Torsion tube repair

[GaryR]

Took out what are most likely the original spring plate bushings in a 78 Euro that is the base for my RSR project and found some nasty surprises..

This is the bushing cap, guess I shouldn't have been surprised what was behind it..




And this was my "surprise"!




Using a plasma cutter, every type of die grinder known to man, some angle grinders, and some heavy walled 3" galvanized exhaust pipe I had kicking around I did the following:










The end result, painted with epoxy primer over Rust encapsulator (looks washed out from the flash)..



I'm just glad the other side is just pitted a little.. Polybronze on order!

May as well put this here - picture of my engine bay and center section stripped and coated with epoxy primer, ready for paint.

[Tom '74 911]

Looking good! What "method" did you use to strip the undercoating?

[GaryR]

Originally Posted by Tom '74 911

Looking good! What "method" did you use to strip the undercoating?

Thanks Tom.
Heat gun in left hand, 1" sharp chisel in right. Once all the rubber was gone I sandblasted the whole thing to bare metal. I actually left the rubber on the torque tube end sections for protection..

[DanR123]

That is looking REALLY good now GAry especially for a lick of Primer.

[Tom '74 911]

Originally Posted by GaryR

Thanks Tom.
Heat gun in left hand, 1" sharp chisel in right. Once all the rubber was gone I sandblasted the whole thing to bare metal.

Kudos to you - that's a lot of work! Gives me hope for my project!

[GaryR]

Thanks Dan, hopefully color goes on this weekend. It was a ton of work scraping but it was the only way to get the 5LB of rubber Hans sprayed on 32 years ago.. Aircraft stripper did absolutely nothing..

[micheloaks]

Gary the internal layer of steel, is there an issue if this is not welded back to the cup or not welded in the first instance? Did you rebuild the internal flange that forms the seat in the cup? Cheers michel

[roblav]

I've seen a few of these broken torsion tubes on a few early 911/912's up here in the Northeast. I've even installed new ones. I would be concerned that your welds hold and that the remaining material of the tube is structurally sound. Inside the tube in your third picture, it looks like the tube is cracked. Nice work though and good luck.

[GaryR]

Originally Posted by micheloaks

Gary the internal layer of steel, is there an issue if this is not welded back to the cup or not welded in the first instance? Did you rebuild the internal flange that forms the seat in the cup? Cheers michel

Micheal - This is simply a seat for the bearing surface, the main intent was to create a solid/square place for the bushing to sit. The alignment process puts everything where it belongs, my purpose was to create a solid foundation to start with.. This car is gone, but I am pleased with how it left..

[micheloaks]

Hi Gary got your intention and it looks to have worked well. Though am interested to know whether the 'seat' is required to allow the bush to perform and whether anyone an advise if the internal layer of metal should be welded to the cup?

Cheers Michel