On to the Body/Paint Shop

Fred here.

Well today we finished stripping the body of the TR3. Every fastener, trim piece and anything that was not permanently attached has been removed from the body shell. I hope I can remember where everything goes! We have taken lots and lots of pictures from every angle to help with the re-assembly. I had to build a rack on the top of my utility trailer using 2 X 4 lumber to transport the body shell. Rather simple but effective. I used enough straps to tie up a fire truck to hold it to the trailer. It must have worked because it never moved during the 10 mile trip to the body shop. I will take the rest of the body pieces to the body shop in a couple of days; after I strip them down.

Lift off!

Fred here.

It has been almost 3 weeks since I had any time to work on the TR3. Well today being Father's day I got to go to my "Man Cave" and spend the day with TR. You may notice the framework I built to support the body structure and keep it square while the body is not supported by the frame. It is pretty flimsy without this support and I have read that it could flex and twist if not supported. This would not be cool and a result I would not like to deal with. It took most of the afternoon to find and extract the fasteners that held down the body to the frame. There were a couple of bolts that had to acutually be cut with the sawzall before they would release. The fuel line from the tank, some wiring and a few brake lines and everythng is loose. Oh, I also had to extract the rather crude rollbar that had been installed. The previous owner was a little puzzled that I removed it but the way it was installed would have prevented the body from coming off. I feel confident that today is the first time in 51 years the body and frame have been apart! Pretty neat picture.