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Still Restoring the Underside

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KVH

KVH

Obi Wan
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I've been on my back in the garage for two days, and I've just about finished removing 40 years of old grease and oil-caked dirt from my TR chassis/frame, and I'm removing/treating surface rust wherever I find it.

Now I'm wondering if anyone has an easy way to remove and replace any of those old crusted rubber spacers and bushings between the frame and body.

I suppose only a professional could replace those? Any tips in that regard?
 
Professional, don't even say that word. These cares are made for the home mechanic. If your four is the same as my six the spacers may be round metal items and/or rubber mats. The round metal guys are open ended so no need to completely remove the bolt they surround. Just loosen the bolt(s) above the location you are working on and gently pry the body up to remove and replace.
 
Personally, if you are not taking the body off and your body lines(door gaps, etc.) are good, I wouldn't touch them.
If you start prying to get them out, you will have a very difficult time getting new ones back in place resulting in possible changes in the panel fit. If you feel it necessary to replace them, keep track of what you have removed and make sure to replace with the same sized pieces.
Keep in mind that the replacement rubber parts are of inferior quality and won't hold up as well as the originals.
 
Yeah, I think that's right. I'm inclined to leave them right there unless their lack of utility becomes noticeable.
 
Though this doesn't really address removing the body spacers, many moons ago, when I first acquired my second LBC (59 TR3), I was in the Army and had access to the base auto shop. One thing they had, and I have never seen since, was a true steam cleaner. This monster had a 2-handed, 5-ft.-long wand that delivered a high-powered blast of live steam with super-pressure. It was every man's dream cleaning machine. Undercoating, oil, crud, dirt - nothing could survive the amazing cleaning power of this machine. Having the car up on a lift and having to wear these giant insulated rubber gloves and face shield, I remember the car lost about 30 lbs. and I lost about 5. What a way to clean the underside and engine of a car. (And, because I was quite careful, the engine actually cranked afterwards and I was able to drive it away under it's own power.)

There's nothing like live steam for cleaning.
 
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