TVR 1972M Build Thread

[TiM3]

There doesn't seem to be many build thread lately, I know how much I enjoy looking at them so I thought I would start one!

I was looking for a British classic and had the (admittedly weird) idea of a car born in 1972, just like me... After a bit of hunting around I purchased this 1972 1600m, as we all know pictures can be flattering. Up close it was clear the car needed a lot of work, and despite a recent engine rebuild the blue smoke signalled all was not well!



I'm also a bit of a perfectionist so despite initial intentions to run it for a while I soon decided a full rebuild was needed! My garage housed my other recently completed project, so the only answer was to extend the garage for this one! In the meantime I began to strip the car.





And possibly my favourite picture of the 80's 'time capsule' I discovered under the seat!



This close up of the front suspension shows the overall poor condition



Whilst my garage was being extended I busied myself with minor elements of the restoration which would give me a head start when it came to reassembly.
Steering column full refurb with new bushes and stainless fixings.







I also made a heavy duty column hanger, the old one being incredibly thin!



The pedal box has been refurbed too with new rubbers and springs etc.







The old dashboard had been hacked around over the years and the clocks were all faded and corroded. First up I made a new dashboard from marine ply. I then sourced good clocks or face lifted the old ones. I even did a bit of sewing and made up a new centre console and gaiters!









Finally the new home as ready and I lifted the body and rolled the chassis in for the next phase of the strip





It was at this point I started to consider the actual spec of the build. I considered lots of options. The original Crossflow in a fast road tune, a Zetec, a tuned Essex etc. As I'm building this car for me personally and as a keeper I decided on a Ford V8. I recognise that many would have kept the car original. But I think particularly with TVRs well engineered modifications are accepted and appreciated. The car I read about a lot when I was younger were the early Griffiths, well out of my price range now. But I thought I could create something with at least a similar soundtrack!

So I sourced a Ford 302ci V8 in a mild state of tune (c300hp), this will be mated to a Tremec T5 box. This is the same box as a Sierra Cosworth, but it makes me feel a bit better that it came from a late Tuscan! I also managed to get hold of a Salisbury 4HU differential.



So the next step was to start the chassis modifications, I tend to like to do as much as possible myself. Even though it often takes me a lot longer I get a lot of satisfaction from this.

The engine and transmission have been in and out so many times, I've rigged up a body lift arrangement that means I can do it on my own in minutes.





The front crossmember had to be doglegged to allow the V8 to clear





Rear mounting for the transmission on polybushes




I couldn't find a mounting kit for the differential so made one up myself. I have to say this was tricky. The angles are not straightforward and it's probably a bit over engineered but better safe then sorry! I also made up a rear diff stabiliser.









I've also been through 2 versions of engine mounts, this design working well, I'm using Land Rover mounts as they are cheap and you can obtain heavy duty ones etc.





So that's the current state of play, as per my other post the chassis is currently being painted. Hopefully it will be back for Christmas and I can begin the build! And I can post further updates!

Cheers

Tim

[TiM3]

catfishdb said:

Love it!!!!

This is going to be enjoyable to watch.

Keep 'em coming.

Arthur

Thanks Arthur, I have your build thread bookmarked, must have referred to it hundreds of times! It's been a great source of ideas and inspiration!

[TiM3]

Moto said:

Tim,

Great thread - thx for sharing.

I think you need to get yourself a bit more organised - the workshops a bit of a mess I am NEVER going to post a photo of my workshop again - I'd be embarrassed.

Lovely engineering BTW. What did you decide on chassis finish - powder coat or something else?

Moto

Haha, yeah always get lots of comments about the workshop, that in itself has been a project for a few years!

I still need to confirm the exact finish for my chassis, I must admit even though black is now confirmed as original I can't get the idea of light grey out of my head. I've seen it as a period finish on other cars and it looks great....

[TiM3]

TVRMs said:

Similar variation on the diff mounting

Never seen that before in my life..

I have to admit that photo was the start point for my design, unfortunately my limited skills and fabrication kit created something a bit less aesthetic and probably a lot heavier. On a positive note it's definitely strong!

[TiM3]

A few things I neglected to mention last night in terms of current status.

I also reinforced all the lower wishbone pick up points with a triangular gusset, they seemed fairly flexible so it was an easy task to beef them up.

I've also reinforced the chassis section around the gearbox, which again seemed a weaker section and you could foresee the possibility of it twisting a little. Once again I shamelessly pinched someone else's design from this photo:



In terms of the way forward I have specced and built the rolling chassis in my head, so I'm ok with that.

I am avoiding thinking too far ahead as I've not yet worked out: Cooling system, clutch actuation (not even sure what arm would work) and rewire from scratch.

I do know that visually I want the car as close to stock as possible externally (hard to improve on IMHO) and likewise with the interior.

[TiM3]

TVRMs said:

Our 1972M before and after

Looks lovely!! I've seen your build too, absolutely awesome!

Funny that you've moved from red to white, mine is red and I'm tempted to change colour too, white is on my mind, as is light metallic blue. Not that I have to make that decision anytime soon..

[TiM3]

I need to order my wishbone bushes, in going to go for standard rubber as opposed to polybush. I'm sure I've read somewhere that there are two sizes of wishbone eyes on M cars (early cars a tad smaller I think?) but I can only find one size of rubber bushes? Any thoughts?

[TiM3]

Andrew Gray said:

I believe they are all one size that are supplied any reason for going with rubber rather than polly.the rubber ones dont last very well i have just replaced the rubber that where fitted 5 years ago on the Tuscan and they where already perishing rubber products these days are nowhere near what they used to be.



