Dear SOL-mates,
I recently drove the TR down to NY for thanksgiving so that it
might reside in my parent's garage for the winter months. On my way down
I had an unfortunate incident occur which I am only now able to relate
without getting incredibly frustrated.
It started on my way to the ferry on New London Connecticut. I
was having trouble finding the ferry terminal, as it was dusk and a heavy
downpour had just commenced. Needless to say, the wipers were very
little help. Better to go with Rain-X and do without. In fact, just a I
reached the terminal, the passenger-side wiper arm pivoted on its mount
and proceed to attempt to wipe clean the bonnet of the car. While on the
ferry, I removed the offending arm and put it back in its proper place.
The ferry ride was a memorable one. Most of the passengers were visibly
green, and the pounding of the ships hull, as well as the antics of the boy
behind the counter of the snack bar
(bouncing against, first the starboard, then port, then starboard wall as
he prepared our hot dogs) couldn't help but remind me of the recent ferry
disaster in Northern Europe involving a similar RORO ferry. We reached
Orient Point safely, but immediatly upon disembarking, as I turned on the
windscreen wipers, the passenger arm broke rank and threatened to fall
off completely. I stopped and opened the door to remove the arm before
it disappeared. I had miscalculated the orientation and force of the
wind though. The wind took the door from my grasp and flung it forward
with such force that it broke the check strap and continued on into the
front fender. The long and short of it is that my car now has a slightly
dented door, cracked and chipped paint on the door and the edge of the
front fender, and a broken check strap.
The problem with the ckeck strap is that it gave way on the piece
that is attatched to the door, not the door-jamb. I removed the interior
door panel, and (aside from discovering that the door had originally come
from a red TR) I found that this piece appears to be welded in place. My
question is: has anyone here had experience in replacing one of these?
What is the best way to go about: removing the old piece? 2. Installing a
new one? Can it be done with simple tools? (i.e. Sears propane torch or
the like) Can it be done without ruining the remaining paint? Should I
go for a new doorskin while I am at it, or is that a whole lot of trouble?
By the way, I also remarked that, while both of my doors were
suprisingly free from interior rust from the moulding down, they both had
the same rust starting at the moulding (near the top of the door) and
continuing on up in the rounded part. Is this because they never
bothered to paint up there at the factory? After all, one door is red on
the inside and one is white, so it wasn't just on one car on the line.
Thank you all for your help. I would appreciate it if you would
cc me directly on your responses, as it is hard for me to get through all
of the digests at times.
Michael Hering
'67 TR4-A IRS white(mostly)
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