Another body off thread.

[QBee]

Tyre Tread said:

Brain damage with an obsession over money.

What has Boris Johnson got to do with painting a chassis?

[Penelope Stopit]

QBee said:

Tyre Tread said:

Brain damage with an obsession over money.

What has Boris Johnson got to do with painting a chassis?

Boris enjoys painting

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jun/25/b...

Thought everyone knew this

[dhutch]

Penelope Stopit said:

Boris enjoys painting

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jun/25/b...

Thought everyone knew this

Enough with the floppy haired tw@t.

Daniel

[phazed]

dhutch said:

Enough with the floppy haired tw@t.

Daniel

Is that twit or tt, I’m never quite sure.

[QBee]

phazed said:

dhutch said:

Enough with the floppy haired tw@t.

Daniel

Is that twit or tt, I’m never quite sure.

In our family it's the latter, thanks to something my sister in law started when she worked in social care management in the NHS.
Her role frequently involved writing lengthy reports which she knew nobody would ever read, they were just being written because someone higher up the food chain needed to be seen to be doing something.

So every time she handed over a report to the person who commissioned it, she would say "There We Are Then" with a smile/smirk on her face (she is Welsh, so you have to imagine it in a taffy accent)'. It made her feel better......

Hence in our family Boris is a prize There We Are Then, which saves the grandchildren from learning bad language, and gives all a smile.

[dhutch]

phazed said:

Is that twit or tt, I’m never quite sure.

It's an at sign.

[angus337]

I’m just in the process of cleaning of the wax oil from my chassis and wishbones. The chassis is in good condition following a fully body off re-build by RT racing a few years ago. The chassis was powder coated and then painted at the time. There are now a few chips in the paint now and in a couple of places (mainly at the jacking points) the powder coating has also chipped away.

Plan is to touch these areas up and maybe ad another coat of paint to the underside of the chassis, just wondering waht the best paint would be for this. Would you recommend the EM 121 or are these only really suitable for painting over bare metal.

[Classic Chim]

angus337 said:

I’m just in the process of cleaning of the wax oil from my chassis and wishbones. The chassis is in good condition following a fully body off re-build by RT racing a few years ago. The chassis was powder coated and then painted at the time. There are now a few chips in the paint now and in a couple of places (mainly at the jacking points) the powder coating has also chipped away.

Plan is to touch these areas up and maybe ad another coat of paint to the underside of the chassis, just wondering waht the best paint would be for this. Would you recommend the EM 121 or are these only really suitable for painting over bare metal.

As I’m only the messenger and have a former Jaguar employee painting mine which will have all the powdercoat removed I’m not sure.
Rustbusters are a uk based company, have a few handy videos and will advise you accordingly. Pretty sure if you scotch the powder coat it’s good to paint. Give them a call.
Rustbuster 01775 761222

After what feels like months, probably because it is,
My chassis is now at sand blasters.
Should be done by Tuesday next week so I can take it directly to paint booth for final prep and paint within a day or so, dependant on blasters work load and what shot blasting shows up.
The idea is he does it, I remove it and get it painted in a heated booth all within a matter of hours but best laid plans and all that.
Should have more pics and any details that come up later next week.

[Dougal9887]

That's mine just back from the shot blasters. Looks like a pretty good texture for the paint.

And a close up...

And a couple of the mud guard brackets front and rear...

Now on to the phosphating prior to spraying.
Dougal

[Dougal9887]

Looks like I'm only allowed 3 photos, Here are the rear brackets...

[Classic Chim]

Looking good.
I’ve toyed over the corner protector idea and decided against it mainly because without completely sealing all entry points Damp will always find its way there imho because you need air flow to reduce it so I think I’ll leave it stock or just add a mastic wall on top of the outrigger tubes just fore and aft of the corners to stop road crud entering that area after I’ve protected the outrigger paint with a Dinitrol based product.
When these cars were new I’m sure most owners merrily went about there business in them in all weathers and all seasons not understanding just how weak the powder coat is in these area’s. I’m mindful that’s very unlikely to happen on a regular basis now as it’s an old girl so I start to question if the corner protectors will earn there keep so to speak.
Mud flap yes as it still offers plenty of wind flow around those areas but the beauty of these jobs is you can choose your own path ( within reason)

I’m slightly surprised to see so much of what looks like grease marks or staining in the chassis there Dougal. What is that.
Based on my wishbone shot blasting I’m expecting a consistant metal colour. Hmmm interesting.

