Pre-cat chassis refurb
Discussion
It begins, I got two years driving out of her but now it's time for the inevitable...
Last weekend I started my body off, outrigger replacement and suspension refurbishment.
This weekend marks nine months until my deadline. On the 25th May 2014 I'm getting married and the Griff MUST be there as the wedding car and then to take me on my honeymoon in the Highlands.
This post serves as a pre-emptive apology for all the daft questions that will appear on here over the next nine months.
Progress so far:
Bonnet off
Air intake system off (original pipes had delaminated inside so I think I'll get the ACT silicone pipes)
Full exhaust off (a blowing manifold that wouldn't seal with tightening alone was what got me started pre-winter)
Seats out
Fuel Tank and pump out (sad not to find any graffiti behind the carpets)
Radiator and pipework removed
Slow and steady rather than lightening progress but happy so far. I think I will need some encouragement in the bleak midwinter though.
Photos to follow (including my terrifying fuel pipes - all those threads were serious; you really should go and check your fuel lines if you haven't this year!).
So thanks in advance for the help!
Cheers,
Simon
Last weekend I started my body off, outrigger replacement and suspension refurbishment.
This weekend marks nine months until my deadline. On the 25th May 2014 I'm getting married and the Griff MUST be there as the wedding car and then to take me on my honeymoon in the Highlands.
This post serves as a pre-emptive apology for all the daft questions that will appear on here over the next nine months.
Progress so far:
Bonnet off
Air intake system off (original pipes had delaminated inside so I think I'll get the ACT silicone pipes)
Full exhaust off (a blowing manifold that wouldn't seal with tightening alone was what got me started pre-winter)
Seats out
Fuel Tank and pump out (sad not to find any graffiti behind the carpets)
Radiator and pipework removed
Slow and steady rather than lightening progress but happy so far. I think I will need some encouragement in the bleak midwinter though.
Photos to follow (including my terrifying fuel pipes - all those threads were serious; you really should go and check your fuel lines if you haven't this year!).
So thanks in advance for the help!
Cheers,
Simon
cavebloke said:
Slow and steady rather than lightening progress but happy so far. I think I will need some encouragement in the bleak midwinter though.
Photos to follow
Simon
You WILL feel like you are getting nowhere and just scrubbing/cleaning/painting. Even when it comes to putting things back together it can still feel like a drudge sometimes. But stick at it and post when you've done a bit so we can keep you encouraged.Photos to follow
Simon
Pictures will help massively.
Good luck and have fun.
Thanks for the advice so far. Any other pointers would be much appreciated. For anyone else considering doing it I've found this checklist and this blog to be the most useful of the online resources.
So, I'm sure these are the first of many but these are the things I've discovered so far that need replacing which I hadn't factored into my plans:
My engine mounts are looking pretty ropey but were always hidden by the exhaust so I'd managed to ignore them.
This fuel line from the tank to the pump was a pain to remove because it's siliconed into the boot floor and I think this must be why it looks like it's still the original hose.
And this is my Griffith's home for the next nine months (not as swanky as many of your car homes but it should do the job) and hopefully she'll be back on the road well before the big day.
So, I'm sure these are the first of many but these are the things I've discovered so far that need replacing which I hadn't factored into my plans:
My engine mounts are looking pretty ropey but were always hidden by the exhaust so I'd managed to ignore them.
This fuel line from the tank to the pump was a pain to remove because it's siliconed into the boot floor and I think this must be why it looks like it's still the original hose.
And this is my Griffith's home for the next nine months (not as swanky as many of your car homes but it should do the job) and hopefully she'll be back on the road well before the big day.
cavebloke said:
Thanks for the advice so far. Any other pointers would be much appreciated. For anyone else considering doing it I've found this checklist and this blog to be the most useful of the online resources.
So, I'm sure these are the first of many but these are the things I've discovered so far that need replacing which I hadn't factored into my plans:
My engine mounts are looking pretty ropey but were always hidden by the exhaust so I'd managed to ignore them.
This fuel line from the tank to the pump was a pain to remove because it's siliconed into the boot floor and I think this must be why it looks like it's still the original hose.
And this is my Griffith's home for the next nine months (not as swanky as many of your car homes but it should do the job) and hopefully she'll be back on the road well before the big day.
