Roy:
A friend of mine (the welding expert) and I did the same job with the
floor pans, etc. a few months ago on my current ground up TR3A (59)
restoration. We replaced the rocker, sills, and floor pans with the
tub on the chassis. In this way, it assured the best alignment was achieved.
We spot welded everything into place so it was secure and strong
enough to remove the tub without disturbing the alignments. When we get
around to working on the tub (lots of areas need repaired), we will finish
all the welds and grind out so are smooth. The tub is currently on its side
in my garage (with extensive supports bolted on to prevent any twisting of
the body alignment). Used a grinder but mostly just the torch to cut out
old pieces.
Scott Suhring
Elizabethtown, PA
'70 TR6
'59 TR3
Roy wrote:
> Listers,
> I'm getting ready to replace floor pans in my '60 TR3 (TS63103LO) as part of
> a total restoration. I have replacement pans, rockers, sills from TRF. My
> car has the occasional seat shelf behind the seats (not the earlier style
> indents behind each seat). I'm planning to do the work below before taking
> the body off the frame so that the body will be better able to take the
> forces from removing it from the frame (unless listers suggest taking the
> body off BEFORE doing the pan/sill/rocker work?). I have a portable sand
> blaster and a MIG (gas) welder. My plan is to do some of the metal
> replacement in the less critical areas, get the body off the frame,
> disassemble the frame/chassis and have it blasted, epoxy primed
> (suggestions?) and painted. Then reassemble the chassis to a rolling
> chassis. With the body off, then I plan to do some of the simpler work
> myself, and probably have some of the more difficult work done by my local
> body shop who has experience with some classic and hot rod work. Below are
> some near term work areas. After these, the rest of the car is not too bad,
> but I'll probably ask for some suggestions when I get to those areas.
>
> (1) The floor pans don't seem to have any spot welds, but they don't appear
> seam welded either. What is the best way to remove the old (rusted) pans?
> Cut/grind away the floor and leave the old vertical part? Or what? The
> fronts of the pans at the footwells are pretty much gone so that area will
> have to be reconstructed from some new metal. The new pans have sidewalls
> like the old pans so it appears they would have to be seam welded to the new
> rockers/sills I have to install? Any suggestions? The rockers/sills are shot
> with rust--see (3) below.
>
> (2) Where the occasional seat shelf lip lays over the old floor pans is all
> rusty. Most of that overlap flange will be gone when I remove the old floor
> pans. Any suggestions for restoring that area? The new pans have a
> depression for the occasional seat flange (but since that won't exist any
> longer, any suggestions about this region?).
>
> (3) The rockers/sills are shot. I have to install the new ones from TRF.
> Should I just carefully whack away all that old stuff and refit the new
> rockers/sills? And then put in the new pans?
>
> (4) The occasional seat shelf is reasonably intact (except for the flange
> joining it to the floor pans and a good bit of the vertical surface from the
> floor pan up to the shelf). Any suggestions on rebuilding this area? I'm
> assuming I'll just have to weld in little pieces where needed until it's
> ready.
>
> (5) On the driver's side, the rear wheel well area outside just behind the
> driver's door (that dogleg section from the rocker up to the tonneau area)
> was body filler repaired by a previous owner. There is filler contouring the
> exterior surface and oozed through a number of holes into the inside of the
> region between the exterior skin and the interior skin. What is the best
> method for removing all this junk/filler? I would like to keep the metal and
> do any metal repair to bring it back to a decent condition.
>
> Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
>
> Roy
> '60 TR3a (TS63103LO) in restoration
> techman@metrolink.net
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