hi all. my '69 TR6 has been up on blocks in the garage for years while
i ponder what to do, but i've come to no conclusion on my own so now i
seek advice.
the car had a broken and badly repaired (misaligned) diff mount in
the rear (as usual), and after I got it, it snapped off an A-arm mount
(at the specially engineered "break here" notch). i had it repaired
and gussets added to all mounts to prevent that particular failure,
but then another mount failed in a different mode, with the face pulling
right out. ow!
i think this was partially my fault. wide low-profile tires, heavy
anti-sway bar, and especially a rigit anti-sway linkage made of ball-ends
and such with no rubber or urethane. it all adds up to greater forces on
the suspension components, and we all know they were weak to begin with.
but it cornered *so nice*...
so my problem is: what to do???
give up on the original frame completely, buy a new one ($2500 or so?),
and try to do the swap in the 2-car garage (somehow hoisting the body etc),
fixes all problems. fresh steel, properly boxed and gusseted.
or repair the broken bracket and hope the others won't fail, but they
probably will. go back to a soft linkage too. live with the misaligned
diff.
it's a stinking pain removing the remains of these brackets and welding
on new ones. i worry about the frame having been welding on so many
times in the same area.
any suggestions?
i miss my TR! i'm driving around in a damn 240 volvo mechanics special
(free w/an overheated seized head)...
--ian
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