The Restoration of AYW709

[mikeyr]

Ok, new body is in the works, its almost finished in the UK and will arrive here in the US in a few months, so time to get started.

First off, some recollections on the damage to the frame when I purchased the car. It had been butchered up front and had cracks in the frame, luckily the guy that welded it had no idea what he was doing, so the welds were cold welds sitting on top of the metal with no penetration. He must have notice that because he drilled some holes and put in a plate on the side of the frame to hold the frame together. I welded up the frame but left the 2 holes, I will use them for a bracket that will also reinforce the steering gear. I think this is a weak point on the LM frame, with the steering gear moving and twisting the frame.

Luckily the welds were poor, I was able to remove the plate with minimal damage to the crossmember.

Re-welding the parts the previous owner cut off...this was done years ago back in my MIG days, yuck MIG welds are ugly.

Ready for paint

And the steering gear bracket with what I think is about right for the front half that had been cut off.

[ukmax]

It's become a pretty long job Mike but all looking very good. However, you have made me feel a lot better now because I took the body off my TR4 two years ago and have yet to get back on to that job - so thank you for taking so long on the LM and ridding me of my guilt!

Incidentally, I find poor welding time and time again and never fail to be disturbed by some appalling so-called "welding" work in safety critical areas.

Regards,
David

[mikeyr]

What goes here ?

I have always assumed that I am missing a bracket from the frame to the steering gear. There is a hole on the top of the frame that had nothing. Looking through my pictures as I dismantled the car, I found a bracket at the bottom that I ASSUME goes to the steering gear. It does not line up with the hole in the bottom of the steering gear, but looks like it should. So what goes in the top hole ?

[mikeyr]

Oh yeah. Epoxy primer and paint. This must be getting serious

[Peter McKercher]

Mike
AS you surmised there is a small "L" bracket that goes from the frame to the large bolt that holds the steering box within the large steering bracket. The lower bracket also braces the steering box. Both are required to keep your cross member from being damaged.

[mikeyr]

Cool, now I get to go make that. That missing bracket is probably why my frame was cracked there. I can fix it !!!

[Peter McKercher]

3/4" X 2 1/2" stock bent in the middle and corners rounded. Large hole to fit the steering box bolt 1/2" and a smaller one to fit the hole in your frame. The frame side mounts under the top lip of the frame rail with a carriage bolt to minimize interference with the wing.

[mikeyr]

Where do these rear front wing brackets go ? I assume those 2 holes since those are the only holes left that have a matching set in the other side of the frame. My car didn’t have them when I got the car. That would seem to far forward but it’s the only place with holes left

[Peter McKercher]

That's where it goes. See mine below

[mikeyr]

Perfect thank you. I will of course wait to install it since I still need to find the front supports and put the body on

[mikeyr]

Ok so working on the new body I was told by the body builder to test fit the bonnet, rad shell and gas tank prior to drilling the holes through the main beams to bolt the body down. This is to make sure the body is in right location.

So I put the rad shell on and the bonnet hinge u-channel...but oops, I don't have a bracket at the firewall. Looked through my pictures when I bought the car and nothing there when I bought it. I found a pic of a 34 that has a bracket, is it right and anyone help with some rough dimensions ? as I mention in the pic, I can probably guess. Also I am suprised that what I assume is the steering column bracket bolts are sticking out, I thought they might be hidden by the aluminum on the firewall, my car didn't have the aluminum when I bought it.

You notice in the pic below that car has the wood visible between cowl and firewall, its. blue wood, my car the aluminum goes all the way to cowl, do I cut some thing out, do I what ?

What am I missing ?

[Peter McKercher]

It's not the right bracket. I'll get some pictures this evening.

[Peter McKercher]

It's Father's Day. You probably want to be in the garage.

The bracket is 1/8" stock X 1 3/4" wide. It protrudes from the slot in the aluminum by 2" and has a rounded end. There is a slight bend in it to bring it flush with the bottom of the bonnet rail. It is a simple L bracket and bolts to the bulkhead ply. See two carriage bolt heads under the dash. I gave you a shot of the steering bracket as well. The bolts are concealed by the aluminum over the front of the bulkhead. You'll need to remove the aluminum to bolt it on.

[mikeyr]

Cool so I am not as far off as I thought with the body location on the frame. Will get that bent up today and keep making progress

Thank you. Somehow I just knew the chunk of wood my car had when I bought it was wrong

[jeans_old_man]

I just found this photo of the bulkhead before I put the aluminium on.