This document is available courtesy of its author, Dave Massey. He asks that if it is distributed that he not be quoted out of context. His address is TR6Massey@aol.com.
Well, the White Wonder needed a new frame. (The White Wonder is my white '71 TR6) One option was to part out the car. After all it had a few nice items which are considered bolt-on. I could have taken off the overdrive transmission, the front and rear sway bars, and the Koni tube shock conversion kit and put them on my '74. I did consider doing just that. But the '74 is an original car. The transmission cover has not even been off yet.
And besides, I wanted a solid car that was sort of rough that would be good for throwing around without fear of getting stone chips and door dings and the '74 was too nice for that.
Consequently, I decided to rebuild the White Wonder with attention given to those things that make the car go like drive train and suspension. So I decided to re-frame the White Wonder.
Unlike most frames which have only rusty members where the trailing arms mount (these rusted years ago and were replaced by the DPO (dreaded previous owner)) but one of the front suspension mounting points suffered a stress failure. Specifically the left rear lower control arm mount. Sure I could replace the failed control arm bracket but the previously mentioned trailing arm perch repair was done as a welding lesson (i.e. the welder knew nothing about welding before this repair and self taught along the way) and the resulting warpage and dimensional deviation would yield the handling problems I had before and I wanted a good handling car. So the search was on for a suitable donor frame.
The first frame came from a wrecked car that was hit hard enough to bend the frame. The thought was to have a frame shop straighten this frame but I was advised that the best a frame shop could do was come close and I would be better off if I found a straight frame. I decided to look further.
The second frame was a straight frame with the characteristic rusty trailing arm perches - but these could be replaced. The first step was to clean the frame. This means unbolt everything that bolts on, clean off all grease (at the request of the sandblaster) and sand blast the rust away. Quality Sandblasting (861-1788) did the honors for $75.00 and the frame fits inside my Big Yellow Van. (I can even close the doors) If you prefer acid dipping it can be had for about $120 - $150 in Millstadt Ill.
The next step was to replace the trailing arm perches. My Welding expert said for the best results I should buy new box members and new cruciform plates since the old plates were rusty and probably would not survive disassembly. These can be purchased from Roadster Factory (800-678-8764). I ordered these in February but all items were back ordered. The box members arrived within a few weeks but the plates could not be had.
After a few months I found out that Rimmer Brothers, in England, had plenty and shipped them to me straight away. Rimmer Brothers can be reached by dialing 01 44 1522 526200.
This is an overseas call so call in the morning because they are 5 hours ahead of us. If you wait until you get home after work you won't get anyone, they will all be in the pub having a pint of bitters. Rimmer Brothers also has a home page in the internet which simplifies things a lot. Rimmer also has a nice catalog.
All of these parts cost me about $200 and I spent $250 for welding. So far I have spent $525. Brand new frames are available but cost in the neighborhood of $2000. If I could buy one for $1000 I would.
Once the repairs were made and the frame is painted it is time to start transplant. And this is where the may-as-wells come into play. More on this in Part Deux.
In part one I described how I was motivated to perform a frame transplant on the White Wonder, my '71 TR6. Many of you may be wondering why I refer to this car as the White Wonder. Well first it is white. It wasn't always white but it is white now and will remain white. It is white because white is the most forgiving color you can put on a car without resorting to a wrinkle finish. So I call it White. I call it Wonder because many people, including me, wonder why I am spending so much money on a wreck like this.
In part 1 I also described how I went about preparing a frame for the transplant. In Part Deux I will cover the next phase - removing everything from the old frame.
When I say remove everything from the old frame that includes the car body. The body is attached to the frame by either 22 or 187 bolts. I forget which number is correct but it could be either.
Remember, these bolts were installed 24 years ago and have been soaking in salt water ever since. If I had an acetylene torch at my disposal I could have roasted these things until they were soft and removed them easily. Lacking that I had to resort to sawing many of them off. After every thing was detached between the body and the frame including brake lines, wiring harness, etc. it was time to remove the body.
(Warning: the following procedure was performed by professional hobbyists on a closed course. DO NOT attempt this at home.)
We lifted the body off of the car by sliding an eight (8) foot 4x4 into the rafters of the garage such that it spanned five (5) rafters. We used two (2) come-alongs and two towing straps to lift the body up enough to roll the frame out and a small trailer underneath the body and lowered the body into the trailer. The trailer and body were rolled outside and stored under a tarp for a few weeks while the next phase was completed. (Assembly is the reverse of the above.)
