Front End Fact Find

June 15 - confirmed that the chassis is not bent!  Plumb bob and chalk lines.

See section R page 18 of the Bentley manual for dimensions and method.  

Update June 12 - more photos of frame 

Update - 

Obvious accident damage and clearly the frame horns are not as they should be.  Measurement and verification required.  The photo below is rather telling.

• The horns should be 12” apart (11” between the flanges), parallel to the car’s centreline and level and straight with respect to its the frame rail. 
• I am not certain precisely how far each  horn should extend from the crossmember.
• I will assume but should verify that the rad uprights are at 90deg to the horn, and should verify the height of the rad support above the horn.

the threaded bosses for the grill shroud (2 in each horn, 3 in each rad upright) are the most critical location points with respect to hood alignment, as these locate the front end assembly.

Straight edge clamped to frame rail.

Left side horn is straight.

Right side horn angles to the right.  A lot.

Right side.

Left side.

Left side rad support end measured from crossmember

Right side same.

The factory manuals indicate that shims are used beneath the front 

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As measured:

• the frame horns are 11 7/8” apart at the crossmember and 12.25” apart at the forward end. The factory dimension is 12”.  This was expected as the right horn is visibly askew.
• The left horn is straight and concentric with its associated frame rail, in both the horizontal and vertical planes. 
• The right frame rail is attached approximately 1/8” inboard of its frame rail and angles outward by a further 1/4”.   It’s ugly too. Well, they both are.
• The rad supports

So with the front end sheet metal fully removed, Barnaby’s past is now better understood.  The sills and footwell Sheetmetal are in really remarkable shape, the front wings aren’t bad, but the signs of trauma evident are clear in welded repairs and distortions to the front frame stubs.  These  support the rad, and the front end sheet metal, and are critical for fender and hood alignment.   The left side appears to be bent outward but I will need to measure carefully and assess.

I welcome any thoughts!

Update - so the front fenders are early units (appropriate to the car) based on the filled beltline trim holes.  I won’t replace the stick-on side moldings that replaced the original trim (gone) when the car was resprayed.  

As noted below, there’s some history being told by the left front of the car.  There are some bent bits that may not have been completely straightened, some funny angles.  I hope the car is straight, I will know more when I get the wings off and am able to measure to some sort of reference point.  the factory service manual provides a very handy measured drawing for exactly this purpose.   This can  can be downloaded here:

http://www.spritespot.com/referencedesk.htm

I have also found a few ‘bodges’ that need to be unbodged.  Disappointing but par for the course, and far fewer (so far) than those the Lotus or 914.   

Original post

So, while Barnby's bones are mostly sound, the front end has a story to tell.   It has clearly been apart, some of the sheet metal is bent, some fasteners missing, and also some of the parts may be replacements.     

The good news is that the metal thus far - appears to be free from serious rust.

Anyone able to spot non original parts or hypothesize as to some of Barnby's story?   

What cant be seen easily in the pic below is some damage to the frame rail, to the left of the exhaust, and some mangling of the triangular hole visible from the front wheel well.   .

Other side, frame pretty clean.

Crossmember bent forward slightly.  If you look closely just forward of the steering rack you will see discoloured paint on the crossmember and no paint and maybe some welding on the front frame stubs.....   Hmmm.

Sheet metal, right side

Sheet metal, left side, some bends and wobbles not evident on the right side.   Why?

Screws replace rivets, left side.  Why?

Different fasteners - right side, washers shimming.   Why? 

Another view.

Removing the front wings.

The following images show a cement-like filler that was used to fill in the lower front left fender,  (you can see the rust perforation this may have been attempting to address.)  This filler also encapsulated and blocked access to the valence/fender nuts.  I chiseled it out with a hammer and crowbar.   The fastener types securing the fender should be used in their correct places.   

Even with that stuff removed, removing the three bolts securing the valance to the front wing is a real bitch...  very awkward.