Frightened the bloody life out of me.....
Discussion
Opened the tailgate to show a mate what progress Ive made with the engine install. There was an almighty bang and the tailgate suddenly got a lot heavier.
At first I thought a hinge had broken but no, one of the gas rams had apparently detached itself and rapidly opened to full extent. I
a few times and went to reconnect it while my mate held the tailgate open.
That was when I discovered the gaping hole in the side of the tailgate and nothing to connect the ram to!
Turns out there's a metal reinforcement inside the tailgate with a captive nut, which the ram pivot ball screws into (through the GRP). The ball and a section of the metalwork had ripped out, along with a chunk of GRP, and disappeared inside the double-skinned tailgate
I managed to fish it out and was contemplating how I might repair it, when I idly read the text on the gas rams. Nearside one was 290 Newtons, the one that ripped out was 500N
No bloody wonder it broke!
Some monkey has obviously been round the breakers and found a ram the right length... but to hell with the strength...
I wouldn't care but I keep warning TVR owners not to fit over-strength rams, it never occurred to me to check my own car...
That's ANOTHER job for the list, then...
At first I thought a hinge had broken but no, one of the gas rams had apparently detached itself and rapidly opened to full extent. I
a few times and went to reconnect it while my mate held the tailgate open. That was when I discovered the gaping hole in the side of the tailgate and nothing to connect the ram to!
Turns out there's a metal reinforcement inside the tailgate with a captive nut, which the ram pivot ball screws into (through the GRP). The ball and a section of the metalwork had ripped out, along with a chunk of GRP, and disappeared inside the double-skinned tailgate
I managed to fish it out and was contemplating how I might repair it, when I idly read the text on the gas rams. Nearside one was 290 Newtons, the one that ripped out was 500N
No bloody wonder it broke! Some monkey has obviously been round the breakers and found a ram the right length... but to hell with the strength...
I wouldn't care but I keep warning TVR owners not to fit over-strength rams, it never occurred to me to check my own car...
That's ANOTHER job for the list, then...
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