Have Motaclan Made a Mistake?

[Andy70]

I ordered a pair of door top finishers for the car last year from them, they sent me 2, the nearside seemed correct and the drivers side looked like a completely different part, I had a whinge and eventually after sending pictures convinced them they sent me the wrong one, I even contacted TVRSSW to double check that the passenger side should mirror the drivers side and then they gave me a refund, but not for the 4 quid it cost me to send them back, I even noticed that they took the parts off sale while I assumed they were investigating how the mistake happened, I assumed some idiot dropped a batch from a tuscan or something in the box that should have contained the drivers side Chimaera door top finisher, that I suppose would have explained it.......

Any way after about a year, I decided yesterday to order some more, guess what....







They send me exactly the same 2, can any one identify the right hand one?

Edited by Andy70 on Thursday 23 October 19:05

[The Three D Mucketeer]

The Right hand side one is the Drivers Door.... Left one is passenger. ( B Post of course .. you also have C posts on Griff/Chim)
I've been making muckets (door seals) for two years for all TVR models .. 3D printed (but have now stopped) . Although asked I've never supplied MOTOCLAN. ... TVR101 can have the hassle in future.

The originals were not mirror images because of the way the moulds were made (using a latex glove filled with gunge and impression made by closing the door).... I used to produce digital mirror images but unfortunately TVRs were not built symetrically . Even the originals required modification to fit each car ... it's not a BMW but a hand made GRP car.

Edited by The Three D Mucketeer on Thursday 23 October 20:29

[Andy70]

The Three D Mucketeer said:

The Right hand side one is the Drivers Door.... Left one is passenger. ( B Post of course .. you also have C posts on Griff/Chim)
I've been making muckets (door seals) for two years for all TVR models .. 3D printed (but have now stopped) . Although asked I've never supplied MOTOCLAN. ... TVR101 can have the hassle in future.

The originals were not mirror images because of the way the moulds were made (using a latex glove filled with gunge and impression made by closing the door).... I used to produce digital mirror images but unfortunately TVRs were not built symetrically . Even the originals required modification to fit each car ... it's not a BMW but a hand made GRP car.

Edited by The Three D Mucketeer on Thursday 23 October 20:29

According to TVRSW they should be mirrored and no matter how much i tried I couldn't get the drivers side to fit, it was never going in there, I realise they need some trimming, its because I couldn't get the drivers side to fit, that's why I questioned it in the first place, the passenger side slotted in fine.. The gap where the finishers sit, in my car at least are the same, they are about the same size and shape (the gap that is),however the drivers side finisher is clearly smaller and thicker, its not the right part for the door, it will not fit, well not on my car anyway

Edited by Andy70 on Thursday 23 October 21:07

[The Three D Mucketeer]

Well TVRSW are wrong and I have had issues supplying mirror images on some TVRs others are OK .
Did you ever have the original ?
I have a pair originals and they are different. TVR used to fill in with black silicon if necessary

Curved part on the inside of the door , rounded top with the thick part at the top , thinner section into the lower door trim

Edited by The Three D Mucketeer on Thursday 23 October 21:15

[Andy70]

The Three D Mucketeer said:

Well TVRSSW are wrong and I have had issues supplying mirror images on some TVRs others are OK .

well my apologies for my heading then, but the fact remains my gaps are similar to say the least but the finishers are completely different, the drivers side is too thick it sits proud and doesn't fit and yes as far as I know the door cards are in place correctly

[The Three D Mucketeer]

The top needs grinding allow the window ... I'll take a photo

Edited by The Three D Mucketeer on Thursday 23 October 21:22

May be your door card trim has been incorrectly fitted ? Has your car been retrimmed ?

Edited by The Three D Mucketeer on Thursday 23 October 21:24

[Andy70]

The Three D Mucketeer said:

The top needs grinding allow the window ... I'll take a photo

the weird thing is my gaps on both sides are identical, the passenger side finisher, if mirrored would fit, the one I was given for the drivers side is smaller and a lot thicker, I will say I'm a handy fabricator and have a grinder with a 1mm cutting disc and flap discs etc, but I can't believe the drivers side should need that much manipulation to fit when the passenger side looks tailor made

[The Three D Mucketeer]

Is the door trim the same ?

