Failed MOT, boo hoo. Need a body off! Advice please.
Discussion
My outriggers are religious, they are as holy as The Arch Bishop of Canterbury, it wasn’t even worth doing the MOT, so I’m faced with a full body off job. (Ouch! Only had the car for 7 months and the chassis looked great when I inspected it in July last year. Just goes to show that a proper inspection by a TVR experienced guy would be worth the cost! Waxoyl covers all manor of sins, a good poke with a screwdriver and ouch, my wallet flinched!) It’s not a job I’m capable of doing myself (due to a lack of time, tools and most of all competence) and so I’ve given the go ahead to Steve at SD Auto Tec to do the work. His estimate is £2K + VAT, which is a tough pill to swallow after Christmas, but that’s life! So, the question to you guys in the know is.... what else is worth considering doing while the body is off? Trailing arms look to have been done recently and shocks are new, exhaust is a full SS one and tank and cradle look OK. I’ve already decided to “tart” up the engine bay a bit and give the car a full service, but for a few extra quid, what would you guys do at this point? I can’t afford a complete nut and bolt restoration.
that said I knew mine was a pup at purchase..Still worth replacing the clutch & thrust bearing and the actuating arm (see recent threads) as these jobs are a lot easier to do when the engine is out. Any other jobs which are easier, and therefore cheaper, with the body off and engine out are worth considering subject to your budget.
Hello and sorry to hear your news.
Steve is a good guy and knows his stuff, worth negotiating the price though. RT In Sheffield also do a top job depending on your geographics. My advise - decide who you want to do the work then get the body off then take all this advice and Steve's or RT's and set yourself a budget and stick to it. If the rest of the car is good then its well worth the expenditure. You may not get a return on your investment but it won't de-value afterwards like a mainstream car. Good luck and post photo's before during and after.
Steve is a good guy and knows his stuff, worth negotiating the price though. RT In Sheffield also do a top job depending on your geographics. My advise - decide who you want to do the work then get the body off then take all this advice and Steve's or RT's and set yourself a budget and stick to it. If the rest of the car is good then its well worth the expenditure. You may not get a return on your investment but it won't de-value afterwards like a mainstream car. Good luck and post photo's before during and after.
B16JUS said:
I cant find it but, there was a thread about a ready made chassis in alloy i think from memery it was 4k ?
RT Racing announced that they had a full set of jigs and were offering complete chassis or just outriggers a little while ago. This is plain old mild steel though, like the original. I've never seen anyone advertising an alloy chassis - it would have to be designed very differently and I suspect you'd add a zero to that price.GreenV8S said:
B16JUS said:
I cant find it but, there was a thread about a ready made chassis in alloy i think from memery it was 4k ?
RT Racing announced that they had a full set of jigs and were offering complete chassis or just outriggers a little while ago. This is plain old mild steel though, like the original. I've never seen anyone advertising an alloy chassis - it would have to be designed very differently and I suspect you'd add a zero to that price.Thanks for all the helpful advice. I have left the car today at SD Auto Tec, Steve informs me that by the end of next week the body should be off. He will then give the chassis a good pressure wash and scrub to remove as much of the waxoyl as possible, so we can have a better look at what needs doing, at the moment it looks as if it's only the front ends of the outriggers that are holed. But we'll know a lot more next week. So, while the body is off I've added to Steves list - new clutch, bearing, arm and probably a skim of the fly wheel, as I've been having some juddery hill starts recently. Also going to replace a bunch of bushes and other bits and pieces, but the real list will be made next week once Steve has been able to see the extent of the rust etc. Will be taking a load of photo's as the job goes on and will put some on here id anyone is interested?
ketvrin said:
As no two seem to be the same, we are always interested to see pictures...
good luck and I hope the tinworm is not too extensive
K
Thanks Kev, didn't realise how expensive worms can be.... bet it was them that ate through my subframe! Pics to follow, (that's of the outriggers and not the worms!) as soon as I work out how to shrink them down so they can be uploaded! good luck and I hope the tinworm is not too extensive
K
I now know that when buying a TVR, (or any older car I guess)to get an expert to look at it. When I looked at the outriggers from underneath, prior to purchasing, I was convinced that the subframe was good. The previous owner assured me they were in top condition too. I find it very hard to believe that this amount of corrosion has occured in less than a year, so how can this car have passed an MOT? There must be some very dodgy garages out there! I wonder if I should do something about it?
Anyway, rant over ..... back to the rebuild and my ever increasing shopping and "to do" list. Trying to think of a good way to tell the better half that our holiday is a gonner for 2012 ....."Let's not go away this year Love, let's stay at home and watch the Olympics / Diamond Juberlie / Footie ...." Wish me luck!
Anyway, rant over ..... back to the rebuild and my ever increasing shopping and "to do" list. Trying to think of a good way to tell the better half that our holiday is a gonner for 2012 ....."Let's not go away this year Love, let's stay at home and watch the Olympics / Diamond Juberlie / Footie ...." Wish me luck!
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