My 1973 TVR 2500M : Renew and Restomod

Quiet progress continues.  I got my CNC plasma cutter up and running again after some downtime and a controls redo.  Cuts are really nice.

This all leads into motor mount fabrication.  Here are a couple screenshots out of Solidworks.  Driver's side:

And the passenger's side:

I'm buying some "universal" bushings from Energy Suspension to give a little movement.  That and red bushings look cool.

Any thoughts on exhaust size?  The turbo outlet accepts a 3" band clamp.  The factory downpipe goes from said 3" outlet, thru the big cat, and then has a flex pipe of some sort.  The ending outlet is somewhere around 2-1/4" or 2-1/2". 

Should I go straight thru with 3" tube the whole way, or would it be better to neck down to 2-1/2" or something?  The smaller tube seems to be more available and less expensive.  Is 3" a weird size?

Any supplier recommendations for exhaust tubing and fittings?

In reply to USERNAMETAKEN :

Burns Stainless for top-shelf tubing, flex sections, and couplers.   I'd go with factory diameters unless / until you're chasing those half-a-percent gains.

Turbochargers don't need or want back pressure after the exducer.  So I'd run the same size all the way out if possible.

Of course there may be fitment issues with diameter of that size and I've not had any issues with finding 3" tubing or parts.

http://mandrelbends.com has a great selection of bends, v-bands, etc. plus they are made just up the road from me.

Shiny...

Ok, first things first, new user name.  Because the old one was dumb (frustrated snap decision after trying to log in with my old user name from back in the late 90's).  And this one is much more descriptive.  Done.

Second thing: finally got going on fabricating motor mounts.  Rough cut the square tubing and the DOM rounds.  I outsourced my tool-path generation to some child-labor:

She picked up the program remarkably quickly (as kids do), and is all fired up to see all the parts cut.  We'll light up the plasma table tomorrow, if we have time.  Could end up being Friday or Sat.  We'll see.

USERNAMETAKEN said:

I really like the look of these old seats, so I'm planning to take this one to upholstery shops to see about a rebuild.  Probably will carefully remove the covers and fix up the frames myself.  Save a few bucks there.

You may be better off just ordering a new pair. These guys have a couple of models that look pretty similar to the original TVR seats: http://www.intatrim.co.uk/

In reply to LanEvo :

Oh man, that ship has long ago sailed!  Look at Page 9 for pics of the recovered seats.

Thanks for the info, though.  Those are nice looking.

Time to make some motor mounts.......

With......

Robotic-fire!

Again, I delegated the job of removing plasma-scale to my cheap child-labor:

Here are some of the finished parts.  Came out pretty well.  A bit of kerf.  Nice edges.  Holes are decent but not amazing.  Overall I'm happy.

I really need to get more robotic fire involved in my projects...

Ransom said:

I really need to get more robotic fire involved in my projects...

Heck yeah, man, once you go "robotic fire" you never go back.

Got the square tubes machined and ready to go today.

And everything went into the tumbler to get smooth and shiny:

I'll go have a look at them in an hour or so, and if everything has cleaned up then I'll swap out the abrasive media for the burnishing spheres.

Progress!

Robotic fire FTW!

Makes my bracket fabrication methods look positively prehistoric! Nice work and great to see what can be done with modern equipment!

I am in the CAD (Cardboard Assisted Design) and AGR/COW (angle Grinder/Cut off wheel) methods. I do have a dedicated chop saw for cutting metal. It does get a little old using an assortment of drill press, grinding wheels, carbine burrs and other "tools" to cut out any openings I need.  Get's the job done, but is very time consuming and lacks that professional look. Your engine mounts will end up looking like factory pieces, very nice!

Can't wait to see the engine installed and this project proceeding. I have always wanted a TVR and replacing the TR6 engine with a proper engine has always seemed like the ultimate project. 

Parts are all shined up and out of the tumbler. Didn't get the chance to start welding today. 

Thats awesome!

Whoa man, badass.

+100000 for roping in family :)

damen

Sweet. I want a shop equipped like yours! :-)

I have more to write later, but here's a quick progress pic.  Got a bit of welding done on the motor mounts last night.  I managed the High Voltage Hat Trick on this one!  Plasma, mill, and TIG all were in play.

When I get back to Colorado from Virginia, we'll need to talk about me taking a road trip up to Denver to see this.  Fantastic work.

JoeTR6 said:

When I get back to Colorado from Virginia, we'll need to talk about me taking a road trip up to Denver to see this.  Fantastic work.

Sure Joe, come on up to the Big Bad City!  Whereabouts in Colorado Springs did you land?  I've got loads of family on my dad's side down there.

Ok, finally got back at it.  I waited all week, thru a million band concerts and parent-teacher-conferences, until there was a time when I could get my daughter and I both out to the garage.  It paid off, and she got to run the lathe for the first time!  All we did was square the round tubes and get them to the right length, but she was into it.

Then I got all the TIG welding finished up.  An OK picture of a decent welding job:

I'll need to throw them back in the tumbler before plating, but for now they'll get test fit to the engine.

We also took the engine back out of the car, and started wrapping up the engine harness.

A good day!

Those look really good!! 

clutchsmoke said:

Those look really good!! 

Thanks!

Busy work / family week last week, so I haven't been able to get as much done as I'd like.  I did get the motor mounts bolted up, and everything looks fine.  I played with the wiring harness too.  I even got a faint inkling that this think might even work!

I have an annoying side-project that must be taken care of, though.  I'm sure this one is common around here: Leaky Shop Hoist.

Oil has been dribbling a little from the screw, but lately it's been dribbling a lot.  Any wisdom?

My cheap second hand Craigslist engine hoist leaked as well. I spent a few bucks at Harbor Freight and got the air-over-hydraulic cylinder replacement. Use the coupon. Mine has worked great for at least 6 years now, and the air-over part saves a lot of time pumping. 8 ton long ram

In reply to TVR Scott :

Too bad you aren't near Philly as I have an extra ram I don't really need.

In reply to USERNAMETAKEN :

I watched a V8 powered TVR run away with the Vintage race at Goodwood. Against the might of Cobras Ferrari Lotus Jaguar etc.