Those engine mounts look ready to crumble to pieces!! That hose also look like it had seen better days some time back. Good job you are now on the task, it will give you such great pleasure to make a much better beast when you are finished. At least you will know all the important things have been done. I found it pays to keep plenty of notes (I keep a Griff Log) and photos. Keep us posted and good luck. I I can help with any advise let me know. Rgds, PeteSo, I'm sure these are the first of many but these are the things I've discovered so far that need replacing which I hadn't factored into my plans:
My engine mounts are looking pretty ropey but were always hidden by the exhaust so I'd managed to ignore them.
This fuel line from the tank to the pump was a pain to remove because it's siliconed into the boot floor and I think this must be why it looks like it's still the original hose.
And this is my Griffith's home for the next nine months (not as swanky as many of your car homes but it should do the job) and hopefully she'll be back on the road well before the big day.
Rob_the_Sparky said:
Agreed, my chassis is also what you might call "crumbly". Love to do this myself but not sure I will have the spare time. Interested to see where you put all the stuff you are taking off given the size of the garage!
The full exhaust system is now hung in the garage roof on ratchet straps - I had to wrap various parts in bubble wrap because I'm 6'4" and kept whacking my head on it. Fuel tank and some other larger parts are in the shed. Seats are in the conservatory. The rest is in boxes in the spare room which is nice because now the room smells like TVR. I have a very understanding fiancée!
Today's scary find was loose trumpets inside the plenum chamber. I'm not totally sure I didn't dislodge them when removing the plenum chamber but I think the short one on the right was already lying on its side before I opened it up. Several of the others are loose and wobble about to the touch.
Does anyone know what should be used to seal them into the base?
That aside, things are coming along nicely with all the outrigger bolts off now (after much irritation and a small amount of cutting).
Does anyone know what should be used to seal them into the base?
That aside, things are coming along nicely with all the outrigger bolts off now (after much irritation and a small amount of cutting).
I've tested lifting the front half of the body with an engine crane today and it worked pretty well but I had no lifting on the rear so I only went up a couple of inches.
It was enough to reveal one of the reasons I started this process though.
Sadly it's been chucking it all day and there's not enough space/height in my garage to do the lift inside. So when I get some spare time and decent weather coinciding I should be good to take the body all the way off.
It was enough to reveal one of the reasons I started this process though.
Sadly it's been chucking it all day and there's not enough space/height in my garage to do the lift inside. So when I get some spare time and decent weather coinciding I should be good to take the body all the way off.
Thanks to my mate Tom we got the body lift done in a couple of hours with just two of us using an engine crane to lift the front and a trolley jack and wooden beam under the rear.
That's allowed me to have a proper look at the chassis, and whilst it's not falling off the car like some I've seen, it has got some pretty big holes in it now I've cleaned it up with a wire brush. In the bottom left image you can see the bolt which gave me the most trouble when it just sheared off without warning and I then had to drill/grind it away to get the body past it.
Still some more dismantling to do but it feels like real progress to be at this stage already. Hope to get the chassis off to SDAutotech in the next few weeks for new outriggers.
That's allowed me to have a proper look at the chassis, and whilst it's not falling off the car like some I've seen, it has got some pretty big holes in it now I've cleaned it up with a wire brush. In the bottom left image you can see the bolt which gave me the most trouble when it just sheared off without warning and I then had to drill/grind it away to get the body past it.
Still some more dismantling to do but it feels like real progress to be at this stage already. Hope to get the chassis off to SDAutotech in the next few weeks for new outriggers.
Great work cavebloke, keep the pictures coming. Fortunately my precat chassis is quite sound (at least from all the visual inspections on what can be seen), but I am not sure what is hidden by the bodywork. When mine does need any work I too will do what you are doing.
This may be a long term thought, but wouldn't it be nice to develop a stainless chassis that does not cost an arm and a leg! I could buy the material very reasonably (we use stainless sections on our vehicles an work), all I would need is a cutting list of material sizes and of course a jig! Perhaps a project for the future!! Rgds, Pete
This may be a long term thought, but wouldn't it be nice to develop a stainless chassis that does not cost an arm and a leg! I could buy the material very reasonably (we use stainless sections on our vehicles an work), all I would need is a cutting list of material sizes and of course a jig! Perhaps a project for the future!! Rgds, Pete
Good to see another Griff being cared for. Great progress so far. I did a lft on mine a few years back, and it can get a bit like the list of things to do is just getting longer. Keep at it though and you'll be rewarded with a car that you know is sound and will probably drive better than before.
