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Subject: strange piece under front wing

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I am refurbishing the front wings of my V12. During preparation for painting the underside I realized this strange remains of a metal net between some pieces of sheet iron. This is on the drivers side. It is not connected to the inside of the spare wheel compartment. IWho knows what it is?
(I saw it before but did not care about it but now I would like to remove it, I do not see any use of it)

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Subject: Re: strange piece under front wing

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Hi Peter,

What you have is the remains of the stone guards. These would have originally been under all 4 wings to protect from stone impacts.

Not sure how they go on a V12 but on an LG45 the front ones are fixed just in front of the wheel well one end and to the main wing bracket at the front. On the rear wings they go from front to back.

Basically they are a frame of approx 3/16" rod with a woven wire mesh with holes about 1/4".

Hope this helps
David

Subject: Re: strange piece under front wing

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Thank you David,

I did not even know this existed ! Probably they were usefull those days with gravel roads. As there are no other remains of these stone guards on the car, I will remove this part too.

Peter

Subject: Re: strange piece under front wing

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Hi Peter,
When I first viewed my V12, I noticed one of these & assumed it was some sort of fibreglass repair matting! Of course, as David says. If you've run your car for a long time & have had no wing damage, then I wouldn't worry.
I have the remains of a spare set, so can photo them if you wish, so that you can see what they should look like.
They are actually made of aluminium, so are quite fragile after so many years...doubtless why yours have disappeared. The interesting thing is that these are actually NOT Lagonda products. Complete
ones have a pair of brass discs riveted in the centre of the mesh, revealing that they were made by AC in Thames Ditton...in fact I used to live in a house overlooking what had been the factory. sadly AC are remembered more for the Cobra than for the lovely cars they made in the thirties. Strange also that Lagonda should actually obtain these from a relatively local (rival?) motor manufacturer, when they made so much of the cars in-house!
Laurence

Subject: Re: strange piece under front wing

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Hi Laurence,
would be nice to see a photo, I do not need them but something to learn. Were they only hinged in the back and the front end was free in the air? probably not and it was fixed to the support of the front wing. How was that fixed above the rear wheels? I would think they were not factory fitted but the most attentive owners had them fitted later.
Peter

Subject: Re: strange piece under front wing

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Hi Peter,
Will take photos when I next use camera, which should be pretty soon. I have these on my late 1940 drophead, & the spares came with the car, from a 1938 saloon sadly converted into a LM rep by the previous owner. So I'd be fairly confident in saying they were a standard factory fitment.

Laurence

Subject: Re: strange piece under front wing

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Laurence mailed me this info and images:

2358 is taken from under the off side rear wing; you can see the hole in the wing where the petrol filler cap should be. The mesh is bolted to the main wing stay via a slotted aluminium strip, and by a smaller bracket held by two screws to the inner wing (see 2361), again via an aluminium strip to retain it.

2359 shows the other end of the same protector; as you can see, its tail simply sits in the pointed end of the wing. This also gives you a good idea of the form of construction.

2361 shows a rear wing protector off the car, & here you can see there is another mesh mounting; similar slotted aluminium strip bolted to a smaller stay nearer the leading edge of the wing. The rearmost section of this protector has got folded over because of poor storage.

2360 shows both front wing protectors. The rearmost edges are different for mounting against the wheelcase on the offside, & tool/jack well on the nearside. You can also see the slotted or drilled aluminium mounting strips at the bottom of the picture. On these protectors, you can also just make out the brass discs rivetted to the protectors, stating they're made by AC at Thames Ditton.

Hope this clarifies these fittings.

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