My 1973 TVR 2500M : Renew and Restomod

This is really, really cool.

SkinnyG said:

This is really, really cool.

Thanks!  I admire your work a lot, so I appreciate that a great deal!

Should you consider trying another coat of the tank sealant? How many extra days would it take to try another coat and maybe get a continuous cover even over the blotchy spots?

Sparkydog said:

Should you consider trying another coat of the tank sealant? How many extra days would it take to try another coat and maybe get a continuous cover even over the blotchy spots?

I've thought a lot about that.  The consensus a few pages ago was that keeping nice fresh gas in it and then driving lots would be the best bet.  Driving this car lots and lots has always been the plan, so for now I'm saving money and flogging myself every time I see pictures. 

I really don't know what I would have done differently.  I followed all the directions.  Rolled the tank around lots.  I even poured a third of the coating into each baffle.  It may just be a problem with trying to coat a tank with all those baffles and vertical walls.

Tested the fuel gauge and sender last night.

It works.  Ok.  Not great. 

One of the little tabs on the case broke off, and the case didn't hold together especially well.  The readings were pretty unstable.  I ended up safety-wiring the case closed.  That seems to have stabilized it.

I also gave the pivot arm and mounting surface some attention with a wire brush.  The contact there seemed poor.  I added in dielectric grease, though I can't say how well that'll hold up to gasoline exposure.

Overall I don't have a ton of confidence in this old unit, but at least the gauge moves as advertised.

In reply to TVR Scott :

Those sending units are available. All late type (after 1965) lock ring retained Smiths senders are similar internally, only the float arm varies. Buy what you can find new and solder your float arm onto a cut off of what comes on it. Nisonger's is worth a phone call to see if they have the exact unit in stock. You have the part number stamped into the old unit.

Cooter says the junkyard TVR is gone.  Pour one out for a lost gem.

I'll proceed with my original plan of fixing my fenders and building my own heater.  No great loss.

Just got back from a family vacation, so I'm working on getting my brain back on Mountain Time.  I did get the garage cleaned up a little, and I'm planning installation on the gas tank.  Nothing exciting, but one step at a time.

Great day in the garage!

Finally got the fuel tank all buttoned up and ready to go back in (not permanently, of course).  It had some grip-tape type stuff wrapped around it that lined up with the tank straps in the car.  I cleaned off the grime and rust and glued the stuff back on with clear silicone.  In went the tank with no issues.

The Tanks Inc kit came with Russell Performance Twist-Lok hose and hose ends.  These are the barbed style that "go on easily by hand".  As Dave Estey said in his video, this is a lie perpetrated by lying-liars.  Who lie.

I oiled a fitting and matching hose, and did my best He-Man impression.  It was not good enough.  Applied heat with the heat gun and sweated and grunted more.  Just got sweaty.  Best I could do was get the fitting about 1/4" from the correct location.  Brutal.

I looked a bit online and found the stupid-expensive $285 Koul Tools fitting press.  Not gonna do that.

Then I struck on an idea that makes me want to break my arm patting myself on the back!  My entire engineering career at times has involved doing difficult tiring pointless tasks and then dreaming up better ways to do the job.  Today fit that pattern.  View my zero-dollar fitting press:

Step 1 - drill a 5/8" hole down the long end of a chunk of 2 X 4.  Split said chunk in half using whatever handy saw-of-woods you may have.

Step 2 - Feed the hose down thru the center of your drill press table.  If you do not own a drill press, go buy one.  You'll thank me later.

Step 3 - Clamp your zero-dollar hose clamp in your drill press vise.  Line up with the drill chuck, and press in said fitting with silly little force.  I put an aluminum plate over the top of the fitting to make for a uniform surface and to protect the finish. 

Step 4 - You're done!  There is no Step 4!  Obviously, and hydraulic press or arbor press could be used for this.

Here's the amazing block of wood in it's disassembled form:

After this fabulous break-thru, I found a nice spot in the LR wheel well for the fuel filter/regulator, and ran my fuel lines from the tank.  The regulator is just zip-tied in place for now.  I'll need to drill the spot and put in a rivet-nut when I have the body off the chassis.

The tank end:

And the regulator thru a jagged hole in the tub (thanks PO!):

In reply to Cooter :

That is quit possibly the most disturbing picture I have seen on the internet.

That looks good.  I managed to get one of those fittings on by hand, but it was an epic struggle.  Your idea is better.

I'm just a little behind you in getting the fuel tank completed.  Everything is sitting on the garage floor waiting for the cutting and welding to begin.  One issue is that the fuel sender (same as yours) wants to swing through the middle of the tank, and that's where I'd like the fuel pump assembly to go.  I noticed you located yours toward one end of the tank.  I had considered doing that, but was thinking it may lead to fuel starvation issues in a long corner with low fuel.  Your fuel tray points back toward the middle of the tank, but mine will be pointed toward the end unless I can make the tray and fuel sender float coincide.

