New owner

[Prizam]

Hi all,

Long time lurker, first time poster. I have spent a lot of time on here looking for advice and have just managed to get a nice TVR back on the road because of it

after looking for a Chimaera for about 6 months with a tiny budget i have finally managed to find a reasonable car.

I wanted a project and think i have managed to pull it off.

The car had been sat for nearly 5 years when i got it, and had a massive list of jobs that needed doing. This site has helped me immensely!

In the last 2 weeks i have...

Refreshed the dash
Fitted a new Radiator
Reset the windows in there fraims
Fixed the slow window motors
Fitted ally indicators
Fixed the boot solenoid
Oil, Air and fluids service
New Thermostat
New spark plugs
Fitted fan override

Erm.... and im sure there are a few more bits.







Any way... passed the MOT without any advisory's and i then enjoyed a 200 mile round trip in her.

And then found a couple other issues...

Hot start problems, and then the manifold gasket let go! Luckily i was only a mile away from home.

So far getting the manifold off is the biggest pig of a job i have yet done... any advice?

[quattrophenia]

Looks like you have spent some time cleaning and polishing her too! Keep the faith she will serve you well.
Manifolds are a pig (so I've been told) every time I enquire about doing mine the only advice I get is pay someone to do them as you need a ramp and double jointed arms! If you feel brave then the top bolt are undone from above and the bottom ones from below (after several days of soaking the nuts in plus gas, naturally!!)

[Jon Brown]

Welcome to the fold, manifolf is a pig but drivers side is easier than the passenger.

Just take your time, the bolts on the top can be done with spanners but might be easier to modify a spanner to make them fit better. And then from underneath for the back three and through the wheel arch for the front one.

Replace the bolts with the ones from ACT and when you order them ask for some nordlocks. Makes life a lot easier when it comes to refitting them.

On the refit make sure you do the bolt at the bottom, second from the front first as it won't go in straight otherwise.

Hope that helps

[900T-R]

Jon Brown said:

Replace the bolts with the ones from ACT and when you order them ask for some nordlocks. Makes life a lot easier when it comes to refitting them.

Good advice.

[Prizam]

Jon Brown said:

Just take your time, the bolts on the top can be done with spanners but might be easier to modify a spanner to make them fit better. And then from underneath for the back three and through the wheel arch for the front one.

Replace the bolts with the ones from ACT and when you order them ask for some nordlocks. Makes life a lot easier when it comes to refitting them.

On the refit make sure you do the bolt at the bottom, second from the front first as it won't go in straight otherwise.

Hope that helps

Thanks, i got the manifold kit from Racetec that comes with replacement bolts and washers. Tho nordlocks look like a better idea.

Will see how i get on, i have only just managed to find an imperial spanner that will do the job. Expect that by the end of the week my knuckles will be down to the bone!

[Prizam]

Ok... What asshat designed this manifold? Its a joke, ports that bend down in such a way that even if you can get to a bolt and get it loose, you cant get it out without it fowling the weld/port.

Ugh, took me 3 hours to undo the 4 bottom bolts.

Oh well, i guess im at the half way mark now. Its all off and ready for new gaskets (After i clean it up).

When i get this side done should i do the other? Its not broken (As far as i know) and to be hoist, i think im trying to avoid it.

[fausTVR]

Thought about removing those precats while the manifolds are off? Plenty of previous posts on the subject. Gains to be made re lower under bonnet temps and released horses and maybe musicality. I would anyhow, after all that effort.

[900T-R]

Indeed, removing the pre-cats is a good thing if you want to keep things a little less toasty under the bonnet (and improve component life of rubber/plastic parts etc). At the very least take a peek inside to see if the pre-cat inserts are intact and not blocked with soot etc. before bolting the manifolds back to the heads. Also check if the 4-to-1- connection right before the pre-cat is still leakfree.

Bolting the manifold back to the cylinder head (and, God forbid, subsequent removal) will be a lot easier using the ARP bolts with the smaller heads.

Another thing I would immediately look at and replace if there's 0.000001% doubt on a new-to-me car is the short run of fuel line running from the firewall to the engine's fuel rail. Fibreglass-bodied cars tend to burn down to the ground very quickly .

Edited by 900T-R on Thursday 2nd August 06:25

[Quietlybonkers]

[quote=900T-R]
Another thing I would immediately look at and replace if there's 0.000001% doubt on a new-to-me car is the short run of fuel line running from the firewall to the engine's fuel rail. Fibreglass-bodied cars tend to burn down to the ground very quickly .

These are what he is referring to:

[Quietlybonkers]

IF your hot start problem is the same as mine was, you drive around in hot weather, typically in traffic in a town, you stop to post a letter or take the roof off, get back in seconds later, turn the key, and it seems like the immobiliser is on - no whirr, no click, just total silence.
It is caused by not enough juice getting to the starter.
Fixes I have heard are a better main power lead to the starter, or the Hot Start Mod, which costs £40 from Modwise, and is the relay and some wiring that came with the starter motor when Rover sold it to TVR, and which TVR removed.

Mine refused to hot start twice - it will restart after about 20 minutes cooling - and has not failed once since I fitted the mod.

[Prizam]

fausTVR said:

Thought about removing those precats while the manifolds are off? Plenty of previous posts on the subject. Gains to be made re lower under bonnet temps and released horses and maybe musicality. I would anyhow, after all that effort.

Will it still pass an MOT?

[900T-R]

Yes, as the pre-cats are only there to get the emission results very quickly after a cold start as per required for Type Approval, while the MOT emissions test is performed on a warmed up engine.

The car might be a tad noisier though.

[Prizam]

900T-R said:

The car might be a tad noisier though.

Good

Is it just a case of getting the honey comb cat materiel out then? Coat hanger and a hammer?

[fausTVR]

Not done it myself (yet) but i would try to remove the lambda sensor in each manifold 1st for its own protection before you get to chiselling away at the honeycombe center. I believe a socket with a slot cut along one side (for the wire) will do the job.

[Prizam]

Decided to go for it. I had the other manifold out in about 10 minuets flat. Only to find out it already had new gaskets on it and had been de-catted.

Will running one fanny mould with the cats in and the other without do any harm to the engine?


Is there a tequnike in getting the cats out? Ive been drilling and chiseling away but it seems like a slow and brutal process.

[900T-R]

I'd wager to guess it will run a fair bit better with both pre-cats removed, can't be good to have different exhaust backpressures on each cylinder bank.

[Prizam]

900T-R said:

I'd wager to guess it will run a fair bit better with both pre-cats removed, can't be good to have different exhaust backpressures on each cylinder bank.

Didn't seem to have a problem running. But yeah, defanatley agree.

Can you see any long term damage that might have been done to the engine?

Guess the previous owner liked cutting corners a bit!