Should you ever go back? 1993 Cosmos Blue Chimaera 400
Discussion
TLDR: I bought my old car back that I sold in 1998 and it needs some love!
So this story started back in 1995 when I decided to get my 1st proper sports car, a TVR S1. I had seen a review in a magazine back in 1989 comparing the S, the Lotus Elan and the possibly the Evante Elan and the seed was sown. I bought my S from Fernhurst in Surrey who did their best to put me off telling me that “it was a collectors car, in that you had to stop every so often and collect the bits that had fallen off”. It was just about the cheapest S I could find and I loved that car even though it was a dog that had been in an accident before I had it and had a new boot grafted on. It had many little foibles including a penchant to throw fan belts and a wiper which managed to do a 360° rotation! My girlfriend and flatmate hated it as even though it was my only car I insisted on driving everywhere topless and the heating only heated the driver - there was no hot air vent for the passenger at all. Here is is back in 1995:
Anyway after 2 years and one too many breakdowns, I broke down and tested an Elise and put down a deposit with an 18 month waiting list. Two months later on the way back from my girlfriend’s brother's wedding, we were stopped in a little Yorkshire village waiting to pass cars parked outside the village shop, when a Discovery tanked up behind me, locked its brakes, left 37 feet of skid marks and smashed into the back of the S. The impact was hard enough to put my passengers back out, bend the chassis and push the car into the ground so that the exhaust took a chunk out of the tarmac. It was the first time I heard my girlfriend (now wife) swear loud enough to attract the vicar out of his vicarage!
The S was declared a write off with the combined body and chassis damage and so what was next? The next car would be only for a year or so and I really fancied a Griffith and sure enough in the next issue of Sprint the cheapest Griffith in the country was advertised. I called immediately to find the advert was a mistake and it was actually a Chimaera 400 with 20k on the clock and now the cheapest Chimaera in the country (£20k in 1997). I went so see it, driving from Basingstoke to Bristol and meeting the owner at 6am before she went to work . Of course I broke all the rules - fell in love with the car and bought the 1st one I saw. It did have one oddity, it had cloth seats specced from new as Jenny the original ower was a vegetarian. This did not worry me at all as I avoided burned bum on hot days. Before I could pick it up the owner (Hi Jenny if you are around!) called up Fernhurst to check if I was a suitable new keeper and would look after it properly! I seemed to have passed muster and owned the car for just over a year and loved it. It had one service and the only problem I had was a weeping clutch slave cylinder. Here are a couple of old scans:
So in April 1998 I got the message that my Elise was ready and so I set about selling the Chimaera which turned out to be easier said than done. I got no nibbles from Autotrader or Sprint and eventually sold the car through sale-or-return with Runnymede Motor Company hey sold it for I think £23K or so with £20k for me. This meant I drove 12k miles in the Chimaera which cost me just insurance and a £400 service (petrol does not count with man maths).
So after 21 years and a couple of Lotuses later I was idly surfing on Ebay dreaming of an old TVR with no intention of actually buying one, and what should I see in the array of cars but a very blue Chimaera with a strangely familiar number plate. Here is the ad at Pure Torque near Bristol. I suspected it might be my car as there were no interior photos revealing the cloth seats, and I should probably have just left it at that. But over the next couple of months I found myself returning to the advert and watched the price gradually drop, until I decided perhaps I should have a look even if it was just for old time’s sake. I arranged with Paul at Pure Torque to go down and see it early Saturday morning, my wife having been convinced that I would not buy it by earnest promises not to, and promises to consult her before doing anything rash.
Meeting up with Paul at Pure Torque who had been intrigued by my story, we walked down to where the car was stored. The photos in the ad were taken in the wet with the beading providing flattering photos, however the advert warned of poor paint and Paul has been clear on the Phone that the car really needed a respray. As we approached the car looked stunning it was a real 10 foot car, Cosmos blue is a fabulous colour and suits the car perfectly, but as we approached the constellation of stone chips on the bonnet with lifting clear coat, the cracking of the clear coat on most horizontal surfaces and blisters on the drivers rear quarter all became clear.
Here are the photos from the Ad (taken with Paul’s permission) for when the Ad is eventually removed:
We popped it onto ramps and I had a good poke around underneath - new outriggers, new front wishbones and some bits surface rust but no worse than my S when I owned it. New fuel pipes and engine and gearbox mounts was a good sign, the leaking sump gasket less so. The interior was a mixed bag, collapsed seat bases and failed stitching on the driver’s seat, and someone had replaced the original cloth seats with doeskin leather. The cracked wood dash had been covered with an imitation carbon fibre wrap which did not look too bad and the dash coverings were all original and good. The inside and electrics in the footwell were as dry as a bone.
I knew I shouldn’t but accepted the offer of a test drive, this is where things probably went more Paul’s way. The car drove as well as I remembered in fact the gear change was better and possibly the best if any car I have ever driven. it pulled well and stopped true on hard braking. On bumpy roads it was solid with a only a couple of new rattles earned in the last 21 years.
To convince myself not to do this I listed everything that needed doing I could think of, thanked Paul and promised to get in touch once the man maths had been done. The list looked something like this - in no particular order:
The next part was convincing my wife, which was done with tact subtlety and agreement that not giving me grief about it would be a great 50th birthday present!
The hard bit done, I called up Paul and a deal was done, and a week later I was down at Autoclassico looking at a Griffith they had just painted. It looked like a good job so booked them to do the paint, service and sump gasket, and to get the trimmer they had next door to look at the collapsed seats the following week. I also managed to get the replacement boot hinge trim from Douglas Valley for an eye watering £75 - perhaps I should have tried to get new one laser cut for less. It looks like I will be picking it up in early July.
This is what it looks like when I viewed it, showing a bit of paint and interior.
Bubbles on the drives rear quarter!
Crazing
Bonnet chips
Interior
Roll on July!
So this story started back in 1995 when I decided to get my 1st proper sports car, a TVR S1. I had seen a review in a magazine back in 1989 comparing the S, the Lotus Elan and the possibly the Evante Elan and the seed was sown. I bought my S from Fernhurst in Surrey who did their best to put me off telling me that “it was a collectors car, in that you had to stop every so often and collect the bits that had fallen off”. It was just about the cheapest S I could find and I loved that car even though it was a dog that had been in an accident before I had it and had a new boot grafted on. It had many little foibles including a penchant to throw fan belts and a wiper which managed to do a 360° rotation! My girlfriend and flatmate hated it as even though it was my only car I insisted on driving everywhere topless and the heating only heated the driver - there was no hot air vent for the passenger at all. Here is is back in 1995:
Anyway after 2 years and one too many breakdowns, I broke down and tested an Elise and put down a deposit with an 18 month waiting list. Two months later on the way back from my girlfriend’s brother's wedding, we were stopped in a little Yorkshire village waiting to pass cars parked outside the village shop, when a Discovery tanked up behind me, locked its brakes, left 37 feet of skid marks and smashed into the back of the S. The impact was hard enough to put my passengers back out, bend the chassis and push the car into the ground so that the exhaust took a chunk out of the tarmac. It was the first time I heard my girlfriend (now wife) swear loud enough to attract the vicar out of his vicarage!
