Front TCA (lower wishbone) A100C0133/132S

[Barrymo38]

Hi,

As a very recent new owner I may have a need for a pair of these.

Did the project get off the ground ? If so are they still available and how much ?

I am shortly going to dismantle mine so will soon know the worst.

Thanks

Barrymo38

[Tuga2112]

Hi,

As a very recent new owner I may have a need for a pair of these.

Did the project get off the ground ? If so are they still available and how much ?

I am shortly going to dismantle mine so will soon know the worst.

Thanks

Barrymo38

Im in a similar position as barry, however i am nowhere technical enough to even know what is the item we are talking about, the google search comes up with metal bars that appear to be related to the suspencion system, wikpedia makes it a bit more obvious what is the piece you guys are talking about.

if the piece is what i think it is, mine are (as expected) rusty, but they dont seem in a very bad shape,
however not being familiar with "rust levels" my impression may be extremely wrong.

in short, i dont know if i need this part or not, the little i know comes from wikipedia, google and a glance at this wiki LEC post

Im assuming the group buy happens either because the parts are no longer available from midas/lotus or because you are expecting a better quality/price component.

if anyone can give me some tips on how to know if i need (or will need soon) this part that would be helpfull. and then i may register the interest here.

if someone can PM me

[Jeemy]

Sadly the firm got back to me after so many months I lost count, and said they would not be economical to reproduce. I had a quote of over £500 per item at one point.

I feel a bit let down as I had all my trust in them for so long and it was always being worked on with a view to a positive result. Long story short I wish I hadn't put my trust in them for all that time as I never imagined there would be anything but good news at the end…..

On the flip side the other firm I had in mind for the hubs were pro-active and diligent but as this firm had already produced the hubs reliably, I stuck with them, although looking back on it there were months of delays with those too.

So I am going to contact the other firm and my shortlist of 10 once more, and see where we get to. But this is not going well at the moment, ditto the wishbones. I should have my parts back this week and will keep you informed.

[Barrymo38]

Hi,
Just a thought - has anyone looked at Arch Motors as a possible source. I believe they no longer make the 7 chassis for Caterham so may have a bit of spare capacity. They used to make the 7 wishbones albeit in tube form.

[Ade]

Hi all,
I don,t know if you know, but these parts are available from Paul Matty and I have just ordered two, arriving Friday. But, wait for it, with VAT and delivery they cost £900.

Ade.

[Ade]

forgot to mention,

I am told these are not old stock but new, so someone is making them.

Ade

[Ade]

Hi,
I have got the T.C.A but I feel I need to warn people about the ball joints used.

The paint is no where near good enough to put the unit straight onto the car, so I decided to rub it down and repaint. On rubbing down I found that the ball joint cover was split so I returned the unit. I did,nt expect any problem, but on returning the unit they said I had split the cover myself. After an arguement they said they would replace the ball joint.

I returned today to pick up the repaired unit. I thought I had better check this time before I left the shop, but as I moved the ball in the socket the cover popped off, I have to mention these are not like your usual cover, you can,t just clip them back on.

Now get this Paul Matty himself said you should not work the ball in its socket in case this happens . I was so pissed off I told him in all the years I have been involved in the motor trade, I have never heard of a ball joint you are not supposed to move, infact when I told my local garage about what he had said they fell about laughing.

To add the ball joints are the same as the Elise so you can replace yours when worn, but, and this as not been checked for sure, my local garage say they look as if they could be off a Nissan Micra.

So be warned if you do buy these units from Mattys check them carefully, after all they are not cheap.

Ade

[Ian T]

Ouch. No problem with use of suitable common joints to fabricate new replacements for obsolete parts, but they should work. And yes, provided you didn't take the joint through any greater angle than it could experience on the car, the cover shouldn't have come off.

Ian.

[Jeemy]

I got my parts back from the engineers Friday, so they will go out to the other firm who quoted on the hubs Monday, this time I'll just send one, and we'll see where we go from there. In the next week or two I'll get the other and the remainder of my TCAs out to another couple of firms and work round the list until we get somewhere. I'll keep the ball joint issue in mind.