Body Off - The Naked Truth
Discussion
Here's the safety data sheet for Jotamastic 90 paint (component A).
https://www.jotun.com/Datasheets/Download?url=%2FS...18880__Jotamastic%2090%20GF%20Comp%20A__EukGB.pdf
Jotun say Jotamastic 90 is a flammable liquid that gives off flammable vapors that also cause serious eye damage, it causes skin irritation and may cause an allergic skin reaction plus damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure, hearing organs of all things
It's harmful to aquatic life with long lasting effects, in terms of personal protective equipment Jotun say to wear protective gloves, eye and or face protection. The paint should be kept away from heat, hot surfaces, sparks, open flames and other ignition sources then go in to say do not breathe vapor and to wash hands thoroughly after handling.
Sounds perfectly safe to me
The component B (the hardener) is even worse
https://www.jotun.com/uk/en/b2c/technical-info/tds...
If any of the above links don't work every data sheet for all Jotun products are available here...
https://www.jotunprofessionals.com/me/en/b2b/produ...
But remember what our painter used to say when I was in restoration.... If it smells bad and makes you puke.... that's the good stuff
At the end of the day Jotamastic 90 is a mix of two industrial grade chemicals designed to be used by trained professionals, it's not just any old paint you can buy at B&Q or Screwfix and is not intended to be sold to or used by the general public. This is hardcore stuff that gives long lasting results, risk wise if you're spraying it things get a lot worse too, that's why our painter used what I called the space suit, it was a full body suit with sealed hood system that was fed with fresh air drawn from outside the booth.
He hated it as it restricted movement and sight, but he was shooting the old skool 2k paints at the time which are full of highly carcinogenic isocyanates, I believe these super toxic formulas we were using in the early 90's are banned now or at least a paint shop's chemical license means its use is severely restricted these days, I'm long out of the game but a few years ago I was told there's now a quoter that forces paint shops to use 95% waster based paints or what out painter called 'fish friendly children's water colour paints'
While this was long before the health and safety obsession we have today really gathered momentum our painter still used that air fed hood, he told me a fellow painter and close friend never bother with it and died of respiratory failure at 48, when they opened him up his lungs were full of cancer and this was a guy who never smoked a single cigarette all his life
I believe this was the original guy who coined the phrase.... If it smells bad and makes you puke.... that's the good stuff!
https://www.jotun.com/Datasheets/Download?url=%2FS...18880__Jotamastic%2090%20GF%20Comp%20A__EukGB.pdf
Jotun say Jotamastic 90 is a flammable liquid that gives off flammable vapors that also cause serious eye damage, it causes skin irritation and may cause an allergic skin reaction plus damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure, hearing organs of all things
It's harmful to aquatic life with long lasting effects, in terms of personal protective equipment Jotun say to wear protective gloves, eye and or face protection. The paint should be kept away from heat, hot surfaces, sparks, open flames and other ignition sources then go in to say do not breathe vapor and to wash hands thoroughly after handling.
Sounds perfectly safe to me
The component B (the hardener) is even worse
https://www.jotun.com/uk/en/b2c/technical-info/tds...
If any of the above links don't work every data sheet for all Jotun products are available here...
https://www.jotunprofessionals.com/me/en/b2b/produ...
But remember what our painter used to say when I was in restoration.... If it smells bad and makes you puke.... that's the good stuff
At the end of the day Jotamastic 90 is a mix of two industrial grade chemicals designed to be used by trained professionals, it's not just any old paint you can buy at B&Q or Screwfix and is not intended to be sold to or used by the general public. This is hardcore stuff that gives long lasting results, risk wise if you're spraying it things get a lot worse too, that's why our painter used what I called the space suit, it was a full body suit with sealed hood system that was fed with fresh air drawn from outside the booth.
He hated it as it restricted movement and sight, but he was shooting the old skool 2k paints at the time which are full of highly carcinogenic isocyanates, I believe these super toxic formulas we were using in the early 90's are banned now or at least a paint shop's chemical license means its use is severely restricted these days, I'm long out of the game but a few years ago I was told there's now a quoter that forces paint shops to use 95% waster based paints or what out painter called 'fish friendly children's water colour paints'
While this was long before the health and safety obsession we have today really gathered momentum our painter still used that air fed hood, he told me a fellow painter and close friend never bother with it and died of respiratory failure at 48, when they opened him up his lungs were full of cancer and this was a guy who never smoked a single cigarette all his life
I believe this was the original guy who coined the phrase.... If it smells bad and makes you puke.... that's the good stuff!
