TR4/4A TR4a frame options

[tdskip]

Thanks again for the help and collective wisdom on not going after the GT6+ folks, and as evidence that I am coach-able I spent today digging into existing projects.

These pictures are of the 1964 TR4a, which I bought when I was young and dumb (as opposed to my current state of being slightly older and dumb).

I realized <span style="text-decoration: underline">after</span> I bought the car that it had been in an accident. I can handle (I think anyway) the sheet metal issues but wanted to get your thoughts on the damage in the pictures below. Same drill as we were talking about - time to take her to a frame straightening specialist?

 

[prb51]

I'll come over and hit it witha hammer if I can have that spiffy jack!

 

[tdskip]

I'll come over and hit it with a hammer if I can have that spiffy jack!

LOL. Want in on a little secrete? They were $39.99 after coupon at Harbor Freight, limit one to customer. I bought two....

Very light weight and super easy to move around, totally worth it.

https://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=91039

 

[bgbassplyr]

Is that the only frame damage that you have found?
A bit of a strange place for that to be the only damage.
The only cause I can think of that would damage only that one portion of the frame would be a wheel breaking off or or falling off the hub and jambing itself back into the frame. Unless some other damage is found, I would assume that is what happened.

Don't know if that little kink can be straightened. If not, a reinforcing patch could be welded to the frame as a reinforcement.

And replace the missing stud and nut on the rear of the spring pan.

Others with experience please weigh in.

Cool jack, love it.

 

[DougF]

That is a nice jack. I bought the same one at WalMart several years ago as a clearance item. But I think I paid a penny more. Haven't used my other one since.

 

[TR4]

Is there any way you can check the frame to see if it is still square or close to being square? If not, I would recommend taking it to a shop for their assessment to see how costly it would be to straighten it.

 

[TR4nut]

I have the same jack from my last Harbor Freight visit!

My in-expert opinion is that I'd just get it to an alignment shop and see how far you are off. Then I'd focus on the lower a arm mounts, as on a TR4A these were fragile, single stud mounts - the recommended change is to reinforce there and use later TR6 style 2 stud mounts. Hopefully if that are is in good shape any accident issues can be aligned out with shims which was not an option with TR2/3/4s.

 

[tdskip]

Thanks for the input guys - is the Bentley manual the best place to get frame measurements to make sure she is square still?

Based on the GT6+ conversation I know that the shop is going to want $800+ to fix this, so if I can just use shims to get the alignment right that would be a win (provided that leaving the frame like this wouldn't be an issue long term).