Ct54531@aol.com wrote:
>
> A little while ago, I finally got back to a TR4A live axle restoration. I
> wrote the list asking about the feasibility of cutting the back section of
> the body out (inner and outer) and welding the same section from a donor car
> onto it. The response was generally that it was feasible but be
> veeeerrrrrrrrrry careful about keeping the body form stable.
> Well, I decided that perhaps it wasn't necessary to do all that cutting and
> changed my intention to just swapping the outer body parts of the recipient
> car with the donor car. I started to remove the recipient car's fenders and,
> while I knew they were full of bondo, I had no idea how much. The fenders, in
> the rear at least, weren't even bolted to the inner fender. There was so much
> adhesive that they were actually "molded onto the inner body, looking like
> they were held on by the adhesive itself. There was no way to get the fenders
> off as a whole part. We actually had to chisel down the line where the seam
> should have been and break them off from the inner fender.
> That was the good news. What that endeavor revealed was that the inner body
> is so rusted that it's a miracle anything stayed attached. But I'm glad I
> know now.
> However, I am fortunate in that the inner body on the donor car looks to be
> in almost pristine condition. So now, I'm back to the idea of a down to the
> frame restoration which I never should have abandoned.
> What I'd like to figure out before I start is the best way to remove the
> inner body parts from the frame. And how big a job will this be. Don't be
> gentle. I'm doing it no matter what. I just want to know what to expect.
> I believe someone said there were something like 14 bolts to the frame. Is
> that it? I mean after I've removed the fourteen or so bolts, am I down to the
> frame?
> Also, how few sections can the inner body come off in? The front portion of
> the car (from valance to bulkhead) appears to be one piece - or a series
> of welded pieces. How much comes off in one piece?
> Is it welded to the bulkhead or is the bulkhead part of the front section
> and, if so, what is it welded (or bolted) to?
> Similar question for the rear. How much can come off in one section and how
> far forward would that section go?
> The middle poses the greatest questions to me. Is it - like the front and
> rear (if they are) - possible to take the middle part of the body off in one
> section or does it even come off? Is it just a matter of removing the bolts
> at the door posts?
> I'm sure these questions are simple to the initiated but that description
> does not include me when it comes to body parts. TIA.
>
> CT54531
> 1965 TR4A Live Axle
I'm pretty sure that the inner body of all of the TRs thru the TR6 is a
single unit. You unbolt it from the frame & lift the whole thing off. To
get it off in sections, you would have to cut it.
Beside that, I woulf think the best thing to do would be to leave the
body in place, and cut off as much of the body tub as you plan to
replace. Cut off slightly more than this from the donor car, line it up
on the frame, trim & weld.
Obviously it'll be more complex than that, but that's the approach I've
used.
George Richardson
'57 TR3, TS15559L
(still in the works)
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