Bill Robinson Posted November 29, 2007 Report Share Posted November 29, 2007 Guys, enclosed is a pic of my quater panel to my 59 TR3 with it's typical rust locations. My question is would the experts remove and replace? or could this be patched? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted November 29, 2007 Report Share Posted November 29, 2007 Guys, enclosed is a pic of my quater panel to my 59 TR3 with it's typical rust locations. My question is would the experts remove and replace? or could this be patched? Bill I would repair it and then lead the repair in. Replacement quarters are a pain to fit and unless the whole thing is rotten repair is the best way to go. Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ian Vincent Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 Hi Bill, When I started my rebuild in July 2006, my RH quarter panel was a lot worse than yours so I cheerfully cut it out and went to buy a new one. Only to find that they weren't available - Period. I therefore had to repair the one that I had rather carelessly removed and it was less difficult than I thought. The hardest part was fitting it again along with the new boot floor which I should also have repaired! When I came round to the LH side of the car, I didn't even think about removing the panel, I just repaired it in situ and saved myself a whole heap of bother. Note also that the replacement quarter panels that have appeared on the market again recently are quite expensive. Rgds Ian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nigel Lay Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 (edited) I wish I had never cut mine out and replaced with repros! Nigel (with TS952) AS a follow up re Ian's observation about price I paid Moss £85.00 per pair (plus vat) 4 years ago, I see the TR shop is advertising them at £185.00 per pair on ebay now, I wonder if they fit any better. Edited November 30, 2007 by Nigel Lay Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 Just as an aside on this one Moss have been working with Heritage on the new Quarters and they are supposedly better than the previous ones. However It is still easier to repair the majority of them as they normally go on the bottoms or the tops and those places are fairly easy to repair. If they have gone all the way down then the car is usually pretty bad everywhere else so its usually a case of a complete reconstruction of the rear end therefore any discrepancy of repro quarters can be easily delt with at the same time. Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trevor S Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 Bill, this post is not much help in itself other than to help cheer you up for the weekend and minimise your woes. They say that there is always someone somewhere worse off than yourself and on this ocassion it's me and my TR2 long door restoration! Patch or replace ..hmm.... Good luck with the restoration Regards Trevor. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FRESH FISH Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 Dear Fellow owners, yes very expensive these moss parts, and some are very poorly made, i was very dissapointed in the quality of the austin healey parts the first time i purchaced some [early eightys] though they have somewhat improved over the years, try making your own, i do all my own now and gosh i have saved some money too, in my experience the most rewarding part of any restoration, give it a go, sheet steel is quite cheep and goes a long way. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted December 1, 2007 Report Share Posted December 1, 2007 Bill, this post is not much help in itself other than to help cheer you up for the weekend and minimise your woes. They say that there is always someone somewhere worse off than yourself and on this ocassion it's me and my TR2 long door restoration! Patch or replace ..hmm.... Good luck with the restoration Regards Trevor. Trevor I hate to say this but in your case please disregard my post about repairing what youve got!! The new Moss panels are supposed to be a lot better now so please let us know how you get on with them. Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
angelfj Posted December 1, 2007 Report Share Posted December 1, 2007 Guys, enclosed is a pic of my quater panel to my 59 TR3 with it's typical rust locations. My question is would the experts remove and replace? or could this be patched? Bill: Don't waste your time and money with after-market repair panels. They just do not fit very well. Have a competent restorer fit a proper patch. See these photos of my 3A as examples. As we are neighbors (I'm in Downingtown), if you PM me, I can get you in touch with the guy who has done my work, if you are interested. He is local (Phoenixville). I have many more photos of this restoration also. Good luck! Frank Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Don Elliott Posted December 1, 2007 Report Share Posted December 1, 2007 When I restored my 1958 TR3A from 1987 - 1990, I replaced both the rear "dog-leg" quarter panels. I bought them from Cox & Buckles in Richmond-on-Thames. One side was for an early TR3A where the top flange was stepped down and under as it should be for my early TR3A with no seam at the top. Like Frank's shows. The other side had been stamped for a late TR3A where the flange was stamped vertically down as for a seam required for a late TR3A. In 2003, when I was restoring another TR3A (a late TR3A), I replaced both these rear quarter panels. Once more each side for these parts were still stamped for different models. These I had ordered for Roadster Factory in PA. In each case I had to re-bend the top flange on one side to conform to the required seam. The fit was excellent on all 4 panels. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BrianC Posted December 1, 2007 Report Share Posted December 1, 2007 When my TR3A underwent its first 'restoration-on-a-shoestring' in 1980, I bought quarter panels, rear apron, floors, inner and outer sills from the first batches of remanufactured Cox & Buckles' panels. I believe these were made on a fairly basic wheeling machine by Pete Buckles' father (or father-in-law) so must have been very much a labour of love. However, the quarter panels and rear apron were a pretty good fit. Although I didn't do the work myself, the Vauxhall panel beater 'friend-of-a-friend' who fitted them didn't have too much trouble, considering he had never seen a TR before. These panels were retained during the recent rebuild and from all accounts are probably better than any made in more recent times. The inner sills were not used in the earlier rebuild but have now been fitted, again with no reported problems. However, the best of the wings (nearside) were repaired as the modern reproductions are apparently so poor. On the offside, the front wing was replaced with a repro, requiring much work, but for the rear, a second-hand US wing proved to be far less labour intensive than a repro and fitted far better. So much for progress, so I would recommend retaining and repairing as much of the original as possible - unless you are fortunate enough to have inherited some of those early Cox & Buckles' panels. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kiwifrog Posted December 2, 2007 Report Share Posted December 2, 2007 Bill, this post is not much help in itself other than to help cheer you up for the weekend and minimise your woes. They say that there is always someone somewhere worse off than yourself and on this ocassion it's me and my TR2 long door restoration! Patch or replace ..hmm.... Good luck with the restoration Regards Trevor. Trevor, Dont know about Bill but you have made my day, at last another madman trying to restore a car in the same state as my TR2 Cheers Alan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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