Suspension turret strengtheners ?

[tr7dan]

1980 TR7 DHC

I am just repairing the rusted sides of the front suspension turrets - do I need to renew the two (per side) small angle brackets that join the suspension turret to the inner wing - I've removed them to do the repair but they are such a rust trap ?

[Beans]

As far as I know they were only used to ease locating/aligning the inner wings to the body prior to welding.
They are only found on the later Canley and Solihull built cars. Early cars (like this '76 car) didn't have them ...

[busheytrader]

As if there weren't enough rust traps in the original TR7 design, they added some extra ones?

[Beans]

As if there weren't enough rust traps in the original TR7 design, they added some extra ones?

British engineering at its best

[FI Spyder]

It was meant to be driven on sunny days, top down, in the desert, in summer where only the occasional shower that popped up would you have to put the top up in a hurry. Of course the hot dry desert sun would quickly dry everything out. The rest of the time it was in the garage. That's were my car spent its first half of its life and there is no rust to prove it.

[busheytrader]

I have to raise the top under a bridge to avoid getting soaked if caught out in the rain. It takes forever. Stay above 30mph and the rain goes straight over the top.
My manual MX5 hood in comparison can be raised in 5 seconds from the driver's seat.

I recently saw a dry state TR8 being restored in the UK. The restorer searched for rust with an endoscope but found none, even though the sills were barely covered in primer inside.

[dursleyman]

I have those on one side of my DHC but not on the other!

[Cobber]

They don't look like they'd do much!
If your at all worried about loosing structural integrity by deleting them, I suggest a strut brace to join the 2 strut towers together would more that compensate.

[tr7dan]

Ok, thanks for the replies - I've done the repair without refitting them but just got to thinking afterwards if I should have made up some new ones but looks like I don't need to....

[Beans]

That first picture clearly shows what a rust trap these brackets are

[busheytrader]

Yes - at 19 years old mine required new metal in the turrets because of them.