Trim, Frame & Body Pt 7

Hoisting the engine from the chassis

More woodwork

Having now replaced the door sill area on both sides of the ash frame, the next area to go under scrutiny is the upper rear cockpit area. This forms the mounting rail for the hood and because of various nail holes and fatner holes, the ash here had become weak and some rot had set in due to water ingress.

The plywood platform under this area was also weakened and would need replacing.













The photograph above illustrates the area next in line for restoration.

Having now replaced the plywood base, the inner wheel arches have been removed. The woodwork on each side of the rear bulkhead will now be replaced by cutting away the rotten wood and replacing the section with laminated plywood.















The photograph above shows the area in question. The aluminium side piece will also be removed to clean it up and allow access to the wood at its rear, so the ash can be thinned down to allow the laminated plywood to replace it.
By usin 1/8" play four layers can be laid up, and each layer can be tapered or thinned in section to allow the finished repair to taper in section into the area supported by the aluminium.

















The plywood tapered and glued and clamped in place. Resting on the plywood platform, just to the left of the small plane is the section of timber that has been cut out, it is possible to see the curvature of the wood in this area, one of the reasons to use laminated ply, the other is to create a stronger replacement than the original.















The same section after having been trimmed and cut down to follow the correct line into the side area, you will note the aluminium side piece has been removed to enable this piece to be trimmed.














The finished area looking from the rear, you will also see that the top of the centre section has also bee replaced with laminated ply.

When refitting the hood fastenings I now can be sure that the pins and screws will hold!













Still in the same area, the boot aperture corner has been replaced, thye screws are stainless steel. A short section of the side has also bee replaced - the clamps holding the piece in place whilst the glue sets.














As you can see the inner wheel arch has been refinished and screwed back in place, a small section linking the back and side has been replaced. The clamps are holding a plywood section in place, this finishes the repairs in the rear cockpit area.

More Ash frame repairs

Continuing with the ash repairs, the next area tackled was the "B" Post or the back of the door aperture if you prefer. The Right hand side post was unscrewed and take to the bench.
The picture above shows the removed "B" Post with its lower half replaced with new timber, the notch at the base sits over the sill , which is screwed together. The old piece of timber can be seen on the bench, its condition is quite poor having rotted at its base. The replacement piece is glued and screwed at its joint using Extraphen boat builders glue and stainless screws.














The scarf joint is quite high up, the reason being that's how far I had to cut beack to get to good solid wood.

The replaced post after having a coat of black wood preservative painted over areas which are not glued later.











Still on the same side, a replacement section of sill, partly shaped has been offered up to the frame, and a corner block has bee added to allow pencil lines to be added to illustrate where further trimming is neccessary before gluing up. Traditional rebate and block planes were used to remake this replacement piece.












The same piece after gluing and screwing in place.
The rebate for the door skin and aluminium sill cladding has been cutaway, and the corner block is finished too.

Where the piece has been attached to the old wood, the joint was reinforced with a 3/8" thick tongue of ply fitted through the centre of the wood, running parallel with the door bottom.

The final shape was achieved by sanding to a pencil line using power tools after planing the wood.

The Ash frame

The restored ash frame awaiting the chassis, note the bracing across the door aperture - the V12 ash frame is weak in this area, and with the bracing the frame can easily be lifted by two people.

Having removed the body, the ash frame could be examined; this really gives an idea of what has happened to the Lagonda in its past years. The car had been resprayed in the 1960’s from black to its current blue. No mention however was found about the repairs to the rear wings and rear valance area. The ash frame was telling its own story here!

At some time, there was a sufficient impact into the rear of the car to break both the rear sections of ash that form the surround to the boot/valance area. They had subsequently been repaired by letting in new sections of ash, and a few metal braces. The aluminium however seemed to have been able to withstand the impact and was only locally repaired and filled at the rear wings and valance.New sections of ash were made up and let into the structure, using the original joint areas.

Photo left shows the old boot side member, it has been strengthened and set true before being used as a pattern to make a new piece.

A new piece of Ash fitted to the outer section of the rear wing mounting, the boot side piece was then added...