The S was declared a write off with the combined body and chassis damage and so what was next? The next car would be only for a year or so and I really fancied a Griffith and sure enough in the next issue of Sprint the cheapest Griffith in the country was advertised. I called immediately to find the advert was a mistake and it was actually a Chimaera 400 with 20k on the clock and now the cheapest Chimaera in the country (£20k in 1997). I went so see it, driving from Basingstoke to Bristol and meeting the owner at 6am before she went to work . Of course I broke all the rules - fell in love with the car and bought the 1st one I saw. It did have one oddity, it had cloth seats specced from new as Jenny the original ower was a vegetarian. This did not worry me at all as I avoided burned bum on hot days. Before I could pick it up the owner (Hi Jenny if you are around!) called up Fernhurst to check if I was a suitable new keeper and would look after it properly! I seemed to have passed muster and owned the car for just over a year and loved it. It had one service and the only problem I had was a weeping clutch slave cylinder. Here are a couple of old scans:
So in April 1998 I got the message that my Elise was ready and so I set about selling the Chimaera which turned out to be easier said than done. I got no nibbles from Autotrader or Sprint and eventually sold the car through sale-or-return with Runnymede Motor Company hey sold it for I think £23K or so with £20k for me. This meant I drove 12k miles in the Chimaera which cost me just insurance and a £400 service (petrol does not count with man maths).
So after 21 years and a couple of Lotuses later I was idly surfing on Ebay dreaming of an old TVR with no intention of actually buying one, and what should I see in the array of cars but a very blue Chimaera with a strangely familiar number plate. Here is the ad at Pure Torque near Bristol. I suspected it might be my car as there were no interior photos revealing the cloth seats, and I should probably have just left it at that. But over the next couple of months I found myself returning to the advert and watched the price gradually drop, until I decided perhaps I should have a look even if it was just for old time’s sake. I arranged with Paul at Pure Torque to go down and see it early Saturday morning, my wife having been convinced that I would not buy it by earnest promises not to, and promises to consult her before doing anything rash.
Meeting up with Paul at Pure Torque who had been intrigued by my story, we walked down to where the car was stored. The photos in the ad were taken in the wet with the beading providing flattering photos, however the advert warned of poor paint and Paul has been clear on the Phone that the car really needed a respray. As we approached the car looked stunning it was a real 10 foot car, Cosmos blue is a fabulous colour and suits the car perfectly, but as we approached the constellation of stone chips on the bonnet with lifting clear coat, the cracking of the clear coat on most horizontal surfaces and blisters on the drivers rear quarter all became clear.
Here are the photos from the Ad (taken with Paul’s permission) for when the Ad is eventually removed:
We popped it onto ramps and I had a good poke around underneath - new outriggers, new front wishbones and some bits surface rust but no worse than my S when I owned it. New fuel pipes and engine and gearbox mounts was a good sign, the leaking sump gasket less so. The interior was a mixed bag, collapsed seat bases and failed stitching on the driver’s seat, and someone had replaced the original cloth seats with doeskin leather. The cracked wood dash had been covered with an imitation carbon fibre wrap which did not look too bad and the dash coverings were all original and good. The inside and electrics in the footwell were as dry as a bone.
I knew I shouldn’t but accepted the offer of a test drive, this is where things probably went more Paul’s way. The car drove as well as I remembered in fact the gear change was better and possibly the best if any car I have ever driven. it pulled well and stopped true on hard braking. On bumpy roads it was solid with a only a couple of new rattles earned in the last 21 years.
To convince myself not to do this I listed everything that needed doing I could think of, thanked Paul and promised to get in touch once the man maths had been done. The list looked something like this - in no particular order:
- Replace dead door speakers with ones with grilles
- Service with service kit from TVR parts - last service in2016.
- Replace sump gasket
- Replace missing boot hinge trim
- Refresh brake fluid
- Refresh coolant
- Refresh diff oil
- Refresh gear oil Castrol Transmax Z
- Grease window cables to fix slow electric windows.
- Mop rear light pods
- Fix Seat bases, drives seat stitching and re-coat seat leather.
- Get tracking done
- Wheel refurb as clear coat on all alloys was flaking
- Re-paint - Paul had a reasonable quote from Autoclassico in Winterbourne who have experience painting TVRs
- Degrease, wire brush, zinc prime and POR15 any rust on the chassis
- Replace Fan resistors/relays as ventilation fan only runs fast-may need to refurbish fan.
- Fix Tacho - could be wiring, tacho or wrong HT leads
- Good clean inside
- Fix electric wing mirrors
- Recoat corroding headlight bowls
- Replace dash with a block metal dash
- Replace all 2013 vintage no-name tyres front and back
- replace rear number plate as I don’t like the pattern on it
The next part was convincing my wife, which was done with tact subtlety and agreement that not giving me grief about it would be a great 50th birthday present!
The hard bit done, I called up Paul and a deal was done, and a week later I was down at Autoclassico looking at a Griffith they had just painted. It looked like a good job so booked them to do the paint, service and sump gasket, and to get the trimmer they had next door to look at the collapsed seats the following week. I also managed to get the replacement boot hinge trim from Douglas Valley for an eye watering £75 - perhaps I should have tried to get new one laser cut for less. It looks like I will be picking it up in early July.
This is what it looks like when I viewed it, showing a bit of paint and interior.
Bubbles on the drives rear quarter!
Crazing
Bonnet chips
Interior
Roll on July!
I had a Cosmos Blue Mk2 Chimaera in the late 90's and always thought it was a BMW colour. Only recently found out it was actually Porsche. Mine had navy seats which was also quite unusual given the exterior colour, most of them had variations of cream/tan. I think mine died many years ago, nice to see yours surviving.
I once totally rebuilt a Spitfire 1500, with new everything. It took about 3 years and cost a stupid amount of money, but I loved that car. When my first born arrived I had to sell up, plus the stress of driving it and hoping no one would dink it was spoiling the enjoyment. So I sold it to a young chap with money to burn and off she went. About 5 years later theres a knock on the door. It’s a new owner of the Spitty and did I want to see it. Seems the young chap had moved the car on and this chap had been through the extensive history file and decided to look me up. Eager to see how the old girl was doing I went out to take a look....
Gut wrenching is not the half of it
The poor things paint was faded everywhere, there were loose things under the bonnet. It was all rusty under there and the seats I had spent a bloody age recovering were all saggy and horrid.
I still shudder
I check it occasionally on the DVLA . It’s on SORN
Gut wrenching is not the half of it
The poor things paint was faded everywhere, there were loose things under the bonnet. It was all rusty under there and the seats I had spent a bloody age recovering were all saggy and horrid.
