Hi,
Many of you may recall my writings back in the Feb. time-frame regarding the
"sorry state" of my '74 TR6 frame... Well, I now have a "collection" of two
TR frames, one from a TR4A IRS, and the other from a TR6. One was free, the
other was purchased for the tidy sum of $150 US. I also seem to have the
telltale "clunks" of broken frame components when I drive the TR6, so I
guess I need to deal with this situation.
At any rate, I have a couple of frame related questions for the list.
The TR6 frame needs the conventional trailing arm cross members replaced
as well as the bottom cruciform plate. The parts need to be replaced because
of corrosion.
Now, in moving the frame, I observed a lot of rust scale by looking inside
the frame through the various "holes" that are there from the manufacturing
process.
My questions, thus:
1. Is dipping the chassis at a rust stripper worth the expense/effort?
2. What happens to the rust scale in the stripper process? Does it stay
inside the frame?
3. After dipping, presumably the frame will be bare metal, inside and out. What
should be done to protect the inside surfaces of the frame? I need specific
references to people who have dealt with TR6 chassis and how to deal with the
boxed-section "baffles" inside the frame.
4. Is welding a TR6 frame a job better suited to a professional welder (as
opposed to an enthusiastic do-it-yerselfer)?
5. Can anyone in the northeast US region recommend:
a. a chemical dipper.
b. a good british-car frame shop.
My logic is that if I am going through the effort to transplant the body to
another frame, I might as well do it "right". I want this one to last! I intend
to get the various frame "beefing" plates and gussets from the various
suppliers to make sure that I can drive the car hard and not worry about
breaking things...
Oh yeah, and I need to get this job done so that I can drive the car to the
VTR in Ashville, N.C. next July. Right now were're trying to organize a bunch
of folks from New England to tour down and back for a week-long TR-venture.
Piece of cake...
Bob Lang
MIT Computer Services
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