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Body Weight of a Stripped Down TR-2?

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Mark_Gibson

Mark_Gibson

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I was wondering if any of you knew the approximate weight of the body tub on a 2? It is down to the basic shell, no doors, fenders, bonnet, trunk, nose, etc. I will brace the door openings before I pull it off, but am curious how many folks it will take to hoist it up high enough to: A. get the chassis out fropm underneath, and B. block the body up on "A frame" type braces.

Thanks for any help!
 
On my TR3 with all the doors and fenders off, two of us were able to lift the body off. When we went to put it back on after paint I used 4 guys for control but we didn't need all of them. With all the panels off there is not much to the tub. they are pretty light (which explains some of the 'high speed shake' in the cowl).

Dick
 
Hi Mark
I've moved the body shell around with just two people but three is easier. There's more metal down the back so two people at the rear end makes life easier. I made a simple set of wooden stands out of 8x2 to sit the tub on (and it sits there still at the body shop as you can see on the attached...)
 

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When I was younger (and much more foolish) I pulled my 3's tub off by myself (twice!). I could pull off the body, tie the rope to a post, and roll the chassis out from underneath. That was twenty years ago and I'm not sure if I would try it today, <u>BUT</u> it does serve to demonstrate that the tub isn't too heavy.
 
If you look at my web site you will see a picture of a bunch of fellows flipping a TR4 tub upside down. I realize this is not the same car but the TR2 will be less. Anyhow that day I took some scales and weighed the tub and it came out at 450 pounds. That includes the external frame I had made to hold the tub together and straight so I could flip it as needed.
 
Thanks guys. Looks like I'll get 3 people to help me, and then I'm sure we can lift it without any problems. Just have to remember to not give them beer until AFTER the tub is removed!

As an aside, what did you do about bracing the door openings? I'm looking at using some flat steel stock and bolting them in place across both door openings, from A post to the bolts that hold the conv top in back of the B pillars.
 
Mark, it only took three of us to set the body on my GT6, which is undoubtably heavier than the TR2.
Waiting until after the job is done before popping the beer is always a <u>very</u> good idea.
Of course, if you think it may be too much effort, I could take the 2 off your hands....................
Jeff
 
What I did for the door openings was to tack weld angle iron across the insie of the opening while the door was still closed. When I had it all done and boleted together with the doors aligned again then I ground off the weld and it looked as if nothing had ever been there (once I painted it).

As to putting it back on I found that using an engine crain was the best thing. You have to pick the right size packing piece for all the mounting locations. So I made the "frame" you see in my picturs such that I could hang the tub from a single point and it would be level. I then lowered it on to the frame and measured what spacers I needed at each point. All that I had to do was raise it a bit with the crain and put the pieces in and lowere again. That is where I found out I had measured wrong in a few spots so I did theis back and forth a few times and it was done. All without having to bother the other fellows for hours standing around while I fidgeting with things.

Just my two cents from experience.
 
I used angle iron to brace the opening. I went from the front above the A pillar under the cowl to the rear in the back in the general are you are taking about. After the two angles were in, I welded another piece across connecting the two side braces. I positioned it about midway between door openings. With all the removable panels off, I can use my engine hoist to lift the body (using that center brace) off the frame and roll it wherever I need. It balances perfectly. I don't have the engine in the frame, so the engine hoist provides enough height, and it's a one man operation.

Edit: I see that Adrio used the engine hoist also. Definitly something to consider. It does make moving the body shell around very easy.
 
Thanks for the pointers guys. I'll post pics as soon as the body is off the frame.

Jeff, I appreciate your concern for my welfare my friend, but I think I'll keep it (unless you make me a ludicrous offer of course)..ha!

Thanks,
 
Hi,

I have also used an engine hoist to pick up and lower the tub, on TR250s and a TR6. If I had friends I am sure they would have helped me! Anyway, I recall setting the legs and boom to the max and spent a lot of time trying to find the optimum balancing point for the tub. I put eyebolts in the seatbelt mounting points on the rear wheel arches, but can't remember where I picked up the front. I used a combination of SpanSets and motorcycle straps to connect to the hoist. I braced the doors with bolted-in slotted steel L-channels, the stuff you get at Lowe's or Home Depot. The body shop ended up tack-welding them in after the tub came back from being acid-dipped.

The worst part is trying to align everything when you put it all back together again. Be prepared to spend a LOT of time putting in and taking out shims!

Best regards,
 
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