I still shudder
I check it occasionally on the DVLA . It’s on SORN
Ok so 1st stage is complete! Sorry no photos, will try and sort that next weekend.
I picked up the car from Autoclassico on Friday, leaving at 6.30am to get the train to Bristol and a Taxi from the station to the garage.
The work had taken a little longer than planned as the paint code written in the car did not match the actual car's colour! The VIN plate stated TVR011 which is Cobalt blue and not Cosmos blue! So they got the paint supplier in to match the paint which added 3 days to the plan. Turns out the colour very closely matches Rover Marina Blue - code JST used between 2004 and 2005, and it looks fantastic!
While it was with Autoclassico who do servicing and restorations as well as paint I got the following looked at as well:
So I took the car and drove it 100 miles to work at Maidenhead via the nearest Shell for a 30 litres of super unleaded. Slightly squeaky bum time as we got temperature approaching 100°C and a bit of steam in the Bristol rush hour traffic, but both fans are running fine, but I remembered from 20 years ago if you overfilled the coolant it would burp it until it was happy. The car temp held at 90°C on the motorway. The journey was fine and all the memories started coming back and the trademark TVR grin made an appearance.
It might be my imagination but there may be a bit of a misfire, so I will have a look at that. Checked underneath at lunchtime and no puddles!
Car then got me 40 miles home with no issues apart from the drivers floor mat sliding forward and rucking up under the clutch pedal. I have taped it down for now with some double sided tape- but what do people do as a long term solution?
Saturday afternoon time to start having a look at what needs doing.
Oh - not starting - 2.8V on the battery - off to Halfords and car on charge so I can get it out of the Garage next morning!
I did not have much time on Sunday due to family commitments, but got up early and into the garage. Battery still dead as a dodo so Mrs Spunagain got behind the wheel while I pushed the car out of the garage. Battery swapped and car started fine and recorded over 14 Volts with while idling. I checked the battery again on this morining in case it was not age but some sort of phantom drain which killed the old battery but looks OK at 12.65V at the cigarette lighter.
Turning back to the garage I was faced with 3 new puddles, one coolant and 2 smelt like gearbox oil. I bled the radiator and nipped up the bottom hose, and a quick run held 70C so I think bleeding was needed. I ran out of time but now need to jack up the car and look for the source of the oil, hopefully just need to nip up the drain plugs. Although I am having fears about gearbox and diff oil seals though - what have I done?
I also noticed a thump from the boot when cornering -I thought it was the old number plate rattling around in the boot but I have already removed that so possibly the roof, but might be the spare so I have tightened up the retaining strap. While I was giving the car a run I checked the speedo and it is over-reading by 10% in that it says 55mph and real road speed from my phone’s GPS speedo is 50, so when I do the dash I will need to have a look at that, I might send the speedo off to the makers (ETB) as it also still has the 10th of a mile click which would be good to fix.
Another thing I noticed is that the steering is really really heavy, now this car does not have power steering but even so, it is crazy heavy at parking speeds and I don’t remember it being quite so heavy, so I’ll give the steering column UJs a good greasing.
So my list of remaining things to do in some sort of order are:
I picked up the car from Autoclassico on Friday, leaving at 6.30am to get the train to Bristol and a Taxi from the station to the garage.
The work had taken a little longer than planned as the paint code written in the car did not match the actual car's colour! The VIN plate stated TVR011 which is Cobalt blue and not Cosmos blue! So they got the paint supplier in to match the paint which added 3 days to the plan. Turns out the colour very closely matches Rover Marina Blue - code JST used between 2004 and 2005, and it looks fantastic!
While it was with Autoclassico who do servicing and restorations as well as paint I got the following looked at as well:
- Serviced with service kit from TVR-parts - oil, plugs and filters.
- Replaced sump gasket from TVR-parts
- Replaced missing boot hinge trim - these are like hen’s teeth but as luck came up one on Ebay from Douglas Valley along with the hinge so I snapped that up!
- Refreshed the brake fluid - a couple of the calipers have completely seized nipples, but the pedal is good and hard from bleeding through the others so I will replace these next time I service the car.
- Replaced coolant
- Replaced diff oil - looks like it had not been done since 2007 but the oil looked worse than gearbox also done in 2007 - the drain plug was stuck fast and once freed needed some PTFE tape to help it seal, if tightened too much it could crack the case.
- Refreshed gear oil
- Replaced rear number plate as I didn’t like the pattern on it
- Replaced the rubber trim rings round the mirrors (from TVR-Parts)
So I took the car and drove it 100 miles to work at Maidenhead via the nearest Shell for a 30 litres of super unleaded. Slightly squeaky bum time as we got temperature approaching 100°C and a bit of steam in the Bristol rush hour traffic, but both fans are running fine, but I remembered from 20 years ago if you overfilled the coolant it would burp it until it was happy. The car temp held at 90°C on the motorway. The journey was fine and all the memories started coming back and the trademark TVR grin made an appearance.
It might be my imagination but there may be a bit of a misfire, so I will have a look at that. Checked underneath at lunchtime and no puddles!
Car then got me 40 miles home with no issues apart from the drivers floor mat sliding forward and rucking up under the clutch pedal. I have taped it down for now with some double sided tape- but what do people do as a long term solution?
Saturday afternoon time to start having a look at what needs doing.
Oh - not starting - 2.8V on the battery - off to Halfords and car on charge so I can get it out of the Garage next morning!
I did not have much time on Sunday due to family commitments, but got up early and into the garage. Battery still dead as a dodo so Mrs Spunagain got behind the wheel while I pushed the car out of the garage. Battery swapped and car started fine and recorded over 14 Volts with while idling. I checked the battery again on this morining in case it was not age but some sort of phantom drain which killed the old battery but looks OK at 12.65V at the cigarette lighter.
Turning back to the garage I was faced with 3 new puddles, one coolant and 2 smelt like gearbox oil. I bled the radiator and nipped up the bottom hose, and a quick run held 70C so I think bleeding was needed. I ran out of time but now need to jack up the car and look for the source of the oil, hopefully just need to nip up the drain plugs. Although I am having fears about gearbox and diff oil seals though - what have I done?
I also noticed a thump from the boot when cornering -I thought it was the old number plate rattling around in the boot but I have already removed that so possibly the roof, but might be the spare so I have tightened up the retaining strap. While I was giving the car a run I checked the speedo and it is over-reading by 10% in that it says 55mph and real road speed from my phone’s GPS speedo is 50, so when I do the dash I will need to have a look at that, I might send the speedo off to the makers (ETB) as it also still has the 10th of a mile click which would be good to fix.
Another thing I noticed is that the steering is really really heavy, now this car does not have power steering but even so, it is crazy heavy at parking speeds and I don’t remember it being quite so heavy, so I’ll give the steering column UJs a good greasing.
