The Classic DB Lagonda
3. Welding and re-building of sills and structural metal work.
The reconstruction and welding in new sills, floor pans, and other structural metal follows, with the tin worm eradicated as best as possible. Note the chassis separated from the body and steel floor bulk head. The body suitably braced and door fit and shut lines checked best possible at this stage. The chassis was also checked on a suitable jig at this time, prior to welding.
The first picture above ws the car inverted, with the near side outriggers towards the front, new box section sills welded in place, start to add structural strength.
The pictures above show the dhc roof wooden structure, with all old material removed, prior to renovation. Also shown is the complete front end of the car stripped back to metal, and this also required attention and repair.
Note the substantial amount of new metal going in, new inner and outer metal sills, significant removal of lots of plated metal, done no doubt to get the car through old "MOT's". Lots of new metal let into the inner rear wheel arches, the rear seat base which is a good collector area for rain water trickling down from the roof if it does not seal properly when up, or when a damp roof is folded down. The "b" posts are made from ash, and significantly thick and these take the weight of the "suicide doors",which are held in place by long coach bolts, these were rotten and required replacement..
These pictures show fettling of body panels, and a very good door panel gapping and fit. These door are far from easy to hang, let alone get such good gaps, not forgetting there is an internal ash frame the door is build around, and these take a vast amount of work to get to this standard.
The pictures of the top of the front bulkhead where it meets up with the screen surround, shows how bad the car was in many places. The screen surround was removed with an angle grinder, and carefully repaired. The bulkhead required a large amount of work to srot out and put strength back.
For me, the most important picture is the 2nd pair to the right, which shows the upturned "U" shaped ash=frame which runs aorund the bulk-head and between the body and the out-riggers at the front, very important to create a rigid structure here. Also note repairs to the ash-frame which sits inside the metal window screen frame, unique to the Brookland's cars.