TR4 Temporary Body Support
I am preparing to remove the TR4 body to start frame restoration. The sills are practically gone, so I have fabricated the bracing to minimize body flexing during lifting. Now I need to make a temporary trolley to store the body on while I work on the frame. The question is: Is it necessary to support the body on all of the mounting points or can I just support it on the four floor mountings at the end of the cross tubes? If not just the floor mountings, what would be the recommended minimum mounting points?
Gary
Hi Gary:
I highly recommend doing the floor and sill replacement before you work on the frame. That way, you can use the frame as a fixture to keep help keep all of the body parts in alignment, without harming all of the restoration work you did on the frame. The bodywork becomes much more difficult when you factor in all the steps you have to add to protect your nicely restored frame from the cutting, welding, and grinding needed to repair a typical TR body. Once the work on the body tub has been completed, then pull it off and set it aside while you restore the frame. And to answer your original question, you should support the body tub front and rear in addition to the 4 center pad locations, as there's quite a bit of weight hanging there (especially the rear section).
At my shop, we even go one step farther and do all of the final bodywork and paint before starting on the chassis so we can keep all of that mess off of a freshly restored frame and suspension. While we have the luxury of several rolling chassis that we set the bodies onto for paint, I recommend that anyone restoring their own car get the body in final paint first, and then pull it off and set it aside for the brief time period that it will take to restore the chassis. I guess it's the "frame-up restoration" terminology that puts everyone into this mind set, but a top down approach is actually more efficient so as to protect the work that has already been completed.
Mark
Thank you, Mark. I do have a couple of spare TR4 frames and could set the body on one of these while working, but It makes perfect sense to follow your advice and wait.
It will extend the time somewhat as I have almost no welding experience. I am hoping to take a class at the local community college this winter to at least get the basics of welding under my belt. My younger son does professional restoration on vintage muscle cars and is an experienced welder. He will be doing the final welding work for me. But unfortunately, he lives in North Carolina and will not be moving back to Michigan until next summer. So, I guess this winter will be spent on doing the engine and gearbox work instead of the frame and suspension
Gary.
