I receivd an answer back from Robey. Their frame material is indeed t-45 as Bill stated. They do not recommend repair but give no actual reason other than stating that they do not repair frames on their cars. They did quote me on new frames. My conclusion is that there should be no problem with repairing the new frames with standard brazing techniques but it is likely prudent to replace whole tubes instead of attempting piece repair. I also believe that a competent welder with excellent heat control and a low melting point brazing rod could repair originals. Someone brazed them in the first place.
Hello Geoff,
That would be my preferred method of repair, but the stumbling block is getting the correct section tubing. T45, or more correctly, BS4 T45, has been around for a long time and its my understanding that it was used in Spitfire Air Frames.
The rectangular section used in both the S1/S2 and S3 Engine Frames seems to be a special size run. If I could purchase the correct section tube, I would be manufacturing these frames in a heartbeat. The best Austin Healey chassis in the World are being manufactured here in Ballarat. The main criteria for making a quality item is attention to detail; the actual process is not all that difficult.
Regards,
Bill
That is interesting that the tubing is not available. Robey must have commissioned a special run of the correct size for their use. Have you looked into the 631 in the correct size as that seems to be available to sngās supplier?
As someone else suggested as long as new frames are available why not go that route as this is a job you sure donāt want to do twice, but this tubings can be brazed. When the long travel rear suspensions on MX bikes came on the scene in 1976 I converted our, mine and my sonās, 380 Greeves MX bikes, that we used for enduros, to long travel. Greeves used 531 Reynolds tubing and I replaced most of the the rear frame sections with 4130 tubing brazed with a low melting point Eutectic brazing rod. These bikes took a terrible beating and there were no problems with the additions over the next few seasons and by then the bikes were obsolete, come to think of it so was the rider!
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I looked back into some old emails of mine and found the following, from 2013 I believeā¦
Thought Iād share this with you folksā¦I decided to
contact Reynolds in the Uk to see what their view was on repairs to
the tubing used on our cars, hereās the reply from their managing
directorā¦
"
Hello Les,
The company that manufactured the 531 in those days was part of the TI
Group as āplain gaugeā tube ā a high manganese-moly steel alloy that
was frequently brazed safely. This type of tubing is no longer
supplied and the current Reynolds is a private company which sells 531
to the bicycle industry only. The modern equivalent is 631 ātermed an
air-hardening steel, which is mainly TIG welded.
As you note, there are many opinions on whether 531 can be repaired.
Note that we can suggest options for tubing use but the fabricator
skill and methods used have a major bearing on the outcome. Where
safety is concerned, we will not say if a particular repair method
will work because not matter how strong a tube is used, the actual
final strength of the repair will be dependent on the fabricator.
In a brazed 531 bike frame, I am aware of experienced builders
replacing entire tubes. And I know that classic E-type chassis have
been ārenovatedā by replacing parts of the structure ā not necessarily
with 531 (as it is not available now).
But if you have a safety critical part, unless your fabricator
confirms they have done something similar in the past personally I
would not recommend that course of action.
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