Steib TR500 body dimensions

[Seek]

A rather rediculous idea took hold of my brain. I want to build a sidecar. I allready have a lead on a chassis, but the body is still a project in my imagination. I found a bunch of pictures, so I know how the body is made and can be reproduced, but I have really no idea about the dimensions.

Could somebody with a TR500 in the garage do me a favor? I have these two pictures (gleaned from the internet) and I am looking for these dimensions:

A- width of the nose
B- Width of the seating area in the front (maybe also the width a the back if that is different)
C- Width of the body just ahead of the luggage lid.
D- Width of the body all the way at the back
E and F- These make up the total length of the body, which is difficult to meassure because of the curvature. Maybe this seam is a good half way point to divide the length in two parts?
G- Length of the seating area
H- Height of the seating area
I- Height from the bottom to the highest point.

It doesn't need to be precise to the very last mm. Inches are fine too, I do understand them

If someone wants to go out to the garage with a tape meassure, I would be very gratefull!

[Flx48]

Hi Seek-
Measures taken from '60 TR500.

Glad you understand inch/foot measurements, I dealt with them all my professional life in construction, and I still don't understand the logic of using them.
Although there was that brief blip in the mid '70s when the industry tried to be sensible and use metric, but apparently most of my fellow US workers didn't cotton to French.
Or maybe it's been a wicked plot by the man to keep the working person scratching his head and in his place all along...
Best-
George

A- 216mm
Bf- 492 all three measures the same, a bit hidden by right angle flat turnout (for armrest) and
Br- 492 the small u-turn to the inside to capture interior upholstery panel
C- 492
D- 397
E- 965 measured in straight line, squared off tail at max length
F- 965 measured in straight line, squared off nose at max length
G- 820
H- 381 floor to top of metal armrest flat both sides
I- 495 floor to top center of arch

[Seek]

Thanks George, you're great!
This is very helpfull.

[Seek]

I spent quite some time on American forums, woodworking and metalworking. So I got quite used to the imperial system, but it’s still not easy. I used to have an old Volvo with half the fasteners metric, the rest unc/unf. Painfull!

[Seek]

I competely forgot the bottom!

George, when you happen to be in the neighbourhood of your sidecar again, could you meassure the bottom?

J- just in front of of the front incut.
K- Just behind the rear incut.

I know, width J is critical. The bottom should fit between the rings on the front chassis tube, with the rubbers. I will get a final measurement as soon as the chassis is in, but for now it would be helpful to have an approximate size.

[Flx48]

Seek-

Jf- 390mm
Jr- same (rear of front incut)
Kr- 397
Kf- 406 (front of rear incut, wider for seat base?)
and-
L- 445 (center vertical seam forward to J)
M- 460 (center vertical seam rearward to K)

N- 25 (clearance of rear of frame tube crossmember to K)

Best-
George

[Seek]

Thanks again George! Now I have enough dimensions to make some drawings.

This is going to be a huge project. I do have some car body experience, but some things will be entirely new for me. I will have to learn the English wheel and the bead roller, never used these before. I think I will make a wooden rib model first, so I have something to measure the panels to.

[Seek]

It's almost a year now, and I have been tinkering quite a bit since then. To show that my request wasn't all hot air and no substance, here is where I am at the moment.

I use a Chiang Yiang frame. It allready has a nice torsion bar suspension. It has the same overall dimensions as the Steib but all the appendages are different. So I cut most of it off and had to make the typical Steib tubes. Heating in a coal fire and bending them.


And welding them onto the chassis


I first tried to make a fender, but found a pretty cheap secondhand one. So, taking the easy way out I purchased it and had to do extensive surgery to make it usable again.


And here it is hanging on the chassis.


Oh, btw, I use a BMW wheel. And because I want a brake I got a rear brake plate from a VW Golf 3 which happens to have the same diameter. How I am going to actuate the brake is a project for the future.

[Seek]

Next up is the body. Here I really want to make it all from scratch. Just because it should be possible. Without any real experience in this field, I had to purchase some tools and rearrange my little workshop.


I made a wireframe, first the front half of the body.


First panel was not so difficult.


The side panels really were way more complex then i thought. I made several before I was happy. Quite a bit of wheeling, shrinking, stretching, bending etc. Here one of many trial fits.


I used a bead roller to press the typical profile into the sides.


And then welded them onto the wireframe. I know this is not how it was originally constructed, but this is my build all within my limited possibilities.


And that's where I am at this point in time. This will easily scoop up another year of my life. I hope it will be worth it in the end

I want to thank Georg for your help again! I posted this to show that your effort was not in vain!

[niall4473]

Excellent job, keep us posted!