T bar removal

[Davej]

Just redoing the interior the stag and I need to take the t bar off, is it better to brace the two pillars ? any tips on making it easer to take off and put back together would be great.
Thank you.

[mole42]

In my experience, when refitting the t-bar, it's necessary to use a couple of jacks under the ends of the sills to help align the tops of the pillars with the holes in the t-bar. There is a certain amount of flexibility in all the later cars (the early ones with 4-part sills were much stiffer) and the t-bar helps to control the scuttle shake. I haven't braced the shell on the twice I've removed my t-bar and suffered no issues as a result.

[Davej]

Hi Mole thank you for the advice. Mines is a 72, when you say end of the seals do you mean by the back wheels?

[mole42]

There are jacking points at each end of the sill where you can raise either end to allow the t-bar to fit. In my case, ISTR I needed to lift the front one side and the rear on the other. As I said, the Stag isn’t the most rigid body shell and the t-bar does an awful lot to make it stiffer, but after 50 years there could be a bit of mis-alignment between the t-bar fixings which can be dialled out.

[sujitroy]

Before removing the bolts completely, support the car as that bolt can strip on the last few threads when removing. The pozi drive headed screw on the fonnt is a size 4.

[Davej]

Sujitroy Can you explain more about supporting the car please. Thanks

[richardthestag]

usually a trolley jack under the main chassis member where the front outrigger joins it or under the heel board just forwards of the rear subframe. Jack up slightly and that should be all you need. no need to brace nor support in my experiences.

When refitting the t-bar, secure the front screen rail edge and then jack up the front end or sometimes the back end of the car to adjust the b-post to meet the hole in the t-bar.

[Davej]

Thank you Richard