Few Questions, paint, seat-belts, boot-lid, body repairs

[whd]

1) First question, one that I probably don't want answered...
I don't suppose for a minute, that when TVR produced the Chimaera, they spray-painted the panels AFTER they put the window trim on......? Because either that, or my entire car has had a respray...

2) The seat-belt mechanism on the drivers side gets stuck, and has now given up entirely and will not release ANY of the belt at all. No Amount of tugging, teasing etc will get it out. Question is, is this a generic type of belt mechanism or specific to TVR?

3) The uncaring numbnut who had the car before me managed to bend one of the boot hinges. I tried getting the boot lid off at the weekend but got as far as rounding off my allen key. Maybe they were cheap ones but any tips for getting the boot off?

4) The above said numbnut also reversed into a post at some point, leaving a 2" 'hole' on the bumper. Being embarrassed I Isopon'd/sprayed it up quickly until I could get it done properly. Now I'm ready to get it done, I'm wondering what kind of money I should expect to pay.....any rough ideas?

Thanks!

[IM]

...and you bought this car?

[dadamsv8]

Hi Will how you doing appear to be having some problems with the car, still nothing that can't be sorted and you did get it for a really good price if I remember correctly

[whd]

Hi!

Yes, I did get it for 4-5k below what it should have been.
The car was a bargain and I know I'd spend a loooong time fixing things.

I don't mind as I'm learning a lot about the car.... some of it not so good, it seems D

[The Surveyor]

I wouldn't be too supprised if your 8 year old TVR has had some paintwork done in the past. Even if it's never been bumped, you'll soon realise that these things attract stone chips very easily. Front-end resprays are almost a service item if you intend to keep one pristine. Also some colours are so difficult to match (some of the reds apparently!) that the only option for any paint repairs is a full respray.

As for seat belts, these are prone to locking if the car is parked on a slope. Also, they can get nipped by the roof when it's folded, the headrest if it's down at the bottom, or the seat when it's fully back. Try parking on the level, then gently easing the belt from behind the seat to get some slack. If the belt is 'dead', do a search on this forum as i'm sure somebody else has had some refurbed with new coloured belts. I'm sure they are TVR specific.

Paul

[DADAMSV8]

Sorry will off the thread a bit but did you used to work at an Investment Bank in Canary Wharf

Edited by DADAMSV8 on Tuesday 5th September 21:07

[Monkey276]

I had exactly the same problem with my passenger seat belt. The problem is that inside the seat belt there is a small ball baring, which sits in a cup. This ball baring moves from it cup and sets off the locking mechanism. All I did was unbolt the seat belt mechanism, remove the clipped-on end cover and put a small blob of grease under the ball to slow its movement. Here's the important bit, when refitting the seat belt, place a couple of extra washers behind it and take allot of care to make sure the seat belt mechanism is as straight and vertical as it can be. Mine needed to be bent, pushed and pulled when screwed back in. This way the ball won’t keep falling out of its cup. The problem has never returned and yes when you give the belt a hard tug it still does what it’s supposed to do. P.S. I brought my chim as a project and its well on its way to being pristine, so don't give up.

[mccrackenj]

re seat belts see earlier thread:

www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=268111&r=3403066&hm=49055#3403066

If that doesn't work look at my profile and go back to my earlier threads - 90-120 days ago and earlier. I had a seatbelt problem like yours and ended up getting 2 2nd hand replacements (I only wanted 1 but the breaker sent 2 and wouldn't take 1 back, but that's another story). I then found out that new ones to suit the Chimaera are readily available on-line for same as I paid for 2nd hand. Use the search facility.

[whd]

DADAMS wrote: "Sorry will off the thread a bit but did you used to work at an Investment Bank in Canary Wharf"

Yep, this is the same Will (now in EC3) Hows it going Dave?


Monkey276 wrote: "I had exactly the same problem with my passenger seat belt." <snip>.

I'm going to give this a try on Sunday I think! Cheers for that.


The Surveyor wrote: Lots.

Ok that's kind of put my mind at rest a little. As for the seatbelt, honestly, I must have tried everything. To give you an idea, it's currently jammed 'open' with a cold chisel (!) so if I get pulled over on my way to the train station in the meantime I have some feeble excuse....