So my list of remaining things to do in some sort of order are:
- Jack up the car and look for all the oil leaks.
- Grease steering column UJs
- Borrow a thermal imaging camera from work to help find the misfire
- Find out why the passenger door does not open from the outside
- Grease window cables and silicone grease window frame to fix slow electric windows.
- Get tracking done - possible cause for heavy steering?
- Fix Seat bases and drivers seat stitching - it looks like the drivers side is not repairable and will need some new leather, and both seats need new foams.
- Replace 16cm dead door speakers with ones with grilles, I will check these 1st to see if they are blown and see if I can just get some grilles from ebay.
- De-grease, wire brush, zinc prime and POR15 any rust on the chassis in particular the front cross member by the exhaust Y pipe.
- Wheel refurb as clear coat on all alloys was flaking
- Replace Fan resistors/relays as ventilation fan only runs fast-may need to refurbish fan.
- Fix Tacho - could be wiring, tacho or wrong HT leads?
- Fix electric wing mirrors
- Recoat corroding headlight bowls
- Replace dash with a black metal dash
- Calibrate speedo and fix clicking
- Replace all four 6-year old Accelera Alpha budget tyres front and back, they have loads of tread but are getting on and would be happier with something a bit more performance focused
- Replace cracked passenger side rear light cluster
I have been away for a while so had not had much time to tinker, but I have some bits done.
Let’s start with the gearbox disaster!
The leak looked like the drain plug, nipping it up to 26Nm did not do the trick so I pulled off the drain plug and drained the gearbox. The copper washer was totally shagged so I ordered a new one from eBay for £1.94 and have ordered some posh Difflock Evolution 1 gearbox oil having convinved myself the washer was the cause, and refilled the gearbox and tried again, with a couple of loops of PTFE tape for good measure. God I hate filling up gearboxes. I drained 1.5 litres out of the box and squeezed in 2 litres of the Difflock fluid.
This evening a new red puddle
Lots of wiping and disaster - I have found the culprit. Someone (not me) has overtightened the filler bolt and cracked the gearbox.
I am at a loss here, I could try patching with JBWeld which feels wrong, or get the box stripped and welded, but who by? I will call my local TVR specialist and ask their advice, but it is going to be expensive as this is well above my capabilities. Any ideas?
Next bit of bad news: the thump from the boot is still there even with a completely empty boot. So my conclusion is that one of the baffles has come adrift inside the fuel tank which leaves 2 options: get a replacement of unknown provenance from a breaker for about £125-250 or get it fixed. I will call Arrow Radiators in Melksham to get a quote.
And more lack of success on the misfire: I have been through the HT leads with a multimeter and all show 14k-18kohms which seems to be normal. I also checked the spark plug gaps which were a bit small so set them to 35thou. I cleaned up the stepper motor to and fitted a new fibre washer which was well chewed. I also had a look at the manifolds with a thermal imaging camera and no obvious cold cylinders showed up and even a new HT amplifier from TVR-parts, and a lick of heat transfer paste from a mate at work has not cured it yet. No sign of lightning when running the engine in the dark either. Not sure what to try next, possibly new HT leads or dizzy cap but both have been replaced relatively recently.
Some minor successes though:
First of all passenger door not opening from the outside. Turns out for central locking to work, the key lock needs to be unlocked with the key hole in the vertical position. I had to peel back the carpet and figure out the mechanism to work this out!
Here is the lock - not sure what the random micro switch is for but you can see there is no servo for locking or unlocking remotely.
And here is the latch, you can see the servo and the Bowden cable from the knob in the central tunnel, and what looks like a coat hanger which opens the door from the lock, the action of this rod is disabled by the action of the servo.
While the car was jacked up I pulled off the wheels and got them refurbished from this:
To this:
I have also attacked the steering column UJs with some spray grease and that has made a world of difference, let’s see if that is a permanent fix.
I have removed the seats and taken them across to South West Trimmers in Calne, they replaced the seat base foams, adding proper webbing, replacing the seat base leather which was torn hand had already been repaired badly and then lightly refurbished the rest of the leather. They took a couple of weeks and look pretty good for a budget repair. I then rubbed down and gave the rusty seat frame a couple of coats of Hammerite to keep it looking smart. I have only just noticed the headrests are different sizes! Something else to get fixed!
The electric mirrors are now working all by themselves. I suspect the new battery may have something to do with that. On the downside the drivers mirror housing seems to now be loose and moves about. This looks like it will be a pig to fix.
I pulled out the front speakers, the left one had been disconnected because the woofer cable inside the speaker is broken, the other was connected but no sound. Testing the speaker with a 9 volt battery showed it to be ok, so I have some sort of wiring issue so will trace that once I get the dash off. I ordered a pair of Focal 130AC speakers which fit perfectly and came with Grilles which the current ones don’t have.
I also ordered a second hand fiest rear light cluster on eBay for £13 to replace the cracked one. It arrived slightly scuffed but some vigorous polishing brought it up like new.
Then the mods to make it a TVR lamp: first hacksaw all the captive bolts, then drill 3 holes to hold it in place with self tappers. I carefully made templates out of masking tape and drilled the new holes which of course did not work so I fitted the lamp so it was snug and drilled new holes in situ and screwed it into place.
Lots more to do….
Let’s start with the gearbox disaster!
The leak looked like the drain plug, nipping it up to 26Nm did not do the trick so I pulled off the drain plug and drained the gearbox. The copper washer was totally shagged so I ordered a new one from eBay for £1.94 and have ordered some posh Difflock Evolution 1 gearbox oil having convinved myself the washer was the cause, and refilled the gearbox and tried again, with a couple of loops of PTFE tape for good measure. God I hate filling up gearboxes. I drained 1.5 litres out of the box and squeezed in 2 litres of the Difflock fluid.
This evening a new red puddle
Lots of wiping and disaster - I have found the culprit. Someone (not me) has overtightened the filler bolt and cracked the gearbox.
I am at a loss here, I could try patching with JBWeld which feels wrong, or get the box stripped and welded, but who by? I will call my local TVR specialist and ask their advice, but it is going to be expensive as this is well above my capabilities. Any ideas?
Next bit of bad news: the thump from the boot is still there even with a completely empty boot. So my conclusion is that one of the baffles has come adrift inside the fuel tank which leaves 2 options: get a replacement of unknown provenance from a breaker for about £125-250 or get it fixed. I will call Arrow Radiators in Melksham to get a quote.
And more lack of success on the misfire: I have been through the HT leads with a multimeter and all show 14k-18kohms which seems to be normal. I also checked the spark plug gaps which were a bit small so set them to 35thou. I cleaned up the stepper motor to and fitted a new fibre washer which was well chewed. I also had a look at the manifolds with a thermal imaging camera and no obvious cold cylinders showed up and even a new HT amplifier from TVR-parts, and a lick of heat transfer paste from a mate at work has not cured it yet. No sign of lightning when running the engine in the dark either. Not sure what to try next, possibly new HT leads or dizzy cap but both have been replaced relatively recently.