Edited by ChimpOnGas on Sunday 1st March 17:29
J-2 said:
Hi Dave what a superb thread I have really enjoyed reading it. I noticed from the pictures of your chassis that you have omitted the brackets for a roll over bar, when I had my outriggers replaced I did not have them fitted as I considered them to another dirt trap did you come to the same conclusion.
John
Thanks John, I believe the brackets are off because so are the ARBs themselves.John
Alex is very thorough indeed, he's literally painting everything
Ah right John, you'll be meaning these things then?
Never gave them a second thought to be honest
I have no idea what they are or why Alex deems them unnecessary, roll over bar related you say
Perhaps someone can shed some light on their purpose, as you say John they just look like mud traps to me
Never gave them a second thought to be honest
I have no idea what they are or why Alex deems them unnecessary, roll over bar related you say
Perhaps someone can shed some light on their purpose, as you say John they just look like mud traps to me
ChimpOnGas said:
Ah right John, you'll be meaning these things then?
Never gave them a second thought to be honest
I have no idea what they are or why Alex deems them unnecessary, roll over bar related you say
Perhaps someone can shed some light on their purpose, as you say John they just look like mud traps to me
Never gave them a second thought to be honest
I have no idea what they are or why Alex deems them unnecessary, roll over bar related you say
Perhaps someone can shed some light on their purpose, as you say John they just look like mud traps to me
Yes they are the lugs you connect a roll bar too.
I too decided to leave them off my new riggers.
I’m never going to add a roll bar and do hope anyone in future wouldn’t either as other than some rigidity which is negligible they are dangerous without a helmet on or a clever design hoop.
Just takes up valuable room in the space behind you. I’ve never turned a car over yet,, a cart yes, right on top of another competitor that closed the gap too late and rode me up a tyre Barrier until I flipped on top of him!
I hope my car has a happy comfortable life from now on and not used in such anger
If you look at it a big impact would see the rigger tubes fail and render the Bar near useless.
All imho and others might disagree.
|https://thumbsnap.com/MrA4AdN1[/url]
Classic Chim said:
ChimpOnGas said:
Ah right John, you'll be meaning these things then?
Never gave them a second thought to be honest
I have no idea what they are or why Alex deems them unnecessary, roll over bar related you say
Perhaps someone can shed some light on their purpose, as you say John they just look like mud traps to me
Never gave them a second thought to be honest
I have no idea what they are or why Alex deems them unnecessary, roll over bar related you say
Perhaps someone can shed some light on their purpose, as you say John they just look like mud traps to me
Yes they are the lugs you connect a roll bar too.
I too decided to leave them off my new riggers.
I’m never going to add a roll bar and do hope anyone in future wouldn’t either as other than some rigidity which is negligible they are dangerous without a helmet on or a clever design hoop.
Just takes up valuable room in the space behind you. I’ve never turned a car over yet,, a cart yes, right on top of another competitor that closed the gap too late and rode me up a tyre Barrier until I flipped on top of him!
I hope my car has a happy comfortable life from now on and not used in such anger
If you look at it a big impact would see the rigger tubes fail and render the Bar near useless.
All imho and others might disagree.
ChimpOnGas said:
Couldn't agree more, in my opinion you're right on every point.
There must be something wrong with me then, we never agree. Have you ever noticed how I seem to do things often when you are.
I was looking at the brembo brakes online for ages after Alex told me about them at Rockingham I think, you then listed the parts which led me to order the correct ones
rather than f
k it up 
Anthony has them so I knew they did a good job.
The temp sender mod,,, worth a medal that one
Chimaera ownership a hobby Alun, we both have the same car so we share the same hobby, with Pistonheads being the platform we choose to discuss our hobby and as all Chimaeras tend to exhibit the same foibles it's inevitable we end up doing the same stuff, I think the synchronised timing thing is more of a coincidence however we've probably owned out Chimaeras for a similar number of years so perhaps this is why we tend to get involved in the same upgrades at a similar time .
My TVR care policy is a simple one..... fastidious maintenance combined with sensible upgrades that improve my driving pleasure while enhancing reliability and dependability, the objective being not only to keep the car in perfect running order at all times but also to make it better than when she left the factory in every respect without spending disproportionally large sums that are completely out of sync with the car's market value.
Examples of this are:
1. When the car started exhibiting the infamous hot start issue I studied the problem and identified the real reasons the problem exists, I sorted the immobiliser wiring mistake made by TVR, uprated all the high amp wiring and main earths, fitted a fresh starter motor and a quality battery giving better than new starting and reliability
2. Frustrated by being locked out of the 14CUX making the car more difficult to tune than if it was running a carb, I went with an open source engine management system that also solved the car's costly fuel economy by swapping 23mpg for the petrol cost equivalent of 50mpg. This while improving the cars drivability and engine refinement and at the same time giving me a system I can tune when ever I want with no costly and difficult to source discontinued components to worry about like the Lucas stepper motor, air flow meter, narrow band lambda sensors ect ect.
