Outrigger replacement blog

[MisterT]

Strudul said:

not sure what the black / yellow connector is?

That looks like the air-con connections in the engine/ECU loom.

Edited by MisterT on Friday 16th October 23:32

[Strudul]

MisterT said:

Strudul said:

not sure what the black / yellow connector is?

That looks like the air-con connections in the engine/ECU loom.

Edited by MisterT on Friday 16th October 23:32

Ah, no air con, so that'd explain it.

Guessing the green / grey wires in the boot are for the rear speakers which i don't have too.

[Classic Chim]

What’s the condition of your top tubes around manifold area?
Most look worse than they are but those tubes can be very corroded and thin.
That’s the area you need to inspect, we know the riggers will likely be fked

[Strudul]

Classic Chim said:

What’s the condition of your top tubes around manifold area?
Most look worse than they are but those tubes can be very corroded and thin.
That’s the area you need to inspect, we know the riggers will likely be fked

Seem to remember they looked pretty good, but will find out I guess.

[Sir Paolo]

Strudul said:

Day 1

• Got 4 wires in the boot (2 green, 2 black) - not sure where they were supposed to go

Where did these even com from

Edited by Strudul on Friday 16th October 22:59

Sounds like you’re making good progress!

The four green and black cables in the would be for rear mounted speakers

[Strudul]

Day 2

• Metal collected
• Hand brake cable loosened
• Steering rack and lower UJ disconnected
• Rad drained
• Ground off the sheered outer seatbelt bolt into the outrigger
• Snipped a lot of zip ties
• 2" body lift complete
• Decided 2" might not be enough to get in to weld the top of the pipes
• Starter removed
• Rear ARB loosened
• Exhaust removed
• 7/8 O/S manifold bolts removed. N/S soaked ready for tomorrow

Notes:

• Rear upper O/S manifold bolt is the only one being a massive pain so far and a bit scared of it shearing
• Just in case manifolds don't go to plan, any tips on getting in to weld with a 2" lift (w/o cutting the floor out)?
• Exhaust U clamp bolt sheared - 75mm replacement?
• Manifold gasket replacements ordered
• Tempted to stick with same bolts, but slot the lower manifold bolt holes
• Pre-cats look in decent condition, but might hammer them out while I'm here
• Looking like I'll only need to replace the outer outriggers, rather than right up to the chassis.
• Couldn't get telescopic tube, so picked up 1 3/8" and will slot it then bash in
• Was initially planning to tack the outriggers together on the car then take off to weld up properly, but now realise the inner sleeves will prevent it being able to slide back off

Next steps:

• Finish removing manifolds
• Cut some inspection holes in the outriggers to confirm condition at different points
• Weld some supports to the main chassis rails to help support / line riggers up
• Measure up
• Cut riggers off
• Start fabbing

Lil lift


Plan B


Unfortunately not ice cream, but all the bolts.


More bolt organising


Healthy pre-cat asking to be violated


£50 of steel ready to go

Edited by Strudul on Saturday 17th October 22:25

[Strudul]

Oh, and a question in case i can't get the manifolds off:

I believe the only thing stopping a further lift to 6" is the manifolds fouling on the body. Rather than remove the manifolds, would it be possible to just unbolt the engine mounts and use an engine hoist to lift the entire engine (with manifolds still attached) to get a couple more inches of clearance?

[Classic Chim]

No need to weld supports onto chassis, use a couple of G clamps and a 2m level or straight edge directly across bottom rails. I took measurements off that datum point to original rigger positions and went from there.

As the engine is still connected to gearbox And chassis you might pivit it up slightly at the front but the rear end of it will not rise much would be my thought but you might get an inch or two extra wiggle room.

The higher you go the more twist you will be applying to gearbox mounts so keep your eye on them and if any tearing or stress is being applied.

