With the sill now complete and the only thing I knew needing attention being the front cross member, I took the car for it's MOT. Luckily I get on with him well and he said he'd give it a once over before putting it through the system and let me know of anything major before he went through it thoroughly. It had previously had to have a plate welded on the cross member before and without the use of a ramp wasn't something I fancied doing myself. Having paid little attention to it as I knew I wouldn't being doing the work, I turned up at the garage hopeful there's not much needed, to be told it's worse than first thought, he'd seen a crack in it and the state of it, wasn't worth attempting patching. With them not being able to fit it in for weeks and it would need pretty much everything removing including subframe, engine etc I brought it home and decided to start stripping the car and see how far I'd go with it.
This is the crack that he claimed, but to be honest the way it seems to be connected, by about 6 spot welds on three tabs as I found out, suggests that this is how it is and the sealant gives the impression it's seem welded...
Front of the car taken off...
That messy patching repair previously done for an mot a while back...
I worked out that what was once feared that I would have to drop everything out and strip the engine bay completely, i'd be able to get away with supporting the car, subframe, and engine independently and be able to cut out the offending section, which I did...
Once off it was clear that it was on it's last legs...
The only good news if there was any, was that i'd purchased almost by mistake getting on for nearly 10 years ago, a front cross member in decent condition and more amazingly managed to find it! Thankfully still in good condition, I got to work on removing any surface rust...
and then painting and preserving the replacement...
It appeared to me that the original seemed to be welded in 6 places via the three tabs, but with this replacement I hope it's on there for life now, seam welded all tabs and wherever possible, I also welded an additional plate either end for added strength...
Replacement fitted, it was a relief that everything went to plan and everything fitted perfectly...
Having thought I could put the welder away, the hole in the floor where the rubber bung fits gave way, so thought I better do something about it...
and then thinking that was that, a check over the suspension, I came across corrosion setting in on the rear strut...
Some grinding and repair work later, I could finally put the welder away...
Back to the MOT, everything got the thumbs up but for a rear wheel bearing needing replacing and yet another little patch under the jacking points each side, last friday comes along and 12 months on the road are mine
I won't be taxing it until the beginning of December or possibly January, but it's nice to have got it through the MOT now lights limited and I can't wait to get behind the wheel again...
Things for the future, although the fibreglass wings are very good there's some slight imperfections to deal with so i'm slowly working through getting them ready...
Another reason for being broke, with the future in mind and bodywork to sort, all rust issues are resolved and a lot of weigh loss will be achieved by fitting fibreglass doors, these are for the coupe so I will have to modify the window frame to fit the HPE but really pleased with them, fitting all the door locks and hinges will be a challenge in itself i'm sure, but no plans immediately for them to go on...
and finally for now, with various welding repairs and general wear and tear over the years, a good clean out and repaint of the floor awaiting the arrival of some hopefully more comfortable bucket seats for those longer journeys and road driving I will hopefully experience in the coming year, I don't even think my back could take the potholes juddering through a seat with literally a piece of material separating your spine from springs...