3. When it came time to refurbish my suspension I went with all new and much developed MK4 Bilsteins, a quality German TuV standard suspension package developed specifically for our cars that delivers better than new ride quality and handling for £1,000 all in.
4. When my front calipers were sticking and needed refurbishment I took it one step further and installed the Brembo brake upgrade instead as it was only a little more expensive than the standard caliper refurbishment for better than new braking performance
5. When it came time to restore my chassis I chose far better materials and paints than those used by TVR originally, I studied where and why the corrosion issue exists in the first place and addressed it with shields to protect my new thicker wall outrigger tubes from stone chips and the accumulation of mud/general road muck that rots out the outrigger corners
These are just five examples, there are many more of course but the objective always remains the same, keep the car impeccably maintained and when it comes to fixing or replacing something make it better than TVR did it when they built the car in 1996. The maintenance thing is always going to be ongoing with any car but neglect it at your peril with a 23 year old TVR, keeping up with the maintenance on such a car is challenge enough for most but I have chosen to take it to the next level by trying to develop the car into something better than when the first owner paid over £30k for it.
My Chimaera handles better, stops better, drives a lot smoother and is a faster car too; at the same time its way way more economical than it was when new, it's also much more reliable and dependable and now it's chassis is going to be way longer lasting than when it left Bristol Avenue way back in 1996. Car maintenance is like a race, it's inevitable things will break and wear out so the idea is you fix and replace them before they leave you on the side of the road, in my Chimaera maintenance race I'm just trying to get even further ahead of future issues by making whatever I fix or replace better than when it was new to deliver a longer service life, better performance and dynamics, and vastly improved reliability.
This is easier said than done with a 23 year old TVR as mostly what happens to owners of these cars is the problems start to get ahead of their far from comprehensive maintenance program, and or their often insufficient maintenance budget gets stretched to breaking point, this is usually when people get fed up and sell their Chimaera. The things I've chosen to do to my car are not really about adding a ton of power, fitting a supercharger or a turbo is exiting stuff but it's never going to add reliability, quite the opposite in fact. I've chosen to put my money into things that mean I can use and enjoy the car more, because the more I'm driving it the more it repays me in driving pleasure, but the best thing about TVRs for me is there's huge scope to develop them into the car they really should have been from new, but sadly never were.
I guess you either get TVR ownership as all us long term owners do, or you buy one to scratch an itch and then sell it on a couple of years later after getting a bit frustrated with it, these short term owners with their short term view of TVR ownership are the guys in the pub telling everyone how unreliable TVRs are, the truth is in almost all cases these people weren't let down by the machine they almost certainly let the machine down by not maintaining it correctly and or trying to run the thing on a shoestring.
I've owned my Chimaera for 11 years now and I fully expect to keep it for another 11 years, this is why it's worth doing the things I've done to improve it, for example the LPG thing paid for itself a long time ago and now simply delivers half price Chimaera motoring with no downsides, on the flip side it wouldn't make much sense to go LPG if you're only planning on keeping the car for a couple of years. The chassis restoration covered in this post future proofs another known weakness these great cars suffer from, everything else I've done to the car just makes in nicer to drive, a little faster, better handing and way more reliable and dependable, but all of it is only worth investing in because I intend to keep the car for many more years.
The irony is when I come to sell in 11 years time its new owner will enjoy a properly developed and dependable TVR that drives way better in every respect than when the car was brand new, in the mean time it's my opportunity to squeeze as much pleasure out of it as I possible can while always keeping three steps ahead of the maintenance race
.My TVR care policy is a simple one..... fastidious maintenance combined with sensible upgrades that improve my driving pleasure while enhancing reliability and dependability, the objective being not only to keep the car in perfect running order at all times but also to make it better than when she left the factory in every respect without spending disproportionally large sums that are completely out of sync with the car's market value.
Examples of this are:
1. When the car started exhibiting the infamous hot start issue I studied the problem and identified the real reasons the problem exists, I sorted the immobiliser wiring mistake made by TVR, uprated all the high amp wiring and main earths, fitted a fresh starter motor and a quality battery giving better than new starting and reliability
2. Frustrated by being locked out of the 14CUX making the car more difficult to tune than if it was running a carb, I went with an open source engine management system that also solved the car's costly fuel economy by swapping 23mpg for the petrol cost equivalent of 50mpg. This while improving the cars drivability and engine refinement and at the same time giving me a system I can tune when ever I want with no costly and difficult to source discontinued components to worry about like the Lucas stepper motor, air flow meter, narrow band lambda sensors ect ect.
