Advice for future Restoration.

[V8dug]

Hi Guys, I am new to the forum so need some advice.

I have owned Spitfires and a Tr7 in the past but have always longed for a 6.

I have now moved to Missouri, and have heard from a friend of a TR6 restoration project that needs a chassis replacement, but comes with a decent chassis. ( the owner died before this could be done.)

I am wondering to start with what is the best procedure to follow with swapping over a chassis,? (I haven't seen the car yet but am told the paint is crazed so imagine the interior is shot as well.)

I have restored vehicles in the past, but my last chassis replacement was a Land Rover Series which was a lot easier.

Apologies if this question etc has been asked before, but any advice will be useful and welcomed.

Cheers

Doug

[Peter Cobbold]

Welcome to the forum Doug.  There is a lot of expertise on here with replacing chassis. Others may disagree but I repaired the body rust before lifitng it off the old chassis. after making sure the top of the door gap was braced rigidly.  TimD did one recently and posted on his blog. 

Peter

[Paul Hogan]

Hi Doug,  Welcome to the forum and i'm sure others will contribute to what I'm about to say here.  Firstly,  if you read the workshop manual you will be lulled into a sense of false security because it basically says  "Undo the 12 bolts securing the body to the chassis and lift it clear."  The reality is a bit more difficult than that and my advice having done quite a few of these jobs is to leave the body on the existing chassis for now and carry out any repairs that need doing.  The reason for this is that if it needs a new chassis then you can bet the inner body shell needs work too.  I'm assuming of course that the car hasn't been in a accident and the old chassis is straight, just rusty. 

When the body work has been done and with the doors in place if possible, I would still advise bracing the inner shell before lifting it clear. -(I will try uploading a photo for you as its not letting me do it here.)   i would also advise getting the new chassis prepared to a rolling state if possible with brake and fuel lines in lace and rust proofed  before transferring the body.   if you are not sure how things come apart or go back together again , do it one corner at a time. 

hope this helps. 

Hoges 

[Paul Hogan]

sorry Doug, but the gremlins wont let me up load the photo here  its saying I'm only allowed to upload 4.3 meg but the photo is  3.2 meg!  i will pm you. with my email 

hoges. 

[SeanF]

Welcome to the Forum Doug.

I have fitted a new chassis to my car which is coming to the end of a 5 year restoration. I agree with Peter and Paul that if the chassis is rotten then the inner body tub is very likely to have issues also. These should be dealt with whilst it's on the original chassis ONLY IF the original chassis is straight and the fixing points etc are dimensionally correct. The idea is to use the chassis as a jig to get the body repaired to the correct dimensions. If the original chassis is not straight or for example hogged (ie sagging down at the back so that the door gaps appear too wide at the top) then you should move the body tub to the new chassis and use that as a body Jig, having braced the body tub well before removing .

The actual dismantling process is relatively straight forward and you will find all the information you need by searching on this forum and on the internet. Do you have the TR6 workshop manual?

Cheers,

Sean

[ntc]

First thing to look for is accident damage before you remove anything.