[The Three D Mucketeer]

My 3D printed ones are easy to grind with a dremmel sanding bit ... but the original silicon probably will not be as easy

[Andy70]

The Three D Mucketeer said:

Is the door trim the same ?

I admit my car seems to have a colourful history, hence why they are probably missing in the first place but i checked and double checked last time and like I said as far as I can tell the door cards seem correctly fitted, so much so the caps where the finishers would sit, seem identical on both sides, so therefore I'd need the same fitment for the finishers, the drivers one that I was delivered is actually smaller and thicker.... ok maybe I'm at fault here but the drivers side will need major butchering to be anywhere close to fitting but the passenger one will slot straight in, after removing that little lug there

[Andy70]

Ok Maybe I take your point a bit but can you see my problem, the passenger side fits like a glove with virtually no butchering, but the drivers side (with an almost identical gap), the finisher I was sold is totally different and as far I can see it shouldn't be, it should be the same and I'm positive it would fit

[The Three D Mucketeer]

Pity I've stopped making them

[Andy70]

I think why I'm so upset is because no matter how much trimming and butchering I do to the drivers side, it will not look the same as the passenger side because its smaller and different mould. looks like I'm going to have a busy weekend then and prepared to eat humble pie if I get anywhere near close, but I shouldn't have to if the drivers mould was a mirror of the passenger side

[Belle427]

Im never a fan of paying companies for parts you have to butcher yourself to fit, especially the prices they charge.
Surely this day and age they could get it right.

[Dudley99]

But how can they be expected to get them right when the person on here who until recently has been producing replacements reminded everyone that these cars are hand-built GRP cars, not mass produced BMWs? He said that from his recent experience, no two cars are the same, and even at the factory they had to use silicone sealant to improve the fit on some cars.

What he didn't say is that the cars are now over 25 years old, doors will have been apart, other replacement parts possibly fitted, and so the poor fit will be exaggerated.

[PabloGee]

I have one of those finishers, I think it was from Racing Green, who were bought by Motaclan.
It remains in the boot because I haven t taken the time to butcher it to fit.
There are plenty of bits that seem like they should be a mirror, but really aren t. I don t expect anything to be a neat fit on the TVR, it s not a precise object like my Merc, but I love it way way more than the Merc.

I also rate Motaclan and TVRSSW (and Racetech Direct), they are precious to us owners, a dying breed.

[The Three D Mucketeer]

Just checked ... I actually used the passenger side as my standard to scan , so therefore MY drivers side ones are digital mirror images of the passenger.
I have a spare pair left if you are interested... PM me
Check ... the passenger side also has ridge running around the inside door open end , but the drivers side original is flat.

30 years ago TVR didn't have the benefit of 3D computer modelling ... I worked at British Aerospace and we needed a multi million IBM mainframe to run CATIA .... so it's hardly surprising that TVR was more like Dentistry and Automotive Engineering

Edited by The Three D Mucketeer on Friday 24th October 09:32

[Zeb74]

The Three D Mucketeer said:

30 years ago TVR didn't have the benefit of 3D computer modelling ... I worked at British Aerospace and we needed a multi million IBM mainframe to run CATIA .... so it's hardly surprising that TVR was more like Dentistry and Automotive Engineering

Edited by The Three D Mucketeer on Friday 24th October 09:32

That's why I think TVRs don't have the credits they deserve.
Ok, cars were not fully finished when sold however for a such a small company will limited "R&D" budgets, this is clearly not bad. The last meeting we did in the South of France, we had cars from the 3000M to the Tamora, some having done 800 miles in the week-end. People are not afraid to put miles on them.
Caterham or Morgan are also doing a great job but they follow the easy path giving small touches of improvement each time. Few small manufacturers have such a line of products (even if the underpinning is not evolving radically).
In France, we have one very rare artisanal company building cars, Secma, and if what they are doing is apparently fun to drive, the finish and the look is laughable.