3. When it came time to refurbish my suspension I went with all new and much developed MK4 Bilsteins, a quality German TuV standard suspension package developed specifically for our cars that delivers better than new ride quality and handling for £1,000 all in.
4. When my front calipers were sticking and needed refurbishment I took it one step further and installed the Brembo brake upgrade instead as it was only a little more expensive than the standard caliper refurbishment for better than new braking performance
5. When it came time to restore my chassis I chose far better materials and paints than those used by TVR originally, I studied where and why the corrosion issue exists in the first place and addressed it with shields to protect my new thicker wall outrigger tubes from stone chips and the accumulation of mud/general road muck that rots out the outrigger corners
These are just five examples, there are many more of course but the objective always remains the same, keep the car impeccably maintained and when it comes to fixing or replacing something make it better than TVR did it when they built the car in 1996. The maintenance thing is always going to be ongoing with any car but neglect it at your peril with a 23 year old TVR, keeping up with the maintenance on such a car is challenge enough for most but I have chosen to take it to the next level by trying to develop the car into something better than when the first owner paid over £30k for it.
My Chimaera handles better, stops better, drives a lot smoother and is a faster car too; at the same time its way way more economical than it was when new, it's also much more reliable and dependable and now it's chassis is going to be way longer lasting than when it left Bristol Avenue way back in 1996. Car maintenance is like a race, it's inevitable things will break and wear out so the idea is you fix and replace them before they leave you on the side of the road, in my Chimaera maintenance race I'm just trying to get even further ahead of future issues by making whatever I fix or replace better than when it was new to deliver a longer service life, better performance and dynamics, and vastly improved reliability.
This is easier said than done with a 23 year old TVR as mostly what happens to owners of these cars is the problems start to get ahead of their far from comprehensive maintenance program, and or their often insufficient maintenance budget gets stretched to breaking point, this is usually when people get fed up and sell their Chimaera. The things I've chosen to do to my car are not really about adding a ton of power, fitting a supercharger or a turbo is exiting stuff but it's never going to add reliability, quite the opposite in fact. I've chosen to put my money into things that mean I can use and enjoy the car more, because the more I'm driving it the more it repays me in driving pleasure, but the best thing about TVRs for me is there's huge scope to develop them into the car they really should have been from new, but sadly never were.
I guess you either get TVR ownership as all us long term owners do, or you buy one to scratch an itch and then sell it on a couple of years later after getting a bit frustrated with it, these short term owners with their short term view of TVR ownership are the guys in the pub telling everyone how unreliable TVRs are, the truth is in almost all cases these people weren't let down by the machine they almost certainly let the machine down by not maintaining it correctly and or trying to run the thing on a shoestring.
I've owned my Chimaera for 11 years now and I fully expect to keep it for another 11 years, this is why it's worth doing the things I've done to improve it, for example the LPG thing paid for itself a long time ago and now simply delivers half price Chimaera motoring with no downsides, on the flip side it wouldn't make much sense to go LPG if you're only planning on keeping the car for a couple of years. The chassis restoration covered in this post future proofs another known weakness these great cars suffer from, everything else I've done to the car just makes in nicer to drive, a little faster, better handing and way more reliable and dependable, but all of it is only worth investing in because I intend to keep the car for many more years.
The irony is when I come to sell in 11 years time its new owner will enjoy a properly developed and dependable TVR that drives way better in every respect than when the car was brand new, in the mean time it's my opportunity to squeeze as much pleasure out of it as I possible can while always keeping three steps ahead of the maintenance race
Spunagain said:
Hi Chimpongas,
Thanks for sharing! Do you know - does the Jotamastic 90 require breathing apparatus when brush painting? I don’t seem to be able to download the data sheets on my machine.
Cheers
Spunagain.
We didn't use breathing apparatus, but what we did have was constant airflow by virtue of the draft from outside with what is a massive industrial unit roller shutter door. And a large volume for the air to move around in. It wasn't particularly noticeably fumy in that environment. However I probably wouldn't use that approach in a normal domestic garage. Thanks for sharing! Do you know - does the Jotamastic 90 require breathing apparatus when brush painting? I don’t seem to be able to download the data sheets on my machine.
Cheers
Spunagain.
J-2 said:
Hi Dave what a superb thread I have really enjoyed reading it. I noticed from the pictures of your chassis that you have omitted the brackets for a roll over bar, when I had my outriggers replaced I did not have them fitted as I considered them to another dirt trap did you come to the same conclusion.
