Repairing the front of the frame – part 3

 

 

 

The plate was test fitted to the frame to ensure it was ok, then removed for modifying the holes for the steering rack mounts.

 

On the original plate, these holes had a recessed shape for strength. Now that we were using 3mm plate, it was not necessary to make the new plate this way, as it was already strong enough, but we figured we might as well make the effort, and make the new plate as close to the original as possible.

 

To make this shape in the metal, Sean got to work on his lathe, and made the tool you can see in the first picture below. Once this was inserted into the hole, and put through his press, it made an exact copy of the original design. Nice huh?! I'm delighted with the work done here, Sean really did a great job.

 

The rest of the pictures show how holes were drilled in the plate to allow for spot welding it to the steering mounts, and then the plate was welded into place on the underside of the front frame extension. You can also see in the last few pictures how the front and rear walls of the front crossmember were repaired....