Took me about 4 months and a lot of that was stripping off powder coat and reprinting.
At least it will keep your mind off the wedding for a while!
Here's a link to the thread I started when I did mine.
Www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=9&...
Took me about 4 months and a lot of that was stripping off powder coat and reprinting.
At least it will keep your mind off the wedding for a while!
Here's a link to the thread I started when I did mine.
Www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=9&...
Anyone thought about trying to protect the exposed ends of the outriggers from the dirt thrown up from the wheels? It looks like a odd piece of design to me to leave the ends of the outriggers exposed like that. I had idly thought about a short section of plastic wheel arch liner but not really looked at the practicality of it. Saw someone on the chimp forum adding a stainless protector (by adding bolt locations front and rear of the chassis to attach it) but not sure if that car has actually gone back together yet.
Rob
Rob
Rob_the_Sparky said:
Anyone thought about trying to protect the exposed ends of the outriggers from the dirt thrown up from the wheels? It looks like a odd piece of design to me to leave the ends of the outriggers exposed like that. I had idly thought about a short section of plastic wheel arch liner but not really looked at the practicality of it. Saw someone on the chimp forum adding a stainless protector (by adding bolt locations front and rear of the chassis to attach it) but not sure if that car has actually gone back together yet.
Rob
Hi Rob, I did look at this a little while back when my Griff was off the road over the winter. I intended to design a stainless deflector to fit into the corner, it could be designed to clamp on! If there is enough interest I would look more closely at it as it would be cost effective to have a batch laser cut. Will put it on my list of Griff development parts. Regards, PeteRob
Well the chassis finally went off to SDAUTOTEC last Tuesday to have the outriggers replaced and to get a powdercoating.
In the meantime I decided to change the rocker cover gaskets and sump gasket to try and reduce the amount of oil knocking about in the engine bay and on the floor. With the sump off I found the oil strainer loose and floating about in the sump having fallen off its pipe.
That got me a bit worried about the other internals (it is a 70k engine after all) and so I decided to have a peek at the cam. I whipped off the inlet and valley gasket. That opened a can of worms as both the cam and lifters needed replacing.
I also noticed when I removed the valley gasket that it looks like one of the heads has been eroded at its narrowest point. I'm not sure if this is inlet gas blowing through the gasket or whether it was done during porting. There is a black oily deposit in some of the inlet tracks. I don't know if anyone has any thoughts on whether this needs remedial action or whether it's fine to refit as it is?
In the meantime I decided to change the rocker cover gaskets and sump gasket to try and reduce the amount of oil knocking about in the engine bay and on the floor. With the sump off I found the oil strainer loose and floating about in the sump having fallen off its pipe.
That got me a bit worried about the other internals (it is a 70k engine after all) and so I decided to have a peek at the cam. I whipped off the inlet and valley gasket. That opened a can of worms as both the cam and lifters needed replacing.
I also noticed when I removed the valley gasket that it looks like one of the heads has been eroded at its narrowest point. I'm not sure if this is inlet gas blowing through the gasket or whether it was done during porting. There is a black oily deposit in some of the inlet tracks. I don't know if anyone has any thoughts on whether this needs remedial action or whether it's fine to refit as it is?
Good work. The heads just look like somebodys wobbly hand when doing the porting. You will get a bit of oily residue inside the inlet ports like you say from blow back and the engine breather system. Both nothing to worry about.
Looking at that cam and that mileage and in the position you are in, i would rebuild the lot, no better time to do it.
Looking at that cam and that mileage and in the position you are in, i would rebuild the lot, no better time to do it.
carsy said:
Looking at that cam and that mileage and in the position you are in, i would rebuild the lot, no better time to do it.
I was starting to come to the same conclusion but looking at the rocker shafts there is no sign of wear (it has had annual <5k oil changes with Fuchs Titan Pro Race during my ownership). I'm on a tight timeline to have the car back together - and there have been many other issues so I think I'm going to stop here with it stripped to the short engine. I was also very pleasantly surprised by the head gasket and cylinder bores which are (were in the case of the gasket) in fine condition. I am also going to change the timing chain in the hope that all that will rid the car of its hunting problems.Now I have to go and spend a fortnight in a sandblaster losing my hearing and hopefully a few kgs of rust from wishbones, hubs, brackets....
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