Outriggers...seemed like a good idea
Discussion
Well due to boredom, bad weather and alchohol i decided it would be a good idea to do a partial body lift. After much reading up on Tvr Gits blog page and a few more beers it was all done and dusted within couple of hours ( to be honest it wasnt anywhere near as bad as i thought it would be). So it turns out the corners are shot and needed replaced. So after a lot of looking and wondering if it was a good idea to start this , i cut the offending parts off. Now im not a welder, fabricator or mathamatician and my first problem was cutting an accurate 45 deg , i stumbled across a great website called www.blocklayer.com , which allows you to print an accurate wrap around template for any diameter tubing or degree of cut needed. So with the old bits cut off and the new bits laying on my bench , i just need to learn how to use the mig welder to stick them together. ........i should practice first , or just drink more to make the welds look better.
kudos for getting stuck in, looks like it needed doing! I've only tried welding a couple of times and didn't find it easy to get a good clean weld and keep it all true, but, if you have the welder and some time, then practice would be nice in a 'did it all myself' kinda way... or consider the services of a mobile welder who would have the job done and dusted while your still scratching your ar** (elbow) and thinking about how many ways you can make a mess of it
YOLO said:
i stumbled across a great website called www.blocklayer.com , which allows you to print an accurate wrap around template for any diameter tubing or degree of cut needed.
That looks very useful, especially if you you need to do any Notch joints.I had the good fortune to have access to one of these when I did mine....
Not as sophisticated but maybe one of these and a hack saw would do a reasonable job?
Bravo, 
Have to agree with Andy, that's the spirit.
Loads of stuff in the useful links to help & youtube welding lessons,
get good at the bench stuff before you commit to underneath, spatter down your sleeve, underseal on fire, grind off what you just did 'cos it doesn't line up anymore etc.
Let us know how you get on
Have to agree with Andy, that's the spirit.
Loads of stuff in the useful links to help & youtube welding lessons,
get good at the bench stuff before you commit to underneath, spatter down your sleeve, underseal on fire, grind off what you just did 'cos it doesn't line up anymore etc.
Let us know how you get on
Edited by Alan461 on Saturday 21st February 23:27
glenrobbo said:
Stewart, it shouldn't take that long to finish the milk tray. I think you should resort to black magic. It's not a Ferrari Rocher you know.
Eating chocolate would have been more satisfying. Can't get the hang of the AMP style connectors. I'd like to blame my tools and the awkward working space but in reality it's my skill that's lacking.I've now got heater fans and the MG TF mirror installed and working but the connections into the main loom are via connector blocks. This is not good at all.
Very frustrating. Plus, still no word on Samy.
mk1fan said:
Eating chocolate would have been more satisfying. Can't get the hang of the AMP style connectors. I'd like to blame my tools and the awkward working space but in reality it's my skill that's lacking.
I've now got heater fans and the MG TF mirror installed and working but the connections into the main loom are via connector blocks. This is not good at all.
Very frustrating. Plus, still no word on Samy.
Stewert.I've now got heater fans and the MG TF mirror installed and working but the connections into the main loom are via connector blocks. This is not good at all.
Very frustrating. Plus, still no word on Samy.
Soldering and shrink tube/self-amalgamating tape is the only way. I couldn't help noticing the vast array of blue connectors under Samy's bonnet
Those connectors are like little time bombs waiting to go off. I know they are easy to use and I too have been guilty of using them in the dim and distant past when the need to get a set of Carlos Fandango spotlights fitted to my Mk1 Escort was higher than ensuring they worked for any length of time.If you decide to solder, make sure you don't get lead free solder, you end up chasing it all over the place, it's like a ball of mercury running around.
Afternoon Paul,
Samy's wiring was inherited. Been changing bits as and when I worked on them for proper connectors.
I think I need a decent wattage soldering iron. I've a 30W item at the moment that tins the wires fine. Just takes ages to re-melt the tinning to connect them.
I need to practice my crimping - for proper connectors not bullets - as the components need to be detachable at some point. The last two jobs on Tamy the connectors were in awkward places. Gave up after an hour on each one and just used a chocolate block.
Will revisit soon to properly fix. At this time just enjoying the heater!!
Samy's wiring was inherited. Been changing bits as and when I worked on them for proper connectors.
I think I need a decent wattage soldering iron. I've a 30W item at the moment that tins the wires fine. Just takes ages to re-melt the tinning to connect them.
I need to practice my crimping - for proper connectors not bullets - as the components need to be detachable at some point. The last two jobs on Tamy the connectors were in awkward places. Gave up after an hour on each one and just used a chocolate block.
Will revisit soon to properly fix. At this time just enjoying the heater!!
mk1fan said:
Afternoon Paul,
Samy's wiring was inherited. Been changing bits as and when I worked on them for proper connectors.
I think I need a decent wattage soldering iron. I've a 30W item at the moment that tins the wires fine. Just takes ages to re-melt the tinning to connect them.
I need to practice my crimping - for proper connectors not bullets - as the components need to be detachable at some point. The last two jobs on Tamy the connectors were in awkward places. Gave up after an hour on each one and just used a chocolate block.
Will revisit soon to properly fix. At this time just enjoying the heater!!
Stewert.Samy's wiring was inherited. Been changing bits as and when I worked on them for proper connectors.
I think I need a decent wattage soldering iron. I've a 30W item at the moment that tins the wires fine. Just takes ages to re-melt the tinning to connect them.
I need to practice my crimping - for proper connectors not bullets - as the components need to be detachable at some point. The last two jobs on Tamy the connectors were in awkward places. Gave up after an hour on each one and just used a chocolate block.
Will revisit soon to properly fix. At this time just enjoying the heater!!
I just purchased a controllable 50watt soldering iron from Maplin for £15. For the crimped connectors you can get a suitable tool from VWP fairly cheaply. Below is what I purchased. I tend to crimp the connectors first and then solder and heat shrink.
Crimp tool
look at http://www.mig-welding.co.uk I taught myself from that.
Use CO2 / Argon gas if you can the weld is better, and make sure there is no rust or contamination whatsoever with MIG.
Use CO2 / Argon gas if you can the weld is better, and make sure there is no rust or contamination whatsoever with MIG.
Thanks to everyone on the forum for all the helpful information, heres the latest update. I aquired a auto darknening mask( brilliant bit of kit) and after spending an hour looking at bright things and wondering how the hell it works i got down to practising some welding, after a couple of kilo of wire and lots of molten tubing ......and maybe a few beers, i went for the actual repair. i had smaller diameter tubing which was plugwelded in place , with the repaired section sliding on and welded. Granted , some welds werent pretty on the plate section, but i made up for that in sheer volume of weld. After much grinding back and filling it looked ok.......so much so i had another beer to celebrate. Thanks for pointing out about the bent section, i did wonder if it was meant to be bent. The full outriggers and trailing arms were disced back to metal and all passed the screwdriver test when i started this madness, and im impressed with how good a shape the frame seems to be in. So it was on with 2 coats of zinc phosphate primer and 2 topcoats of polyurethane and body back down. Im chuffed that i did it, i am definately satisfied that the welds are strong enough ( all my test pieces broke at the metal , not the weld when put under the sledge hammer test) and as an extra bonus my driver door closes better than ever and it looks like my bonnet has better shut lines aswell. The best thing about it is i can drive it again. Im off to celebrate. Thanks for everyones input and the forum for giving me the drive to get this job done.
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