John
The original brackets are a complete dirt and rust trap. They also risk not faring well with a verticle point load, risking pulling the adjacent seatbelt mount away from the body of the car, which could be very nasty. If any of my customers wanted a roll bar, id be tying it into the corner body mount plate/seat belt reel area just rear. There is far more strength at this point.John
Basically I see the original mount and all I see is potential for a very nasty situation.
crosseyedlion said:
J-2 said:
Hi Dave what a superb thread I have really enjoyed reading it. I noticed from the pictures of your chassis that you have omitted the brackets for a roll over bar, when I had my outriggers replaced I did not have them fitted as I considered them to another dirt trap did you come to the same conclusion.
John
The original brackets are a complete dirt and rust trap. They also risk not faring well with a verticle point load, risking pulling the adjacent seatbelt mount away from the body of the car, which could be very nasty. If any of my customers wanted a roll bar, id be tying it into the corner body mount plate/seat belt reel area just rear. There is far more strength at this point.John
Basically I see the original mount and all I see is potential for a very nasty situation.
I'm relieved the Jotamastic 90 didn't prove too toxic too,
Thanks again, Dave.
ChimpOnGas said:
Chimaera ownership a hobby Alun, we both have the same car so we share the same hobby, with Pistonheads being the platform we choose to discuss our hobby and as all Chimaeras tend to exhibit the same foibles it's inevitable we end up doing the same stuff, I think the synchronised timing thing is more of a coincidence however we've probably owned out Chimaeras for a similar number of years so perhaps this is why we tend to get involved in the same upgrades at a similar time .
My TVR care policy is a simple one..... fastidious maintenance combined with sensible upgrades that improve my driving pleasure while enhancing reliability and dependability, the objective being not only to keep the car in perfect running order at all times but also to make it better than when she left the factory in every respect without spending disproportionally large sums that are completely out of sync with the car's market value.
Examples of this are:
1. When the car started exhibiting the infamous hot start issue I studied the problem and identified the real reasons the problem exists, I sorted the immobiliser wiring mistake made by TVR, uprated all the high amp wiring and main earths, fitted a fresh starter motor and a quality battery giving better than new starting and reliability
2. Frustrated by being locked out of the 14CUX making the car more difficult to tune than if it was running a carb, I went with an open source engine management system that also solved the car's costly fuel economy by swapping 23mpg for the petrol cost equivalent of 50mpg. This while improving the cars drivability and engine refinement and at the same time giving me a system I can tune when ever I want with no costly and difficult to source discontinued components to worry about like the Lucas stepper motor, air flow meter, narrow band lambda sensors ect ect.
3. When it came time to refurbish my suspension I went with all new and much developed MK4 Bilsteins, a quality German TuV standard suspension package developed specifically for our cars that delivers better than new ride quality and handling for £1,000 all in.
4. When my front calipers were sticking and needed refurbishment I took it one step further and installed the Brembo brake upgrade instead as it was only a little more expensive than the standard caliper refurbishment for better than new braking performance
5. When it came time to restore my chassis I chose far better materials and paints than those used by TVR originally, I studied where and why the corrosion issue exists in the first place and addressed it with shields to protect my new thicker wall outrigger tubes from stone chips and the accumulation of mud/general road muck that rots out the outrigger corners
These are just five examples, there are many more of course but the objective always remains the same, keep the car impeccably maintained and when it comes to fixing or replacing something make it better than TVR did it when they built the car in 1996. The maintenance thing is always going to be ongoing with any car but neglect it at your peril with a 23 year old TVR, keeping up with the maintenance on such a car is challenge enough for most but I have chosen to take it to the next level by trying to develop the car into something better than when the first owner paid over £30k for it.
My Chimaera handles better, stops better, drives a lot smoother and is a faster car too; at the same time its way way more economical than it was when new, it's also much more reliable and dependable and now it's chassis is going to be way longer lasting than when it left Bristol Avenue way back in 1996. Car maintenance is like a race, it's inevitable things will break and wear out so the idea is you fix and replace them before they leave you on the side of the road, in my Chimaera maintenance race I'm just trying to get even further ahead of future issues by making whatever I fix or replace better than when it was new to deliver a longer service life, better performance and dynamics, and vastly improved reliability.
This is easier said than done with a 23 year old TVR as mostly what happens to owners of these cars is the problems start to get ahead of their far from comprehensive maintenance program, and or their often insufficient maintenance budget gets stretched to breaking point, this is usually when people get fed up and sell their Chimaera. The things I've chosen to do to my car are not really about adding a ton of power, fitting a supercharger or a turbo is exiting stuff but it's never going to add reliability, quite the opposite in fact. I've chosen to put my money into things that mean I can use and enjoy the car more, because the more I'm driving it the more it repays me in driving pleasure, but the best thing about TVRs for me is there's huge scope to develop them into the car they really should have been from new, but sadly never were.