...Along with the lower section

The plywood panels forming the boot sides were used as patterns to be fitted a little later in the process.As the ash frame was still attached to the chassis, work moved forward to the sill/step area. Here the ash here was crumbling away. Sections were made to replace 2/3rds of the length, and carefully glued and screwed into the sound forward sill. To enable a strong joint the repair was cut diagonally on both axis. Extraphen epoxy was used on joints such as these. Jigging was again checked via measurements taken, and by using the doors to check gapping.The next section to be repaired was the rear arch to sill joint, both "B" posts needed the lower sections replacing, as did the forward section of the rear arches. As always, where it is possible to utilise fitment into original joints, sections were made to accomplish this.Further repairs were made to the hood box area, replacing the plywood base to the box, and laminating ply to form the rear coming area for the hood attachments. These were then shaped in situ, and blended into the "B" post area.The ash frame now being sound enough to be removed from the chassis, was braced around to door apertures, and duly removed and placed on stands ready to be reunited with its chassis, and a new body made.

Trim, Frame & Body Pt 3

Here you can see the V12 Engine-view manifold covers and radiator supports.

Having moved onto the body, it was immediately apparent that there was sufficient corrosion in the aluminium body to necessitate its replacement. So the bodywork was removed by cutting off any panel return to enable fast removal of each panel in turn, noting where sections had been welded together, and how certain panels were originally made. All pieces of bodywork were then stored away from the workshop. The only panel that looks as though it will be an interesting challenge is the raised swage line running through the door and rear side panel, which is a challenge for next year!

Trim, Frame & Body Pt 2

This shows the hood frame stripped of canvas.

The next stage is to de-trim the interior, usually a straightforward exercise, as each piece serves as a pattern for its replacement. It was interesting to work out how the rear side trim had been attached – no visible fastenings could be seen! This panel forms an arm rest for the rear occupants, and the trim had been build in situ. The fastening screws were under the leather at the top of the panel, pins holding the upper trim to the armrest area were underneath the padding for the rest and leather fitted over the whole area – always a challenge!

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.

The Story of the V12

For those who are unfamiliar with this astonishing piece of British engineering, it was actually inspired by W O Bentley. Its massive stance, with an engine producing immense torque, was just like the famous racing Bentleys. Bentley had been tied to Rolls-Royce since the takeover of his company in 1931. However, in 1935 he was released and worked with Lagonda at Staines, in Middlesex. Lagondas of the early 1930s were fitted with massive Meadows six-cylinder engines, but Bentley and his team developed a new chassis and then, with much input from the great Stewart Tresilian, designed a superb new 4.5-litre V12. Displayed at the Olympia Motor Show of 1936, production units were not delivered until 1938. It was only the second British V12 to go on sale, the other being the Rolls-Royce Phantom III. In Europe, Hispano-Suiza also had such a power unit. The Lagonda V12 had an overhead-camshaft and just about two of everything, including SU carburettors, electrical coils and fuel pumps. The Bentley-inspired engine was an incredibly smooth unit which turned out 180bhp and was the most powerful of all pre-war British engines. The V12 came in saloon, drop-head coupé, limousine, and tourer and each one was hand-built. By the start of the Second World War a total of 189 has been built. Proving its effectiveness and efficiency, the engine sailed ahead to power light naval craft, but the sad part of the story is that it was not revived after the war. A great shame because here was a power unit that ranked alongside the best that Rolls-Royce and Bentley could turn out. The V12 was expensive - from £1,550 in 1938. Its desirability today is reflected in the astonishing price it fetched at auction. With thanks to Ian Johnson, The Evening Chronicle for providing the above eloquent introduction.

Polishing for a Preview

Most of the bodywork will need to be replaced but a bit of buff gives us a glimpse of what is to come.

The Auction

The sun shone and the bidders flocked to a vintage and classic car sale on 27th July 2006 in Derbyshire at which 80% of the lots sold and many of the cars made way over their estimate. Among them was the star car, a time warp, "barn find" 1939 Lagonda V12 Drophead Coupé that had not turned a wheel for some 40 years, until dragged from its hiding place for entry in the auction. The car was hard-fought-over until the hammer finally fell at more than double the pre-sale estimate