Discussion
Hello!
Looks like I may be in the market for a 4.2 Cerb. I know maintenance costs can be staggering especially when being fleeced by the main dealers..
As a practical elec/mech sort and to keep costs down, I'm prepared to go to an Indie for engine work etc. & annual servicing & hopefully do some of the simpler stuff myself. I did quite a bit of similar work on my Chim, which was particularly straight forward.
The questions I have are:
1. Does anybody else do this?
2. Can things like brakes, starter motor, alternator etc. be tackled by the owner?
3. Is there a list OEM bits so I can get prices for disks & pads etc.
4. Is Mr Heath going to produce another book...?
Oh and another thing, are there any good links to other sites that tackle this sort of thing?
Any advice would be appreciated.
Ta.
Looks like I may be in the market for a 4.2 Cerb. I know maintenance costs can be staggering especially when being fleeced by the main dealers..
As a practical elec/mech sort and to keep costs down, I'm prepared to go to an Indie for engine work etc. & annual servicing & hopefully do some of the simpler stuff myself. I did quite a bit of similar work on my Chim, which was particularly straight forward.
The questions I have are:
1. Does anybody else do this?
2. Can things like brakes, starter motor, alternator etc. be tackled by the owner?
3. Is there a list OEM bits so I can get prices for disks & pads etc.
4. Is Mr Heath going to produce another book...?
Oh and another thing, are there any good links to other sites that tackle this sort of thing?
Any advice would be appreciated.
Ta.
The only thing that I feel I can comment on to help you out is the Engine work.
Independants have their hands tied on how much engine work they can do. This is controlled by the factory refusing to supply parts - although I think there is a way around that.
A lot of the leaks/electrics type stuff is quite simple from what I can see, and the other things you mention....well, I think the problems there are access. It seems that the have put as many things in awkward places (like in the V) as possible - probably for very logical reasons, but this does detract from ease of home maintenance.
Steve
Independants have their hands tied on how much engine work they can do. This is controlled by the factory refusing to supply parts - although I think there is a way around that.
A lot of the leaks/electrics type stuff is quite simple from what I can see, and the other things you mention....well, I think the problems there are access. It seems that the have put as many things in awkward places (like in the V) as possible - probably for very logical reasons, but this does detract from ease of home maintenance.
Steve
Brakes are very doable, I've done mine in under an hour. Faisals site (tvrfreak) has some very good info if you want to do some stuff yourself including part numbers. If you do more than is posted please do submit the info back to the site as there are plenty of us out there wanting to experiment.
I guess it boils down to how grubby you want to get and what access you have to equipment.
A cerbera is hardly a complex beast. There are lots of things I'd do myself on mine if I could be arsed but Offord are so cheap it's not worthwhile getting my hands dirty (and they have a nice dry workshop and I have a street, although hopefully if I can convince the planners that it looks ok I'll have a nice garage soon then I might do more).
D.
A cerbera is hardly a complex beast. There are lots of things I'd do myself on mine if I could be arsed but Offord are so cheap it's not worthwhile getting my hands dirty (and they have a nice dry workshop and I have a street, although hopefully if I can convince the planners that it looks ok I'll have a nice garage soon then I might do more).
D.
It's looking good.
The more basics I can do myself, the more likely I will go thru with such a purchase.
I know the main dealers fleece their customers with high labour rates & I suppose to the uninitiated this would indicate that all the work on such a car is difficult...
I know the engines & stuff are special & I wouldn't even consider tampering there (a little knowledge can be very dangerous...). My thoughts are (and please correct me if I'm wrong as I'm only basing this on postings on this site & chatting with Indies and other owners, if you get a car that has had the engine sorted (bills to prove) & the clutch upgraded, ownership may, if you are lucky, be in the realms of people like myself.
Agreed there will need to be a back-up pot.
Am I talking myself into ownership??
The more basics I can do myself, the more likely I will go thru with such a purchase.
I know the main dealers fleece their customers with high labour rates & I suppose to the uninitiated this would indicate that all the work on such a car is difficult...
I know the engines & stuff are special & I wouldn't even consider tampering there (a little knowledge can be very dangerous...). My thoughts are (and please correct me if I'm wrong as I'm only basing this on postings on this site & chatting with Indies and other owners, if you get a car that has had the engine sorted (bills to prove) & the clutch upgraded, ownership may, if you are lucky, be in the realms of people like myself.
Agreed there will need to be a back-up pot.
Am I talking myself into ownership??
There are only two certainties in life.
Death and nurses.
So go for it.
I have a 4.5 with a rebuilt engine, new clutch, newish dampers, sorted diff, sound body and interior, all the extras, only the exhaust is looking likely to need changing. so an excuse to go louder maybe!
How much do you want to spend on the car?
Death and nurses.
So go for it.
I have a 4.5 with a rebuilt engine, new clutch, newish dampers, sorted diff, sound body and interior, all the extras, only the exhaust is looking likely to need changing. so an excuse to go louder maybe!
How much do you want to spend on the car?
To purchase or to put it right???
Not too sure yet. Just doing more research at the moment.
Sounds a bit boring, but I just want to make sure I have the right initial funds & then enough to insure & run.
However, it will happen (told you I would talk myself into it) & especially I've got the green light from the better half.
Not too sure yet. Just doing more research at the moment.
Sounds a bit boring, but I just want to make sure I have the right initial funds & then enough to insure & run.
However, it will happen (told you I would talk myself into it) & especially I've got the green light from the better half.
Gassing Station | Cerbera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff