On Wed, 14 May 1997 Ct54531@aol.com wrote:
> I have a 1965 TR4A - CT54531L (hence the name) sitting in my garage...
> When I tried to get the "upper valance" off, I found it was welded
> to two small tab-like projections on the inner fenders on each side (one on
> each side actually).
> First question - I had thought that Triumph bodies were basically bolted on.
> Are there a lot of welded points throughout?
I'm not absolutely sure about the valence, but it might well be correct.
The bodies ARE bolted onto the frame (chassis), and the four outer fenders
are all bolted to the body tub, but there is a lot of spot-welded joints
throughout the rest of the body.
> Second question. As I said the rear is full of bondo - whether from rust or I
> don't know but there seem to be no structural problems of any kind. The rear
> is even "customized" in a way. The body work is all smoothed out with no
> seams, no beading and the tops of the rear fenders slope and curve downward
> as it flows back.
This was at one time VERY common on the TR4-style body. At least here in
the Rust Belt, 99.9% of the time it's NOT an attempt to emulate the
craftsmanship of a George Barris, but rather to "fix" rust holes, etc. If
you're REALLY lucky, the rust will have been confined to the outer
fenders. More than likely, though, it's much deeper. So....
> I have a donor car in the next
> stall with the rear sections in excellent condition. Here's the inquiry. My
> neighbor suggests that we cut the whole rear sections out in one piece and
> switch them...
If it's done properly by a skilled welder/body person, there should be no
particular problems with this operation. It's done all the time with
modern unibody cars as well as "separate chassis" type cars. If it's done
right, fine. If not, it's somewhat less of a problem on a TR than it
would be on a unibody car. :-)
Can't help you offhand on the paint equivalent. AFAIK, Triumph didn't
routinely start using separate fuel filters until the late 1960s or so..
(My 1969 Mk.3 Spitfire had one from new; earlier Spitfires didn't.) It's
undoubtedly worth leaving one there.
--Andy
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