Panel precision
Mike attaches the Stag’s front valance, doors and boot lid, fettling each item for the perfect fit.
Last month both front wings were welded in place and the front panel in front of the bonnet reworked, to ensure the ends lined up with the wings and the rear edge was a neat fit to the front of the bonnet. I was having problems getting to grips with the gap required between the bonnet and front panel to ensure that the bonnet did not scrape the front panel during opening. Part of the reason was that the radius on the rear edge of the front panel was quite large, making the gap appear greater than it was. I needed to reduce this radius and, as I do not like using filler on a corner, decided to lead load. Now, my previous attempts at applying body solder have been spectacularly unsuccessful, resulting in more lead on the floor than attached to the panel. I have watched lead being expertly applied and, while the techniques are relatively simple, the required skill levels are not.
Prep pays off
The panel needs to be spotlessly clean with no grease or paint present, so I used a small grinder and flap wheel, followed by the application of a tinning paste that consists of powdered body solder suspended in a flux. This is then heated with a flame; I use an LPG torch until the solder melts and coats the steel, leaving a bright ‘tinned’ surface. Body solder is a lead alloy that has a semi-molten phase which, in theory, allows the material to be spread onto a vertical panel without running off. The flame is first used to melt the stick of body solder into blobs onto the tinned panel, and heated again until it just starts to melt, when it can be spread with a tallow coated wooden paddle.
However, I‘ve previously found that controlling the heat input so that body solder does not run off is a skill that takes plenty of practice to perfect. For the front panel I decided to cheat and use a large electric soldering iron to spread the lead after it had been initially warmed with the gas flame, which was a reasonably successful tactic. I managed to attach the majority of metal to the panel rather than the floor or my boots, although I did not achieve the neat surface finish the experts obtain. The panel was then clamped to the bench so that the lead was roughly shaped using a Millenicut file, but a body file would have also been suitable. Once the correct shape was obtained and matched the bonnet profile, the lead surface was finished with a ‘second cut’ file.
Valance adjustments
The front valance had been fitted approximately, but now required the final small adjustments; it was clamped in place so that a hammer and dolly could be used to achieve the correct alignment. It was not the easiest operation, as the arm holding the dolly had to be fed through the headlight aperture. The task was increasingly difficult on the RH side of the car, when the hammer had to be used left handed. The front wings weren’t welded in place supporting the light panel when the brackets for the air conditioning condenser were welded into place, so it wasn’t feasible to get accurate dimensions for the condenser fittings. As access would be restricted once the valance was fitted, I decided to have one last trial fit of the radiator, electric fan and air conditioning condenser. First to go in was the radiator, while the gap between the radiator and closed bonnet could be checked by raising the car on the hoist and inspecting from inside the engine bay. The Kenlowe fan was then bolted to its brackets and the condenser positioned and held in place with bolts through the top two brackets that had been fitted at earlier trials, so that the position of the rivet nuts for the two lower brackets could then be accurately marked onto the