Some minor successes though:
First of all passenger door not opening from the outside. Turns out for central locking to work, the key lock needs to be unlocked with the key hole in the vertical position. I had to peel back the carpet and figure out the mechanism to work this out!
Here is the lock - not sure what the random micro switch is for but you can see there is no servo for locking or unlocking remotely.
And here is the latch, you can see the servo and the Bowden cable from the knob in the central tunnel, and what looks like a coat hanger which opens the door from the lock, the action of this rod is disabled by the action of the servo.
While the car was jacked up I pulled off the wheels and got them refurbished from this:
To this:
I have also attacked the steering column UJs with some spray grease and that has made a world of difference, let’s see if that is a permanent fix.
I have removed the seats and taken them across to South West Trimmers in Calne, they replaced the seat base foams, adding proper webbing, replacing the seat base leather which was torn hand had already been repaired badly and then lightly refurbished the rest of the leather. They took a couple of weeks and look pretty good for a budget repair. I then rubbed down and gave the rusty seat frame a couple of coats of Hammerite to keep it looking smart. I have only just noticed the headrests are different sizes! Something else to get fixed!
The electric mirrors are now working all by themselves. I suspect the new battery may have something to do with that. On the downside the drivers mirror housing seems to now be loose and moves about. This looks like it will be a pig to fix.
I pulled out the front speakers, the left one had been disconnected because the woofer cable inside the speaker is broken, the other was connected but no sound. Testing the speaker with a 9 volt battery showed it to be ok, so I have some sort of wiring issue so will trace that once I get the dash off. I ordered a pair of Focal 130AC speakers which fit perfectly and came with Grilles which the current ones don’t have.
I also ordered a second hand fiest rear light cluster on eBay for £13 to replace the cracked one. It arrived slightly scuffed but some vigorous polishing brought it up like new.
Then the mods to make it a TVR lamp: first hacksaw all the captive bolts, then drill 3 holes to hold it in place with self tappers. I carefully made templates out of masking tape and drilled the new holes which of course did not work so I fitted the lamp so it was snug and drilled new holes in situ and screwed it into place.
Lots more to do….
So last year I did some research looking for a specialist to get the gearbox sorted, there was as specialist near Maidenhead where I work, but popping round found he had retired from TVR service to concentrate on racing. So after looking at lots of feedback, I found myself on the phone to Chas from Str8six in Oxfordshire. They are extremely busy (which is a good sign) but got booked in and the car was picked up back in October to sort out the gearbox, fuel tank and misfire.
Before it was picked up, I replaced the seatbelts and refitted the seats. Which was straightforward but still took longer than I expected.
Chas persuaded me to cough up for a full inspection which has introduced a new list of things to get addressed. I asked for quotes for some and some I will do myself. So here are the new bits:
However this does look like this is turning into a not so mini restoration! I am expecting a pretty hefty bill for all the above which means I will have to keep the car for a few years to justify the expense and bring the cost per mile down a bit to help justify the man maths!
And finally some good news - the misfire was down to a bad plug extender and is now fixed!
I think today’s moral is if buying a TVR with rose tinted glasses which are misty eyed with old memories, get it checked by a specialist before you commit!
Hopefully K648 VPG will be ready to collect in the next couple of weeks!
Before it was picked up, I replaced the seatbelts and refitted the seats. Which was straightforward but still took longer than I expected.
Chas persuaded me to cough up for a full inspection which has introduced a new list of things to get addressed. I asked for quotes for some and some I will do myself. So here are the new bits:
- Gearbox 1st & 2nd gear syncros werebadly worn, the box has been refurbed and the clutch and engine crankshaft oil seal will be replaced while it is out. The gearbox is now back in the workshop with new synchros the damage cut out and new drain hole welded into place.
- The fuel tank has now been fixed by Arrow Radiators in Melksham and is back in the car.
- All 4 dampers and springs looked original and while working ok were in poor condition, these will be replaced with a new set biased for road driving.
- Original 2 piece upper front wishbones, these were quite rusty (worse than I thought - should have looked without rose tinted glasses!), these are being replaced.
- All 3 diff seals were leaking & possibly the backplate gasket as well, all 3 diff bushes have free play, excessive on both fronts. Old small type bushes fitted which are no longer available. Will require modification. These will be replaced and he diff seals re-done.
- All brake flexi hoses are original and quite soft, would benefit from braided set. This is being done - safety first.
- Rear brake discs are corroded on the inside surface and will be replaced.* Rear upper & lower wishbones are quite corroded, track adjusters look rusty and bushes are migrating. These will be done too.
- Chassis will have any remaining crusty bits brushed and treated this while the suspension is off.
- The Tacho is dead and will be sent off for repair, and Str8six are lending me the one from their racer as the gauge guys can take many weeks!
- Coolant hoses and pipework are looking tired. I have got some new ACT hoses for Christmas and will do this when I get the car back
- Engine wiring harness is in poor condition, rubber covers etc are torn/missing. I will also look at this when I get the car back!
However this does look like this is turning into a not so mini restoration! I am expecting a pretty hefty bill for all the above which means I will have to keep the car for a few years to justify the expense and bring the cost per mile down a bit to help justify the man maths!
And finally some good news - the misfire was down to a bad plug extender and is now fixed!
I think today’s moral is if buying a TVR with rose tinted glasses which are misty eyed with old memories, get it checked by a specialist before you commit!
Hopefully K648 VPG will be ready to collect in the next couple of weeks!
Edited by Spunagain on Wednesday 1st January 16:50
Fantastic car and great story - I recently started a thread for my car which I recently bought for the second time after selling originally due to it needing more work/money than I felt I could invest. Funny what those b
d rose tinted glasses can hide when looking at a car again! I am now enjoying the car safe in the knowledge that whilst it cost a fair bit I have covered all the bases for the next few years and can just enjoy using it - I have no doubt you will be the same when you get it back!
d rose tinted glasses can hide when looking at a car again! I am now enjoying the car safe in the knowledge that whilst it cost a fair bit I have covered all the bases for the next few years and can just enjoy using it - I have no doubt you will be the same when you get it back! Cheers Pat!
Feb 2020
Well she is back! I picked the car up from Strsix last weekend and all of the mechanical issues are fixed apart from the Rev Counter. So I will add that to my list. The gearbox is a little stiff into 3rd and 4th but hopefully that will clear with some driving! Another issue which cropped up at Str8six was that the fuse-box disintegrated! They have replaced it with a mildly modified Audi 100 fusebox which will hopefully outlive me.
While she was away I had some thoughts about the speedo over-reading by about 10%.
I have done some digging and I think my car is an early car with a 3.31 ratio diff.
I suspect the Speedo may have swapped out at some point (possibly in 1999 looking at the history!) and maybe with one from a car with the 3.77 ratio diff. If so, I think the switches on the back of the speedo are wrong which would give a 12.2% overread. I have done some calcs to see what it should be and what it might look like! I found the settings here
and Dip switch setting tables here.
I think the settings should be (if the diff is 3.31) : 0000000110
I fed this back to Jason at Srt8six and the team have reset the Speedo switches and the car is now reading 70mph and showing 67mph on the GPS - that will do nicely!
So, things left to do:
Feb 2020
Well she is back! I picked the car up from Strsix last weekend and all of the mechanical issues are fixed apart from the Rev Counter. So I will add that to my list. The gearbox is a little stiff into 3rd and 4th but hopefully that will clear with some driving! Another issue which cropped up at Str8six was that the fuse-box disintegrated! They have replaced it with a mildly modified Audi 100 fusebox which will hopefully outlive me.
While she was away I had some thoughts about the speedo over-reading by about 10%.
I have done some digging and I think my car is an early car with a 3.31 ratio diff.
I suspect the Speedo may have swapped out at some point (possibly in 1999 looking at the history!) and maybe with one from a car with the 3.77 ratio diff. If so, I think the switches on the back of the speedo are wrong which would give a 12.2% overread. I have done some calcs to see what it should be and what it might look like! I found the settings here
and Dip switch setting tables here.
I think the settings should be (if the diff is 3.31) : 0000000110
I fed this back to Jason at Srt8six and the team have reset the Speedo switches and the car is now reading 70mph and showing 67mph on the GPS - that will do nicely!
So, things left to do:
- Coolant hoses and steel pipework are looking tired. I have a set of ACT Black Silicone hoses and Stainless coolant pipes in the garage ready to fit so that will be my next job.
- Engine wiring harness is in poor condition, rubbers covers etc are torn/missing. I will sort this out next with new tape and grommets.
- The front cross member under the bonnet is a bit crusty so I will rub that down and repaint it.
- Rev counter not working. I will pop the dash off soon and check the connection between the rev counter and the coil. If this is bad I might try cracking open the Rev counter to look for obvious issues such as bad fuses or corroded solder joints.
- While the dash is off I will have a look at finding the source of the dead left hand front speaker, and replace the bulb on the fuel gauge low level warning light.
- The ventilation fan is only working on the highest setting. I am hoping it is a relay or switch issue and will have a look at the same time.
- Dirt/corrosion to headlight reflectors especially n/s - it passed the MOT so I will leave dismantling for now and see how I get on with night driving, but next time I am underneath I will see if it is dirt which comes off with some rag and some white spirit on a bent stick.
- Refit n/s/r light lens delamination - I will leave for now as Jason at Str8six warned me tha risk to the paint is too high which could make it very expensive!
- I might add some of those LED tail/stoplights to help me to be more visible in modern traffic!
Ok so this is not going as smoothly as I has hoped!
I drove it (note “It” and not “She” any more) to work last week on the first dry day in what seemed like months. In the morning I started it up and faffed about for a few minutes before setting off and it briefly hesitated driving up our short road, I thought it was just my cack footedness and it was great all the way to work, the TVR grin was back! Got a few admirers at work - there are a few petrolheads who love this sort of thing, with a Lotus Esprit owner and a GTM Libra owner among them popping out for a look at lunch time.
End of the day I start up and pull out of work, but out on the main road the car starts hesitating really badly, in fact the engine feels like it is completely cutting out, I pull into a side road where it idles perfectly and check under the bonnet for a few minutes with the engine running for loose wires but nothing obvious. So gingerly pull away and the car is fine and drives back home perfectly. Pulls strongly and keeps up very happily with the M4 traffic.
When I get home I pop it in the garage and the sidelights wont turn off - the switch will not toggle off. The fusebox is no longer standard so I pull each fuse in turn until I find the sidelights fuse - it is shared with the instrument illumination 10A fuse. This seems to have been an easy fix, I removed the radio panel, cleaned the grot around the switch with contact cleaner and greased the side of the button with silicone grease and it seems to work fine now - fingers crossed - can you get RSI from crossing fingers during TVR ownership?.
The hesitance/cutting out while cold is proving a harder issue to fix. I have measured the resistance of the ECU water temperature sensor and that is showing 4.2 kOhms at around 10°C which is correct and matches the gauge sensor. I have already cleaned the stepper motor, next up I will have a look at the ground between the engine and chassis. If anyone has any other ideas please let me know!
In the meantime the LED tail.stop lights arrived from Alipay and are great - see photos below:
Left is LED right is Incandescent:
Tail lights:
Brake lights:
I drove it (note “It” and not “She” any more) to work last week on the first dry day in what seemed like months. In the morning I started it up and faffed about for a few minutes before setting off and it briefly hesitated driving up our short road, I thought it was just my cack footedness and it was great all the way to work, the TVR grin was back! Got a few admirers at work - there are a few petrolheads who love this sort of thing, with a Lotus Esprit owner and a GTM Libra owner among them popping out for a look at lunch time.
End of the day I start up and pull out of work, but out on the main road the car starts hesitating really badly, in fact the engine feels like it is completely cutting out, I pull into a side road where it idles perfectly and check under the bonnet for a few minutes with the engine running for loose wires but nothing obvious. So gingerly pull away and the car is fine and drives back home perfectly. Pulls strongly and keeps up very happily with the M4 traffic.
When I get home I pop it in the garage and the sidelights wont turn off - the switch will not toggle off. The fusebox is no longer standard so I pull each fuse in turn until I find the sidelights fuse - it is shared with the instrument illumination 10A fuse. This seems to have been an easy fix, I removed the radio panel, cleaned the grot around the switch with contact cleaner and greased the side of the button with silicone grease and it seems to work fine now - fingers crossed - can you get RSI from crossing fingers during TVR ownership?.
The hesitance/cutting out while cold is proving a harder issue to fix. I have measured the resistance of the ECU water temperature sensor and that is showing 4.2 kOhms at around 10°C which is correct and matches the gauge sensor. I have already cleaned the stepper motor, next up I will have a look at the ground between the engine and chassis. If anyone has any other ideas please let me know!
In the meantime the LED tail.stop lights arrived from Alipay and are great - see photos below:
Left is LED right is Incandescent:
Tail lights:
Brake lights:
Well during the Easter break some progress has been made! I jacked up the front and put the car on ramps and have managed to drain the coolant and replace the radiator hoses and steel pipes with shiny new ACT ones, just filled up with the Comma red coolant and run up to temperature, just a couple of hoses needed nipping up a bit, but all watertight now. I gave the expansion tank a quick degrease and clean while it was out too.
I have cleaned off the really scabby top front chassis cross bars with degreaser, wire brushed, cleaned again with white spirit and brushed on a couple of coats of Hammerite for now.