[Classic Chim]

Do your own thread. I’m sure it will provide an informative interesting read that others can use to help them in future Dougal.
That way Different people’s pictures don’t get confusing for the occasional lurker looking in.

I’m liking this job to building a house, you might have a few snags but your on an upward path.
It’s the journey not the destination so even with delays it’s ok, I do love the car in bits oddly enough, mainly so I can dream of the finished article for a bit longer

Gotta love a project.

[Dougal9887]

Classic Chim said:

Do your own thread. I’m sure it will provide an informative interesting read that others can use to help them in future Dougal.
That way Different people’s pictures don’t get confusing for the occasional lurker looking in.

I’m liking this job to building a house, you might have a few snags but your on an upward path.
It’s the journey not the destination so even with delays it’s ok, I do love the car in bits oddly enough, mainly so I can dream of the finished article for a bit longer

Gotta love a project.

Sorry, just thought the odd picture might be of interest, I don't think we really need yet another chassis restoration thread.
The marks you see are wet spots as it proved impossible to get the chassis back bone dry. Not too worried as the posphating will deal with any rusting. According to Rustbusters, even after shotblasting rust will remain in the pores of the steel, hence the need for posphating in any case.
Dougal.

Edited by Dougal9887 on Saturday 22 February 09:43

[SILICONEKID 357HP]

I'm sure some people prefer there car in bits rather than on the road ,in the quest for perfection.

[Zener]

Not bloody likely Daz

[QBee]

Maybe not, but the number of people who hardly ever drive them is much larger i think.

We hear regular reports of the only mileage being the annual trip to the MOT station.
Loads of people do less than 500 miles a year......


......don't they, Daz?

[ChimpOnGas]

SILICONEKID 357HP said:

I'm sure some people prefer there car in bits rather than on the road ,in the quest for perfection.

I have to disagree with you there Daz

I think you'll find the reason were seeing an increase in chassis restoration posts of late is because we're in the winter, people choose to restore their chassis in the winter months because it's better to have it in bits when the car will be used least. So I'd argue those of us in the middle of a chassis restoration right now are the guys who actually like to use their cars most, I can't speak for others but I absolutely planned for my chassis restoration to take place during January and February.

TVR first joined my Chimaera body to its chassis back in late November 1996, the body then remained bolted to the chassis for 23 years and one month before it was removed by Alex Wheatley, and is due to be reunited with the restored chassis once again next Thursday. The new outriggers are built from heavier gauge steel than TVR used and the paint system applied to protect the whole chassis is massively better than what it received from new, we are then adding a further line of defense against stone chips and the accumulation of road muck by fitting laser cut stainless steel outrigger protectors.

So if we got 23 years out of TVRs rather poorly protected light gauge steel outriggers and the rest of the chassis actually survived fantastically well anyway, I think its safe to say the next time the body will need removing from my chassis will be well over 30 years in the future. We've designed it this way and I chose January and February for the work to take place because the truth is I love driving my TVR, and I actually hate it when its in bits!

I dropped the car off in early December so in total I will have lost the use of the car for three months which is by far the longest period of inactivity the car has seen since I bought it 11 years ago, three winter months lost to make sure it doesn't have to come apart again for the next three decades or more seems like a reasonable sacrifice to me.

Just another two weeks to go, so roll on Saturday 7th March 2020 when the car will once again return to regular service

QBee said:

Maybe not, but the number of people who hardly ever drive them is much larger i think.

We hear regular reports of the only mileage being the annual trip to the MOT station.
Loads of people do less than 500 miles a year......


......don't they, Daz?

I have to agree with the above....

