Trim, Frame & Body Pt 1: the Restorer's Eye View

One of the first things to do when a new project arrives is to sit and look at the various areas of the car to appreciate how it was put together and how it has survived.There have been many comments made over the internet since this car appeared for sale, I doubt if the various people that commented really understand the enormity of such a project – though the Lagonda has weathered its storage time reasonably well, the mice however have had a field day with various pieces of trim, wiring and bakelite fittings!It would be folly in the extreme to think that by changing the oil, charging the battery, the car could be started up – the fact that one conrod small end is worn, or the fact that a fire would surely result in connecting a live battery or indeed that the brake master cylinder rubbers had dissolved are just three reasons why such practice is foolish – let alone be insane enough to try to drive the car!As with any project such as this, it is an unknown and therefore each area of the car should be examined closely, noting any part that is out of tolerance. The only way to achieve this is to begin stripping the Lagonda, categorising each area in turn. During this process, each mechanical part is cleaned, bead blasted, measured and either a note made for the part to be replaced such as bearings and seals, or refinished and stored in sections.The first area to be tackled was the hood, having been stored since the late 1960’s with its hood up, time had made the canvas brittle, the steel pins holding the hood to the frame had all but corroded away, so it was decided to cut the canvas away from the header rail. This formed two functions, the first was to allow the hood to be removed without tearing it, the second was to allow later examination of how it was attached to the header rail. Most hoods are fitted in the same way, but it is bad practice to assume the Lagonda is the same! The rest of the hood is attached to the rear of the cockpit with pins and stud fasteners, these were drilled out where the screw heads had corroded, or were simply unscrewed.As can be seen in the photograph of the frame, each hoop is padded, and the sidepieces are finished in aluminium, with walnut trims and chrome plated pivots. Each area has an identification note written on it, a photograph taken of the area and in detail, the assembly is then stripped, bagged, and any plated part identified by engraving its location on the back. Plated parts are then stored together and sent for re-chroming.