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TR6 TR6 trailing arm stud upgrade?

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Beautiful piece of machine shop work! But unless you make your living working on TR6s, it's kinda like any other "factory approved" Churchill tool.

And I have to agree with Randall that "you don't really need to engineer them stronger. Just restoring to original..." should be fine. But then, my Herald still runs fine with the original 40 hp 1147cc engine and stops just fine with the original front drum brakes.... :smile:
 
Andy....it is a use once kinda tool, but using it once should yield the results required. Trying to do inserts with a drill and no jig can result in a wrecked TA. I did one stud by step drilling it very carefully and it wasn't "perfect" so I decided not to do the other eleven studs!. After the 1st of the year I'll be doing the other eleven using the jig. I think he's going to price it at $58 delivered so it's very reasonable compared to using a machine shop. I'd imagine clubs and shops would be the primary target market.
 
Same here. I think these should work for HeliCoils too. $58 is a small price to pay for a fool-proof method of inserting my HeliCoils.
 
TR6BILL said:
Same here. I think these should work for HeliCoils too. $58 is a small price to pay for a fool-proof method of inserting my HeliCoils.
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Bill....I did suggest to Rick that he make alignment pieces to work with Heli-coils. I think they take a difference sized drill bit and tap. The round part is common to the hub while the alignment jigs are made to works with very specific drills/taps........in this case the thin walled KeenSerts. They've been machined to very tight tolerances to keep everything perpendicular. Rick is great to work with, so ask him about the Heli-coils.
 
BobbyD said:
TR6BILL said:
Same here. I think these should work for HeliCoils too. $58 is a small price to pay for a fool-proof method of inserting my HeliCoils.
Click to expand...

Bill....I did suggest to Rick that he make alignment pieces to work with Heli-coils. I think they take a difference sized drill bit and tap. The round part is common to the hub while the alignment jigs are made to works with very specific drills/taps........in this case the thin walled KeenSerts. They've been machined to very tight tolerances to keep everything perpendicular. Rick is great to work with, so ask him about the Heli-coils.
Click to expand...

I just heard from Rick Patton via email. Quick reply! He asked for the dimensions of the HeliCoil tools, which I gave him. That said, does anyone have any experience with Recoil brand thread repair kits? Made in Australia. Very similar to HeliCoil, same size drill used (21/64) and same tap size (.380"). The Recoil insertion tool is steel where the HeliCoil tool is plastic. Fastenal and Grainger push the Recoil brand. Both inserts are stainless steel wire that hold an SAE 5/16-24 stud for the trailing arms.
 
TR6BILL said:
That said, does anyone have any experience with Recoil brand thread repair kits?
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I have several of them. Just as good as Helicoil, IMO, and usually quite a bit cheaper. The inserts seem to be interchangeable.
 
BobbyD said:
Andy....it is a use once kinda tool, but using it once should yield the results required. Trying to do inserts with a drill and no jig can result in a wrecked TA.... I'd imagine clubs and shops would be the primary target market.
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Understood, Bob, and that last line makes perfect sense to me. I just couldn't see the average owner buying a one-time tool...any more than I can see an average owner of a Herald or Spitfire buying a proper Churchill-style rear hub puller, vital to the success of the job as it is.* But clubs and shops: absolutely!

*Maybe someday I'll buy one of these, since I have a number of cars for which it might be useful. Meanwhile, though, I borrow my friend's Churchill tool when I need it (thankfully not often)!
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]I borrow my friend's Churchill tool when I need it (thankfully not often)![/QUOTE]

Andy,

I agree with you, but someone has to become the "lender" to start it out, so that's why I'm buying one.
 
I know I am sort of off subject at this point, but Richard Goodpart responded to my email and said that the 3/8" studs he offers do have corse threads in the area that goes into the aluminum. He said they would be torqued higher, but couldn't seem to offer a number when it comes to how much to torque the nuts with the larger studs. Would the torque value I would use to put the studs into the TA be the same as that of the nuts? I'll wait to see if that book Ron suggested makes torque values clear. I am not a mechanic. If this value is not clear, it seems like moving to the larger studs would be asking for trouble. By the way, trailing arms come up ocassionaly on Ebay. Some of them have the studs out which leads me to believe they are possibly stripped. If this were the case, would there still be enough room to put in 3/8 inch studs? Also, How many of you have TA spares? If I can get a good price, is this something worth getting spares for since I plan on driving this car for many more years to come?

Kevin
 
Dave,

Most machine shops here in New England won't look at a job for less than $125, just for openers. I'll have it for a friend how will probably get a lot more usage out of it than me.

Did you notice if there was sufficient material left when they were done? I would think so, or you wouldn't be talking in a favorable way about them, but did they express any concerns for doing the KeenSerts over HeliCoils?
 
Dave......it's deals like that that make me wish I lived in a less expensive part of the country! If our local garages are getting $65-85/hr, the machine shops around here are getting a lot more as Paul noted. That's what led me to approach Rick on this project in the first place. I'll use it just once but I'd loan it out if someone needed it........Hmmmmm.....maybe at $65/hr .........nahhhhh
 
Bob,

How about you stop playing with the snow blower and cruising the forums get some testing done already????
 
I installed two HeliCoils on the left TA some years back, freehand. It will be nice to have the other 10 placed with some degree of uniformity. There is a certain leeway when installing either HeliCoils or Recoils in that they are indeed springs and not solid inserts. The nature of the coil is such that they tend to be self-correcting with reasonable care used in taping them. There is a certain amount of "seating" that allows for this less-than-perfect alignment. That said, when doing them all, I would like a jig to get them as close as possible. Certainly worth the +/- 60 bucks for a jig. I have thrown away more on other gizmos that did less. Besides, I can loan it to others as needed and be a hero.
 
Once you increase the size of your studs, with an accurate and proper installation(helicoils or just larger studs) they should last the usage life of the car, unless you're using it for competition. Even then might last a considerable length of time.. So unless you're related to Tinster, no need for extras...
 
Paul.... I won't even have mine until I get back from Xmas with the grand kids. Rick will ship it so that I have it on the 30th. I told him I didn't even want it before then! And it's just as well seeing as it's struggled to even get out of the teens here. My garage heater works really good down to about 25 degrees. Colder then that and I move inside to where it's warm. :savewave:
 
Paul,

The "meat" was of concern with my guy. As it turned out, 1 of the 6 reamed holes on each TA did just ever so slightly become visible inside the shaft hole. Kinda shows that stud circle wasn't perfectly centered around the faying surface. Definitely of no concern to me or the shop. I also "eddy-currented" them in my shop before taking them over and as it turned out one of my original TA's had some bubbles in various parts of the casting around the hub faying surface which I scrapped.
 
Thanks Dave. Naturally, I'll inspect mine VERY closely, before, during and after the procedure. Photos to follow, if BobbyD ever stops whining about the cold and get the original jig through QC testing so I can get mine.

My KeenSerts, drill, tap and countersink are here Bob. Hello, Bob??
 
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