Edited by Classic Chim on Sunday 18th October 00:02

[Strudul]

Day 3

• Finished off the manifolds without any trouble
• Increased to 6" lift
• Got the support bars on the O/S (gives something to rest the pipe on and use as a ref)
• Chopped off O/S rigger part way (rest seems alright)
• Cut up and slotted 10x 20mm inner sleeves
• Drilled 4 holes in each O/S rigger stump to puddle weld sleeves in

Notes:

• Riggers sprung out of shape slightly (upwards I think) when cut off

Next steps:

• Clean up the inside of the O/S rigger stumps and treat
• Mitre cut the long / lat pipes
• Notch the diagonals and centre lat pipe (using paper template)
• Remember to measure up and trim out for the seatbelt mount
• Start welding

Manifolds out


Car up


Supports in


Pipes cut and drilled

[Classic Chim]

Those originals are not too bad really.
That’s not a bad shout how your doing this.
It’s clearly where the stones and crap sits that causes the rotting, that and not having any real access to be able to maintain them better. My outward tubes also showed very little signs of corrosion.

[Loubaruch]

A great post, most interesting and informative.

As with Classic Chim's post these are of real value to other owners contemplating rigger replacement.

[Strudul]

Day 4

• Cleaned up and treated the O/S stump inners and prepped for welding
• Mitre cut both the longitudinal pipes as well as the front and rear O/S lateral ones
• O/S inner sleeves test fit and lateral ones puddle welded in
• Test fit O/S long pipe with front / rear lats
• Paper templates created and test fit for notches in centre pipe and front / rear diagonals

Notes:

• Jacks and clamps used to hold riggers in place, ratchet straps may be needed

Next steps:

• Notch the O/S pipes with a grinder using the templates
• Finish welding O/S sleeves
• Jig up the N/S and start cutting
• Remember to measure up and trim out for the seatbelt mount(!!!)
• Get some drill bits and cavity wax spray ordered

Rust treated my fingers


Paper riggers. Probably still got more structural strength than some TVRs out there




The templates (40º one was off, but other 2 worked well)


Some chassis picks. Front and below manifolds.




Coming together

[Mark_S_24]

Excellent work there!!

Keep the pictures coming

Mark S

[Steve_D]

I see you have a straight edge across the underside of the main chassis rails with the outriggers sitting on that.

The outriggers normally sit about 6mm higher than that. They are not very consistent as I have seen them from 4mm through to 12mm but 6 is the most common.

Steve

[Strudul]

Steve_D said:

I see you have a straight edge across the underside of the main chassis rails with the outriggers sitting on that.

The outriggers normally sit about 6mm higher than that. They are not very consistent as I have seen them from 4mm through to 12mm but 6 is the most common.

Steve

Good eye, but not a straight edge.

These were welded on whilst clamped against the old riggers before they were chopped off, so they hold the new piping at the correct height and distance from the main chassis. Various measurements were taken to give reference points for verification of XYZ positioning of the longitudinal bars.

[Classic Chim]

Replace engine mounts while your there but I’m sure your on it.

[Strudul]

Day 5

• O/S pipes notched
• O/S sleeves welded in (except the centre)
• O/S diagonals welded in
• O/S long bar tacked
• Cav spray and drill bits collected
• N/S supports welded up
• N/S reference measurements taken
• N/S riggers chopped off and cleaned up

Next steps:

• Cav spray O/S
• Finish welding O/S pipes
• Drill out N/S stumps for puddle welds
• Treat N/S stumps
• Install N/S sleeves
• Start on N/S fabbing (notching and cutting)
• Remember to measure up and trim out for the seatbelt mount(!!!)

Notches







O/S partially welded



N/S supports + cuts

[Strudul]

Day 6

• Cav sprayed O/S
• O/S tube all welded up
• N/S stumps drilled, cleaned up, and treated, then sleeves welded in
• N/S pipes notched, cut and drilled
• Re-ordered gaskets and the exhaust clamp as I selected the wrong address
• Ordered universal coolant

Next steps:

• Jiggle N/S about so it all fits properly
• Measure up and trim out for the O/S seatbelt mount
• Clean up welds
• Start prepping O/S for paint (stripping back old powercoat and any surface rust)
• Cut up plate for mounting points
• Clean up any bolts that are being reused
• De-pre-cat if I get chance

Sorry, forgot to photo.

[magpies]

Those profiles look brilliant.

I'd dress up / relook at the welds though.

[Strudul]

magpies said:

Those profiles look brilliant.

I'd dress up / relook at the welds though.

They aren’t the prettiest, but there’s good penetration and they’re strong.

Welding is something I’ve not got round to learning yet, so got a mate helping out with that part. There’s a lot of colourful language - the access and positioning is making it quite difficult.

They are going to get rechecked once I’ve cleaned them up though and we’ll touch up any problem areas.