Bought another S, but need some trailing arms - HELP!

[Kitchski]

So rather than selling my S1, which I'd been toying with last year, I've bought another S! I've finally joined the 2.9 ranks and got myself an S2. Nimbus grey, reg G141 YRE

Similar story as with the S1, really: A customer booked the car in for a small amount of work, and it ended up needing a huge amount of work. I was concerned about a conflict of interests, but it seems selling the car to me was desirable to the customer too, as it was already here, and he knew he wouldn't get any comeback because the fuel gauge was misreading, or something. (It isn't, by the way.....at least, I don't think it is).

Random, but funny fact - the chap I bought the S1 from, bought this car not long after as he missed having a grey S! So they've both had the same owner, twice.

Anyway, here's the S2 in question:




Basically, it came in for a service before Christmas. I test drove it briefly, and noted that there was a fair bit that didn't feel 'right'. It had been having issues with the clutch slave cylinder leaking, which was causing difficult gear selection, however as soon as I drove it, I knew it was actually the clutch being totally worn out that was causing the poor selection (though the slave is leaking too). Straight away, that's not what any S owner wants to hear, as they're an engine out job.

I also noted that, among lots of other issues, it handled like it was drunk. It's horrible! And it felt worse than simply wheel alignment. I was right!

Nearside rear:



Offside rear:



Spot the difference?! One's an S2 arm, and the other's an S3 arm! Ideally, I now need to find a nearside S3 arm (ideally), or an offside S2 arm. Hit me up with what you got, and what you want for them, if you have something!

Oh, and then there was this:



Out of the drying pan, and into the fire!

Here it is with the S1:



I'm going to definitely have to sell the S1 now, but I need to sort some issues on it first. I've also decided to remove some of the upgrades I fitted to it (LSD, bigger brakes + rear discs etc.) and fit them to the S2, as I feel they'd be better suited to it. Also, the value of an S1 is always going to be lower than that of an S2, so it makes sense to upgrade the newer car, and make the S1 more desirable to sell by making it cheaper!

So...yeah! Got a bit of work to do. The exhaust was shot, but luckily I had a spare (which has had some silencer sections removed, and sounds great!) Oh, and the speedo doesn't work. And the paint is tatty. And the dampers are shot. And the door won't open from the inside......and the nearside window won't work.

Oh...and the bumpers are hanging off. Headlamp rims are rusty, and an indicator has a hole in it. And all the carpet is falling off. And......

[phillpot]

Kitchski said:

that's not what any S owner wants to hear, as they're an engine out job.

.....

It's a fiddle but gearbox can be removed from underneath.

A bit "swings or roundabout", depends what equipment / facilities are available but, of course, engine out is a good excuse to have a good clean up and slap a bit of paint around.
And replace all exhaust manfold bolts while you have access to drill and tap if any snap off


Could the shocker mount not be cut off and repositioned or is there more to it than that?



Anyway, nice to see you've finally "wised up" Richard and got a 2.9

[v8s4me]

Richard - why not make up a jig to make/repair trailing arms? TVR Parts were thinking about doing this about three years ago. I offered them mine to take the measurements and create the jig but they messed me about and it never went anywhere. The trailing arms on all 'S's are getting old and rot from the inside so there will be a market for good quality replacements. The only other source of repairing trailing arms is not one I would use a second time.

[phillpot]

v8s4me said:

Richard - why not make up a jig to make/repair trailing arms?

With Adrian @ shutting up shop may be you could make him an offer for his

[v8s4me]

phillpot said:

...With Adrian @ shutting up shop may be you could make him an offer for his ..

And then you'll be the sole supplier of 'S' trailing arms.

[Kitchski]

phillpot said:

It's a fiddle but gearbox can be removed from underneath.