Please note that this was done by three technical type people with strong strength of materials backgrounds using professionally fabricated rafters in a recently constructed garage. This does not mean that your garage rafters won't come crashing down if you attempt this method of body removal. The preferred method is to use an engine hoist (or two).
The next step was to remove the engine and suspension stuff from the old frame and and install them onto the new one. This is where the may-as-well's come into play. speaking of play, let's play a word game.
Insert one of the following phrases into the following sentences:
A) - may as well B) - guess I should C) - ought to
1) I ___ replace all my suspension bushings with urethane ones. 2) I ___ rebuild all my brakes and switch to silicone fluid 3) I ___ replace my caliper pistons since the old ones are pitted 4) I ___ buy super duper aircraft grade brake hoses from Ted Schumacher 5) I ___ replace my rear scuttle panel and rear fenders. 6) I ___ boil out my radiator, since it is off. 7) I ___ replace my radiator hoses and heater hoses 8) I ___ install a stainless steel exhaust system. 9) I ___ replace all of the U-joints (6 in all)Answers and more games next month where I rebuild my suspension and frame in Part C.
For example:
I got the trailing arms and front suspension parts sand blasted.
The trailing arms were then painted with Hammerite silver paint.
The paint closes the pores in the aluminum making them easier to keep clean. The brake backing plates were also blasted and painted black and the brake shoe mounting hardware were cadmium plated which made a very pretty brake assembly until the brake drum was installed covering everything up. The front suspension components were painted with primer and black paint.
I got a whole mess of bolts, nuts, washers, clips, and miscellaneous fasteners (and the brake hardware mentioned above) cadmium plated. Also plated were the trailing arm mounting brackets and all of the suspension adjusting shims. They all now have a nice dull shine which contrasts with the black painted parts to which they attach.
All of the brake lines were cleaned, wire brushed, and inspected.
The lines with deep pitting were replaced and the rest were painted Hammerite silver (again). Ditto on the gas line.
Then it was time to re-assemble the suspension to the new frame with the new bushings. The steering rack got new polyurethane mounting bushings (may as well), new gators (I guess I should), and new tie rod ends (Why not?). (See part Deux)
The right front suspension went together OK. When it came time to reassemble the left front suspension I got out the left verticle link and attempted to install the left trunion I had on hand. Consider that I had parts from more than one car here so there were several trunions from which to choose. Well the left trunion would not thread onto the verticle link. A close inspection indicated that the thread was reversed. But the right trunion fit just fine. Trunions are not interchangeble since the caster angle is incorporated in the design. However the DPO (or the repair shop doing work for the DPO) had repaired the car using a right trunion and verticle link on the left side of the car. This may explain why the car handled in a quirky manner.
This problem was resolved by purchasing another left suspension from Triumph Motors (618 939 8383) who have a pretty good selection of used TR6 parts.
With the suspension installed the next step was to install the drive train. The engine and transmission were installed at a meeting of the Austin Healey club. It took 15 minutes. A special thanks to Ken Dahman on this step.
This is the best time to install the exhaust system, the brake lines and the fuel line. I, however, did these after the body was installed. Learn from my mistake. I can save you several hours of wriggling around on your back under the car. We installed the body next. This is where we encountered the first fatality in the whole program. When lowering the body onto the frame we set it on the gear shift knob which subsequently broke.
Oh well, whats another $17?
Now for the tricky part - shimming the body so that the doors fit. This is particularly difficult in my case because this car had been hit. Remember that one motivation for the reframe job was because the doors did not fit. Now is my chance to adjust the body so that it comes close to correct. This is more art than science so trial and error is the best method. Anyway it will probably be different from one car to the next. The bottom line is that these things don't just drop into place but must be coerced.
After the body was installed, the brakes rebuilt, connected and bled (clutch too), the wiring reconnected, the exhaust installed, and everything else buttoned up the car was ready for its maiden voyage. And guess what? I hit an iceberg. (Not really!) This concludes Phase I of the white wonder revival. Phase II will entail fixing some of the sheet metal problems and paint. I will continue to write about the continuing adventures of the white wonder until someone shouts "ENOUGH ALREADY".