Project Latest

[Greg_Blake]

Project up-date

First the "Rookie" lesson for the week. I was trying to remove the frozen drums off of my donor TR4 axle and learned a good lesson.

Beating the heck outa the drums once the set screws are removed will not work, EVER. Speaking of set screws, once you have determined that the screws are not going to screw out, very carefully drill them out. I will not be using my original hubs or axles, but it would have been nice not to have destroyed the right hub by drilling to far through the screw. You only need to drill about a 1/8" to cut the head off of the screw, in my hast at 2 am, I went a little further and wasted a lot of time and a hub.

A good way to remove a frozen drum is to unbolt the handbrake and hydraulic lines from the cylinder. Remove the 6 bolts that hold the bake plate and hub/axle assemble to the axle housing. Once this is done, the bake plate will be separated from the hub/axle/frozen brake drum assembly. Now you have access to the inside of the rusted out mess that use to be a functioning brake assembly. Mine was a total waste.

I wasted a lot of time trying to free that brake drum from the bake plate before I realized that removing the axle/hub/drum as one unit provides access to the inside of the drum. If you do this, make note of the different shims that are between the back plate and the axle housing, they will be different on the driver’s and passenger’s sides

Now, as to the project update, I have attached a photo of my now partially attached PS inner sill. I gave up on trying to remove the carrier (see my other post if you know how) My TR time was cut short on Sunday prior to welding the A post. It still feels like progress though.

Greg

 

[Alan_Myers]

Re: Project up-date

Hi Greg,

You might still hang onto those brake drums, it's surprising how many can be re-used in spite of their condition. The fastening screws aren't essential, the drum is actually held in place by the lug studs, when the wheel is mounted. In fact, some aftermarket drums don't even have the retaining screw holes drilled in them.

Are you planning to use the TR4 axle in your TR3? You are aware it's a couple inches longer, aren't you? TR4 have a wider wheelbase than TR3. Not trying to rain on your parade, just prevent nasty surprises.

The body work looks good!

One thing to check, often when the sills are removed, the A-post tends to drop or sag a bit. It's not uncommon to need to put a jack under it and raise it up, for the door to align properly. I've often seen it over-jacked a little, say 1/16 to 1/8", before final welding, to allow for a little more sagging when the car is back on the ground.

In part, how much depends on just how solid the surrounding metal is. If it's sound, the A-post may not drop much. If there is some rust in other areas, it might drop more.

The progress looks good!

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif

 

[Greg_Blake]

Re: Project up-date

Thanks. That is the reason I bought the TR4 axle and frame, for the roughly 2" gain in track. Kind of a home made TR3 Beta, w/o the front apron modifications. My plan to accommodate the widened track is to modify the wings as required as Roger William outlines in his How To Improve book. I have actually seen a TR3B with stock fenders and a TR4 axle before. I think it was a very late B. Those rear side walls were very close to the fenders, but did not rub. You never really know until it is all together.

I noticed the problem you described with the A post. I decided to use spacers under the body mounting point on the inner sills until the body looked right. Seemed to work. The door is from another car and I am having problems near the B post getting the body lines to match up. All the gaps are right and the door latches well so I will have to address the issue with some body work later.

Greg

 

[Brosky]

Re: Project up-date

I congratulate you on your efforts so far. Keep posting pics as you proceed through the resto.