Hi, I'm Michael, new to retro rides but known of it for a few years. A member actually kept on showing me threads on her so decided to join up.
My beloved TVR Taimar
quick pic of her when I got her - under bonnet
the story begins - a friend used to own it, had it for a few years and I always remember him taking me out in her, the noise, the grunt and the smell - all of which I loved.
Then nearly three years ago he said he was moving abroad and the car was up for grabs... also he struggled to drive it having had a bad shoulder... this lead me to one statement - its mine!!!
So a deal was done and as I was moving into a new house with a garage a home was made definite.
After getting insurance and managing to get her home before she turned illegal I was grinning my face off.
She needed a little work but I was happy.
When driving her home I was always told of the "TVR grin" and true to the word I got mine after only 2 miles... A guy in a Renault megane stuck to my rear (I was going gently as didn't know the car) then when i had my chance I decided to plant my foot to the floor and accelerate off - my god was it amazing.
Anyway, back at home I took her to work the day after and at work the radiator was steaming like a kettle... little did I know at that point I was going to undertake a body off strip and rebuild.
so after thinking about it for long enough I had the radiator record...
and after (this is later on in the rebuild) looking at cooling issues etc I fitted two 8 inch twin fans controlled by a kenlowe sensor in the swirl pot.
this later (after the rebuild) transpired into a bit of DIY - the otter switch (rad temp sensor) always leaked regardless of what I tried, ptfe tape, silicone and even a fiber washer so after ringing the company that record it and being told what they'd do, myself and my dad (a big help in it all) set about fixing her...
1 copper radiator.. one split copper pipe from the house, cut into a circle,
formed using a socket (for the six sides to match the soldered in boss)
soldiered - not pretty but works and so I'm happy
next was the body off, reasons being a rusty out rigger..
plus other pics to explain
and the body off...
on the strip I took a few photos for guidance on the rebuild,
then started the clean up... a few wire wheels on the angle grinder and a lot of noise, wires flying out of the wheel and hitting me, piercing me and generally hurting me no end!!!
out with the prop, gear box and engine
gear box after degreasing and scraping clean
at this point I was hoping it was purely clean paint and rebuild but no... using the wire wheel I found/made a hole in the outriggers in the rust, so time for new metal.
Flattery and flirting with a lady at the local metal supplier and £5.0 later I had 8m of 6mm tube (for the outriggers) and 6mm box section for the chassis part (near the wheels where stone chips had rusted through).
After wire wheeling all of the chassis and then drgreasing that I opted for zinc rich primer -
everything got a good few coats...
then the chassis got the final outrigger parts replaced
then next was the final paint... I decided on something near standard of the car - chassis enamel black
again everything got painted...
rebuilding with new bushes all over
rear end complete and standing on own wheels
front wishbones
front end built up. inc new trunnions, new calipers and wheel bearings.
then the amazing milestone, all on her own feet
diff fitted
box before fitting
engine before fitting
then before fitting the heavies I decided to flip the car on its side and spray stoneguard and chip all over...
then the heavies. I fabricated new engine mounts using land rover ones, then dropped in the engine and box...
also the handbrake and cables, brake lines, steering rack (on polybush mounts as my dog ate the old ones!!)
also the exhaust and had to make a new rear mount for that too... oh hello old jack handle..
all the necessary parts fitted to run
while the body was off it became part storage for the parts..
time to refit the body...
at this point I wanted to show the lads that she ran - so attached a few bits and had her running for a bit, the timing was out and fueling so she was popping flames - bloody loud and scared a few of us the first time lol
After this it was a case of rebuilding the body, boot lid, doors and interior, also bolting the body back to the chassis then fitting other internal parts, pedal box, fuel tank, tank feed...
tbh I cant remember it all now and photos were lost when my pc crashed.. luckily lots were saved to photobucket.
When she was fully rebuilt I had a few issues with the wiring, mainly the hazards and indicators. A strip and clean of the hazard switch fixed a problem and earthing issues the rest.
The mot was a success - small amount of play on one rear wheel bearing and cough cough hazards... but all sorted now.
I had her on the road from the 1st of March until Sept this year.
approx 4000 miles and generally faultless. I had the odd water issue.... a pipe burst but when I got home luckily and a flat one.
It saw a few shows and was part working progress.
A major one for myself and the car was the 40th anniversary meet at Papplewick with the guys who owned the TVR company at the respective time and the guy who designed the chassis. Who also asked why I hadn't entered mine into the concourse show, my response being I didn't know where and wasn't sure she was good enough... a lesson I've since learnt.
and a few of recent times
myself in a post wedding shoot
a look inside the diff...
bored at traffic lights...
at Chatsworth Meet
freshly polished and waxed
with LED sidelights (still undecided)
first attempt on cleaning/polishing rockers
and polishing since...
wheels
rockers again and exp tank
and that's about all.
I do have a lot more photos but don't want to bore every one.
On this journey a friend also restored his beetle (I think hes already a member and if not I'll get him to be
)
Needless to say that I will be keeping an eye out for them from now on! 