On average my mate drives his Chimaera every 5 months so three months downtime having my chassis sorted for the next 30 years or more is actually less downtime than one of his average lay up periods, for the rest of the time his Chimaera just sits there, and this is the pattern of of ownership for so many TVR owners.

When he comes to use the car there's usually an issue starting it, commonly a flat battery stops play but of late he keeps it on a mains charger as he's just had power put in his lockup, but this doesn't solve all the other issues you tend get when you don't use a car regularly. Six months ago after being sat for months I traced his next no start to a mysteriously tripped inertia switch, the car was driven once or twice but then sat again for months when I was called in to fix it as once more, this time I traced the latest no start issue to a faulty fuel pump relay.

I'd be surprised if the car has been driven 500 miles in the last year and a half and in that time it must have failed to start four times, basically every time he's gone to use it. No car likes to sit for long periods, for comparison I've used my TVR at lest once a week and often every day a week for the last 11 years so I'm definitely not someone who likes to see it in bits.

[dhutch]

ChimpOnGas said:

I have to disagree with you there Daz

I think you'll find the reason were seeing an increase in chassis restoration posts of late is because we're in the winter, people choose to restore their chassis in the winter months ....

.... we got 23 years out of TVRs paint...

.... I will have lost the use of the car for three months which is by far the longest period of inactivity the car has seen since I bought it 11 years ago....

I make 3 months in 23 years about 1.01% downtime 98.9% together.

Seems manageable to me!

Daniel

[SILICONEKID 357HP]

If I paid for a chassis rebuild would the money paid out be recouped if the car was sold ?

[ChimpOnGas]

SILICONEKID 357HP said:

If I paid for a chassis rebuild would the money paid out be recouped if the car was sold ?

It really depends how much the chassis restoration costs you Daz, but keep in mind even the most comprehensive chassis restoration will struggle to add much more than £3k to the resale value of a Chimaera, sadly that's just the way it is. Spend £8K having a full Monty body off chassis restoration done professionally and if you sell the car immediately the work is complete it'll be a £5k loss, that's why you've got to be sure you're keeping the car for a reasonable amount of time to get your money's worth out this type of investment in a chassis restoration.

Of course this is not unique to the TVR Chimaera, any classic car where the very best fully restored examples sell for £20k or less is never going to make a financially viable restoration project unless you're doing all the work yourself, MGBs are another good example of this, I've seen many people buy a usable MGB for £8k then two years later they're throwing £10k or more at it completing a full restoration.

A couple of years later they sell the car for £15k when if they'd just done nothing with it other general servicing and maintenance it would have been worth £10k, this because in the two years it would have naturally risen by £2k. So effectively that restoration lost the owner £5k, in the sub £30k price bracket your best bet is to act like a car dealer. No right minded car dealer will get involved in a restoration of a sub £30k classic car because its only ever going to lose him money, what he's looking to buy are the best examples of the marque and model he trades in that someone else has restored, this is because such cars sell easily with few come backs and that former owner will have taken all the losses.

Saying that if you plan on keeping and enjoying your Chimaera regularly for the next 10 years a chassis restoration starts to make much more sense, not because you're going to make a profit on the work but because every year that passes the car is paying that restoration back in the pleasure of ownership. I bought my Chimaera 11 years ago for £7,900 and I guess if I sold it this summer with its newly refurbished chassis I might get £14,500 for it, so that's an increase of £6,600.

But I've spent £10k maintaining it and improving it in that time so I will have actually lost £3,400, luckily in the seven years I've been running the car of LPG this is the exact same figure I've saved on fuel making it a completely cost neutral ownership experience. Excluding tax, insurance and gas if I sold the car this summer the 11 years I've enjoyed my 4.0 litre V8 150mph classic British sports car will have effectively cost me nothing, but what other classic would I be able to buy for the same money? The answer to that is there isn't anything as usable, practical and characterful as my Chimaera for the same money so that's why I'm keeping it for another 10 years, and that's the real reason why I decided it was well worth investing in having Alex Wheatley renovate my chassis.

Anyway this is Alun's post ,so we should all sit back and wait for his his next update.