Andrew

Hi Andrew, that looks so clean and well prepared! Love it!

I was going for standard rubber as I assumed it would be a bit more compliant for road use and (possible wrongly) assumed it would last longer. I might need to rethink in lieu of your experience. Is there a particular brand of polybush you rate?

[TiM3]

TVRMs said:

TiM3 said:

Looks lovely!! I've seen your build too, absolutely awesome!

Funny that you've moved from red to white, mine is red and I'm tempted to change colour too, white is on my mind, as is light metallic blue. Not that I have to make that decision anytime soon..

Thanks for the compliments Tim.

Our initial colour change consideration was Inca Yellow, still wonder how it would have looked but pleased with the white.

What's your timescale to complete?

As others have said it's very personal, but yellow is not for me, your white looks very classy. I don't actually mind red that much but the shade on mine is neither orange nor red really.

I don't have a timescale to be honest, my car obsession has to fit in between work and family stuff and is cash flow dependant! I do actually enjoy the building bit as much as driving so it's not too much of a problem!

[TiM3]

Some pictures of the chassis in its final pre coating state. The blasting showed up a few more 'thin' areas than expected so you can see quite a few new sections. Also you can see the newly triangulated bay just behind the engine, the reinforced lower suspension pick up points and the diff stabiliser setup.

[TiM3]

Meanwhile I have been starting to prep the suspension components ready for refitting. I was very lucky with my rear uprights, the previous owner had set the pivot rods in grease so they came out fairly easily. However the handbrake bracket bolts were seized solid on one side and I had to drill them out.

The uprights are symmetrical so you could swap them to the other side of the car and use the other set of holes, but I couldn't have stripped threads even if they weren't being used...

So I had a local ally welder weld them up and have redrilled and tapped out to 5/16 unc. Will be dropping them off for vapour blasting on Friday!

[TiM3]

TVRMs said:

Time,

Are you incorportaing the uprated lower diff restarint

Yes these plates connect via polybushes to a bracket which bolts to the back of the diff. As ever not quite as pretty as your solution but should do the job.

[TiM3]

GAjon said:

Did you not consider helicoiling them?

Nice work on the chassis.

Thanks, I'm really looking forward to getting it back although just found out it'll be the wrong side of Christmas

Suppose I could have considered helicoil, but there's no real load on that bracket. It wasn't stripped just corroded so solid heads snapped straight off and the bolts had to be drilled out!

[TiM3]

Not much to report currently, progress has slowed right down as I wait for my chassis, due back mid Jan.

In the meantime I cleaned up my T5 box which was a bit corroded. It's had a recent rebuild otherwise I would have stripped and had the casing vapour blasted. Instead it's old school toothbrush and Solvol Autosol...



Talking of vapour blasting, I have found a local chap who has done a lovely job on my rear uprights.



I've also been gathering together all the fixings needed for the chassis build.



I cleaned up and inspected the Salisbury diff I'm installing in lieu of the Spitfire diff. It's actually heading off to have an LSD fitted soon but I just wanted to peek inside and check the main components were undamaged. Please forgive the chrome, it came like that...



Not sure why pictures are always sideways... sorry!

[TiM3]

That's useful info thanks, I'll look into that. Plan had been to get one in from the states as they seem to have endless variations. But all the shipping and import adds up!

[TiM3]

Current plan is Powr Lok with ramp angles set to suit the cars weight. Only problem is there doesn't seem many options where to have it done and it's pretty expensive too!

[TiM3]

TVRMs said:

Dollyman1850 said:

TiM3 said:

Current plan is Powr Lok with ramp angles set to suit the cars weight. Only problem is there doesn't seem many options where to have it done and it's pretty expensive too!

What do you mean by Ramp angles set in a powerlok?
N.

Neil is being mischeivious Tim.

John Reid at Grantura Engineering will sort it for you or AJS Engineering - had good service from both.

Alan at AJS built a 4.1 gripper diff into a mag casing for me but he aslo specialises in Salisbury rebuilds. John has rebuilt three Salisburys for me, including revising of ramp angles.

What ratio or you going for?

I'm pretty sure it's a 3.31, it was an Ebay special out of a Cobra replica.

I'll try AJS Engineering they are a lot nearer than the other place I spoke too.

[TiM3]

Lots of different thoughts on the best options for a diff....

Just out of interest, seeing as I'm building the car purely for road use what do people think to the idea of running an open diff?

I was concerned that with the increased power and relatively narrow tyres it might be a problem?

[TiM3]

TVRMs said:

TiM3 said:

Lots of different thoughts on the best options for a diff....

Just out of interest, seeing as I'm building the car purely for road use what do people think to the idea of running an open diff?

I was concerned that with the increased power and relatively narrow tyres it might be a problem?

Its a sports car and I'm sure it will be driven enthusiastically occasionally. Given your limited tyre choice (I finished up with 205s) I think I would want an LSD.

I think the 3.3 ratio is a good choice for a fairly stock 302 driven through a T5, assuming 15" wheels.

Thanks, pretty much what I was thinking but it's good to have it confirmed from somebody with experience. And yes standard bodywork and 15" wheels is the plan, I want the car to look close to stock externally.

[TiM3]

My chassis is finally ready! Hopefully will go and pick it up next weekend, feels like a bit of a turning point in the build. I've spent so much time working on individual components but nothing beats bolting bits actually back onto the car!







You'll notice I went for light grey in the end, I was going to stick with black but seeing as the originality ship had already sailed I just went for what I really wanted!