Not without attacking bits of metal with an angle-grinder!

phillpot said:

A bit "swings or roundabout", depends what equipment / facilities are available but, of course, engine out is a good excuse to have a good clean up and slap a bit of paint around.
And replace all exhaust manfold bolts while you have access to drill and tap if any snap off

I'll strip it down totally and do the chassis, Mike. There's no point doing localised repairs on a 30 year old steel chassis. Besides, it's had some bodgery in the outriggers already which I'm going to put right.

phillpot said:

Could the shocker mount not be cut off and repositioned or is there more to it than that?

Yeah, more to it. The S3 arm is adjustable for toe-in/out, whereas the S1 and S2 are fixed.

phillpot said:

Anyway, nice to see you've finally "wised up" Richard and got a 2.9

My lowly 2.8 didn't have any trouble keeping up with you lot in Wales (apart from Andrew, up a hill!)

To be honest, there's little between them. The 2.9 is faster, and slightly more gutsy, but the 2.8 is smoother and more tractable at lower revs. Much easier in traffic. 2.9 sounds better at low revs, but 2.8 sounds better at high revs.
Horses for courses, but I've had the S1 for 6 years this year, and I fancy something different. Obviously I went to town on the S1, with the chassis etc., but there's no justification in pumping money into a respray or the like as the S1's value will always be lower than the 2.9 models. Better to put the effort and funds into a 2.9, because I'll lose less!

v8s4me said:

Richard - why not make up a jig to make/repair trailing arms? TVR Parts were thinking about doing this about three years ago. I offered them mine to take the measurements and create the jig but they messed me about and it never went anywhere. The trailing arms on all 'S's are getting old and rot from the inside so there will be a market for good quality replacements. The only other source of repairing trailing arms is not one I would use a second time.

It had crossed my mind, yes. Trouble is I can't see how they could be made for sensible money. I wouldn't sell enough of them to justify big production runs, and in smaller quantities they'd be quite expensive to produce. Lots of laser-cut pieces to have made up.
Mind you, I could just focus on S3 arms, because they'd fit the S1/2/3 cars, and could be fitted in pairs to ensure you don't end up lop-sided, like mine!

• edited to add: I was thinking from a production POV, but from a refurbishing point of view it might be worth Southways looking into it

Edited by Kitchski on Friday 18th January 12:02

[Topper04]

Whilst recently at the garage to update the suspension bushes on my S2, a hole the size of a 10p piece was discovered in the offside rear trailing arm. Is there anyone, anywhere that is repairing these? It seems that to find a replacement ( let alone a pair ) is going to be pretty difficult. any advice welcome. Thanks

[phillpot]

Kitchski said:

phillpot said:

It's a fiddle but gearbox can be removed from underneath.

Not without attacking bits of metal with an angle-grinder!

Mine came out without too much grief (it helps having gravity on your side) but notching the tailhousing webs does make putting it back in easier

[Kitchski]

phillpot said:

Mine came out without too much grief (it helps having gravity on your side) but notching the tailhousing webs does make putting it back in easier

If the clutch was the only job it needed, I'd possibly consider it, but it's not. It's part of a long list, so I'll just knock them all on the head at the same time.

[phillpot]

Kitchski said:

If the clutch was the only job it needed, I'd possibly consider it, but it's not. It's part of a long list, so I'll just knock them all on the head at the same time.

I agree, just posting these in case they're any help to anyone newer to S ownership who may not be aware

[Kitchski]

phillpot said:

I agree, just posting these in case they're any help to anyone newer to S ownership who may not be aware

Fair enough. Mind you, I still take the engine out if we do one at work! There are always other things that need doing too, and I could lose a few hours trying to get one out, only to find it won't. Same as with propshafts; Some cars it's possible to remove it, others you have to unbolt the gearbox mount. I'm not wasting a few hours only to find I've got to pull the whole lot out anyway

[phillpot]

Kitchski said:

Fair enough. Mind you, I still take the engine out if we do one at work!

phillpot said:

depends what equipment / facilities are available

I think we've gone full circle here

[v8s4me]

Kitchski said:

.... Lots of laser-cut pieces to have made up.....

