Rebuild and Spruce Up Thread

[CHIMV8 500]

Chim450 said:

A couple of pics of the Tuscan st Powers awaiting upgrade.

Another great colour,and i love the black wheels with it

[Chim450]

Coming on.

[DAKOTAstorm]

lawtoni said:

this is mine

Just out of interest, what is the name of the colour?

[Chim450]

Time for an update. Not good news! Dom decided to pressure test the engine before re-assembly, it turns out that the cylinder head is porous and needs replacing. I think Dom will now pressure test before starting the build for the future.
Worse news to come though!! The chassis is in a poor state especially around the manifolds area.


With all the other work being done the only sensible option is a body off and new chassis.
There isn't going to be much left of the original car by the time it's finished! My other half better not find out how much this is costing!!!!!

[Chim450]

Engine done.


Body off and chassis refurb next.
Thinking of getting manifolds and decat pipes ceramic coated at Zircotec. Anyone had any experience of them?

Edited by Chim450 on Monday 21st August 16:36

[CHIMV8 500]

CHIMV8 500 said:

lawtoni said:

this is mine

Later model nice

How many miles before you had/decided to put the 4.3 in

Any update on your engine?

[lawtoni]

CHIMV8 500 said:

CHIMV8 500 said:

lawtoni said:

this is mine

Later model nice

How many miles before you had/decided to put the 4.3 in

Any update on your engine?

Yes Mate, engine done. I collected the car on Friday and have put 450 miles on it since then
cant tell much as I'm obviously running it in and its still wearing the 3.6 map as the ECU needs some work.

Its clearly a tight engine and somewhat grumpy but freeing up gradually.
Clearly a filthy thing though! As TVRs should be

Dom told me about the OP's chassis issues at the weekend, and your reaction to the chassis new saying words to the effect of "fk it, get it done cos I've earned it!" Good on you mate!

[Incognegro]

Chim450 said:

Engine done.


Body off and chassis refurb next.
Thinking of getting manifolds and decat pipes ceramic coated at Zircotec. Anyone had any experience of them?

Edited by Chim450 on Monday 21st August 16:36

Hi mate. recently got my Cerbera back from its build Dom. I saw your car many times when I was in to check on it. Like you my scope was much bigger than "just rebuild" I also did the ceramic coating of my decats and manifolds. i used Camcoat however. My feedback on them is they took a lot longer than wanted (partly due to their acceptance of what they thought was excellence)they thought the finish wasn't as they wanted and they did again *til it was SPOT ON... and it is! As goodwill they upgraded me to 2external coats and 1internal CAM4 Spec.

Pricewise they were always good and always advised well.

Sorry I can't comment on Zircotec but you will love your engine... I hope you really enjoy it mate.

Edited by Incognegro on Thursday 31st August 07:13

[Chim450]

Incognegro said:

Chim450 said:

Engine done.


Body off and chassis refurb next.
Thinking of getting manifolds and decat pipes ceramic coated at Zircotec. Anyone had any experience of them?

Edited by Chim450 on Monday 21st August 16:36

Hi mate. recently got my Cerbera back from its build Dom. I saw your car many times when I was in to check on it. Like you my scope was much bigger than "just rebuild" I also did the ceramic coating of my decats and manifolds. i used Camcoat however. My feedback on them is they took a lot longer than wanted (partly due to their acceptance of what they thought was excellence)they thought the finish wasn't as they wanted and they did again tip it was SPOT ON... and it is! As goodwill they upgraded me to 2external coats and 1internal CAM4 Spec.

Pricewise they were always good and always advised well.

Sorry I can't comment on Zircotec but you will love your engine... I hope you really enjoy it mate.

Cheers mate. After doing a bit of digging it appears that camcoat have a bit of a mixed bag of reviews, Zircotec much less so but more than double the price than camcoat (circa £850 for manifolds alone!). I've come across a company called Performance One Coatings who are priced somewhere between the others, can't find many reviews though. I'm more interested in reducing temperature in the engine bay rather than aesthetics (this is what killed my chassis in the first place!) although pretty manifolds would look nice!

[Incognegro]

That was my want too. I found what they deemed as not good fine (in my eyes lol)

The approved look below


Very happy with quality and how they perform. *If like me you have renewed your engine bay heat shield the hot temps tend to stay in as opposed to being absorbed into the cabin or in/through the body work. All in all ,the bay is a much less hostile place however

My manifolds registered about 250degrees after a 20mins blast (laser thermometer).

I would advise talk to them as I had that discussion but the negative stuff I read was around 10yrs ago. Give them very clear instructions as to what you would want and if they can meet then they are responsible on thier word?? I know of P1 it was just logistically harder and camcoat satisfied my enquiries

Edited by Incognegro on Thursday 31st August 07:16

[ninetynine]

my manifolds after about 10 mins running
performance 1 said they would re do foc but not pay for removal and refitting

gerrrrrr

[Chim450]

ninetynine said:

my manifolds after about 10 mins running
performance 1 said they would re do foc but not pay for removal and refitting

gerrrrrr

I've read too many reviews where the coating has flaked off almost immediately, this only seems to be the case with paint based stuff used by Camcoat and Performance One. I think I'm going to go with Zircotec primary black, I've been quoted £345 for the manifolds which isn't a great deal more than Performance One.

[Incognegro]

That is not a good look. Very sorry to hear P1 won't pay a significant chunk of the removal and refit after all the failure is clearly theirs.

In defence of cam coat and "paint based stuff" (not saying that is in fact thier product) but I can say after 1200miles and a beasting on the Rolling Road the CAM4 spec parts are without any issue. As advised it is race standard durability

I always hear good things of Zircotec so you shouldn't go wrong.

[Chim450]

Incognegro said:

That is not a good look. Very sorry to hear P1 won't pay a significant chunk of the removal and refit after all the failure is clearly theirs.

In defence of cam coat and "paint based stuff" (not saying that is in fact thier product) but I can say after 1200miles and a beasting on the Rolling Road the CAM4 spec parts are without any issue. As advised it is race standard durability

I always hear good things of Zircotec so you shouldn't go wrong.

I'm sure that Camcoat and Performance One have lots of happy customers, but there do seem to be issues with some of their work. The coatings that they use are "baked on" and so there seems to be a risk that they may flake off. I suppose a lot is down to the condition of the original manifolds and the quality of the prep. From what I understand the process used by Zircotec means that it is highly unlikely that the coating will flake.
It has been scientifically proven that I am an unlucky b@*%#@d and if it is going to happen to anyone then it's going to be me , Just don't fancy shelling out for removal and refit of the manifolds at my own expense if it all goes Pete Tong.
BTW Alistair, your recent upgrades look epic.

[Incognegro]

Go for it Chim... like I say only ever heard good things of Zircotec. Funny you say your unlucky I think you have a pal in me. My lovely RP cam cover has been fine for years... this intervention was the first time ever the gasket wanted to play up and if now probably won't stand the next disturbance. As you may know they are more rare than an astronaut on mars so I looking to source an original cam (oh but has to be the later design to take the newer sensors etc) 🙈

Thanks for your kind comment. How much longer before yours is back with you. Truly beautiful car and the upgrade your doing puts up a level again.

[superfly]

Hello chaps,

I have a crack at the front of my Mark 1, on the service bonnet. A naive question, but how easy is fibreglass to repair? Attached a (poor) photo below also illustrating a long key signature someone was kind enough to leave.

Any hints on good body work guys and costs would be very much appreciated too.

[Chim450]

Incognegro said:

Go for it Chim... like I say only ever heard good things of Zircotec. Funny you say your unlucky I think you have a pal in me. My lovely RP cam cover has been fine for years... this intervention was the first time ever the gasket wanted to play up and if now probably won't stand the next disturbance. As you may know they are more rare than an astronaut on mars so I looking to source an original cam (oh but has to be the later design to take the newer sensors etc) ??

Thanks for your kind comment. How much longer before yours is back with you. Truly beautiful car and the upgrade your doing puts up a level again.

Cheers mate. I've booked the manifolds in with Zircotec, I'm hoping that it will make a real difference with regards to heat soak and more importantly will save my newly refurbished chassis from self destruction!
Dom reckons that the chassis work will take about 2 months. It's then off to Blackpool for a re-trim and respray (another 6-7 weeks) so will be a nice Christmas present to me!

[Chim450]

superfly said:

Hello chaps,

I have a crack at the front of my Mark 1, on the service bonnet. A naive question, but how easy is fibreglass to repair? Attached a (poor) photo below also illustrating a long key signature someone was kind enough to leave.

Any hints on good body work guys and costs would be very much appreciated too.

Where are you based? Surface and Design have a good reputation and are based in Blackpool on the old factory site. It might be worth giving them a ring to get an idea as to what's the best way to go.

[Chim450]

OK, so things are progressing.
The body is off, NS d outrigger appears the worst area, but will have to wait until the chassis is shot blasted to see the full extent of corrosion.
One thing that to me seems striking from the photos is the lack of white powder coat left on the chassis as a whole. Don't know whether that is what you expect of a 16 year old chassis or not.
I bet there are a lot of T cars out there that really could do with a body off refurb not to mention older cars, Chims, Griffs, Cerbs etc.
The exhaust manifolds are at Zircotec for a nice black ceramic coating.
I'm going to have to be patient, but when all the work is done the car will be far superior than when it left the factory.

[superfly]

Chim450 said:

Where are you based? Surface and Design have a good reputation and are based in Blackpool on the old factory site. It might be worth giving them a ring to get an idea as to what's the best way to go.

Based in London, but often up in the NorthWest. Thanks very much, will give them a shout.