Chassis repairs

[beancounter]

13 years from new and an unlucky number as my Chim has just failed its MoT due to chassis rot - small hole in front corner. I have had two quotes to replace outriggers etc and one is based on a body lift whereas the other is body off (a few hundred quid more). Is it worth paying more to get the body off, what do I need to ensure is done and what would be a reasonable price for this job?

[ewan221]

for a few hundred 100% yes, though once body off its probably a slippery slope to a few thousand more

[beancounter]

Thanks Ewan - I'll go for the body off option and hope to get more than 13 yrs from the new metal.

[EGB]

What quotes did you get for body lift and body off. We all like to know and by whome.I have heared of quotes for body lift of + or - £1200
Thanks..... Eddie.

[SILICONEKID340HP]

Just weld the hole up ..those outriggeres don`t do alot anyway

[bobfather]

SILICONEKID340HP said:

Just weld the hole up ..those outriggeres don`t do alot anyway

[Barkychoc]

You've no chance - the metal will be crusty and paper thin - as soon as you get a welder near it the small hole will be a big one!

[raceboy]

SILICONEKID340HP said:

Just weld the hole up ..those outriggeres don`t do alot anyway

I saw a car a few weeks ago that had the outriggers filled with 'filler'.
Let's just say it didn't really look like it contributed much to the strength of the rusty tube.

[beancounter]

Thanks for the wide variety of advice; all received gratefully. Conclusion is to spend £1800 + VAT and go for full body off chassis restoration as I intend to keep the car indefinitely and pass it to my son when I can no longer drive it. Work will be done by Steve Darvill at SDAutotec in Great Ouseburn North Yorkshire because it is local and I've known and been able to trust him since I bought my first TVR in 1996

[scotty_d]

Barkychoc said:

You've no chance - the metal will be crusty and paper thin - as soon as you get a welder near it the small hole will be a big one!

This ^ i had the same issue trying to plate my cerbs ones.

[spongy]

my outriggers had mastic in em.........mind you they were not as bad as some ive seen

[SlimChim]

mine's in at the moment for outrigger replacement.....how it was described to me was.....seats out, cut holes in the floor, cut out old outriggers through holes and sleeve new ones with welding the top through the hole. Fibreglass floor and seats back in, fully painted and waxoyled.

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

beancounter said:

Conclusion is to spend £1800 + VAT and go for full body off chassis restoration

If you intend to keep it a long time, you won't regret that decision. Also, it's worth considering having it totally stripped (remove engine, gearbox, prop shafts, diff, etc etc) and have the entire chassis shot blasted and powder coated. If the price you've quoted includes all that then it's an extraordinary price; otherwise it's still worth it if you can afford the additional £1500-ish plus VAT. It sounds a lot of money, but the real work is all the dismantling, reassembly and setup.

Also, having the body removed properly allows you to see your car in a way that you'll never be able to see it again, and you can post some chassis porn pics here!


Edited to add totally gratuitous naked chassis shot. Phoarrr!

Edited by Dr Mike Oxgreen on Tuesday 12th June 18:55

[swallet]

I've heard good things about Steve Darvill at SDAutotec. When I was looking for a Chim I saw one whose chassis had been sorted by him.
Looked mint.

All the best

[beancounter]

Pleased to hear the positive news about Steve Darvill and looking forward to visiting him tomorrow to see the body off and make final decision as to extent of the work. Like the doctor's naked chassis pics and must say it is tempting to enable it to be powder coated, but it may stretch the budget too far and begin to interfere with marital harmony!

[beancounter]

Just thought you'd like to know that it was a wise choice to go for the full body off because it revealed one hell of a flaky mess - about as bad as Steve has seen! So the engine is now out and we're going for a fairly major restoration (including new cam and clutch for good measure after 45k miles)

[portzi]

scary stuff. Good decision with body off choice. sounds like you will have a new car at the end of it.


mark

[Engineer1949]

It is your decision entirly but powder coating was the start of most of the chims problems they chip or wear away and the water salt etc. gets under the coating by capilliary action and sits there corroding the metal,it does look good lots of show bikes use it as it does cover a multitude of sins smooting the look of welds etc. but believe me there are better solutions out there now most of which have come from the offshore industries mine has been shotblasted then repaired then blasted again then zinc rich then primer and finally an international g39 i think that was the numberfor the top coat which is easily touched up and very salt and water resistant,but this is just my take but you have definatly done the right thing.



John

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

Engineer1949 said:

powder coating was the start of most of the chims problems

In fairness, it was the poor prep, then leaving the bare chassis out in the rain, and then poor powder coating with no primer that resulted in the problem we know and love today. Done well, it's a reasonably tough and cost-effective solution. Mine was primed with a zinc-based primer before coating; I think most chassis restorers are doing the same.

[Engineer1949]

That is fair comment problem still is it cracks and gets chipped when rebuilding like fitting wishbones and cranking up the bolts as it fairly thick process and not spot repairable but i do agree properly applied it should outlast me at least but i still prefer the alternative.



John