Chimaera Body Removal / chassis restoration

[Zaphod]

Hi guys,
I'm searching the net as well but does anyone know of good instructions on getting the body off a Chimp in order to effect rust treatment on the chassis?

I finally got the TVR to VTNZ for compliance after 4 years in a dry garage and there's alot of flaking powdercoating and surface rust underneath. Nothing too serious, we think, but we can't access some of the areas with the body still on. The frustrating thing is that it would probably scrape through a WOF, but compliance inspection is more rigorous,

Any suggestions or links appreciated
Cheers
Richard

[alex.tvr]

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Seen that post??

[Omerta]

Richard, is it just the outriggers that need attention? You can lift the body about a foot of the chassis without disconnecting every wire and hose, which should be enough if its just a matter of taking it back to metal and repainting - there's various protection options (zinc, Por15, etc) all of which will be adequate and infinitely better than the factory treatment of powdercoating over bare metal.

There's been a number of threads on this over the years so suggest you do some searching - Chim, Griff or Cerbera it's all pretty much the same procedure.

First question is will you do it yourself or get help? Might be worth having a chat to Alex at Almac if it's the latter - he's becoming something of a TVR specialist these days with two Cerbera's and a wedge through in recent times.

[Esprit]

Talk to Jim Gamsby if you've not already. I'm sure he's done enough of these now to know how to do it in his sleep! I think he's actually got two Chimps in his garage at the moment. Other than that, Paul (V8SAG) on here would be similarly clued up on it. Obviously both of them are in Auckland but would probably both be able to help with advice.

[Zaphod]

Hi
Thanks for the feedback so far and the link Alex.

The difficulty is partly procedural. VTNZ have failed the compliance because of the potential rust and I have to have a certificate from an official repair certifier that the rust has been checked and repaired where necessary. I haven't seen it myself, but according to my mechanic the rust is mainly on the outriggers and body / chassis bolt points. The repair certifier says he needs to see the top side of the chassis before he would issue a certificate (dontcha just love red tape).

Don, thanks for the suggestion about lifting the body - I had heard that done before, I wonder if that would be enough....I will follow that angle. The car is with a mechanic I know in Levin who is very experienced with the Rover V8 and most British classics (although not TVRs), and has a fully equipped workshop, so hoisting the body up won't be a problem if we can work out what needs to be disconnected and what can be left in place. Thanks again.

I have been in contact with Jim G, but haven't heard from him since I emailed him my Compliance documents for his feedback about 4 months ago...

Cheers
Richard

[Omerta]

Sounds like you've got some good help - it's not really that complicated and with the right gear and a bit of nous I'm sure he'll have no problems.

I've got a diagram which shows where the body-chassis bolts are for Cerberas which I can email you if you want it. Two behind the petrol tank and two under the carpet in the centre console are the hardest to get to.

It was in the thread linked earlier, but in case you missed it, here's your guide:
http://www.thegriffithpages.com/modifications/chas...

[Zaphod]

Cheers Don, that last link was especially useful. Thanks again.

[v8sag]

Just seen this.

Seems a bit of a Pita to lift the body just for the sake of inspection.If its just flaky or surface,can't you just touch up and take it to annother complience guy?

Richard,feel to ring me for any advice,lifted a few Griffs and Chims.021 2878663

[Zaphod]

Paul, thanks for support and phone number, much appreciated. Current update is that Graeme, my mechanical guru, has successfully lifted the body 2 inches using the details posted above (thanks all) and got the certifier to agree that we don't need to get the full body off. The main part of the chassis is being sandblasted to remove the rotten powder coating and expose the metal so we can see if there is any actual damage. So far so good. However the front wishbones are looking a little worse for wear so that may be the next problem....

[v8sag]

May be able to help with wishbone's(not bush'ed) if you need a interim solution,although I'll only be in Auckland where there stored untill Sunday night,then driving down to S.I.

[CRM]

Paul have you moved to the good island?

[v8sag]

Indeed,I'm now a Nelsonian.

[Esprit]

v8sag said:

Indeed,I'm now a Nelsonian.

Congrats on the move Paul... you've moved for lifestyle choice?

[Dan M]

Richard

If you are still debating about your wishbones, have a look at this:



It's the original lower arm off my Chimaera, next to a new one. This happened in the middle of Karussell at the 'Ring - too much g-force generated, the arm bent and I was spat out of the banking onto a large flat part of the circuit above the banked section. The 6 laps before this were magic.

I had re-painted the old wishbones, thinking they would be ok for a while until I got the new ones. I had the tracking adjusted temporarily but this put paid to my plans of max-speeding the Chimaera on the autobahn on the way home.

[jamieheasman]

I wonder how much it would cost to get some wishbones fabricated locally using the original as a template but using a tubular design for extra strength?

[Zaphod]

Dan - based on what the repair certifier needs to see, we've done a full strip on the chassis and sandblasted it back to raw metal. Nearly all surface rust and no problems in terms of structural integrety. Chassis is being re-coated and painted today. Once Graeme has the chassis signed off, he'll then strip the wishbones / running gear and then we'll know whether they are a problem or not. Graeme is more concerned over the upper wishbones. I've had a quick look for ex UK pricing, about 100GBP each, so I'd also look at local fabrication, in which case Jamies suggestion of getting them built better than the originals is a sensible one!

[v8sag]

There's nothing wrong with the original design of the wishbone,they are suppose to act as a crumple zone to protect the chassis. I'd think twice before going stiffer.

[jamieheasman]

I'd be surprised if they are designed to be a 'crumple zone'. What they will do is tear-off from the main chassis in the event of an accident which is good and is not something that I would suggest you change. They are a known weak-point and very susceptible to corrosion which I suspect is at least partly due to the shape of them.

[Dan M]

I am glad the wishbone buckled and the chassis didn't on mine, I saw it as sacrificial. It was substantially weakened from rust already, a new one will be adequate.

Richard, if you get new ones fabricated they will need to be copies of the original (a repair) or if you go tubular (a modification) they need to meet a design standard for tubing size and thickness - details in the NZHRA Hobby Car Technical Manual. These will then need to be certified by a low volume vehicle certifier. I can help you out with details nearer the time.
Dan
ex-Land Transport, ex-MoT, now LVVTA

[Coq au Vin]

Dan M said:

I am glad the wishbone buckled and the chassis didn't on mine, I saw it as sacrificial. It was substantially weakened from rust already, a new one will be adequate.

Richard, if you get new ones fabricated they will need to be copies of the original (a repair) or if you go tubular (a modification) they need to meet a design standard for tubing size and thickness - details in the NZHRA Hobby Car Technical Manual. These will then need to be certified by a low volume vehicle certifier. I can help you out with details nearer the time.
Dan
ex-Chimera, ex-MX5, now Pink Telstar

EFA

Edited by Coq au Vin on Thursday 21st May 02:49