you happen to have a drawing of that, I guess I might understand what you say
later in the day, may be just me being stupid this morning...
>===== Original Message From "Power British Performance Parts, Inc."
<britcars@powerbritish.com> =====
>
>Unlike the early TR-2/4 chassis, there's little you can do to the chassis of
a '6 due
>to the nature of it's design without adding significantly to it's weight.
The weak
>spot is in front of the diff, where the frame rails are only 18" or so apart.
Forces
>of the springs are transmitted into the rear crossmember aft of this narrow
spot, thus
>the rear of the chassis torques around this narrow area and you get a lot of
flexing.
>There is much less flex in the earlier 4cyl. TR chassis because the rails are
set
>wider apart. The early chassis is not only lighter and less complicated, but
also has
>more torsional strength as a result.
>
>To address the problem on the '6, I prefer to reinforce the bodyshell rather
than the
>chassis. Looking at the bodyshell, you'll notice that the front inner fender
meets
>the top of the rocker box section for about 14" overlap that is spot welded
together
>forming a strong section that is very resistant to flexing, but looking at
the rear,
>the overlap is only about 4" (9" if you count the triangular gusset). This
area is
>very prone to flexing and this is where extra bracing must be added. To do
so is
>complex and really can only be done properly when the bodyshell is torn down
for
>floor/rocker replacement. I like to section the B pillar along the seam
where the
>door seal goes and add an inner layer of 18ga. sheet that parallels the
rocker box and
>extends both forward along the rocker and up the B post about 12" in each
direction.
>The piece should also extend all the way down to the bottom seam of inner and
outer
>rocker and back to the start of the rear wheelwell. Add a small (about
2"wide x
>8"tall) diagonal piece from the rearmost edge of the new sheet to the
backside of the
>B post leaving enough room to clear the flange on the rear fenders. Finally,
box in
>the normal triangular gusset by adding another flat piece of 18ga. sheet as a
backer
>to close it in completely. This gusset is normally covered by a vinyl piece
with
>cardboard glued to one side to fill in the natural hollow of the stock
gusset. You're
>simply replacing the cardboard with welded sheet steel. When all the plates
are
>welded in and ground smooth, you really can't tell in a finished car that any
mods
>exist unless you look inside the wheelwell and catch the small diagonal
>reinforcement. (Which does a great deal for strength around the pillar, so I
>recommend you live with the visual cue it's there.)
>
>While this is certainly a very elaborate repair requiring a fair amount of
fabrication
>and metal finishing, you'll be delighted with how much more solid the car
feels and
>sounds going down the road.
>
>
>Cheers!
>
>Brian Schlorff '61 TR-4 '64 TR-4 '72 TR-6 '79 Spit
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Power British Check out Power British
> 1242 E. Ridge Pike on the 'net!
>Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462
> (610) 270-0505 http://www.powerbritish.com/~britcars
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
............Gernot von Hoegen................
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