Inspecting chassis

[wslogue]

I''m in the market for a V8S at the moment and am currently viewing a few. Part of my check is to inspect what parts of the chassis I can underneath the car. Most of the cars I''ve seen have lumpy bubbled powder coating, no doubt due to some rust, but the coating itself is intact. Is this a bad thing or is it only to be expect on cars around 10 years old ? Short of getting an expert look (which I will before finally buying), are there any other things I should be looking for chassis-wise or other checks that I could do other than simply using my eyes ?

[shpub]

Go to www.tvrbooks.co.uk and download the sample chapter for the S series books. It is all about the chassis and will answer all the questions for you. The new edition of the S book has an enlarged chapter on this subject, including pictures of some of the worst corrosion I have seen. Regards Steve www.tvrbooks.co.uk

[philshort]

Coincidence? I just started a post in the Chimaera section asking if anyone had removed the body of a Chimp to fix the chassis, as mine is badly corroded. Someone suggested I post in the "S" section, and I get here and the latest thread is on inspecting the chassis for rust! OK, so my chassis is corroded. I started replacing the wishbones, due to accident damage on one side. I was shocked by the level of corrosion on the wishbones themselves, and also found quite bad corrosion around the mountings. Further inspection has revealed that almost all the welded joints in the wheelarch area have erupted, with some having sufficient rust to be able to scrape off flakes with a screwdriver. The paint on most of the welds can be brushed off. The rust has spread in a number of areas from the joints along the chassis members. This is a 1996 car, and I want to stop the rot before it gets any worse. My problem is that some of the rusted sections are fairly inaccessible, even from a pit - e.g. between the chassis rails and the body. What I'd like to do is lift the body clear, just enough to be able to clean up and repaint the rusted sections. Anyone any experience of doing this?

[birchy]

Whilst not having the pleasure of lifting the body - I am in the throws of refurbishing my chassis on a 1986 S1. It is normal (at least on the 30 something TVR's I have inspected) for rust on the welded joints. If you visit WWW.Rust.co.uk - you will see two products FE123 (£25 per litre) which is a rust converter and a two pack paint which is also a rust converter (£20 per litre). Both Can be spray applied which deals with the inaccesible areas. I also used a rust remover made by Hammerite. £10 per tup. It does take some time but it eliminates the need for any excessive rubbing down. It also brought my tailing arms back to absoloute clean metal. Whilst these treatments are not the least expensive - I would consider them one of the best products available.

[Tav]

The rust remover sounds interesting. I just looked at the hammerite website (I dont rememeber seeing those products before) did you use the dip or the gel - or both - these sort of products always sound too good to be true, does it actually do exactly what it says on the tin? I'd better not get it anywhere near one of my trailing arms though, or there will not be anything left to hold the wheel on!!

[wslogue]

Those products sound very interesting. I've finally bought a V8S (pick it up Friday )) who's chassis will need this treatment. The chassis itself is intact and structurally sound but large areas of the powder coating are missing completely leaving large areas of steel exposed. The steel itself is lightly rusted but no deep serious penetration has occured. Rather than tackle the job myself, I might get it done by more expert hands who can remove the rust coating and recoat the chassis. Has anyone had their S's chassis professionally derusted / recoated and if so, how much did it cost ?

[birchy]

Tav, It all depends what you are trying to shift. The outriggers on my S1 had corrosion on the top between the body and the outrigger which has awkward to access. I could scrape the rust of using a stanley knife and a ranage of other sharpe instruments with curved edges (some homemade). This left a thin layer of surface rust but more than than the accessable areas. The "gel" after about five or six coats and three to fours hours work lifted the rust to bare metal in most places or to light surface rust. I then sprayed the rust converter FE123 into the void between the body and the chassis. Once dry the FE123 leaves a black finish (which can be seen with a torche an mirror)that does not need painting although I did spray apply the two pack mastic paint followed by wax oil as I had bare metal as a result og the hammerite gel rustremover. It does take time - I managed a third of the car in a weekend and would estimate another three or four 10 hour days to complete the job. In respect of the Trailing arms, they are an akward shape in places and I used the Gel to clean only the areas I could not abrade with reasonable force. I also sprayed the open tubes with Wax oil and repeat the waxoilng each month (mixed 50/50 with white spirit). The FE123 convertor is expensive (£30 per litre including delivery) but it does appear to work and provides an excellent primer.

[birchy]

wslogue, I was quoted £200 by wedge Automotives in Sheffield. The spec was degrease, wire brush all exposed areas, spray apply a derusting product ("used on oil rigs" hand paint bare areas with hammerite smoothrite the apply a hot wax oil underseal to everything. Spec souds good but the price would indicate insufficient labour to realy get at the areas with difficult access. I must admit - I have been at it for three weekends know and it is a mucky job. I have definately been over preparing the exposed areas - just concentrate you time on the enclosed and hidden areas. Regarding exposed areas, a good power washing will remove any really loose stuff then simply scrape away the paint to expose clean metal around the rust. I would consider at this point sending in the car as you have the satisfaction that when they start it is prepared properly. Regards Alan

[wslogue]

Thanks Alan. Lacking a decent sized garage or any axle stands, I'm very tempted to put the car into a garage that will do the full job for me though there is always the worry that they'll rush the job. Has anyone had any bad experiences with professional chassic work along these lines. I'd rather struggle through the job myself than have some place do a poor job. I'm sure that the outriggers and other exposed parts would be done well but it's the less accessible areas that I imagine they'll skimp on.