While dismantling (up to but not including frame-off) my TR6 for restoration,
I have been faced with a perplexing problem. Any advice, before I get resort
to professional body work, will be appreciated.
I discovered that the car had been hit pretty hard in the right rear and had
been subsequently repaired. A diagonal measurement showed the frame to be
straight, apparently. If it was bent, it would have, therefore, been
straightened. The measurement from the rear end of the frame to where it
first bends inward was within a 1/4" diagonally. However, a measurement on
the top edge of the inner rear panel at the front edge of the trunk lid to
the diagonally opposite rear edge of the other side showed about 1"
difference. This shows a rear end bent to the left. If bolted up tightly,
the right rear fender would be under the trunk lid when closing. The net
result is that whoever repaired the damage earlier couldn't close the trunk
lid when the fender was installed and to do so, bondo'd out the fender enough
to clear the trunk lid. And, the result of this is that the vertical lines
of the fender and valance are misaligned on both rear edges.
Since the frame is straight (I think), I tried to pull the rear sheet metal
back to the right with a come-along. It only has to move about a 1/4", but
it didn't work. A whole lot of sheet metal has to move at a pivot point that
would run along the front edge of the trunk lid. It apparently is not just
the inner fender panel. I put a square on the front face of the spare tire
well and found that even that area was bent to the left.
I am trying to do the maximum amount of this restoration myself, but cannot
figure out how to move the rear end over this 1/4". Any ideas? Would a
frame shop be able to do this or do they only straighten frames?
Andy Schwarz
Renton, WA
1970 TR6
1963 AHY BJ7
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