Reinventing my TR6

tr6turbo · August 08, 2010, 05:30:04 PM

I thought I would post some pictures as I make progress on bringing the TR6 back to life. Before the wreck I was telling Ken Hubert that I was thinking about reinventing the car since it had been on the road for 16 years. Here are some post wreck photos.

tr6turbo · August 08, 2010, 05:37:34 PM

The body is off of the frame. I took some photos of my rear suppension since it is a little different then most British V8 projects i have seen.

rficalora · August 08, 2010, 09:37:05 PM

What are you going to do about the frame -- repair or replace?

tr6turbo · August 09, 2010, 05:19:26 PM

I took a lot of measurements yesterday and it seems that the frame from the firewall back is square and not twisted. It would take a lot of work to reconstruct the rear suppension structure so I plan on grafting a front frame portion onto my good rear portion. I feel sure I can do this without lossing any strength.

rficalora · August 10, 2010, 12:47:29 AM

Pics of the rear are what caused me to ask. Inquiring minds want to know you know. Anything come of the TR6 in Louisiana?

tr6turbo · August 10, 2010, 06:07:01 PM

I just now e-mailed him. I have got a few other prospects undeer investigation.

DiDueColpi · August 12, 2010, 10:04:58 PM

Hi Dale,
I'm kinda new here so I didn't know about your accident. What happened and is everyone ok?
I like your rear suspension. Simple and light. How is the ground clearance with the underslung setup?
Have you thought about reinforcing the frame? It must twist and flex like a wet noodle.
With the front end shortened up like that it looks a lot like an old Herald only bigger. If you wanted to be different.........
Cheers
Fred

jellison · August 13, 2010, 02:44:59 PM

Ouch - that is a big hit.

What is with the rear of that thing with that awful massive live rear end!!

Nothing wrong with the independant setup even with huge V8 power, just needs the right work.

Bill Young · August 13, 2010, 04:16:25 PM

Fred, Dale ran over some spilled coolant at this year's track session at O'Reilly Raceway Park and took a quick turn into the wall. Some details and photos in the coverage at http://forum.britishv8.org/read.php?10,17403
Jon, some keep the IRS. Dale used the 9" Ford, works great for his car especially as he runs it at the drag strip quite a bit. Has really surprised a bunch of V8 cars with his little turbo 4.
Dale, are you thinking tube front frame and new suspension, very light. You could tie in a Fast Cars setup easily and shave a bunch of weight off the front with the glass parts you mentioned.

tr6turbo · August 13, 2010, 05:44:30 PM

Bill, I would like to go with Fast Cars but I an put it back together for a lot less money with the stock stuff. Bill is right on about the rear end. I have had to upgrade it to Moser axles because I have twisted stock axles and as you can see in the picture I have also upgraded to the Aluminum Moser center section because I have pushed the bearing caps out the back of a stock axle.

rficalora · August 13, 2010, 06:29:22 PM

Dale, give Bill Guzman a call. He is working on an IFS -- he posted pics either here or on the other V8 site. Not sure how far along it is, but the pics he posted showed laser cut components tacked & ready to weld to make the crossmember itself so I'm guessing its not too far from being available. Don't know anything about the geometry, but if it's like everything else he's done, I'm sure it's well sorted out. If you don't have his number you can get it from his web site www.classicconversionseng.com

MGBV8 · August 14, 2010, 12:26:56 PM

I'm betting it's good that the front end absorbed most of the energy, instead of you!

What about that left front wheel, is it still true? Probably not?

Anyway, we all know you can fix it, Dale. See you & the TR6/4Hairdryer in Townsend.

tr6turbo · August 14, 2010, 06:10:21 PM

Carl, It is amazing but the left front wheel is perfect. None of the suspension was hurt. As the frame collapsed the cross member that carries the A-arms moved back along with everything else. the tire got cut up.

socorob · August 15, 2010, 04:29:10 PM

What kind of wheels are those?

tr6turbo · August 15, 2010, 05:16:24 PM

16 Inch enki wheels. They are about 20 years old and as far as I can determine to longer availble. I was very happy when I saw that my left front wheel was not hurt by the wreck.

socorob · August 15, 2010, 09:43:45 PM

i love those. I have 13 inch ones from a Mustang 2 on my Sunbeam that are that look. Im going with larger brakes so now need 15 inchers and cant find those anywhere.

tr6turbo · August 21, 2010, 09:49:34 PM

Picture of my doner frame with front panel, my frame trimed to acept new doner frame and the firewall cleaned up.

MGBV8 · August 21, 2010, 10:38:10 PM

Dang, you've been goin' at it!

TR6-6SPD · August 22, 2010, 09:27:04 AM

Dale,
Yes, good progress! Gotta get right back on that horse and ride it.

That was strange. There we were, parked next to each other at O'Reilly Raceway Park, before our first driving session. I was asking about your paint color and the conversation extended to how you planned to "reinvent" your car......some day. Well yes, that day came sooner than anyone could have guessed.

Looks like you made a good purchase there with the front clip. Will your reinvented TR6 carry any major changes?

rficalora · August 22, 2010, 10:21:40 AM

Yeah Dale, you need to slow down... at this pace you'll be done rebuilding before I'm done building the 1st round! Great progress, can't wait to see what you do with it. See you in Townsend.

tr6turbo · August 22, 2010, 04:45:41 PM

Ken, At this point the biggest change will be a full chrome moly roll cage that extends forward to the spring towers.

There is a ton of work yet to go so I don't see making Townsend but who knows.

dale

74ls1tr6 · August 23, 2010, 09:24:46 AM

Have you seen Jim Prettyleafs half cage. I guess all you would need to do is the front part of the roll cage to finish it off. I rode in this car, it corner's like a flat pancake with no body roll at all.

Jim's link http://www.britishv8.org/Triumph/JimPrettyleaf.htm

tr6turbo · August 23, 2010, 05:38:42 PM

I do like what he did but it does not meet the rules for drag racing.

tr6turbo · September 05, 2010, 10:43:15 AM

Getting ready to weld the frame back together. I pulled strings to get the front suspension mounting points square and on center to the old section of the frame. One good thing about working with a TR6 frame is that from the fear axle center line to the front of the frame it is flat and all in one plane. That is why I have the frame up side down. I used a level to get everything level front to back, side to side and on the diagonals.

tr6turbo · September 12, 2010, 09:57:09 AM

These are pictures of my TR6 + 2 fender. This fender is 2 inches longer then stock. I am lengthening the wheel base of the car 2 inches. The piece in front of the fender in the second picture is the 3 inch long piece I cut off. I then welded back on a 5 inch long piece from my wrecked fender. I also made a rust repair to the new fender using a piece from my old wrecked fender.