Jim,
When I did my frame off resto back in '79 - '80, The frame I had did have 2
small
"HOLES" in about the area you described. I just gressed on a size and welded on
a
patch of 1/8 inch sheet metal. 20 years later, no sign of flex, rust or crack. I
guess, there must have been a point of moisture collection in the area inside
the
frame, because the rust did originate from the inside.
Bob Labuz
1958 TR3A
1974 T140V
wallaces@superaje.com wrote:
> I finally have my 3a's body tied up to the rafters (distortion prevention via
> Buettner bars), with the frame and running gear sans engine on the garage
> floor. Now the questions will really start flooding in, so in advance: please
> bear with me! My initial examination/grunge scraping has revealed that just
> forward of the axle, on both sides, the inside wall of the outer frame member
> is thin. By this I mean that while I was scraping, quite a bit of flaky metal
> came off there, and it sounds thinner than other areas when tapped upon.
> Can anyone advise:
> a) Is this area known to flex, or, prone to rust?
> -reason being, I want to reinforce and need to decide how thick the patch
> should be.
> b) Any other areas that should be strengthened?
> -I do have the GRM article on strengthening the TR4 frame already, so am
> looking for words of wisdom (WoW) beyond that. My long term goal is to have a
> car that can be rallied.
> c) In the Haynes diagram for the 4 frame the X frame members are shown as
> continuous and travelling through the centre box, but (hard to tell) it
>doesn't
> really look that way as I peer in through the exhaust pipe hole. Any WoW on
>how
> necessary it is to take the top off the box to investigate for rot?
>
> Thanks,
> Jim
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