Lagondaforum

Subject: Re: chassis painting

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Thought I'd post a "before" and "after". Cleaned up nicely!

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Subject: Re: chassis painting

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are all those brackets and cross members riveted on? What about rust underneath them ? Your engine mounts look similar to mine which are bolted. On my M45 almost everything is bolted in place, fortunately mine does not have that the rust just a couple of layers of paint.

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Subject: Re: chassis painting

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Hi Barry;
Yes, I removed everything that was bolted on. Only the big crossmembers and engine mounts are rivetted. Quite a job undoing all the bolts since this car was driven in Quebec and New Brunswick for about 17 years, year round. There is some rust visible at the rivetted joints, but the rivets are sound and it's not going to be driven on salted roads anymore so I decided to leave it be. The worst (and only significant pitting} was between the wood body sills and frame, and where the copper grease lines were clipped to the frame. Otherwise it survived very well, due to so few enclosed spaces.
Alec

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Subject: Re: chassis painting

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sounds great Alec. nice to see the progress report. My project is proceeding slowly , still trying to find a painter and panel beater who know what they are doing.

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Subject: Re: chassis painting

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Hello,
I can agree with the other member who suggested Frosts.
They supply an extreme chassis black in tin or aerosol as well as a classic chassis black which is not so glossy (more autrhentic).
I have used both on various componants but not the chassis as mine is blue (you need the primer as well).
Also, don't fill in the little pitted parts, your are correct in thinking its better for the paint to adhere to rather than a filler.
Whatever you use, paint when it is warm!
Godo luck
Chris
P.S. please post some pictures of what you have done/doing as its always great for other members to see.

Subject: Re: chassis painting

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Alec! What did you finally decide on for the frame? I am thinking powder coat myself as I had my wheels done and they turned out great. They look like they are painted not that horrible plastic appearance I have encountered in the past. The particular company I am dealing with has now been in the biz for many decades .They also do conventional paint. All the cross members on the M45 unbolt which leads me to my next question ( possibly should be in the tech or M45 section?) Are the bolts pictured from the original manufacturer? Does anyone care about such matters? I wonder if Pebble Beach judges even know.

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Subject: Re: chassis painting

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Barry,

Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds made bolts for years. Still do I think. There's lots of info online but I'm going to have to let you read it to see if this sheds any light on the matter. I hope this helps. https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/GKN

David

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Subject: Re: chassis painting

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Well that settles it ! What an illustrious history and the name alone is worth the price of admission. I will save , bead blast and parkerize every original,useable fastener I can. Many thanks for the info Cheers,Barry

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Subject: Re: chassis painting

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On my V12, which thank goodness has survived largely unmolested, the original bolts are generally plain on top, or have a small "C" (I wonder who the manufacturer was?) embossed top centre.
Your M45 is two models away and several years earlier, so knowing Lagonda's (often debt prompted!) propensity for changing suppliers, would not be too concerned at the difference.
GKN are undoubtedly a quality manufacturer, and prolific...so many garages etc would have had stocks of GKN fastenings. That means there is a possibility that they are later replacements. Easiest answer I think is, are ALL the chassis bolts GKN? Unlikely someone would have changed all of them...unless your car has previously had a "nut and bolt restoration"...which could sadly infer that, indeed, every fastening has (often completely unnecessarily) been renewed.

Laurence

Subject: Re: chassis painting

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My 16/80 was built in the latter part of 1932 and every original bolt I've looked at so far was machined from bar stock.
In addition, the bolt heads and nuts are thicker than the modern BSF standard. The bolt heads have a flat face where they contact the part, not the washer face you typically see on modern bolts. The nuts are also only chamfered on the outer face. The chamfers are also considerably smaller compared to modern bolts and nuts. The bolt lengths seem to be tailored for each spot - I don't find the standard 1", 1.25" etc lengths, but instead lengths like 1.08" or 1.19", for example. And finally, just to make life even more difficult, the lock washers (which are the split type) are thinner than the standard modern ones. The "light" variety, which are not that easy to find, are a pretty good match.
There are also a number of BSW fasteners, and they have the prewar big heads and nuts.
I initially bought a bunch of BSF fasteners thinking I could use them as necessary, but they stand out like a sore thumb when you mix them in with the originals. So I machine up my own fasteners, using a larger size SAE grade 5 bolt as raw material. The nuts I make from 1215 free-machining steel.
I know this is a bit OCD but it definitely sharpens up the machining skills!
Barry - I haven't painted the frame yet. I've been using industrial-grade rattle cans for the bracketry and smaller components.
Alec

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