his helmet.
the very sad and rare incident has had a big effect on peoples thoughts on safety measures at the drag strips.
Maybe not a concern for 99% of TVR drivers but we can always consider our own circumstances and make an effort to improve safety in our cars.

I'm very sorry to hear that. However we'd need a lot more details to draw any conclusions since there's safety and percieved safety. Emotive language like this doesn't help:

dbv8 said:

A secure seat and harness is much better than a loose seat and simple seatbelt IMHO.

Welding in an extra seat support does not give you a harness, a TVR seat is not loose (even in your horrible example above)

[leerdam23]

Each to his own, but my chassis is being refurbed at the moment and Im having the seats secured to the chassis. How much support will the seat give you if you crash backwards, sideways or spinning. Fixing the seat to the chassis whilst doing the refurb is cheap and easy. Why bother not to...?

Edited by leerdam23 on Tuesday 8th January 18:47

[JamesK]

I'm also very sad to hear about that story. There are always exceptions to the rule but also exceptions that prove the rule.

OP asked if there was anything he should consider doing while his chassis is being sorted and a seat bracket is certainly something to mention in those circumstances, as are harness points in fairness.

We all have to make these judgements for ourselves and I don't want to preach to anyone about rights and wrongs of safety - if we did that we'd all be driving volvo's!!