Before:
Old hoses:
Inside one of the old steel pipes - looks like I was in the nick of time:
After:
Ignore the heat shield on the air intake, that will be added to the coolant hose directly below it, the original heat shield tube disintegrated in my hands.
In the meantime I have been watching this thread: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... and will contact Alex Wheatly to quote to do my chassis in the same way, as the chassis under the exhaust manifold is very scabby, and getting the whole thing done properly will get it done for good.
While poking about underneath looking for the chassis mounted 100 Amp fuse (there isn’t one!) I noticed the reversing switch was not connected on the gearbox, so that was another easy fix.
Next was the car stereo front left speaker, the stereo dash panel in my car is held on by 2 self tappers, so easy to remove! I dug out a set of Sony stereo pullers I had saved from decades ago and pulled out the stereo and the problem was obvious - a failed Halfords bullet connector. There were some other horrors - cables with split insulation and more dodgy bullet connectors and a broken always live connection to the stereo. I replaced all the power bullet connectors with heat shrink wrapped solder connections, but left the remaining speaker connections for another time as they were all secure. I also noticed the dashboard indicator lens is missing so I have ordered a new one from Racetechdirect.co.uk.
Next up I removed the dash top which was not nearly as horrible as I thought it would be, but mostly as only one of the three nuts were actually fitted!
I disconnected and removed the tachometer and found the connections were very green:
So I cleaned both plug and socket contacts with emery paper and contact cleaner, but with no success. I checked the connection between the tachometer plug and the ignition coil which was all good.
I could not help myself and opened up the gauge to look inside in the hope there was an easy fix like corroded connections or a blown fuse.
.
Nothing obvious though and the main chip on the circuit board is no longer available. I suspect this is the culprit as it is a 27 (at least) year old bit of silicon, and most chips have a design life of just 10 years. So I have contacted ETB and will post it to them to try and fix. They are concerned that it may not be possible as if it is the movement then there are no spares, but they do have replacement boards so fingers crossed.
Next up was the blower fan only working on max. Mine is the old 3 speed switch from an Opel Ascona (so no fan controller) so first up I disconnected the green 12V wire and one by one shorted it to each of the 3 fan wires, bingo! All 3 speeds worked, so the blower and the resistor were OK which is good news. I started to look for a replacement switch (they are also completely unavailable now), then had a thought...on a TVR where you need it, the heater is generally on full pelt and the high current at full power is more likely to damage the switch contacts not the slower speeds as on mine. Some googling found this helpful thread on the blower switch: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=17... and sure enough my switch was wired up incorrectly so that the 12V line was attached to the high line, wiring it correctly now gives a working 3 speed fan. I do like a free fix!
Next I had a look at the low fuel warning light, only the early cars with the ETB gauges has this! I checked the connections found on this thread https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... and all was correct however the black/red warning light sense wire was hanging off, so pushed it back in, and will watch out for next time I manage to empty the tank!
While messing around in the cabin I noticed that the gearshift pattern decal is missing from the gearknob. In have found something similar from Divine Hand Craft and Dan there is making me a replacement sticker but with the correct shift pattern for the Rover LT77 gearbox.
So what’s next? I will close up the dash once the Tacho and indicator lens arrives and I have ordered some M5 nuts with plastic twist handles so I can get the dash on and off without spanners. In the meantime while we are in lockdown I will do some more research on the cold start issue and have a go at some of the crustier bits of the chassis and have a look at tidying up the engine bay wiring.
But with this weather I really want to just drive it!
I have cleaned off the really scabby top front chassis cross bars with degreaser, wire brushed, cleaned again with white spirit and brushed on a couple of coats of Hammerite for now.
Before:
Old hoses:
Inside one of the old steel pipes - looks like I was in the nick of time:
After:
Ignore the heat shield on the air intake, that will be added to the coolant hose directly below it, the original heat shield tube disintegrated in my hands.
In the meantime I have been watching this thread: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... and will contact Alex Wheatly to quote to do my chassis in the same way, as the chassis under the exhaust manifold is very scabby, and getting the whole thing done properly will get it done for good.
While poking about underneath looking for the chassis mounted 100 Amp fuse (there isn’t one!) I noticed the reversing switch was not connected on the gearbox, so that was another easy fix.
Next was the car stereo front left speaker, the stereo dash panel in my car is held on by 2 self tappers, so easy to remove! I dug out a set of Sony stereo pullers I had saved from decades ago and pulled out the stereo and the problem was obvious - a failed Halfords bullet connector. There were some other horrors - cables with split insulation and more dodgy bullet connectors and a broken always live connection to the stereo. I replaced all the power bullet connectors with heat shrink wrapped solder connections, but left the remaining speaker connections for another time as they were all secure. I also noticed the dashboard indicator lens is missing so I have ordered a new one from Racetechdirect.co.uk.
Next up I removed the dash top which was not nearly as horrible as I thought it would be, but mostly as only one of the three nuts were actually fitted!
I disconnected and removed the tachometer and found the connections were very green:
So I cleaned both plug and socket contacts with emery paper and contact cleaner, but with no success. I checked the connection between the tachometer plug and the ignition coil which was all good.
I could not help myself and opened up the gauge to look inside in the hope there was an easy fix like corroded connections or a blown fuse.
. Nothing obvious though and the main chip on the circuit board is no longer available. I suspect this is the culprit as it is a 27 (at least) year old bit of silicon, and most chips have a design life of just 10 years. So I have contacted ETB and will post it to them to try and fix. They are concerned that it may not be possible as if it is the movement then there are no spares, but they do have replacement boards so fingers crossed.
Next up was the blower fan only working on max. Mine is the old 3 speed switch from an Opel Ascona (so no fan controller) so first up I disconnected the green 12V wire and one by one shorted it to each of the 3 fan wires, bingo! All 3 speeds worked, so the blower and the resistor were OK which is good news. I started to look for a replacement switch (they are also completely unavailable now), then had a thought...on a TVR where you need it, the heater is generally on full pelt and the high current at full power is more likely to damage the switch contacts not the slower speeds as on mine. Some googling found this helpful thread on the blower switch: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=17... and sure enough my switch was wired up incorrectly so that the 12V line was attached to the high line, wiring it correctly now gives a working 3 speed fan. I do like a free fix!
Next I had a look at the low fuel warning light, only the early cars with the ETB gauges has this! I checked the connections found on this thread https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... and all was correct however the black/red warning light sense wire was hanging off, so pushed it back in, and will watch out for next time I manage to empty the tank!
While messing around in the cabin I noticed that the gearshift pattern decal is missing from the gearknob. In have found something similar from Divine Hand Craft and Dan there is making me a replacement sticker but with the correct shift pattern for the Rover LT77 gearbox.
So what’s next? I will close up the dash once the Tacho and indicator lens arrives and I have ordered some M5 nuts with plastic twist handles so I can get the dash on and off without spanners. In the meantime while we are in lockdown I will do some more research on the cold start issue and have a go at some of the crustier bits of the chassis and have a look at tidying up the engine bay wiring.
