ReekieVR

Ok, here are some details of what i did and the problems i encountered: 1stly the coil pack. After a cleanup it was obvious that although i had never had any problems with rough running in the damp, there was a potential problem lurking for the future. You can see the now legendary cracks appearing across several of the faces of the plastic. So, after being unable to find the high temp epoxy i wanted ( JB Weld - if you are looking for it, just order it off the web and save yourself the hassle of finding out that real shops dont sell it anymore ! ), i went for some plastic-weld from maplin. This does not have a particularly hight temp rating ( 100 deg c )but i figured it would be close enough . Anyway, you can see the repair below. I covered all 4 sides with the resin and any other faces with cracks appearing. I will check the state of this epoxy after a couple of weeks and report back if it shows any signs of failure. Next was the thermostat housing. The old part looked in reasonable condition, but closer inspection revealed many issues ! ( I will post the pix i took shortly.) My previous post about leaking coming from the crackpipe connection, was due to human error. I had removed the old seal and forgot to put a new one on ( :oops: ). However, after i bolted it all back together for a 2nd time, i found water seeping out from around the block / housing area this time. I was initially worried that i had tightned the bolts up too much and distorted the plastic, so experimented with various torque settings. They just seemed to move the leak around though. Anyway, i had noted some nasting pitting on the block when i cleaned up the face and decided that this was the problem : I found some old Chemical Metal in my tool box and filled in the holes. Once it had 1/2 cured i shaved off the excess with blade. After putting the housing back on, all leeks seemed to have stopped ( so far, touch wood etc ). Hope this helps. I know that the prev how-to articles never made it to an actual wiki, but if anyone wants to stick my stuff in there, feel free.

Just put all this back together and filled it up with coolant. But a leak ! I must have missed something during the re-assembly. How does the long diagonal coolant pipe, which goes accross the fron of the engine, attach to the lower flange just below the senors? When i took it off i seem to remember it just pulled away, but i dont recall concentrating or checking that it was all in place before i did the housing bolts up. It looks snug as now, but thats where the coolant is pouring out ( havnt even started it yet !). Is there just a rubber o ring which the housing slides onto ?

Interestingly, one of the main reasons i am doing mine was to try and fix a hot start problem ! I was changing the rad switch and the blue and yellow engine sensors. As i was going to be draining the coolant anyway, i thought i may as well replace the stat, housing and cure a small leak down there. Now i am repairing the coilpack as well. Hope this doesnt all grow into a multiheaded-niggle-monster.....

Halfrauds sell JB Weld or at least they used to. Seems they only sell the stuff in a bar, not the two tubes. They stopped stocking it. I think the Araldite reps have been working hard....

Same here. Cracks in coil pack. Had planned to use J B Weld, but cant find a non internet supplier. I can see you have one on the case too. Same place as mine. Shame i didnt see your post sooner. I just ordered the sensor housing from VW yesterday.

Mmmm interesting. Why Vasaline ?

ok - im half way thru the job and have a couple of questions: 1. the nuespeed radiator switch i just bought, has three points in a row. The plug on the car has them in a triangle. How do i alter the car plug to get them to fit ( which wire is which ? ), or is there an adapter ? 2. while i have easy access to the starter motor, is there any maint i can do to prolong its life / performance ? Job had been pretty easy so far. Unfortunatly most of the parts i have already bought appear to be fine and the bit i didnt buy ( the bit with the senders in ) looks the worst ! 3. Have spotted several cracks on the coilpack after a good clean. Most internet threads advise using JB Weld to seal the plastic parts of the coilpack, but i cant find any. Anyway, when i do, do i cover ALL the plastic bits or just the cracks ? 4. Can i unscrew the 4 ( why are there only 4??! ) metal strips ontop of the coilpack to get better access for epoxying ?

Hexham are really good, but i think Dn are a bit cheaper. Gis a shout when you get back and maybe we can meet for a coffee somewhere between Aberdeenshire and Lothianshire.

Pau1 - i used to use a fab bloke called Noel Flannery - a well respected TVR specialist with a garage out nr Drem ( V8 Sports & Classics). Unfortunatly he has shut up shop to work with a race team in the A1GP ( http://www.a1gp.com ). Dream job Alert ! Anyway, that has left a bit of a hole in south east Scotland, so your only main choices are between Dreadnought in Callendar, or Hexham Horsless Carrages in er.. Hexham. Had a f*kin mental drive back up the A68 this afternoon. Sun out, roof off, no traffic, dry roads ( untill i went through a hail storm just outside Edin . V funny having loads of hail bouncing around inside the car ! ). 110 mins of sheer fun .

