SPARE WHEEL WELL QUESTION

[tr7inc]

Hi just curious as im re doing the boot section at the minute, whyh is there a manufactured hole in the footwell that the spare tyre sts on? was it there for drainage ? have noticednsome TR7's have theres filled in, what is best for it filled in or not?

Many thanks guys





Steve

[gordon kerr]

<font color="green">Interesting question that probably applies to areas other than the spare wheel well too. Any enclosed box section could be included. There are those who think that blocking the holes to try to keep all the water out in the first place is ths best plan (let's call them the optimists)and those who believe no matter how hard you try to keep the water out some will always get in so you might as well leave some holes to allow it to get out again and not be trapped (pessimists?).

Personally I belong to the latter group but I doubt there is a "correct" answer to the conundrum.</font id="green">

<font color="green">Gordon
GRD 1980 Brooklands Green 2l FHC
OVC 1980 Platinum Silver 3.9l V8 FHC
Bedford, UK.
</font id="green">

[bmcecosse]

Was probably there for jigging purposes when building the shell and/or for paint drainage if these shells were 'dipped' ? I've made sure the wheel well holes are tight - but sill holes etc are best left clear for ventilation to help clear condensation.

[Rich in Vancouver]

Just put a rubber bung in the hole.
Then when the boot fills up with water you can just remove it to drain the water.

Rich
Optimist/Pessimist

1975 TR7 ACL764U

[Beans]

I agree with BMC in that the large hole in the rear of the spare wheel well probably has something to do with production.
The three smaller holes at the front are for the towbar, at least the towbar I have under the car aligns perfectly with the outer of these holes and the ones in the rear chassis legs ...





<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>

[tr7inc]

Many thanks guys, i thought it might be for drainage, when i took the seat, carpets out to check the floor i noticed that most of the sill holes had been blocked which what lookd like very old Gaffe tape, did this apply as a rule of thumb to the TR's?


Steve

[Beans]

The holes on the inside sill panel are indeed covered with tape from the factory. Patches were they put tape are clearly visible (no glue)



<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>

[omichaelshar]

The three small holes at the front of the wheel well are for drainage. It is important to keep this area dry to avoid rust developing in the lap join between the wheel well and rear bulkhead.

The large hole was used by an assembly jig. A plate was fixed in the pressing with mastic and then covered by the tar sound proofing sheet inside. There are four more of these holes, one in each element of the floor pan.





Owen

[FI Spyder]

Here is a picture of my unrestored trunk. The three holes have rubber grommets plus tar board/paper (sound proofing) in the centre. Mind you this is a Solihull car and they may have done earlier cars differently. It has no holes in the rear other than the big hole that is covered with the covering plate. As you can see it's worked pretty well so far.[:o)]





TR7 Spider - 1978 Spifire - 1976 Spitfire - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra

[omichaelshar]

That "unrestored trunk" looks like it has been well cared for.

My cars are either from Speke or Canley (ACG or TCG body Nos respectively). From the photo above it looks like Solihull used a different seal sealer, or perhaps just less of it.

Mine all seem to have an excess of this compound and it holds moisture against the metal. If you have a Canley or Speke car it is worth checking the wheel well seam as it can be rusting under the sealer without any other visible sign, vis:


My approach has been to remove this gunk entirely:




Owen

[tr7inc]

Many thanks everyone, & great close of shots,Tr is a Canley build one. although it does have the jig hole, i didnt notice the 3 smaller holes on mine, i'll double check this morning before going to work, is it best to have this main jig hole pluged then, or does this purely depend on wheaher the car i dry stored or not?

Beans i meant to say, my sill panels along the cockpit had tape on them, but the rear deack had old hardboard shapes cut out to fit each of those squares ( good old BL no expense spared) Has anyone recovered there sill holes, when they discoverd there ones where covered?







Steve

[tr7inc]

Just had a good look at my spare wheel well and the 3 small holes it look like the previous owner has filled them in with filler, but i did come up with an idea daft as this may sound but i couldnt find anything to plug the main jig hole so i took the en of a muffin tub and it fit in the hole perfectly, black gaffe taped from the inside and all weather sealed from underneath, i said it was a daft idea but it may work, if not nothing losat or spend trying only 5 mins of my time.



Steve

[Odd]

I used the lid of 1 litre paint jars to fill my drain/jig holes. They fit like they were intended for that use.
Only difference from the originals were a different text stamping in them. (the <u>very thin!</u> originals
had pitted through in some minor areas) When sealed-in and painted they looked just like the
originals...

<font color="red"><b>My two 1980 Wedges...</b></font id="red">

[FI Spyder]

<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 tr7inc</i>

Beans i meant to say, my sill panels along the cockpit had tape on them, but the rear deack had old hardboard shapes cut out to fit each of those squares ( good old BL no expense spared) Has anyone recovered there sill holes, when they discoverd there ones where covered?

Steve

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

My sills on the inside had their original coth tape covering the holes. I replaced them with black duct tape (one of the 1001 uses) as it was pretty close to original. The front two sill holes on the bottom have triangular plastic inserts with a hole on the trailing edge so at speed it will produce a low pressure area thereby sucking air through the sill area allowing them to dry out quicker. I haven't seen another TR7 with them yet as they have probably been long lost. Has anybody else have these aerodynamic devices?

TR7 Spider - 1978 Spifire - 1976 Spitfire - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra

[Odd]

Mine are still there...
/Odd