My 1973 TVR 2500M : Renew and Restomod

Kinda wonder what the truck pulling that trailer looked like......

Dusterbd13 said:

Kinda wonder what the truck pulling that trailer looked like......

Substantial damage, I imagine.

There's a highway bridge in downtown Denver that took a hit from an trailer a few years ago.  Took a pretty sizable chunk out of the bridge, and the trailer was horrendous.

Related, I saw an RV trailer crashed on the highway the other day.  Cracked open like an egg.  Not a pretty site!

Pulled the trans out of the truck tonight, unwrapped it, and had a look.  Overall it looks good, and the Focus ST clutch went on without issue.  Yes!

Also, the unit has the hydraulic throw-out bearing installed, and it seems in good shape.  One less thing to buy.

The shifter mechanism is miles from where it needs to be, and is going to need a total redesign, but I've got ideas.  I did some sketching, and I'll need to do some measuring and Solidworking.  It's doable. 

Will you be able to do a remote shifter? Like a stick on the tunnel connected by a rod to the original shifter? Ive see quite a few different cars done that way, but don't know the particulars. 

Dusterbd13 said:

Will you be able to do a remote shifter? Like a stick on the tunnel connected by a rod to the original shifter? Ive see quite a few different cars done that way, but don't know the particulars. 

I looked at it a bit more this morning, and got a little better idea of where the shifter needs to be.

I'd almost like to direct-mount the shifter box to the actuator on the gearbox.  Not sure I can do it - the drive-shaft hook-up is pretty close below.

I think it'll be some sort of connecting linkage between the shifter and actuator.  I'd like to bolt the shifter to the top of trans, and then add in the linkage.  Lots of ideas floating around in my head right now.

BTW, I need to check out your Duster thread a bit more!  I read a little and your work on wiring harnesses looks really valuable.  And I like your paint.

Dug into the shifter a bit more.  This is going to be straightforward, I think.

First order of business, I drilled out the pins on the factory linkage.  I'd say "No disassembly" is only a guideline here...

And then took the cover off the shifter mechanism.  Turns out all the springs and detents are in the transmission.  The shifter is basically nothing.

The ball end of the shift lever just moves that cup attached to the sliding/rotating rod.  The rotating rod was attached to the transmission actuator.

It's floating in my head now: either a simple linkage between the sliding rod and the transmission actuator, or a custom cup do-dah that mimics this motion.  Either way, I've got an aluminum block (many, actually) that will want to be whittled-down to make a new lower cover-plate / mounting plate.  We'll see.

It's all coming together...

Got past a laundry list of to-dos, including crating and shipping engines, 100 mile bike rides, machine prototypes, and episodes of laziness.  Back at the TVR project!

My 11 y/o daughter and I had an afternoon thrash session with the car, and got lots of good stuff done.  She mostly was engine-hoist captain, where my duties included crawling on the floor and getting junk in my hair.

First on the list, but not really photographed, we tidied the wiring harness a bit and added some split-seam convoluted tubing.  A mile or two of electrical tape, and things were looking a little cleaner.  Still no engine control pack, so wiring is mostly on the back burner for now.

Next up - fit the transmission to the engine, and do a test fit in the chassis.

Step 1 - They connect!

I'm very surprised by this weight.  Seems like last time I weighed the engine alone it was 280 lb.  That would mean the MT-82 trans is more like 125 lb than the widely advertised 160 lb.  Big difference!  This is without the shifter, which is light.  This also doesn't yet have the clutch and flywheel, and that combination is a fair lump of metal.  And I still need the starter and alternation.  All in good time.

Step 2 - It fits!

Another picture of the driver's side:

This is pretty close to the right engine height and fore/aft location.  Tilt is still tbd - the transmission would have the engine vertical, while the engine tilts 10 deg to the passenger's side (or to the back) in it's original state.  Probably will split the difference unless the alternator gives me fits.

Underneath, with the transmission roughly level:

Not bad.  Looks like I'll be able to use the mounting points for the original transmission mount.  Just make my own adaptor,  Probably the body will be coming off soon, because it's way easier to see this stuff without crawling under the car!

The shifter location is basically right above the selector rod on the trans - see the yellow arrow.  I'm plotting an adjustable shifter adaptor, but it's actually in a really easy spot to work with.  Prototypes to come.

In other news, I got the roll bar out.  The mounting bolts & nuts were a huge pain to get to.  Ugh.  If I put it back in I'll weld in some threaded tube inserts.

I'm torn on the roll bar.  The construction is hit and miss.  The bends and fit are excellent, but the welds are just ok. 

Looks to be 1.75" OD x .093" wall tubing.  That would have to be chromoly to be a legal roll bar, right? 

The feet are just angle bolted from the top and front.

The front lateral I would remove - too dangerous to passengers on the street.

More than anything, the roll-bar takes up a ton of space.  Maybe there'd be room for weekend luggage around it, but it would be a lot more usable without it in there.

That's it for now!

Before building all the mounts on a bare frame, dont. Learned that lesson the hard way.

Twice.

Tack it or bock up exact stuff in place, at exact angles and locations, then pull for full fabrication. 

You are very far from writing for yourself. Sometimes it is just difficult to come up with the propper atta boy or peeing rainbow image. We all feel like no one is listening sometimes.

This one of my favorite threads and you are doing the things I would do if I had a larger budget!

I'm still back on page 5, but wanted to remind ya that the EB 4 cylinders come in the Lincoln MKC's (and maybe other lincs?), and some Ford escapes. Just fyi if that helps w/ some engine accessories.

I come here to reminisce about the  fabrication days on the Molvo. Seems like a long time ago and I am now stuck in body-work purgatory. 

Pete

Dusterbd13 said:

Before building all the mounts on a bare frame, dont. Learned that lesson the hard way.

Twice.

Tack it or bock up exact stuff in place, at exact angles and locations, then pull for full fabrication. 

Can you elaborate on the issues you had?  I'm listening, for sure.

I guess the alternative would be to build some cribbing for extra under-body workspace, remove the shocks and set the ride-height with threaded rod, and have at it that way.  Thoughts?

BTW, thanks everyone for the encouragement.  A little bit goes a long way!

Scott

Your new plan sounds good!

My problem was i mocked up, took measurements and pictures, and then built two different sets of mounts on the bench with the crossmember out. Once it hit the firewall so bad it wasnt even funny. Other the heads would have stuck out of the hood.

No good reason why it went so wrong, but it did. When i built the mounts in place (tacked together, removed for gussets and fully welding) everything fit perfectly.  A few millimeters in any direction caused huge issues.

In reply to Dusterbd13 :

You've convinced me.

Plus I have nowhere to store a car body right now...

Its fiberglass. Throw it out back with a few flowers and call it art.

Dusterbd13 said:

Its fiberglass. Throw it out back with a few flowers and call it art.

The hood is already doing the job of yard art.  Along with a bunch of other junk that now gets in the way in the garage.  My gardening esthetic has dropped dramatically with this project...

Speaking of motor mounts, any thoughts on design and bushings to use?

Seems like a lot of custom mounts use round bushings in tubing on one side, connected to a pair of ears on the other.  Bolts in double-shear.

Could potentially use stock TR6 mounts.  Basically two tabs with rubber in between.

I've seen people use stock 2.3 EB mounts and isolators from the Mustang, but they look huge.

Been reading with interest.  Long way in a short time.  Keep up the good work.  It's nice having a young legs helper too.

Maybe one of those cheaper put together garage/shelters for all the take off parts would help. Give you more room in the garage.

Ive used the universal speedway kit (rubber donuts with a vertical bolt through), the poly bushings inside a tube and ears, advance adapters kit, and stock mounts for the engine adapted to the chassis. The tube and bushings were by far the simplest. The stock mounts made replacement trackside far easier. The speedway kit transmitted the least vibration. 

So.....

Im no help

In reply to Dusterbd13 :

i came in to vote for OE mounts adapted to chassis

Looks like I should be able to us an OE transmission mount without any trouble at all.  Super easy to mount that, I think!

I like the Speedway kit - looks simple and durable.  Not at all expensive.

I THINK the bushings/isolators are flathead ford truck parts. But dont quote me on that.

What does the mounting on the frame rails look like? I’d probably try and use the Mustang brackets that bolt to the block (they have a hole for a stud to stick thru the center) and then come up with a mount from there to your frame. This would ensure that you have clearance for the turbo drain and everything on that side (I think the drain line goes thru the motor mount bracket!) I don’t think I’d try to use the Mustang mounts however, as they’re actually electronically controlled, and I have no idea how stiff they’d be in the “off” setting. 

Nice progress!

I sent pictures of the mounts.

In reply to Saron81 :

Just sent you an order for random parts!