IN FOR A PENNY, IN FOR A POUND !!!
Discussion
It has been a sharp welcome to the world of Cerbera ownership for my goodself but I never did expect it to be easy from the word go.
The car I bought was the one on Pistonheads with no service history documents if anyone recalls it?
Anyway, an email from a previous owner and a letter from Horseless Carridges saying the car had full history but the book was simply lost made my mind up for me. I negotiated a cheap enough price and took the gamble.
The car had just been services two months prior to sale and had both head gaskets replaced so I thought it would be plain siling for a few months at least.
I never even made it home from the 50 ish mile journey..oops!! Well, not without loosing all the coolant and me fiding sludge in on the dip stick anyway!!!
Anyway, after a few weeks of DIY home inspections and work I finally took the plunge and sent the car off to a local performance specialist for a full look over and engineering report.
This morning I got the call that there is very poor compression in all four cylinders on the left back, but all is fine on the right. So we are crossing our fingers and hoping that the cheap job of replacing the gaskets last time was exactly that.. a cheap rough job.
I am taking the full plunge and removing the engine completely and stripping the heads back for full skim and rebuild, the fitting two new uprated gaskets and doing the job correctly as it should have been the first time!
Also removing the sump and rewelding the leaking casting around the sump nut and replacing all hoses and clips throughout before putting everything back in on rebuild. Fingers crossed the pistons and crank is fine!!
May as well remove the radiator when the motor is out and gie that a freshen up with two new slimline fans to replace the old big arse unit.
So in short, I have made a comitment to my car and intend to keep it for a good while. So until I get my hands on teh service files at TVR I am safe in the knowledge that my engine is sweet as a nut!!
Am I mad or what???
Cheers
Dave.
The car I bought was the one on Pistonheads with no service history documents if anyone recalls it?
Anyway, an email from a previous owner and a letter from Horseless Carridges saying the car had full history but the book was simply lost made my mind up for me. I negotiated a cheap enough price and took the gamble.
The car had just been services two months prior to sale and had both head gaskets replaced so I thought it would be plain siling for a few months at least.
I never even made it home from the 50 ish mile journey..oops!! Well, not without loosing all the coolant and me fiding sludge in on the dip stick anyway!!!
Anyway, after a few weeks of DIY home inspections and work I finally took the plunge and sent the car off to a local performance specialist for a full look over and engineering report.
This morning I got the call that there is very poor compression in all four cylinders on the left back, but all is fine on the right. So we are crossing our fingers and hoping that the cheap job of replacing the gaskets last time was exactly that.. a cheap rough job.
I am taking the full plunge and removing the engine completely and stripping the heads back for full skim and rebuild, the fitting two new uprated gaskets and doing the job correctly as it should have been the first time!
Also removing the sump and rewelding the leaking casting around the sump nut and replacing all hoses and clips throughout before putting everything back in on rebuild. Fingers crossed the pistons and crank is fine!!
May as well remove the radiator when the motor is out and gie that a freshen up with two new slimline fans to replace the old big arse unit.
So in short, I have made a comitment to my car and intend to keep it for a good while. So until I get my hands on teh service files at TVR I am safe in the knowledge that my engine is sweet as a nut!!
Am I mad or what???
Cheers
Dave.
God on ya! Cerberas deserve (indeed they demand) the best treatment.
I've no doubt it'll be worth it in the long run. And anyway, I believe a cerb is a car that you have to own for a while to fully appreciate what its all about.
Any estimates on how much all of this is gonna set you back out of interest?
I've no doubt it'll be worth it in the long run. And anyway, I believe a cerb is a car that you have to own for a while to fully appreciate what its all about.
Any estimates on how much all of this is gonna set you back out of interest?
Edited by brogenville on Monday 8th October 21:07
N1CERB said:
I am taking the full plunge and removing the engine completely and stripping the heads back for full skim and rebuild, the fitting two new uprated gaskets and doing the job correctly as it should have been the first time!
While you've got it stripped, I'd be inclined to have a top end rebuild, liners, pistons etcSaves paying for it twice, like me.
I will have some idea of full price during this week. The garage I have chosen is not a TVR specialist but they are veray well known in the performance and race car circuit and cover many models. They have done work in the past on several TVR's and taken work over from customers that used to use main dealer TVR people but were not happy with the service.
When the head is off I am looking at pistons, liners, etc at that time. But as sugested I will most likely replace anything that is slightly susspect at this time as the parts cost is relatively low compared to the stripping down stage.
I will then have what is basically a new engine!
I already have a new set of wheels by the way, the de cat pipes are already in place, the shocks have been uprated and the ECU mapped previously is getting done live again after the rebuild.
Should be real sweet when its all done!
Also been speaking to these people at the weekend and they will be sorting the full interior to get it looking as new again!
http://furnitureclinic.co.uk/Professional_Car_Inte...
My chasis and underside of the car are in excellent condition due to previous oil leakes, so I will just clean this up and keep on top of it myself as part of monthly maintenance.
I am also looking at repainting the front end to get rid of a few stone chips. Whats the betting I do a full re-paint!!
All of a sudden my cheap car just became expensive, but I dont care. It will then be right and all mine for the future.
A Cerbera is for life, not just for Christmas!!
Cheers
Dave...
When the head is off I am looking at pistons, liners, etc at that time. But as sugested I will most likely replace anything that is slightly susspect at this time as the parts cost is relatively low compared to the stripping down stage.
I will then have what is basically a new engine!
I already have a new set of wheels by the way, the de cat pipes are already in place, the shocks have been uprated and the ECU mapped previously is getting done live again after the rebuild.
Should be real sweet when its all done!
Also been speaking to these people at the weekend and they will be sorting the full interior to get it looking as new again!
http://furnitureclinic.co.uk/Professional_Car_Inte...
My chasis and underside of the car are in excellent condition due to previous oil leakes, so I will just clean this up and keep on top of it myself as part of monthly maintenance.
I am also looking at repainting the front end to get rid of a few stone chips. Whats the betting I do a full re-paint!!
All of a sudden my cheap car just became expensive, but I dont care. It will then be right and all mine for the future.
A Cerbera is for life, not just for Christmas!!
Cheers
Dave...
Cheers fella! You are right about the nut part buy the way!
Over the years I have bought many cars (have seven now) and I tend to buy cheaper than average and then spend the saved money on making the car more personal and also getting it well sorted for future ownership.
I have done some sums and still reckon my car to be a good price once I have paid a big chunk to get it how I want it. I could have gone out and bought a sorted Cerb that needed nothing for top money. But where is the fun in that?
As per the thread title...
In for a penny, in for a pound! Once I get attached I will probably never sell, and that seems to have happened already? Looks like my perminant family just expanded by one!
Cheers
Dave...
Over the years I have bought many cars (have seven now) and I tend to buy cheaper than average and then spend the saved money on making the car more personal and also getting it well sorted for future ownership.
I have done some sums and still reckon my car to be a good price once I have paid a big chunk to get it how I want it. I could have gone out and bought a sorted Cerb that needed nothing for top money. But where is the fun in that?
As per the thread title...
In for a penny, in for a pound! Once I get attached I will probably never sell, and that seems to have happened already? Looks like my perminant family just expanded by one!
Cheers
Dave...
Gassing Station | Cerbera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff