'74 TVR 2500M

In reply to Stu Lasswell :

The rotisserie definitely has it's advantages.

TVR Scott (Forum Supporter) said:

Dave, those are the Rota RB?  What size?

Yes, RB's 15x6 - Big for a Spitfire, had to roll the front fenders, but the rear clears with a 205 tire, running a 195 up front

Stu Lasswell said:

  I also like the looks of the Rota RBs. Looking at them again, I guess a set of four would be about $75-100 more than the Rewinds. I am surprised that they run 2 lbs. heavier than the Rewinds... that's a big difference--about 12%!  Oh, and do you drive that Spitfire from the back seat?

That was the best picture of the wheels that I had available. It is pretty tight, but no it has actual seats in it. Not the lightest wheel, but they look good and you can get them in several colors with a polished rim.

   Just placed a nearly $500 order at Moss Motors...  HD clutch kit, hoses and master/slave cylinders, major front suspension rebuild kit, front wheel bearing set. Had to use the wife's rationale... "Honey, I had to buy them, there was a sale! I saved nearly $100!"

dherr (Forum Supporter) said:

Yes, RB's 15x6 - Big for a Spitfire, had to roll the front fenders, but the rear clears with a 205 tire, running a 195 up front

Aspect ratio?  I'm just trying to get an overall feel of scale.

Got the chance today to try and clean up the hub carriers. Hit them with the bench grinder (wire brush wheel), then remembered I had a wire brush drill attachment thingy. That got into the corners and hollows a bit better. I suppose it doesn't really matter if they're clean since I'm not painting them, but they look much better for now. They're one of the few proprietary TVR parts, and I thought it was interesting that they are date-marked right in the casting. One has 10-73 on it, the other 12-73. The car's data plate lists a build date of Jan. '74, so they must have had them cast as needed rather than in quantity-- but then TVR always seemed to be strained financially. I'm tempted to polish them up and clear-coating them, but once installed you really can't see them. But I'd know...

Those are looking great! 

Now I've got to look for the build-date on mine too.

I like the raw aluminum look as well.  Will probably clear-coat mine.

   Today I decided to get to work on the smaller bits, primarily suspension.  Did some more angle grinding, wire brushing, and sand-blasting on the diff hanger and the rear lower A-arm assemblies. Melting the old rubber bushings with a torch was messy and smelly, but did remove them. Hit those parts with some rusty metal primer and rattle canned them "pewter", which looks more like a silvery off-white. I figured it would be nice to have a contrasting color to the black for all the bolt-on parts. I need to get the new poly bushings into the A-arms so that the shop can measure, cut, thread and install the shafts through the alloy uprights.

   Got my Moss order today too. Some of the clutch parts (hydraulics) and the front suspension and hub rebuild kits came, and the rest is on back-order. Still, it gives me plenty to do in the meantime.

   It would be nice to have a parts car TVR (some would say that's what I've got as a project). The best I could hope for in this case would be a parts car TR6. Well, I didn't find  that, but I did run across some very usable TR/TVR components in an unlikely place.  I was in an antiques mall in Mount Gilead, NC a couple of years ago and he had a front clip of a wrecked Triumph, with a few assorted other parts, all believed to be from a TR6. I wasn't interested, having a TR3, and his price wasn't reasonable to me at the time.  Back there a couple of months ago, and he's still got the parts. Now he's ready to make a deal... the front frame clip (marked $200) and an intake manifold with 2 carbs (marked $250).  Got it all for $100. My TVR sat in the dirt for over 16 years, and the front suspension and brakes look pretty solidly rusted, so I think the recent purchase offers better parts for my build. The extra pair of carbs... well, you can't have too many spare carbs, right?

The stainless steel heat shield and K&N air filter alone are worth a C-note.  That TR6 hit something very hard! The remains of the bumper and front apron are rolled up with the frame rails, and the steering rack is severely tweaked, but the suspension and brakes seem to be undamaged. The TVR uses TR6 trunnions, hubs, vertical links, stub axles, steering arms, ball joints, and brake assemblies. The rack may offer up some spares, but TVRs used the rack from the Triumph  2000 saloon. Today I started to pull the front end apart.

Score!

   Got out there today and did som dis-assembling of that TR6 frame clip.  Came apart pretty well for the most part. Glad I bought the spring compressor from TRF when it was on sale a couple of months ago... didn't fit quite right (for TR3-4) but still worked. I took apart one upright to see how it looked, left the other together in case I forget how it's supposed to look! I guess I could refer to the rusty ones I took off the TVR, but I''ve found it's best to do one side at a time, just to keep from mixing parts!