I guess you either get TVR ownership as all us long term owners do, or you buy one to scratch an itch and then sell it on a couple of years later after getting a bit frustrated with it, these short term owners with their short term view of TVR ownership are the guys in the pub telling everyone how unreliable TVRs are, the truth is in almost all cases these people weren't let down by the machine they almost certainly let the machine down by not maintaining it correctly and or trying to run the thing on a shoestring.
I've owned my Chimaera for 11 years now and I fully expect to keep it for another 11 years, this is why it's worth doing the things I've done to improve it, for example the LPG thing paid for itself a long time ago and now simply delivers half price Chimaera motoring with no downsides, on the flip side it wouldn't make much sense to go LPG if you're only planning on keeping the car for a couple of years. The chassis restoration covered in this post future proofs another known weakness these great cars suffer from, everything else I've done to the car just makes in nicer to drive, a little faster, better handing and way more reliable and dependable, but all of it is only worth investing in because I intend to keep the car for many more years.
The irony is when I come to sell in 11 years time its new owner will enjoy a properly developed and dependable TVR that drives way better in every respect than when the car was brand new, in the mean time it's my opportunity to squeeze as much pleasure out of it as I possible can while always keeping three steps ahead of the maintenance race
.My TVR care policy is a simple one..... fastidious maintenance combined with sensible upgrades that improve my driving pleasure while enhancing reliability and dependability, the objective being not only to keep the car in perfect running order at all times but also to make it better than when she left the factory in every respect without spending disproportionally large sums that are completely out of sync with the car's market value.
Examples of this are:
1. When the car started exhibiting the infamous hot start issue I studied the problem and identified the real reasons the problem exists, I sorted the immobiliser wiring mistake made by TVR, uprated all the high amp wiring and main earths, fitted a fresh starter motor and a quality battery giving better than new starting and reliability
2. Frustrated by being locked out of the 14CUX making the car more difficult to tune than if it was running a carb, I went with an open source engine management system that also solved the car's costly fuel economy by swapping 23mpg for the petrol cost equivalent of 50mpg. This while improving the cars drivability and engine refinement and at the same time giving me a system I can tune when ever I want with no costly and difficult to source discontinued components to worry about like the Lucas stepper motor, air flow meter, narrow band lambda sensors ect ect.
3. When it came time to refurbish my suspension I went with all new and much developed MK4 Bilsteins, a quality German TuV standard suspension package developed specifically for our cars that delivers better than new ride quality and handling for £1,000 all in.
4. When my front calipers were sticking and needed refurbishment I took it one step further and installed the Brembo brake upgrade instead as it was only a little more expensive than the standard caliper refurbishment for better than new braking performance
5. When it came time to restore my chassis I chose far better materials and paints than those used by TVR originally, I studied where and why the corrosion issue exists in the first place and addressed it with shields to protect my new thicker wall outrigger tubes from stone chips and the accumulation of mud/general road muck that rots out the outrigger corners
These are just five examples, there are many more of course but the objective always remains the same, keep the car impeccably maintained and when it comes to fixing or replacing something make it better than TVR did it when they built the car in 1996. The maintenance thing is always going to be ongoing with any car but neglect it at your peril with a 23 year old TVR, keeping up with the maintenance on such a car is challenge enough for most but I have chosen to take it to the next level by trying to develop the car into something better than when the first owner paid over £30k for it.
My Chimaera handles better, stops better, drives a lot smoother and is a faster car too; at the same time its way way more economical than it was when new, it's also much more reliable and dependable and now it's chassis is going to be way longer lasting than when it left Bristol Avenue way back in 1996. Car maintenance is like a race, it's inevitable things will break and wear out so the idea is you fix and replace them before they leave you on the side of the road, in my Chimaera maintenance race I'm just trying to get even further ahead of future issues by making whatever I fix or replace better than when it was new to deliver a longer service life, better performance and dynamics, and vastly improved reliability.
This is easier said than done with a 23 year old TVR as mostly what happens to owners of these cars is the problems start to get ahead of their far from comprehensive maintenance program, and or their often insufficient maintenance budget gets stretched to breaking point, this is usually when people get fed up and sell their Chimaera. The things I've chosen to do to my car are not really about adding a ton of power, fitting a supercharger or a turbo is exiting stuff but it's never going to add reliability, quite the opposite in fact. I've chosen to put my money into things that mean I can use and enjoy the car more, because the more I'm driving it the more it repays me in driving pleasure, but the best thing about TVRs for me is there's huge scope to develop them into the car they really should have been from new, but sadly never were.
