Building an R

[chris_seven]

Do you have any more photographs showing the extent of the damage and a possible cause for the cracking?

We have seen several cars with cracked tubes and they all seem the have suffered from an impact on a wheel which loads up the tube and causes a buckle which generally misaligns the rear end of the car so I think you need to check carefully for any signs of damage where the tube mounts into the bodyshell.

There is a very detailed explanation of the how to replace the tube in Volume 11 of the early workshop manual and I can scan the relevant pages if this helps.

The Workshop manual does suggest using a Celette to check alignment but I agree that the job can be done without this with some care and accurate measurements.

We have changed several tubes in recent years but we do have a jig so we always check. We always strengthen the tube mountings and fit an RSR Style Strengthening plate while we have the seat pans removed.

The 911R always used a steel rear fender and the flares that were fitted were also steel. As the R used SWB bodyshells and I don't believe that there is any evidence that they used light steel panels. The rear flare is a different shape to that used on a LWB fender.

Many small brackets and pressings used for the heating system and trim were omitted.

The steel light housings in the rear fenders (again a SWB feature) were removed and the fibreglass lamp housings bonded in place.

The LWB cars don't have this lamp housing and the shape of this area is subtly different to the SWB car.

I am reasonably confident that most of the prototypes had side mounted oil tanks and twin front radiators without engine mounted coolers.

The early prototypes such as the car which entered the Tour of Corsica with Elford driving had front fenders without flares but the later cars did have a flare.

I think that the front flare also differed to the 1969 front fender flare but not everyone agrees.

[Seafeye]

I am assuming the car was in a previous mishap and that is what caused the damage to the tube. Or at least started it. A couple months ago I was cut off and hit a lady. That is what started this transformation.
I found a nice rust free tube to replace it with. The floors and seats are in perfect rust free condition, so that is why I'm hesitant to cut them and try a weld around the crack. I'm hoping that I can replace the whole tube from underneath.
As someone said earlier a LWB is clearly not an R. I agree but I can still follow the spirit closely as possible.

As for the fiberglass doors, from a safety point of view, is having only fiberglass on the side, with no roll cage not a wise thing to do? Not like the thin sheet metal doors will be too much better. But still worth thinking about. Has anyone cut up the steel doors and made 911R panels?

[Seafeye]

Attachment 383842Better picture of the crack...

[gled49]

The steel light housings in the rear fenders are left intact in the R. Only the tail light assemblies are fiberglass. You can just see stock light housing. G. Led

[chris_seven]

Do you have any photographs showing the inner face of the fibreglass lamp housings ?

We have tried several different housing and none of them fit into the light boxes without grinding away some of the steel flanges as the inner mouldings were too large to clear.

We were supplied one set of early housings which are supposed to be faithful copies and they had no screw holes and again don't fit into the light boxes without cutting away some of the steel.

We guessed that in an effort to lighten the car the boxes may have been cut away. Clearly the wrong assumption.

I would be very interested to know if the screws were just fitted onto the surface of the light housing and how they are made to clear the boxes.

[Ernie W]

Do you have any photographs showing the inner face of the fibreglass lamp housings ?

We have tried several different housing and none of them fit into the light boxes without grinding away some of the steel flanges as the inner mouldings were too large to clear.

We were supplied one set of early housings which are supposed to be faithful copies and they had no screw holes and again don't fit into the light boxes without cutting away some of the steel.

We guessed that in an effort to lighten the car the boxes may have been cut away. Clearly the wrong assumption.

I would be very interested to know if the screws were just fitted onto the surface of the light housing and how they are made to clear the boxes.

First photo, the back side of a real R fiberglass housing. the four lights are mounted to the fiberglass part from the exterior side of the housing, so the wheel can't kick anything up into the light, not from the back side, with a hole like some reproductions are. no water inside the light... The second photo is the BP record, R#1, you can see how the fender was cut. The R light housing needs a lot of work so it will fit... the tabs for the screws are slightly bent.

[chris_seven]

Thank you - very, very helpful

[LongRanger]

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https://www.early911sregistry.org/fo...=1#post1020589






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