Im stealing your push lock hose clamp/press jig. That is absolutely amazing! I cant tell you how many hours i have lost to that stuff.

Dusterbd13-michael said:

Im stealing your push lock hose clamp/press jig. That is absolutely amazing! I cant tell you how many hours i have lost to that stuff.

Steal away, my friend!

In reply to JoeTR6 :

I need to look closer at your thread to see what your tank shape looks like.  I didn't have a lot of choices on my tank - it's split into three baffles.  One has the sender, and the center section isn't wide enough for the surge tank, so mine had to go in the driver's side compartment.

FYI, I didn't do any welding on my tank.  The pump unit just bolted in with some gas-tank sealant on the cork gasket.

I'm in a perpetual design death-spiral on the mounting of the intercooler/front end junk.  I can do the intercooler in a variety of ways, but my big K&N cone filter does not want to fit in with it.  At least not without doing anything stupid, packaging-wise.

So what about this:

I can build a cold air box between the filter and the turbo/exhaust.  No big deal there.  I can pull fresh air either from the front fender-well (assuming it ends up being high-pressure), or I can use the big louver on the fender.  My only real worry is that louver might aerodynamically "shut off" at speed.  Does that even happen?

That side vent in a TVR is a hot air exit. Probably low pressure area from 40 MPH. NACA duct in the bonnet  just inboard of the fender crown would be more effective. Perhaps not more attractive Calling Stafford1500 here!

In reply to TurnerX19 :

Thank you for the advice - you always have something constructive to say.  On this occasion I think I've been staring at this too long.  You've probably solved my problem.

Here's the filter tweaked over a little bit towards the NACA duct a little bit.  Pretty close.  (Ignore the oil filter mount I grabbed as a spacer).

So then my next question would be is the NACA duct big enough to supply a fire-breathing turbo-beasty engine?  The duct measures 5" wide by 1.25" tall.

So a NACA duct was already where needed?! Really sweet. If you increase the annulus, I would move the center line outward towards the fender crown. Also look up the exact shape of true NACA duct. An awful lot of our gummint money went into the design, and small changes make major differences in effect. Is it presently too small? Visually yes Consider also a water deflector and drain within the inner box. Thanks for the compliment.

Been spending way to much time hand-wringing over the whole front-end intercooler/radiator mounting, plumbing, ducting situation.  I have stated that I'm in "E36 M3 or get off the pot" mode, but I still spent another two days hand-wringing.

So this afternoon before dinner I slammed together this fantastically ghetto intercooler bracket set.  Didn't even deburr the holes.

This is not the final version, though I may use this aluminum tubing to make the final.  Once mounted, the assembly is remarkably stiff.  So that's good.  Overall though, the position is pretty decent, and I'm happy with the location.

This will let me get going on the intercooler piping and coolant routing.  And I've already got my TIG welder rolled out and ready for some aluminum work.  Fun!

Welding up the intercooler pipes today.  Everything so far is coming out pretty clean and smooth.  My hands sure are shaky this morning though.  Maybe I just need more coffee...

Detail shot.  They'll probably clean up a little nicer still.

I picked up one of these clamps yesterday.  It's made specifically for holding tubes together to be butt-welded.  I like it, though it's a little fiddly to use, especially with welding gloves on.  But overall definitely helps.

Also, I thought I'd take a picture of my tig rod holder.  I made this out of a piece of 2x2.  It has magnets on the bottom to hold it in place on the bench.  Holds enough rod for a good hour's worth of welding, depending on the material and the thickness.  Also I picked up the rod feeder a few months ago, and I like it too.  It takes some practice but it's very helpful on long beads where you're using lots of rod.

Finished up the intake as well.  Here it is tacked in place.

And the whole system:

What's the wheel bolt pattern? I feel like it needs some fat 16 inch centerline billet wheels.....

Dusterbd13-michael said:

What's the wheel bolt pattern? I feel like it needs some fat 16 inch centerline billet wheels.....

4 x 4.5.  Zero back-spacing.  I could definitely see it on some slot-mags.

It's currently wearing 215/60-14.  Stock was a 185/70-14, best I can figure out.  They don't list an aspect ratio or OD anywhere.  But these two sizes are basically identical in diameter.

I think I'm going to have a lot of trouble finding autocross-grade tires in a 14" rim.  So  I'll probably run street tires on the 14" rims - I can get BFG Radial TA's in that 215 size. 

I'd love to get a 16 x 7 Panasport wheel for an autocross set-up.  I could get a Toyo Proxes R1R in a 225/45-16.  Or if I went to a 205/50-16 then there are lots of choices.  And the 225 might not even fit...

I know a guy that has a set of 16x8 zero offset centerline un 4x4.5....

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :

Would this guy be you?  Pics?

Here's my afternoon's work - CAD air-box:

This will interface with the NACA duct on the hood.  I've got some edging with a rubber bulb that will go on top of the airbox and seal the connection to the hood.

Why do you have a hole in the side of your air box next to the fender at the end of the filter? Won't that let hot engine compartment air into your intake system?