For infomation regarding cost of running a Chim - i am about to pick mine up from Hexham at the weekend. Its just had a 12k mile service (on a new engine) and some extra bits done. Rough break down as follows: Service: £760 ( big one - next should be half that ) - loyalty discout = £680 New rear suspention bush - £95 Replace drive shaft inner cv boot - £100 Replace front brake pad clips - £5 Replace middle zorst braket - £10 Trace and repair fault in rear light cluster - £20 Whack the vat on and it just over 1k Advisories: new rear dampers required at some point as they 11 yr old and clunking a bit - decided on Proteck @ £750 fitted. Will get that done during the winter. Nothing nasty in there and not bad at all for an 11 yr old, hand built fibreglass sportscar pushing 320 ft torque ! So its currently sticking to the rule: get a good one and budget £1 - £1.5 k a year to maintain ( excluding ins and petrol ). Keep a grand in the bank for emergencies, and enjoy the utter loonacy ! Does that sound about right KUTR ? :)

Good to see some new posters from north of the border ( well, north of the M62 anyway ! )

HiAsAKite - i was at a tvr meet last month and a local lad had his wedge for sale. This is his email to the tvr yahoogroup: "Well I've talked about it long enough but time has come and my 400SE is officialy up for sale. If anyone knows of anyone looking for a very nice metalic gun metal grey Wedge with polished engine bay and clean red chassis then drop me a line for details and photos. I'm based in Edinburgh." I had a look around at it and its beautifull - immaculate even. Dont know how much he is looking for, but pm me and i will give you his details ( i may even have a couple of photos of it hanging around ). May just be usefull to see what you get for your money. This guy is real enthusiast and i dont even think he wants to sell it ( he said it had been for sale far about 3 years but he just hadnt told anyone ! ). I suspect it would be a peach. Even so, you are going to need to get your hands oily to run one ! Have you got a garage ( and a well stocked wallet ? ) For the record - i like them and yes they are rather 80s but in a good way !

Top gear put it up against a more solid car ( cant remember what - R32, Type R, 350z ? ) and although the others handled better and were more practical ( not a 350z !) they all chose the flawed gta because it had ' heart ' and soul. I ran an Alfa 33 16v for 3 years before the Raddo, but got rid as the driving position was awfull. I'd have another Alfa any day though - esp a gta !

am sure mine is same as an audi 80. Defo some sort of audi. 2029 rings a bell too.

No Worries Dinkus. Ta for lookin. Well, i ordered the Neuspeed low temp thermostat and the 180 Degree 3 Pole Fan Switch from Awsome. Am i correct in thinking the fanswitch is the one that goes into the radiator and that it doesnt need the convertor kit ?

It probably looks older than a 12 year old VAG ones tho... Agreed.

I went cheap 3 years ago and got a ECP one. Still going strong.......

That would be brill CazzaVR. I will attempt a how-to for the wiki too. It must be my turn to do one and it looks like a relatively easy procedure for a novice like me ~!

Dinkus - that would be spiffing of you ! :) So just get everything else from VAG then ? BTW - from the job thread - you have my dream job ! Bast...

Late Vr with leaky housing and dubious temp readings. Want to replace the three temp senders nr the thermostat, the one on the rad, plus all the thermostat housing and bits which will surely break when i take them off. From similar threads i have compiled the following list: 21 121 119A - x1 - Housing to cylinderhead seal N101 392 01 - x2 - Crackpipe to lower connection socket and two thermostat housing seals N901 368 02 - x1 - Thermostat seal N903 168 02 - x3 - Sender units o rings 021 121 117A - thermo housing 021 121 121A - ? 021 121 113D - ? 075 121 113D - ? 025 121 142 - ? N904 762 01 - ? N014 782 1 - ? N011 524 23 - ? N014 703 5 - ? N100 922 01 - ? 3 temp senders in block - Black - 3rd radiator fan speed (120 deg trigger ) - 357 919 369F, Blue - Engine ECU fuelling - 025 906 041A, Yellow - ( Dash temp guage but new one may be black ) # ??? 1 temp sender in rad: # ???? As you can see i dont know what many of these parts are. Can anyone confim the part descriptions and if i need them all for the job. Also, can i just get all of this from ECP or is a trip to the stealers required ? Ta

well, i think i am wrong on that: from here In 2005, £24,500.00 from 1995 was worth: £31,550.91 using the retail price index £31,583.47 using the GDP deflator £37,024.25 using average earnings £40,176.78 using per capita GDP £41,688.98 using the GDP So, i think that the retail price index is the one we want, as it measures the price against other standard goods. However i may be using the GDP measure when i am down the pub later !

Am i correct in thinking that you double cash value every ten years, so equivalent new price for a leather clad vr today would be ~ £46k ??

Apparently the only cure is to remove the schrick and throw it away. Luckily, i have no bonnet and can accomodate your manifold. Dont worry though i'll send my slimline version down for free ! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Great stuff Andy. Kit is looking fab so far.

Good luck dood. If you have any questions, pm me and i will try to help ( by looking in the tvr bible .. ! ).