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TR2/3/3A Outrigger installation.

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sp53

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I have been trying to remove the outrigger without affecting the sheet metal right there where the little stone guard is. The sheet metal is really nice on this one there, and the last foot of the outrigger has been challenging. I took a blunt rotary file and cut out the spot welds in the inner tire-well where the tabs of the outrigger are spot welded. I have had to split the last foot of the outrigger in half with a wood chisel to have access to an odd weld that is next to the B post and behind the sheet metal. The weld is some kind of Houdini weld that was done during assembly. My plan to get the other half piece off is too take a grinder and grind the metal away from the inside out of the split in half outrigger. Any idea are welcome and plus I am curious how others have done this. plus my helper could figure it out either.
 
You are using the term "outrigger" but I am suspecting that you are actually talking about the inner sill. The outrigger is the part of the frame that has the four holes shown in your photo while the inner sill is the part that you have cut almost flush with the "B" post of the body. I want to make sure what you are asking before trying to comment.
Charley
 
I did what you are working on, once. I was able to cut the sill in pieces from the back and underside and then got the sill down to the two welds that hold the B post to the sill. These I also was able to cut away the sill from the back of the B post. At the time I was only using very rudimentary tools, so I spent a lot of time under the car cutting the sill. So you can cut it away from the back and underside. BUT once you go to put he new sill in place you will be faced with a new problem. You can weld the front weld on the B post to the sill but you do not have access to the rear weld surface. So at that point we were faced with cutting a three sided window in the front panel to weld the sill and B post back together. With that in mind now, I would say that you should consider cutting the three sided window into the front panel now to help remove the sill instead of spending hours cutting it from the under and back sides. If you leave the "three sided window" in place on the panel you can bend it back when finished and weld it up. As to the location of the window just stay away from the edges for your cuts and make it big enough to gain the access you need to cut the sill at the B post.
Because I removed the sill from the back side, I was able to make that window on the small side , just big enough to get the MIG tip into the hole. Which is smaller that trying to get any rotary cutting tool in there.
Hope this helps.
Charley
 
I ended up cutting the sheet metal away to be able to access the b post welds. It can be pretty nasty in there.....



I was able to reuse the metal and welded it back in on the drivers side. I did have to recreate the piece on the passenger side and made a patch out of three individual pieces.
Not perfect but with a little fiberglass filler, it turned out ok.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7Sjb8cpKE0

Cheers
Tush
 
Using Tush's photo, you can see the inner weld on the B post. That is what needs to be accessible if you were to cut the 3 sided window in the panel. Thanks for the photo Tush.

There are also spot welds at the rear of the sill. Those can be drilled out and then the holes can be used for welding the new sill to the inner fender.
Charley
 
Well I got the last foot of the inner sill out without damaging the outer sheet metal. There is a channel piece installed during assembly that demonstrates to me that the outside skin was put on a frame later. The inner sill and B post on these cars are wrapped later with the sheet metal, so the group can be welded as one.

I was wrong about the spot welds being on the back taps of the inner sill, but there might have been one at the top. When I do the other side, I will take a better look.

I was at a car show once and this guy had a very low mileage1962 tr3B, and up pops this debate between these guys that there is a seem at the top of rear wheel well on the tr3B that sets the B apart from A because they never filled in this seem on the B at the factory. The debate was that this low mileage car had been at least repainted and fixed and the seam filled or the car was not a true B. Another guy there had a tr3B and sure enough there was this body seam right on top of the rear wheel well, so what interests me is how that sheet metal can be wrapped around the frame structure. Amazing, how those guys in the early production where such excellent craftsmen.
 
How are you going to weld the front of the new sill to the bottom of the b post? Just curious.

Cheers
Tush
 
sp53 said:
I was at a car show once and this guy had a very low mileage1962 tr3B, and up pops this debate between these guys that there is a seem at the top of rear wheel well on the tr3B that sets the B apart from A because they never filled in this seem on the B at the factory. The debate was that this low mileage car had been at least repainted and fixed and the seam filled or the car was not a true B. Another guy there had a tr3B and sure enough there was this body seam right on top of the rear wheel well, so what interests me is how that sheet metal can be wrapped around the frame structure. Amazing, how those guys in the early production where such excellent craftsmen.
Click to expand...

I can speak with some authority here regarding the TR3B and the seam on top of the wheel well. YES, there is a seam or channel running across the top of that fender. But then as the TR3B was my first restoration , I thought that all TR3's had that. In fact I seem to recall that in the TRA restoration guide they said something about that seam on ALL cars. But I do not know. I do know that the TR3 that I am presently working on has had that seam filled with lead. I thought that lead was put in by a PO as there is lead in number of other areas to repair previous damage.

Congratulations on getting the sill removed from the under and back sides. But you will still face the problem of welding the rear edge of the B post to the sill unless you open up the front panel. These cars were apparently put together by starting with a inner structure and then adding panels on over that. So getting to an inner weld requires that the outer panel be removed or opened up. In a few cases the weld can be reached from the back or inside of the body.
You are going great.
Charley
 
My plan now is to weld the tabs in the back inside of the wheel well, they are only about 8 inches from the inside B post support, and then do some welding where the sill meets the outside of the B post which is next to the brace. Plus the welding of the rocker cover will be there also. I think should hold. If not, I will put a bottom bridge piece right over the one that is there and weld those two together and that to the sill, but I think once the floor is in and welded and the rocker cover is on there is no need for the small weld on the outside of the sill to the brace then that to the sheet metal.
 
I can see two sides of your way of looking at it. The front A post only has one weld holding it to the sill. So maybe the rear could suffice with only one. But then the rear of the body has greater weight and mass than the front. The B post is a major structural member of the car. And you do not want it to be able to move or your rear door closure will be moving depending on the stress on the rear of the car.
By the way are you going to mount your doors on the car to determine the appropriate location of the sill to A and B post mountings? There are those who also advocate putting the car on the wheels with the engine and trans in place ( for proper weight distribution). Depending on what you have done for a internal framework prior to starting here you may or may not need to do this extra step.
Charley
 
Oh yes thanks for the heads up on the doors charley. I am absolutely going to hang the doors to get that distance correct. There is so little if any adjustment on those doors. I have had big problems with doors on cars where the inner sills were not replaced, so it will be a big factor.
 
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