One thing I noticed was how close the TR6 anti-roll bar is dimensionally to the TVR bar. It looks like I could probably order an upgraded TR6 bar (3/4", maybe 1") and just adapt different drop links. Woohoo!

This is all that's left of the clip after dismantling. It's pretty distorted from that accident.

These are the salvageable parts that I don't  currently have a use for. They  will mostly fit my TR3 though, as I've upgraded it to TR6 components for camber/castor. Can't have too many spare parts, right?

These are the parts I will use for the TVR... although I'm not so sure the rotor will clean up sufficiently. Eh, they're fairly cheap. I also am thinking of upgrading the brakes to the 4-pot Toyota calipers, as it's a straight swap (pretty much). Probably cheaper than having the Triumph units overhauled if they need it, too.

That tvr bar looks a LOT like a second gen s10 front. If you want to experiment with other applications,  o have neon, miata, and gm laying around 

In reply to Stu Lasswell :

The Girling calipers from your TVR or any TR6 are super simple to overhaul at home. Do not buy outsourced rebuilds. The pistons are available in stainless steel, and the bodies have no failure mode beyond the occasional stuck bleeder screw. I know the shop manual says not to separate the halves, but I have been doing it for over 50 years with no repercussions, and now the square section seal between the halves is available, which it was not until just recently.

This is truth.  I rebuilt TR6 calipers 25 years ago and they have lasted at least 30k miles.  The Toyota calipers are cheaper, but weight more.  You may be better off with stock calipers and EBC green stuff pads.  Even better with Wilwood calipers, but the budget would suffer.

The extra unsprung weight is very noticeable on a bumpy curve. It produces a kick in the steering which disappears with the Willwoods, but, I have had fit issues with both of the Willwood conversion kits I have installed. These both included vented rotors that were sourced from an unknown to me Rover and re-drilled for the Triumph hubs by the English supplier. They were grossly excentric. OK for me, I have a milling machine and index table available, but it would stop most amateurs. The first one I did also had clearance issues with the adapter brackets. The TVR with stock brakes is not under braked, rebuild stock and enjoy the car. 

In reply to TurnerX19 :

Hey, thanks for your input JoeTR6 and TurnerX19.  I know that I had read that the Toyota brakes didn't improve actual braking anyway (same swept area or something) but reduced fade... which I've never actually had a problem with. Didn't realize they were heavier too. Too bad we can't get the Red Stuff pads for the Triumphs, as I've found the Green Stuff pads leave a bit of dust, and I love the Red Stuff pads on my JCW Mini Cooper S!

   Didn't get anything done on the TVR today, but I did go over to Dusterbd13's house and borrowed a ball joint separator yesterday. Spent today trying to get the Triumph TR3 ready for the  SCCA autocross tomorrow. First 'cross since January for me, so I'm excited, and I've got 2 MGBs (3 drivers) competing with me in the Heritage Classic Street class now. Didn't really do much, just checked things out underneath, on the lift. Tires are several years old, so that's probably my next upgrade (maybe next year). Any pictures posted tomorrow will probably be autocross action!

I love that you take your TR-3 to the autocrosses.  I'm guessing a lot of those cars don't even get driven at all, much less driven in anger.

Post pics, please!

   Alright, truth be told this photo is from back in February. I was giving ride-alongs to youngsters... how can we generate any enthusiasm for our old, obsolete cars unless we expose them to how much fun they can be?  I haven't gotten any photos from yesterday's event.  I had hoped to get a shot or two of Michael (Dusterbd13) in action with his Miata, but I was working the course during his runs. Got to see both his big spins up close, as they were right in front of my work station.  He was kind enough to miss most of the cones at least!

   I never really got a solid (error free) run in myself, even doing a major rotation (about 270 degrees!) on one run. Still got second place behind one MGB with the "ringer" hired gun driving. 2nd out of four, leaving me still solidly in 1st place for the season so far, such as it is!  Maybe someone will post photos of the event, and It'll include a decent action shot of the TR3 that I can then post here.

    Ahh! Someone did get some photos yesterday. Here are a couple,

Only change is the addition of the GRM stickers!

   After seeing what TVR Scott found with his front A-arms, I figured I'd better check mine out as I had only pulled them off without inspecting them. I'm relieved to say I didn't find the kind of wear/damage Scott found.  I guess my TVR led a fairly gentle, if neglected life!  Looks like I'll be cleaning them up, painting them and re-assembling.  I got a full front suspension rebuild kit, but neglected to order the ball joints or tie rod ends.  Back to the parts catalogs!

A bit crusty, but just in need of cleaning up.

No fair!

I want rusty but intact and undamaged parts!

In reply to TVR Scott (Forum Supporter) :

I think we've established that you've acquired the rustiest TVR on the continent!  But then, who better to resurrect such a hopeless case?