I guess you either get TVR ownership as all us long term owners do, or you buy one to scratch an itch and then sell it on a couple of years later after getting a bit frustrated with it, these short term owners with their short term view of TVR ownership are the guys in the pub telling everyone how unreliable TVRs are, the truth is in almost all cases these people weren't let down by the machine they almost certainly let the machine down by not maintaining it correctly and or trying to run the thing on a shoestring.
I've owned my Chimaera for 11 years now and I fully expect to keep it for another 11 years, this is why it's worth doing the things I've done to improve it, for example the LPG thing paid for itself a long time ago and now simply delivers half price Chimaera motoring with no downsides, on the flip side it wouldn't make much sense to go LPG if you're only planning on keeping the car for a couple of years. The chassis restoration covered in this post future proofs another known weakness these great cars suffer from, everything else I've done to the car just makes in nicer to drive, a little faster, better handing and way more reliable and dependable, but all of it is only worth investing in because I intend to keep the car for many more years.
The irony is when I come to sell in 11 years time its new owner will enjoy a properly developed and dependable TVR that drives way better in every respect than when the car was brand new, in the mean time it's my opportunity to squeeze as much pleasure out of it as I possible can while always keeping three steps ahead of the maintenance race
I don’t know about you but it feels like I’m joining the lucky club.
Lucky to have a Tvr and no hidden rot issues.
It’s starting to feel really good.
I bet you get your car back next week or so,, jammy bugger
Sun’s out
Going forward this is a very cost effective way to keep a Tvr on the road.
We are all aware of the pressures on the car industry and even the Classic scene can’t hide.
So many TVR are going around with iffy bits of metal and the loss of value etc is now prohibitive to do these full body off resto’s which I think is the only reason more have not been done.
This is about as cost effective as it gets unless you are grovelling about underneath it and doing it yourself.
But even that requires many hours of your time so what does that cost.
People who do this job at home in a small garage I can only admire, for everyone else a company offering this type of service at a cost effective price could well keep cars that are not garage queens on the road.
Regardless of how you do this you can pat yourself on the back that you are saving another car for a long time to come.
We are all aware of the pressures on the car industry and even the Classic scene can’t hide.
So many TVR are going around with iffy bits of metal and the loss of value etc is now prohibitive to do these full body off resto’s which I think is the only reason more have not been done.
This is about as cost effective as it gets unless you are grovelling about underneath it and doing it yourself.
But even that requires many hours of your time so what does that cost.
People who do this job at home in a small garage I can only admire, for everyone else a company offering this type of service at a cost effective price could well keep cars that are not garage queens on the road.
Regardless of how you do this you can pat yourself on the back that you are saving another car for a long time to come.
Exactly Alun, its a logical division of labour thing.
If I'd taken on this work myself I could easily see six months passing as I tried and failed to match what Alex can achieve to a far higher standard within a couple of months, when I first connected with Alex Wheatly in the summer of last year we planned the work to take place over the worse weather months of 2020 when I knew I wouldn't be driving the car much, as it turns out we've had the wettest January and February since records began so the car would have just been sat in the garage going nowhere, as a consequence I've lost little or no use of the car.
As I said when I started this post, the idea behind my chassis restoration was to showcase how for not much more money than most TVR specialists charge for a basic 'body on' outrigger replacement, Alex Wheatley will give you all this.....
1. Remove exhaust manifolds, fuel lines, brake pipes, radiator, fuel connections, seats, central console, engine bay wiring harness, ect ect ect
2. Completely remove the body from the chassis giving game changing access to do the job properly
3. Fully degrease the chassis
4. Cut out the old rotten outriggers
5. Thoroughly de-rust the exposed backbone which in my case turned out to just be a small amount of localized surface rust around some, but from all, of the original TVR welds
6. Neatly weld in new outriggers custom made to the car and fabricated from far superior thicker wall seamless tube
7. Remove all the suspension components deep cleaning/degreasing and de-rusting all 8 wishbones and rear uprights
8. Paint all 8 wishbones and rear uprights in two coats of Jotamastic 90 epoxy mastic paint
9. Rebuild restored suspension using all new nuts and bolts
10. Paint the new outriggers and de-rusted TVR welds with first coat of Jotamastic 90 epoxy mastic
11. Paint the entire chassis including the new outriggers front to back and top to bottom in a second coat of Jotamastic 90 epoxy mastic
12. Paint front uprights, front ARB, rear ARB and various brackets in black as original
13. Replace fuel hoses as required and fit all new cable ties
14. Reunite body with restored rolling chassis securing with all new nuts and bolts
15. Refit exhaust manifolds, fuel lines, brake pipes, radiator, fuel connections, seats, central console, engine bay wiring harness, ect ect ect
16. Fill and bleed coolant system, fill and bleed brakes
17. Complete laser wheel alignment
18. Drive the car for a few days to complete a comprehensive shakedown
19. Snagging - Address any squeaks, rattles, running issues and wiring faults revealed by shakedown
20. Deliver car to customer
All of this for only £TBC more than your typical TVR specialist charges for a body on outrigger replacement where full 360 degree welds can't be guaranteed without cutting holes in the car's floor and typically a chip prone powder coat finish is used, please contact Alex to discuss your requirements and he will explain his very reasonable rates.
