Complete rebuild - TR6

[Rodbr]

Sometimes you meet someone who you really hit it off with and such was the case today. I was invited to attend a meeting of another club as their guest and take my TR3a.

It was at a National Trust country house and park in the West coast so large public presence. One such member of the public sought me out to talk TR's/ His story was not a happy one in that he had had a very nice TR6 which through no fault of his own (another car) caused him to wrap it round a tree injuring himself. He left it till after a long recovery and then set about having the chassis straightened and upon completion the car did not sit remotely straight, a dip at one corner. Not sure who or where he went to in Birmingham area but they upshot was that his now straightened chassis was scrap and needed the back section cut off and a new one grafted on. They did a deal and took his chassis in part exchange and supplied a new one which is the dogs dangly bits this one is at least straight.

He is understandably pi$$ed off that he paid for getting back a straight chassis and got a dog that should have been put down and is nervous about who to trust with work.

I am tempted to suggest that he goes to a night school class and learns to weld!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Goes to as many shows and takes many many photos of TR6's in their natural setting.

Asks a local owner if he could have access to their car as a reference point when needed avoiding putting the said owner in an awkward position, (sure way to loose a friend)

 

So, he has the rear tub from bulkhead back, new inner wings and new outers and all parts to rebuild, and is spread across three garages.

He has no real knowledge, but now retired wants to rebuild his pride and joy and I offered to find out who was trustworthy in the west of Scotland area to perhaps weld the front end back together without breaking the bank.

 

My suggestions are as follows but would like advice if this would be the way forward: Plan and divide jobs into bite size chunks

Rebuild the chassis to full rolling state with all lines and work done possible on a bare chassis.

Take the rear tub and repair what needs done so the doors open and shut

refit tub back on the completed chassis.

lay up the inner wings and see how close they are to fitting and self tap in place working the bulkhead.

Fit outer wings and front panel again temporarily.

Fit bonnet and check how close the fit is going to be and then at that point get a quotation for specific defined jobs and do it in stages.

As he wants to do as much as he can himself, he ain't stupid, asks the right questions and so I would like to help and guide him in getting a good useable car but he isn't looking for or wanting a concours car.

 

Any advice would really help as he is most definitely a case that deserves help, an honest unassuming guy that has been right royally shafted twice over his car.

 

I know how I would do it and have built cars from the ground up but for a first time is a 6 more than most could do with guidance?

 

Rgds

Rod

[Red 6]

Did you tell him how long it would take and how much it would cost doing the restoration as you described?

 

My suggestion would have been to buy another TR6 and sell the bits of his car.

[Rodbr]

Didn't seem to be fazed by time as now retired!

 

Sentimental attachment I think is at play here, whatever way you look at it, it either nearly killed him or as he likes to look at it, it saved his life so he feels he owes himself and the car.

We'll see how he looks on it after thinking about what I told him and work from there, It would be wrong to say at first meeting he should scrap his car!!!!!

[foster461]

Your guidance makes sense to me Rod. Get the chassis and suspension sorted out and then build the body using the frame as a jig. Get the doors and door gaps sorted before the tub gets too far assembled to make changes and then brace the heck out of it so nothing moves while he completes the rest of the tub. Most of the structural and mechanical work can be done at home with modest equipment and only some engine machining and the final paint is likely to need some professional help if he wants a good finish without spending a kings ransom on paint.

 

I have enjoyed every minute of my long running project despite the periods of frustration and despair. If he has the time and the facilities to run a project like this over several years he should go for it.

 

Stan

[Red 6]

You have to be cruel to be kind him.

 

Tell him in no uncertain terms that his car will never run again and will end it's days spread over his several garages. You know this is likely to be the case.

 

Then suggest the "Triggers Broom" restoration method ((which I have just TM'd and patented)

 

Since he now has a new chassis, and wants to build it up with new nuts, bolts, bushes, new consumables, recon calipers, slave cylinders and so on there is already very little left of the original rolling chassis.

 

The next stage is to buy a rough complete car with a good shell, suggest a lhd model and clean and paint it putting the finished product on the new chassis. He can even re fit the remaining undamaged panels and any remaining trim although he will no doubt want to restore that too.

 

Explain how to swap the identity from the crashed tub to the new tub and hey presto 3 years of misery and frustration rubbed out in an instant leaving him with just 2 years of pain and misery to complete his first restoration:-).

 

Trigger had his broom for 20 years you know, 17 heads and 12 handles and it never failed him.

 

(MODERATOR INSERT - Check this out for legalities and compliance before trying the above https://www.gov.uk/v...lassic-vehicles)

[harrytr5]

TR6,s are easier to build than earlier cars.That is not to say it is not hard at all.You will get bogged down and then get frustrated but take heart as lots of us have been down this path before.When he builds up and has a rolling chassis including rebuilt engine,gearbox,diff and ......This will renew his enthusiasm in leaps and bounds.The route of self tapping parts together and building up the shell so everything opens and shuts properly is a sound one.When satisfied and walking miles around looking at every angle,dismantle and start your welding.If you have fully braced up it should not move.

Go for it, he has time to do it now.

Regards Harry

[John Morrison]

Think all this good advice is missing the point, Rod has tried to make.

 

There is a lot to be said for 'Working' a project, that may or may not ever fly.

 

Let the man find out the basics, and if 18 months down the line, he finds that it won't be completed then

 

(a) he won't be the first, and

 

(a) it is his time v therapy, and that is not necesarily time wasted.

 

John.

Edited September 28, 2015 by john

[john.r.davies]

You mentioned the real solution - he should learn to weld!

You mention that he is recently retired - he needs a new occupation and a course of study. Welding courses are widely available. At the local 'college of knowledge'.

I retired last year and I've taken my own advice. I do weld, and restore my cars, but I've been enrolled for a BTEC Engineering course since then, and loving every minute! Well worth the collge fees!

 

John

[AndrewP]

Sounds like a story very similar to mine (crashed, hospital, wreck returned to me (part of the insurance policy) then rather then parting out, I decided to restore over a number of years...2.5 years so far!)

 

It is a long long looonnng slog, and as others have said..many a time spent thinking ...what have I gotten myself into!

 

If however he had a good mechanical car before the accident, then its worth a go.

It sounds like he has some time on his hands, and thats the BIGGEST asset he has.

Ive just ticked over 40, and with 2 young kids, work, family life and the 'other' mistress (the Jensen), I get an hour or so a week to progress the 6 if Im lucky.

He can take his time, learn some new skills and better still, have access to businesses and companies during the working week, and be able to visit them (those of us that work, often dont have that luxury and end up doing the research on-line or over the phone during lunch breaks!).

 

If it were me, Id find a decent 2nd hand chassis or a new CTM one.

 

You can then be 100% certain that you have a good datum to work off.

I managed to find a donor car to give up parts including a perfect chassis that I need to make my '6' whole again.

 

Then as Rod has said, and as Stuart has advised me some while ago, work from the chassis being the thing you need to get the body to fit to.

 

Happy to chat to/e-mail if the guy wants, but the time difference and the distance may be a problem..but happy to answer any questions if I can be of help to another nutter err....enthusiast taking on a rebuild in difficult circumstances!

Andrew

[Red 6]

You are right that building the rolling chassis is very therapeutic and straightforward, it is the rest of it which is not and learning to weld I doubt will help.

 

Mind you enrolling on a Btec course sounds like a good idea, I think I will look into that.