Starting work on the TVR.

So, my first major job that I got through a Craigs List advert is repairing some poorly "repaired" frame damage on a TVR Tasmin 280i. It seems that the 1.5" OD .065" thick support was not stiff enough at a particular joint that ties the front sway, front tie rod and support for the front clip of the body. The one upper diagonal tube was not able to cope with the flexion the joint placed on the tube, as there are about 5 different planes coming together at one point, and not enough triangulation. I'll let the pics (celly phone pics, deal with it) show most of what I had to deal with.

In the first pic below, I've made some initial cuts on the driver's side support tube.

First cuts

It's not lit well, but, that tube with the cuts in it failed exactly opposite the point of triangulation. The hole is actually from a really craptastic weld job that someone tried to do in order to "fix" the problem, but they just blew holes through the tube and made everything worse since water got in and started rusting everything.

Another angle of the same cuts and damage.

 

Nasty hole that surely didn't help keep things in one piece.

 

Here's the passenger side mostly cleaned up. This side was a bit easier. Easier is a very relative term since getting into those areas with a 4.5" grinder was a real pain. It's going to be even more interesting welding the new sections of tube in and also all the re-enforcements. It will be a very good exercise for me. heh

You can see the attempt at triangulation better with this pic, though the perspective is a bit wacky

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Driver's side mostly cleaned up. Yes, I knicked the bolt for the sway bar. Oops. 

80's angular goodness. These cars are nicknamed "The Wedges." I'll eventually get some pics of it outside the garage.

That's pretty open in the middle, but not on the sides where I am trying to avoid wires and lines. Welding is gonna be interesting, even with my fancy TIG torch. Oh boy . . . 

The flash blew out the red. It really stands out on the black gel coat (fiberglass body = gel coat) . It's a darn cool logo, I think. 80's goodness, indeed!

That's it for now. I'll be discussing exactly what we need to do with the owner, and he's got some good ideas, too. If anyone knows where to get good deals on small lengths of 1.5"OD .065" wall CroMo tubing, comment or email!