To be clear whats been done here is not a full chassis strip and shot blast job, and the epoxy mastic has been applied by brush not spray painted. However, the process is clearly hugely more comprehensive and will be massively longer lasting than a body on outrigger job, and because of this I believe what I've ended up with delivers absolutely unparalleled value for money.
As I've said many times....
"If TVR's rasher pish poor efforts lasted 23 years, I see no reason why my new thicker wall outriggers and the entire chassis/suspension system painted in two pack industrial marine grade epoxy mastic won't last 30 years or more"
Being honest I can't wait to get the car back so I can get on with the fun bit...... driving the wheels of the thing
- I earn my money doing my job, which is what I do best
- I then use the money I've earned to pay Alex to do his job, which is what he does best
- Best of all we're both doing our jobs at the exact same time making progress far more rapid
If I'd taken on this work myself I could easily see six months passing as I tried and failed to match what Alex can achieve to a far higher standard within a couple of months, when I first connected with Alex Wheatly in the summer of last year we planned the work to take place over the worse weather months of 2020 when I knew I wouldn't be driving the car much, as it turns out we've had the wettest January and February since records began so the car would have just been sat in the garage going nowhere, as a consequence I've lost little or no use of the car.
As I said when I started this post, the idea behind my chassis restoration was to showcase how for not much more money than most TVR specialists charge for a basic 'body on' outrigger replacement, Alex Wheatley will give you all this.....
1. Remove exhaust manifolds, fuel lines, brake pipes, radiator, fuel connections, seats, central console, engine bay wiring harness, ect ect ect
2. Completely remove the body from the chassis giving game changing access to do the job properly
3. Fully degrease the chassis
4. Cut out the old rotten outriggers
5. Thoroughly de-rust the exposed backbone which in my case turned out to just be a small amount of localized surface rust around some, but from all, of the original TVR welds
6. Neatly weld in new outriggers custom made to the car and fabricated from far superior thicker wall seamless tube
7. Remove all the suspension components deep cleaning/degreasing and de-rusting all 8 wishbones and rear uprights
8. Paint all 8 wishbones and rear uprights in two coats of Jotamastic 90 epoxy mastic paint
9. Rebuild restored suspension using all new nuts and bolts
10. Paint the new outriggers and de-rusted TVR welds with first coat of Jotamastic 90 epoxy mastic
11. Paint the entire chassis including the new outriggers front to back and top to bottom in a second coat of Jotamastic 90 epoxy mastic
12. Paint front uprights, front ARB, rear ARB and various brackets in black as original
13. Replace fuel hoses as required and fit all new cable ties
14. Reunite body with restored rolling chassis securing with all new nuts and bolts
15. Refit exhaust manifolds, fuel lines, brake pipes, radiator, fuel connections, seats, central console, engine bay wiring harness, ect ect ect
16. Fill and bleed coolant system, fill and bleed brakes
17. Complete laser wheel alignment
18. Drive the car for a few days to complete a comprehensive shakedown
19. Snagging - Address any squeaks, rattles, running issues and wiring faults revealed by shakedown
20. Deliver car to customer
All of this for only £TBC more than your typical TVR specialist charges for a body on outrigger replacement where full 360 degree welds can't be guaranteed without cutting holes in the car's floor and typically a chip prone powder coat finish is used, please contact Alex to discuss your requirements and he will explain his very reasonable rates.
To be clear whats been done here is not a full chassis strip and shot blast job, and the epoxy mastic has been applied by brush not spray painted. However, the process is clearly hugely more comprehensive and will be massively longer lasting than a body on outrigger job, and because of this I believe what I've ended up with delivers absolutely unparalleled value for money.
As I've said many times....
"If TVR's rasher pish poor efforts lasted 23 years, I see no reason why my new thicker wall outriggers and the entire chassis/suspension system painted in two pack industrial marine grade epoxy mastic won't last 30 years or more"
Being honest I can't wait to get the car back so I can get on with the fun bit...... driving the wheels of the thing
Edited by ChimpOnGas on Saturday 7th March 10:36
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