TR2/3/3A 1960 TR3A starting chassis work

[Frank Canale]

I have decided to change my plan of attack. My metal forming skills still need some work so I am starting on the chassis.
The back half is off.
The front clip is ready to take flight.
Time to take the motor out. The motor is out. Time to clean up.
The good news is the motor started no problem after sitting for a little over a year, the frame disassembly went really well.
The bad news is I have discovered more frame damage than originally thought. There are two cracks on the back side of the spring tower at the bottom. It appears that someone has done some welding around this area but not to the cracks. I do not see any bulging of the frame rails. The diagonal brace that goes to the frame rail is not bent but does have a lot of rust damage to be repaired where it attaches to the frame. I am going to take my time and start the frame measurement process that is in the service manual. This week will be cold and will slow the work in the shop. If it was easy every body would be driving one. Frank

 

[DavidApp]

Hello Frank

Going to be cold next week.

I see you are missing the body mounting points on the outriggers. Did they stay with the inner sills or were they just gone? Looks like my TR2 in England. The supports were bolted to the body but the outrigger tubes had gone.

I built a pair of sturdy stands for the frame. They would hold the frame and engine.

David

 

[Frank Canale]

Hi David,
The passenger side is the worst of the car and will be the hardest to rebuild. The B post had been removed by the PO. The car came with a doner B post but I can not see that it was much better than what had been removed. The out rigger mounting plates were in such bad shape I made new ones but realized that the body was going to have to come off to get a good way to start measuring and checking the mounting points. I was a little disappointed to find the damage to the front end but after a nights sleep it is no big deal. Many have fixed a lot worse and I am sure the forum will help me along the way. Just a bump in the road. Thanks, Frank

 

[Frank Canale]

My biggest mistake was not taking the bump stop off below the front shock while the motor was still in the car. I will have to come up with a clever way to compress the spring to get it off so i can get the shocks out. After that the removal should be back on track. Another bump in the road. Frank

 

[LionelJrudd]

Looks good Frank. Only problem I can see is the steering wheel is on the wrong side!
I started on the chassis first with my car. Ended up making a new cruciform completely and replacing the outer layer of the right hand chasis rail for most of its length. Re made the tubing accross the very front, rebuilt a chunk of the right tower and replaced the right brace behind the tower.

Important to keep it all square and make sure you have all the measurements correct. Welding of different parts can introduce twist so check before and after several times.

Looks like you have a nice place to work in
lionel

 

[DavidApp]

Not too late to drop the engine and transmission back in to weigh it down while you get to the bump stops. That was a PITA to do with no weight on the frame and I was working with clean rust free hardware as I reassembled the suspension.

David

 

[Frank Canale]

Thanks Lionel, for the first time in my life I have my own shop. When I got my car it was a pole shed with a dirt and gravel floor, no insulation, and poor lighting. Middle of last year I decided it was time to spend a little money if my car had any chance of success. A concrete floor, painted with rust bullet floor coating, 100 amp service run from the house, new LED lights, and the back wall and ceiling is insulated. The back wall is fake brick but that is the look I wanted. It has the feel of an old work shop. Still looking for an air compressor but no rush for that. Hammers and dollies for now air tools later.

 

[Marvin Gruber]

Frank,
I'm just down the road from you in Florence,AL. I have several Triumphs and a lot of parts if you need something. There are six TR3s here. Have overdrives if you decide you want one.
Marv

 

[Frank Canale]

Hi Marvin, we used to live in Florence early 70’s. I would love to come take a look at what you have. There is not much left of the quarter panels outside lip so I will need something to make a pattern from to make new ones. There are several small pieces I am looking for so I will start putting together a shopping list. I would say mid February on a Saturday. I will stay in touch so the day is convent for you. Thank you for letting me know you have parts and are close. Frank

 

[Frank Canale]

Thank you for the idea David, sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees. Walked by the motor and transmission still on the crane on the way out last night. It will only take a few minutes to set it back in when I get home tonight.

