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TR2/3/3A Bracing the tub for removal fom frame?

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Hi everyone,

Can somebody point me to a photo that would show the points at which a tub brace should be attached prior to the tub’s removal from the frame? I found a pic on the home page of Macy’s Garage that shows a brace arrangement, but I can’t tell for certain where it’s attached. The rear of the brace looks like it might be attached to the rear wheel arches – would the fronts of the brace be bolted/welded to the body mount points close to the fronts of the doors? Also, the car (center image) still has the wings, bonnet, and boot lid attached. https://www.macysgarage.com/

Several searches didn't yield much in the way of specifics. I went through John’s (CJD’s) “Beginning the TR2 Bodywork” thread, but all the photos I found of the tub showed no bracing that I could see. Here’s a link to the photos I found (pics start at post #168). https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcf...ning-the-TR2-Bodywork/page9&highlight=bracing

Again, thanks in advance to all for any info.
 
Drill and attach a plate to each of the hinge attachment points in the A post and one to the latch attachment point on the B post. Weld an angle or tube (3/16 or bigger) to the plate on the top hinge and to the plate on the latch. The bottom hinge plate gets one end of another angle or tube and the other end of that strut is welded to a plate which has been attached to the lower part of the B post. I used bolts on this. You could weld. If the whole B post is to be replaced, you will need to attach the rears of both struts to something solid that is going to stay assembled. The idea is that when you fit new floors and sills, the doors will find the A and B posts where they were before. No magic to the attachment points. rear wheel arches should be fine too.
Bob
 
While I was able to retain my A and B posts, if you need to replace yours and are going to attach your braces to something other that the B post, make "dummies" that go to the B post and put them aside to use to position the new B post. John Durant will probably come along soon with some other ideas.
Bob
 
Having read the book on restoring the TR's, I took a lot of time bracing my first restoration. I soon learned that it is not generally necessary. Even with no floors, the body is sturdy enough to be removed, worked on, and replaced without the bracing. That said...there are stories buried in the forum archives of owners who did not brace and placed the body on a trailer to go to the blasters, painters, etc...and the outcome was dismal! Bumping down the road on a trailer will definitely spring the body. My TR2 had almost no good metal, but it still held it's shape after removing it from the frame. The inner sill provides all the strength...so it is the key.

So, if you are keeping the body "in house", so to speak, I personally would not bother with bracing. If you plan to farm it out or transport it somewhere without the frame...then do brace.

As far as the bracing goes...just a steel bar from the A pillar back to the top of the B pillar will work. Some bolt...but, since you likely have a welder to do the restoration anyway, welding it easiest. Just tack it in place and grind off when you don't need it. You can add more bracing if you like. You can find pics, also buried here, of guys adding 45's to the doorways and even across from side to side.
 
Hi Rick,

Here’s what I did on my 59. They work for lifting the body off the frame etc. Some guys prefer to do a more internal structure so you can fit the doors on with the bracing in place but I just remove the bracing if I need to do that.

https://youtu.be/9MFk5fQS7PA

Cheers
Tush
 
Here are some photos of the tub bracing I did on my '61 TR, just some simple angle iron into the existing bolt holes.
The tub stayed aligned through body removal from frame, transportation, blasting, rotisserie, paint etc and back onto the frame.
Cheers,
Colin
IMG_4455 copy.jpgIMG_6583 copy.jpgIMG_7424 copy.jpg
 
Thanks, everybody! Great info.

Since all the work will be done at the same shop, I think I'll probably go with John's method and ask the shop just to go with a steel bar or angle iron from the A pillar back to the top of the B pillar.

On the upside, TRF announced a sale today that includes their complete body mounting kit as well as other needed bits & pieces. Additionally, I noticed their cages & nuts are on sale (parts CN1/Cage & CN1/Nut - there's also a CN2/Cage that's a bit wider (longer?) for the rear wings). I spoke with Albert and he said that the nuts are the right size and won't spin in the cage. I going to go ahead and order a bunch of each. I'll report back on how they seem to fit each other when they arrive.

Thanks again to everyone for the help (And additionally to Tush and TRHARDTOP for the visual aids),
 
My garage isn't very large (1-1/2" car), so I needed a way to brace and also to lift the body when necessary to work on the chassis. I could easily lift the body from the frame and roll it out in the driveway using an engine lift. The cross brace is centralized so the body balances when lifted.

IMG_0182.JPG IMG_0184s.jpg
 
I braced the door opening by bolting angle iron at the hinge and striker plate locations.

Under Tank_2 (Medium).jpg

Body Going Down.jpg

Cheers, Mike
 
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I braced the door openings by tack welding some angle in the gap. Also I constructed a frame to lift the body as I would be working alone and lifting with an engine hoist.
It all worked well. I was a bit paranoid about the gaps changing because the DPO had managed to get the drivers side gap 3/8" smaller than the door and the passengers side 1/2" larger than needed. so when I got them correct I wanted them to stay put.
I did remove the lifting frame at times when it got in the way.

David
 
this is how I braced my 3A see that masking tape on that sharp corner? I still have dents in my head , even managed to bash it with the tape on.

Graham
P1000863.jpg
 
I added a piece of shop towel to the corners. The towel helped to soak up the blood when I bashed my mead on the corners.

David
 
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