Body Off - The Naked Truth

[Classic Chim]

fieryfred said:

HHC has a freshly powder coated chassis from RT racing for £2750.
With out riggers costing approx £2000 this seems like a good buy.
But only if you have your body off.

If your taking the body off to do the riggers then decide you should really do a full chassis this is indeed a good price. You could rebuild your car very quickly and then concentrate on your old chassis repairs, sell that on thus you offset the extra hours it takes to do a full body off / engine out job.
Man math

[ChimpOnGas]

I looked at the donor /exchange chassis option, while it sounds good on paper the only real advantage it gives is speed. Wheeler Dealers restored their Cerbera using an RT Racing exchange chassis but this would have been for film production reasons, it sped up the restoration process which meant the director could plan his filming schedule accurately within a tighter time frame.

Unless you're running a serious production line of TVR chassis restoration projects or a media company filming a chassis restoration, the reality is the exchange chassis idea just doesn't stack up. As we've proved with my project 90% of the structure typically remains in perfect order, so it makes far more sense to restore what you have.

The secret to longevity is a quality process executed with OCD levels of attention to detail using improved materials, an advanced coating system, and then to protect it all properly from stone chips and road muck thus eliminating the original design flaw at source.

1. Fabricate and fit new outriggers - Made better and stronger using thicker wall tube

2. De-rust all other areas of localised chassis corrosion - Mostly the area above the diff and around the wishbone brackets

3. Completely address any wishbone corrosion found

4. Use industrial marine grade two component epoxy mastic paint to protect the lot - Far superior to chip prone powder coat

5. Solve the main contributing reasons for outrigger corrosion at source, ie eliminate stone chips, road spray and trapped dirt in the outrigger corners - Fit outrigger protectors

Once you've done that lot you've got yourself a chassis that will last way longer than it did originally with the factory finish, and lets not forget mine lasted 23 years before the body needed to come off. As presented in this post I hope everyone can see we are doing the job significantly better than TVR did it back in 1996, so I'm confident the process is going to give me many more than 23 years of chassis life before any further work is needed.

I believe the Alex Wheatly process takes a well considered and sensible approach to the issue of the TVR chassis corrosion balancing considerably improved chassis longevity with cost, we are not just giving my chassis a few extra years here, we are buying many more years than TVR gave their chassis' from new! I'm also 100% confident what I'm getting is a massively step up from the typical body on outrigger replacement work and for what amounts to just a few hundred pounds more. While it's not a full £8,000 nut & bolt job, in all the important aspects the Alex Wheatly process runs it a very close second and for many thousands of pounds less.

Watch this space, more photos to follow

[ChimpOnGas]

fieryfred said:

HHC has a freshly powder coated chassis from RT racing for £2750.
With out riggers costing approx £2000 this seems like a good buy.
But only if you have your body off.

That chassis is £2,750 plus VAT making it £3,300 before you even start!

OK so you end up with your original chassis to sell, but it'll be worthless until you've restored it, which is yet more money to spend before you enjoy the return.

And how long will it take to sell?

And while you're waiting where are you going to store it?

A TVR chassis isn't a small thing, and I don't think selling one will prove especially easy either

For all these reasons the exchange chassis idea isn't the perfect solution it first seems

[crosseyedlion]

ChimpOnGas said:

fieryfred said:

HHC has a freshly powder coated chassis from RT racing for £2750.
With out riggers costing approx £2000 this seems like a good buy.
But only if you have your body off.

That chassis is £2,750 plus VAT making it £3,300 before you even start!

OK so you end up with your original chassis to sell, but it'll be worthless until you've restored it, which is yet more money to spend before you enjoy the return.

And how long will it take to sell?

And while you're waiting where are you going to store it?

A TVR chassis isn't a small thing, and I don't think selling one will prove especially easy either

For all these reasons the exchange chassis idea isn't the perfect solution it first seems

Also, if the original can be repaired, then repair it and use it. At least the car will have its original chassis then. There's something to be said for that.

[Zener]

ChimpOnGas said:

That chassis is £2,750 plus VAT making it £3,300 before you even start!

