Seam or spot welded?

[stever_sl]

My poor TR7 was hit from behind in 1979 and pushed into the car in front of me, so all 4 quarter panels were replaced along with the front headlight panel. Now of course there's rust along some of those seams and I'm going to have to do some fix-up, but I'm wondering about the original construction methods. Could someone who hasn't had to replace these parts please take a look at their cars and give me an idea about where spot-welding was used and where things were seam-welded together? I'm not worrying about authenticity in the repairs I'm going to have to make, but I'd just like some idea of which joins are hardcore structural and which are a little less so. Thanks to anyone who could help!

- Steve Richardson
76 TR7

[tr7sprint1]

Steve

Go to jclay website and download the factory Tr7 manual.

it should have all the infomation you need. if that doesn't have the body section i may be able to send you a copy of the whole manual with the body section.

i have done some spot and mig welding for the now president of the St. louis Triumph Association.

if you are going to do any welding, make sure you use weldable primer (welding is done while it's still wet).

<b>"GETTING SPEED OUT OF A LOW POWERED CAR IS OFTEN MORE REWARDING, THAN WITH TIRE-SMOKING BRUTES" </b>

[Beans]

Try to lay your hands on a BL workshop manual.
It has a chapter dedicated to body repairs. In here you find exactly what welding method was used on the different panels of the car.
For spotwelds it even gives the diameter and the number of welds.

<center>
<font color="blue"><i>1981 TR7 FHC Sprint (better known as 't Kreng)
1981 TR7 DHC (not very well known yet, but back on the road)
Also a 1980 TR7 DHC, 1980 TR7 DHC FI, 1981 TR7 FHC
http://tr7beans.blogspot.com/</i></font id="blue"></center>

[jclay (RIP 2018)]

The manual you want is here:
[url="http://homepage.mac.com/WebObjects/FileSharing.woa/35/wo/wKOrTeuiwhlpSm9B.1/0.2.1.2.26.31.97.0.35.0.1.1.1?user=jclaythompson&fpath=Triumph_Articals&templatefn=FileSharing4.html"]TR7man.pdf[/url]

It does have the welding information that you are asking about. If you can't download the amnual, let me know and I will scan the pages in the manual and send them to you.

Have fun, drive fast & safe, be kewl,

jclay

[stever_sl]

I downloaded the manual (thanks!) and although it shows a body bolted to a rig for dimension checking and damage evaluation, it doesn't have anything about removing and replacing body panels other than putting on a new hood or door or subframe. No welding info that I could find -- anywhere else I could look?

- Steve Richardson
St Louis

[stever_sl]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by tr7sprint1</i>

i have done some spot and mig welding for the now president of the St. louis Triumph Association. <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Want another fun project? [:D]

- Steve Richardson
St Louis MO
76 TR7

[tr7sprint1]

JCLAY,

no need to scan into PDF format.

i already have them scanned.

i can send them to you later today.


TR7sprint

<b>"GETTING SPEED OUT OF A LOW POWERED CAR IS OFTEN MORE REWARDING, THAN WITH TIRE-SMOKING BRUTES" </b>

[tr7sprint1]

"quote">Want another fun project?

- Steve Richardson
St Louis MO
76 TR7
[/quote]


I would if i still lived in St.Louis. i know live in Rockford,IL



<b>"GETTING SPEED OUT OF A LOW POWERED CAR IS OFTEN MORE REWARDING, THAN WITH TIRE-SMOKING BRUTES" </b>

[Hasbeen]

Jclay, is that info available now?

I am about to have the 8 repainted, basically because of those seams
badly cracking the paint, & a few minor scrapes.

I have been agonising over welding those seams, or not. It has been
suggested that it should be done to help the DHC handle the 280 BHP
4.6L, & its torque.

I have a January 1977 Leyland manual, but can find nothing in there.

Any suggestions or experience warmly recieved.

Hasbeen

[jclay (RIP 2018)]

The Body Panel Repair section of the Manual is scanned and posted.

Here is the link to download the PDF: [url="http://homepage.mac.com/WebObjects/FileSharing.woa/46/wo/eJE5FqnTXBuk2Iig.1/0.2.1.2.26.31.97.0.35.0.1.1.1?user=jclaythompson&fpath=Triumph_Articals&templatefn=FileSharing4.html"]TR7_Welding.PDF[/url]

Have fun, drive fast & safe, be kewl,

jclay

[Rblackadar]

Guys! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! for getting the PDF of the body repair schematics for all of us. I have never seen them before and I'll definetly use these for when I get the bodywork done this year.....I hope this year. We just closed on a house and the monthly payment is nearly 4 times what I paid for the car....Yikes!

[Hasbeen]

Thanks for the info. I've printed it off, as I've found computers
always blow up, as soon as you have anything valuable on them.

Blacky, I've also wondered about this fallacy about big boys, &
their toys. Woman's toys are much more expensive. Houses, babies,
grand kids, it never stops.

It is my experience that women will happily spend an extra $100,000
on one house rather than another, just because of the way the sun
shines on the porch. No man would ever be so frivolous. He would
only spend money on usefull things, LIKE TRIUMPHS, or sheds.

So get in for your chop, & spend that money on your car. If you
don't, she'll only want to do something like replace those packing
boxes you sit on at the table, with chairs, & your chance will be
gone.

Hasbeen

[stever_sl]

Yes, thanks so much, this is perfect. It looks like in most places the Eastwood "no-weld repair" method of panel patching with adhesives and rivets would be OK -- the strength should be equivalent to spot welding if my math is right. I know we used to use riveted patches to repair structures on fighter jets, so I'm pretty comfortable doing something similar in the spot welded areas of a car body, now that I know where those are.

- Steve Richardson
St Louis MO