A Tinster payback

[Tinster]

Lots of help given to me by the experts here on
this web site in my attempts to bring life back
to my very dead TR.

I can't contribute a whole lot of really useful
restoration procedures but I can refurbish just about
anything. The battery area in my TR was in pretty bad
shape from years of dripping acid I guess.

Here is a before/after photo of a fairly easy and quick
battery deck refurbish I just completed. If anyone is
interested, I will post the procedure in step by step
photos.

When my TR comes back to life, at least it will look
good!!

Tinster

 

[jerrybny]

Nice job Tinister.

 

[Guest]

Looks nice, Dale, but what are those little screw-head looking devices laid out atop the table? The battery tray is an integral part of the scuttle and in turn helps to keep the integrity of the body together as well as prevent "scuttle shake". If that a plate over the old shelf and how is it sealed? Just curious.


Bill

 

[Tinster]

Bill, the battery deck was pretty beat up and uneven.
I cleaned it up, got rid of everything bad I could reach.
Then a primer coat and two coats of high temperature
engine paint to match my engine area.

see attached photo

I used .040" aluminum sheet stock because it is easy to
work but is stiff enough to span the many small dents
and bridge the weakened 90* bend that was present.

I installed ribbon strips of construction adhesive to
stop any noise and then compressed and spread the adhesive
with 8 each, stainless steel tek screws.

Remember my car is dead in my garage and I am yanking
out PO duct tape, rubber cement and paper clip
halfassed repairs. I cannot begin to afford to bring
welding guys over to my house to install thin sheet
body shell steel.

My new deck looks much better, it added some strength,
it will function and it raised my spirits when I saw the
finished product.

It is far superior to the PO spray painting directly
over rust, yes??

I just want my car to be un-dead!!

Tinster

 

[Guest]

Great idea, Dale. Whatever it takes to get her back on the road! Just be careful that you have created another area for moisture to settle into and cut through the firewall.
Not being critical, just want you to know that these babies are rust magnets and are looking for anywhere to store moisture. After getting mine wet, whether it be driving in the rain or a good wash job, I use a gas-powered lawn blower to dry everything and then sit a carpet-drying squirrel cage fan on the thing overnight to blow all the moisture away.

It's what we do.....


Bill

 

[TR674]

Tinster,
good job. I had some rust in the back corner of mine. Noticed it recently after a battery change. A good clean up and I fibreglassed the battery recess. I'm just about to paint it. I was going to use epoxy to seal it from futher moisture problems. While my heater box is out I checked the fire wall internally and found some rust at the ends of the tray (air vent?) under the windscreen. Have you checked yours? I don't know how to get into this area to treat the rust and repair it.
Regards
Craig

 

[gjh2007]

I just finished doing a repair to my batt shelf also, found I constantly had a white powder, (read corrosion) flaking off on my carpets inside. Just a few 1/4" max holes after a heavy scraping & wire brush. Used por 15 & then Marin Tex to fill in voids & final top coat.

A must do is to install a battery box, plastic liner, I couldn't see spending all that money on a TR one, instead I used a marine battery box & cut the sides at a 45deg angle. Much heavier than the batt boxes & only $10 at local marine store.

 

[R6MGS]

I looked at my battery shelf many times during my intermittent electical short because I was swapping batteries weekly and surprisingly enough-no rust at all in there. If you think this is a rust magnet you haven't seen an MGA/B battery box!

 

[Alan_Myers]

Hi Tinster,

Your repair looks fine!

I made a very similar repair on my TR4 during a rolling restoration in 1979, drove the car for ten years, stored it for another 15 and only in the past five years or so have got it out of storage and started working on things again.

While I had the engine out, I stripped out a similar plate of aluminum I'd pop riveted in place there. Underneath it were the few original holes, but no new rust (Rust-O-Leum primer and one of those plastic battery boxes kept it all in good condition).

A complete replacement panel really wasn't necessary. So, I gas welded up all the cracks and pinholes carefully, then did some hammering and a little grinding to make it mostly look like new.

The only area on my car that actually needed fresh sheet metal was a larger hole into the scuttle area, directly behind the top of the battery, not under it in the usual places. There's a patch welded in now that's adequate, but I'm really not satisfied and will likely be changing it. Then I plan to do some leading to generally make the entire firewall better than new.

I'm not rushing into it, either, since I'm doing a number of mods that mean welding up old screw and wire holes, and putting in some new ones. For example, the battery is being relocated behind the passenger's seat, too. The old battery shelf will get it's brackets removed and there will eventujally be an Accusump and some ignition components mounted there.

Anyway, my point is that your repair will likely take care of the problem for a long, long time. Mine lasted 25+ years! I'd never intended to let it go that long, but it happened. In fact, I never thought I'd still have the car all these years later!

I agree: Get it back on the road and enjoy the driving experience for a while, then tackle more detailed repair if and when you are good and ready.

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