OK so you end up with your original chassis to sell, but it'll be worthless until you've restored it, which is yet more money to spend before you enjoy the return.

And how long will it take to sell?

And while you're waiting where are you going to store it?

A TVR chassis isn't a small thing, and I don't think selling one will prove especially easy either

For all these reasons the exchange chassis idea isn't the perfect solution it first seems

This ^

[magpies]

Also consider that the chassis number will change, try telling DVLA that and see what they want to happen. Probably IVA testing which the original was never designed to pass. You can't just transfer the chassis number and then try to sell the original

[V8fan]

Many moons ago in the 1980s, when I was an owner of a couple of Colin Chapman's Norfolk produce, I know an owner who came a real cropper changing a chassis. (Not me I add!) Ended up with a Q plated Elan.

Kit car builders will tell you it's an amalgam of chassis, transmission, axles etc that determine a car's age and therefore registration but nevertheless I'm slightly surprised when I see people so open about a chassis change. It isn't a sub frame on a TVR, it's the whole thing, I just wouldn't say anything to DVLA, and get the same VIN number stamped on the replacement chassis. That WD silver Cerbera 4.2 with the replaced chassis, Ed didn't do it as far as I know!

[ChimpOnGas]

Wishbones coming up a treat







Look closely and you can see even the original label remains

The Dinitrol certainly did its job but it is messy old stuff when I work on the car, this time I'm going with a cleaner approach so its Jotun's Jotamastic 90 Aluminum epoxy mastic paint all the way.



Here's some Lotus wishbones sprayed in Jotamastic Aluminum, we're hoping for a pretty close match to the pre 1997 TVR silver/grey chassis finish my Chimaera left the factory with.

[MikeE]

ChimpOnGas said:

Wishbones coming up a treat







Look closely and you can see even the original label remains

The Dinitrol certainly did its job but it is messy old stuff when I work on the car, this time I'm going with a cleaner approach so its Jotun's Jotamastic 90 Aluminum epoxy mastic paint all the way.



Here's some Lotus wishbones sprayed in Jotamastic Aluminum, we're hoping for a pretty close match to the pre 1997 TVR silver/grey chassis finish my Chimaera left the factory with.

My chassis has 17 year old waxoyl on it and I've started to remove it as I too want the clean look, what is it you're soaking your wishbones in to remove the Dinitrol?

[crosseyedlion]

Diesel.

But don't get the bushes in it unless you intend on replacing and it's horrendous stuff. Do not get any in contact with skin. Wear marigolds.

A chap I know has blood cancer because the army used to get him spraying the underside of trucks.

[Zener]

Kerosene/Paraffin removes Waxoyl/Dinitrol style waxes too but thats not healthy either , but less oily than Diesel and more aggressive IMO

[ChimpOnGas]

Last Wednesday before the wishbone clean up started.



This frame created by Alex Wheatley allows the body to be moved about the workshop and stacked safely over the chassis to maximise workshop space.

Lateral thinking delivers a clever vertical solution

[MikeE]

crosseyedlion said:

Diesel.

But don't get the bushes in it unless you intend on replacing and it's horrendous stuff. Do not get any in contact with skin. Wear marigolds.

A chap I know has blood cancer because the army used to get him spraying the underside of trucks.

I think I'll pass on that then!

I've been using U-Pol panel wipe but it's slow going, might be quicker to just take the body off and send it to a sand blaster!

[LLantrisant]

if i would do a body off chassis refurb or chassis change...i would ONLY galvanize the chassis....not messing around with discussions like "paint", "which paint", or "powdercoat"

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.28579953...

this is THE one and ONLY real solution against corrosion!!!

[dhutch]

You can have issues with warping things with hot dip galv.

However zinc thermal spraying is another option.

[ChimpOnGas]

LLantrisant said:

if i would do a body off chassis refurb or chassis change...i would ONLY galvanize the chassis....not messing around with discussions like "paint", "which paint", or "powdercoat"

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.28579953...

this is THE one and ONLY real solution against corrosion!!!