But with this weather I really want to just drive it!
Edited by Spunagain on Saturday 2nd May 15:47 to fix link
Edited by Spunagain on Saturday 2nd May 15:49
Couple of little updates:
My brother made a sensible suggestion on the cold hesitation under throttle which was to change the fuel filter having had the work done on the field tank, so I ordered a new filter and fuel pipe clips and when they arrived jacked up the back with a view to changing it. No chance! You really need a lift for that. I put it all back together and a few runs up and down the drive seemed ok, we let’s see how it goes for now.
Good news - the Tachometer is fixed! John at ETB delivered the goods! For a total cost of £92.34 including VAT and shipping he had to replace both the moving coil movement (no fancy stepper motors here) and the circuit board as both had failed! The early Chimaera Tachometers were actually made by a company called “Motor Power” who were bought by ETB much later. ETB have loads of spare circuit boards, but the moving coil movements (effectively little ammeters) are like hen’s teeth, so I was very lucky to get one! I am very pleased as this was much cheaper than getting a second hand one from a breaker with no provenance! Not only has it been fixed but ETB have cleaned off the surface rust and the bezel has been de-rusted and repainted so it looks like new!
While waiting for it to come back I also cleaned up the bracket from this:
To this after a brushing down with a Dremel wire brush - along with the coil bracket:
.
To this after a couple of coats of Hammerite:
.
I checked the voltages on the plug were correct just in case then plugged it in and it works perfectly!
A few little things:
First the wheel centres were really scruffy so I ordered a set of gel ones of eBay. The old ones prized out with a jewellers screwdriver and I cleaned up the old glue with paint thinners. The new ones look pretty good - let’s see how long they last!
The indicator lenses arrived and with a bit of filing with a needle file got them to fit into the dash panel and held in with a smear of clear silicone. I also ordered some black hex cap head screws to replace the cross head self tappers holding the radio panel,in place - looks much better.
A little thing, but the stereo was stuck in demo mode, I found the manual on the Sony website and using the prescribed incantations got the stereo out of epilepsy mode.
A silver gear shift sticker is now available here and arrived so I gave my knob a good polish with some Autosol, a wipe clean with thinners and applied. Wiping with thinner actually lifted what now appears to be the remains of the original sticker which is clear. When I measured it in the dim garage I missed the small lip on the top of the knob, so I have let Dan know to make future stickers 0.5mm smaller in diameter. I have also let him know the OEM one is clear so maybe he will offer a clear one in the future.
So, before:
After - I think it looks pretty good considering the patina it has!:
This sticker should also be good for early Griffiths too.
I also discovered that the reversing light is on all the time which explains why the switch was disconnected. The fact it is on all the time sounds like it is an adjustment issue rather than a bad switch. I will have a closer look when it is next up in the air. I am tempted to buy in the Rover TKC6761 switch just in case as they are only a few pounds.
I have spoken with Alex Wheatley and am booking in to have the chassis cleaned and treated over next winter.
I stumbled over this old thread from 2003 - I was wanting it back even then, now I really just want to get out and drive it!
My brother made a sensible suggestion on the cold hesitation under throttle which was to change the fuel filter having had the work done on the field tank, so I ordered a new filter and fuel pipe clips and when they arrived jacked up the back with a view to changing it. No chance! You really need a lift for that. I put it all back together and a few runs up and down the drive seemed ok, we let’s see how it goes for now.
Good news - the Tachometer is fixed! John at ETB delivered the goods! For a total cost of £92.34 including VAT and shipping he had to replace both the moving coil movement (no fancy stepper motors here) and the circuit board as both had failed! The early Chimaera Tachometers were actually made by a company called “Motor Power” who were bought by ETB much later. ETB have loads of spare circuit boards, but the moving coil movements (effectively little ammeters) are like hen’s teeth, so I was very lucky to get one! I am very pleased as this was much cheaper than getting a second hand one from a breaker with no provenance! Not only has it been fixed but ETB have cleaned off the surface rust and the bezel has been de-rusted and repainted so it looks like new!
While waiting for it to come back I also cleaned up the bracket from this:
To this after a brushing down with a Dremel wire brush - along with the coil bracket:
.To this after a couple of coats of Hammerite:
.I checked the voltages on the plug were correct just in case then plugged it in and it works perfectly!
A few little things:
First the wheel centres were really scruffy so I ordered a set of gel ones of eBay. The old ones prized out with a jewellers screwdriver and I cleaned up the old glue with paint thinners. The new ones look pretty good - let’s see how long they last!
The indicator lenses arrived and with a bit of filing with a needle file got them to fit into the dash panel and held in with a smear of clear silicone. I also ordered some black hex cap head screws to replace the cross head self tappers holding the radio panel,in place - looks much better.
A little thing, but the stereo was stuck in demo mode, I found the manual on the Sony website and using the prescribed incantations got the stereo out of epilepsy mode.
A silver gear shift sticker is now available here and arrived so I gave my knob a good polish with some Autosol, a wipe clean with thinners and applied. Wiping with thinner actually lifted what now appears to be the remains of the original sticker which is clear. When I measured it in the dim garage I missed the small lip on the top of the knob, so I have let Dan know to make future stickers 0.5mm smaller in diameter. I have also let him know the OEM one is clear so maybe he will offer a clear one in the future.
So, before:
After - I think it looks pretty good considering the patina it has!:
This sticker should also be good for early Griffiths too.
I also discovered that the reversing light is on all the time which explains why the switch was disconnected. The fact it is on all the time sounds like it is an adjustment issue rather than a bad switch. I will have a closer look when it is next up in the air. I am tempted to buy in the Rover TKC6761 switch just in case as they are only a few pounds.
I have spoken with Alex Wheatley and am booking in to have the chassis cleaned and treated over next winter.
I stumbled over this old thread from 2003 - I was wanting it back even then, now I really just want to get out and drive it!
Edited by Spunagain on Saturday 2nd May 15:52
I think you're right. I am not really happy with my budget refurb of the seats - while they are now very comfy, the bases need more padding adding to get the original shape into the side bolsters and all the clambering in and out has removed the dye from a couple of high spots on the passenger seat.
Historically cloth would be most accurate I think it might have actually been Alcantara - from memory and in the photos on the 1st post they look quite velour like,I might even look at Vegan leather - but I suspect matching the Doeskin interior will be tricky. I also need to get a matching headrest from a breakers first!
Something for the more distant future! Possibly next winter!
Historically cloth would be most accurate I think it might have actually been Alcantara - from memory and in the photos on the 1st post they look quite velour like,I might even look at Vegan leather - but I suspect matching the Doeskin interior will be tricky. I also need to get a matching headrest from a breakers first!
Something for the more distant future! Possibly next winter!
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