I had a good look at mine when I had one off for repair and it seemed to me the only laser cut bits would be the plate that the wheel bearing carrier bolts to and the plate that attaches to the inner pivot point.



The rest of the assembly looked like folded steel plate and tubes. Anyway, the main failure points seem to be the tube sections...



These rot out from the inside so perhaps repairing OEM units is a more cost effective option compared to making from scratch. Jigs could be made up from sound units, or...

phillpot said:

...With Adrian @ shutting up shop may be you could make him an offer for his

He has V8S ones as well . Then he might stop whinging about how he'll never get his money back on what it cost him to make them up

Edited by v8s4me on Friday 18th January 18:03

[GreenV8S]

When I broke one of mine years ago, Tower View replaced the delicate round tubes with something much more substantial. I'd have thought that was a job for an angle grinder rather than a laser, but pretty easy to fabricobble together either way.

[TVR-Stu]

Hi Rich, I'm sorry I can't be of help in any way with your need for a replacement trailing arm but I wanted to congratulate you on your new acquisition. I particularly like the colour scheme with the maroon roof.

I was a bit worried when you suggested that you were leaving the 'S' Fold and now (for the time being at least) you've got two!
I'll watch progress on here with interest and know doubt you'll have it completed in no time. Probably before I've finished mine anyway.

[Bercilac]

I originally thought my trailing arms were fine, but in fact I found tiny pin holes after clobbering them with a 2lb lump hammer (quite hard) and they started to dent.

Chris Dickenson (ex S2 owner and welding guru - North West based) fixed them by tacking to a sheet of thick flat steel, measuring and marking everything on the flat, angle grinding off the old tubes, then welding in thicker tubes of the same external diameter.

These fitted to the millimetre, no warping, all measurements the same after welding and dressing. They were then painted alongside the chassis, multiple zinc primer coats then multiple coats of oil rig paint, then stone chip, more topcoat, clear coat, and finally a liberal dousing with Dynax 50 clear. Hopefully that should give the tin worms a few problems!

[TVRees]

Congrats !!
Looking very good indeed.
Well done with the whole chassis overhaul.

[Kitchski]

v8s4me said:

Kitchski said:

.... Lots of laser-cut pieces to have made up.....

I had a good look at mine when I had one off for repair and it seemed to me the only laser cut bits would be the plate that the wheel bearing carrier bolts to and the plate that attaches to the inner pivot point.



The rest of the assembly looked like folded steel plate and tubes. Anyway, the main failure points seem to be the tube sections...



These rot out from the inside so perhaps repairing OEM units is a more cost effective option compared to making from scratch. Jigs could be made up from sound units, or...

It's all the plates involved, including all the ones that are folded, like the eyelet for the damper, and the main spar, which also has to be folded in a jig. That said, I've never seen one of those rot to the extent it couldn't be reused, and it's always the front-to-back tube which rots from the inside out.

So yeah, there might be scope for Southways to get something sorted for the future.

[Kitchski]

GreenV8S said:

When I broke one of mine years ago, Tower View replaced the delicate round tubes with something much more substantial. I'd have thought that was a job for an angle grinder rather than a laser, but pretty easy to fabricobble together either way.

Well, they're 2.5mm wall thickness, so I wouldn't call them 'delicate'

I'd probably bring them up to 3mm or 3.5mm, though.

[Kitchski]

TVR-Stu said:

Hi Rich, I'm sorry I can't be of help in any way with your need for a replacement trailing arm but I wanted to congratulate you on your new acquisition. I particularly like the colour scheme with the maroon roof.

I was a bit worried when you suggested that you were leaving the 'S' Fold and now (for the time being at least) you've got two!
I'll watch progress on here with interest and know doubt you'll have it completed in no time. Probably before I've finished mine anyway.

Cheers Stu.

I've got a few other cars to get through first, and the priority is to get the S1 fit for sale, as that needs to go now. S2 might have to wait until the end of the year, as we're snowed under here as always.