What a load of old tosh, for starters that Facebook link takes me to a guy in Hungary, how the hell are you going to control a restoration project when your pride and joy is on the far side of the European continent? Now consider how you're going to get the car there and get it back too, the labour may be cheap but I think we all know it's a way too risky and impractical option to send your car so far away for such work.

Your short sighted throw away comments are also way too easy to post on a forum, especially when in making such statements you're effectively spending someone else's money.

Before progressing it may be worth asking yourself these five simple questions...

Q1. Have you actually pulled the trigger on this work yourself, or are you just fantasising on what you'd like to do?

Q2. How much will such a nut & bolt full galvanized job cost?

Q3. It this something you can afford or is it just more fantasy?

Q4. How much resale value will it add?

Q5. How long do you want your chassis to last?

My chassis refurbishment is really happening and its happening right now, you can follow it here.

But rest assured before I decided how it was going to be done I thought long and hard about the process that made best sense based on my needs, and which process would deliver best value.

• I studied all the options

• I considered the number of years each option would buy me

• I kept in the back of my mind that TVR's poor job lasted 23 years itself

• I was honest with myself how many more years I was likely to keep the car

• I considered the market value of TVR Chimaeras

• I estimated the improvement to my car's resale value each option would deliver

• I gave careful consideration to who would do the work, their skills and attention to detail

• I balanced all the above against cost and quality

I fairly and pragmatically applied the above comprehensive well considered 8 point evaluation methodology to every available option, the result being the process and service offered by Alex Wheatly delivered by far the highest final score. And so far what I'm seeing from him is exceeding my expectations, Alex's attention to detail is exceptional, as is his customer care and communication skills.

Quite clearly the full nut and bolt galvansied job is far from being THE one and ONLY real solution against corrosion you suggest it is!!!

Please can we stop talking nonsense and try to show a higher level of intelligence when making comments.

Thanks, Dave.

[Classic Chim]

LLantrisant said:

if i would do a body off chassis refurb or chassis change...i would ONLY galvanize the chassis....not messing around with discussions like "paint", "which paint", or "powdercoat"

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.28579953...

this is THE one and ONLY real solution against corrosion!!!

Are they even still in business. No posts on their Facebook site since 2018 as far as I can see.
They were facing a court case for taking two cars one a T 350 and not returning them back to the customer or something like that as I seem to remember.
Now I don’t like slighting a company without in depth knowledge so I say this with caution.
I’ve purchased a number of items from these guys in the past.
I was lied too about delivery dates, due to the fact it’s a long distance sent a number of emails to make sure they sent me the correct parts. One of these was a stainless wiper mesh. My car is a late model so have the jet wash holes in a different place. I made it very clear which one I needed.
They sent me the wrong one then had the cheek to ask me to send my old mesh to them so they could make a pattern,,,, wtf.
So they never had the correct one to send me, ignored my email regarding these details in the first place and simply took my money. It took over 8 weeks to arrive too.
It’s a quality product but the wrong one.
I was now so dismayed by the incompetence these people showed and had no intention of sending my old mesh to them. I adapted the wrong mesh to fit my car.
Never would I do business with such people again I’m rather sad to say.

How long do you expect a TVR to last.
I’m pretty sure using modern paints my car will still be going in 25 years time so your comments are pretty pointless are they not.

Edited by Classic Chim on Saturday 1st February 10:10

[Badgerchim]

I was wondering what, if any additional post paint finish rust prevention measures you might be doing in those hard to reach places before the body goes back on eg dinitrol.
I think denso tape has been used on classic tvrs and looks like it could be a good long term protection measure between tubes and body ?

[Classic Chim]

If anything I’ve identified the few area’s that need protection on mine other than a rubberised paint over my outriggers.
Basically from my own chassis where the rear body fits over the Diff carrier area needs some form of protection as it looks like the body section rubs there.
Then there’s the top chassis tubes that run past the exhaust manifolds of which I have very expensive heat proof tape to cover the painted area there. (Gold in colour )
Other than that on my chassis at least the centre section has very little corrosion on the parts the body covers.

As this is hidden I will use some form of oil based protection just so it can be forgotten about for a decade or two.

[Zener]

No need for galvanizing IMO these coating processes above will last long enough anyway many of us will be brown bread before they need attention again