DIY chassis improvements

[Dominic TVRetto]

This is a theoretical question, as I won't be doing it for the foreseeable future - but I wanted to probe the collective PH mind to see what was possible.

Without going the whole hog for a Sportmotive transplant - the essence of this question is, if you had the body off for a chassis refurb, would there be any changes or additions you could make to improve the chassis..?

I know that a rollbar/half cage welded in is supposed to stiffen up the rear, but what about extra triangulation, cross-bracing of the (open) underside or similar? Even thoughts about changing wishbone's, mounting points and/or uprights...

I was wondering whether a rollbar/half-cage with a short forward diagonal from halfway up the cage, reaching somewhere halfway along the outrigger (just visible through the door but not far enough to impede entry) might provide a little extra stiffness and protection in case of side impact - but it was just idle speculation...

Really interested as to whether there was anything that we regular owners could do to the chassis to improve its capabilities, and remedy it's known weaknesses...?

Edited by Dominic TVRetto on Friday 28th July 17:42

[Classic Chim]

Which chassis is it. What are the inherent issues you talk of
Tubular wishbones are meant to be stiffer.
Anti roll bar is what needs revision to actually make them work.
Looking at my Chimaera Chassis I'd say there quite robust along the back bone but weak along the top tubes running along side manifolds. Beefing up those tubes would be my mod. Gussets here and there might add more rigidity.

If you look at a Lotus Chassis from a body mounted car the Tvr looks like scaffold tubes and far stronger in essence. 3 times the weight too

[andy43]

I've thought about buying a Tamora chassis from Glen the TVR breaker along with a new hacksaw blade and then gluing the important bouncy bits to a Griff chassis. But it's probably more complicated than that, plus the kids have lost the glue again.
Really the CAD designed Sportmotive chassis is the sensible answer but nicking ideas like the thick steel exhaust plate that replaces the standard thin ally part to add rigidity couldn't do any harm. Roll cage, bracing bars between the suspension points, etc etc, would all help, but add weight, and you'd need a damn good welder to reposition chassis pickup points or upgrade chassis tubes.