 

[Marvin Gruber]

Pm sent
Marv

 

[Frank Canale]

I put the motor back on the chassis in order to remove the bump stops below the shocks. There are 2 bolts holding the bump stop on. The top bolt came off no problem, the bottom bolt did not. The nut came off but the bolt was seized. With a lot of force the bracket rotated down and I could then see the problem. The tube that the bolt goes thru was rusted to the bolt and metal surrounding the tube was gone. No choice but to get out the cut off wheel and cut the head of the bolt off and cut the other side off flush with the bracket now the bracket is off. The driver side came off no problem and no damage. Tomorrow I will start setting up to do a lot of measuring. I stopped and got the frame diagram copied and blown up so I can use it to make notes and develop a plan to start the repairs. It is obvious that something happened to the front passenger side.

 

[RJCOX]

Frank, You are well on your way. Part of me is jealous that you are working on your frame, the rest of me isn't as I don't think I could do that.

Thanks for taking time to document what you are doing...

Oh and BTW, your metal forming skills are better than mine, and quite appreciated. The prop shaft tunnel you made for me was spot on!

Thanks, and keep up the good work

Ron

 

[Marvin Gruber]

Frank,
I do have a bare TR3 frame.
Marv

 

[DavidApp]

Frank

Do you have a compressor yet?

After I nearly cooked my old Sears 30 gallon compressor doing a bit of sand blasting I got a real one. I could not touch the tank on my sears one it got so hot.
I got an Ingersoll Rand 60 gallon. SS5L5 model from Northern tool. Tractor supply has a similar model cheaper but check the model number to be sure it is the same thing. When I was shopping the tractor supply model was one down from NT.
It has cycled on and off when I was sand blasting. Never fazed it.

David

 

[Frank Canale]

The front suspension is off, in more ways than one. After some initial measurements the shock towers do not appear to be twisted. The upper measurements are correct. The problem is with the lower fulcrum pins. It seems that I am the recipient of a lower fulcrum pin hack job. I don't know if they were replaced or what but both pins were cut out and re welded. The only point on the lower pins that is right is the passenger front. The passenger rear is off and the driver side both are off. I can use some help with a couple of questions. Is the inner top flange of the chassis supposed to be bent up vertical next to the steering box and the idler arm assembly? Picture 5 showes the idler arm side but the steering box side is done the same. looks like it was beat over with a hammer. On the passenger side there is a plate welded to the fulcrum pin and to the chassis behind where the front lower arm mounts, and the same at the back side. These plates are only on the passenger side not on the driver side. Is this correct or is this Bubba making sure that side did not fall off. The upper fulcrum pins are badly corroded and will need replacing.The roadster factory has free shipping till Friday so I am going to see if they have both upper and lower pins. I do not think they are going to have the lower so my next option is Revington or Moss. Has anybody ordered lower fulcrum pins that can make a recommendation? The passenger side spring tower will need to be removed to do the repairs to the bump stop tubes as will as the frame behind the bump stop. I am much more comfortable working on the chassis. Making things straight square and parallel are well defined and easy for me. This is going to take some time but I am looking forward to it. I have not figured out how to keep the text and pictures in order but i will get better as i go along. Frank

 

[DavidApp]

A road trip to Marv may be beneficial so you can look at a good frame to see what has been hacked.

David

 

[pa297pass]

Frank:

Replacing the lower fulcrum pins is not a trivial job, but this thread details another member's work to replace them. Good luck!

https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcf...-control-arm-pin&highlight=lower+fulcrum+pins

Matt

 

[Frank Canale]

Hi Matt, I started in a fab shop right out of high school and always got the jobs of grinding off broken parts so this takes be back to my youth. Thank you for the post about the fulcrum pins. The post describes what was done. They took the easy way out and cut the supporting area around the pin, took the whole thing out, welded it back to the new pin then put it back in and poured the weld to it and that is why the alignment is off. Everybody that takes on these unique cars encounters their own unique challenges.
Frank

 

[CJD]

As far as I can tell from your description, the hammering up of the front inside flanges is NOT normal. Also, the plates on the passenger side are NOT normal. It sounds like you are aware...but just to make sure...concrete slabs are not flat enough to take measurements from as you align your pins and all vertically. Be sure to compensate for that as you go. I used a simple clear tube with water to normalize the vertical measurements.