HLM project progress...

[bernd_st]

Finally and after beefing up staffs the body shop has made significant progress on my HLM project. Body is ready and roof is trial screw mounted now. Instead of just canting over the rear wings at the top they welded in 90° angle steel cants to give absolutely straight roof rests. Other than a perfect fit this adds strength to rear wings & avoids bigger amounts of finishing bondo. Finally and after some tweaking the roof will be fixed with modern body glue and screws. Next step is to trial fit the side windows as well in order to reassure 100% perfect fit. Watch this space, more fun to come:



P.S. Pls. disregard the crumbled rear bumper blade. It was just to check principal fit. However they told me that it can be straightened. Let's see...

 

[alpine_64]

Great work Bernd, really coming along.. nice to see the progress

 

[jumpinjan]

NOTE: The windscreen frame needs to be in the car when fitting the top to the body. Make sure there's room so one can get the windscreen in & out. I need to do the same and get working on my Lemans.
Jan

 

[65sunbeam]

Other than a perfect fit this avoids bigger amounts finishing bondo.
And the factory laid the bondo on thick! The angle your shop added is a great fix to that. Great to see your Le Mans getting close to being finished. Will it be red?

 

[alpine_64]

NOTE: The windscreen frame needs to be in the car when fitting the top to the body. Make sure there's room so one can get the windscreen in & out. I need to do the same and get working on my Lemans.
Jan

Jan it looks like the frame is in but the glass screen isn't... Probably best to have that seated in the frame to allow for any variance when the glass and seals are fitted

 

[DanR]

Watch this space

I for one will be watching..... like PICs of the Sunbeam Projects.

 

[bernd_st]

NOTE: The windscreen frame needs to be in the car when fitting the top to the body. Make sure there's room so one can get the windscreen in & out. I need to do the same and get working on my Lemans.
Jan

Yep. The frame is in and modified to HLM spec. Thinking to put an old glass into the frame just to make sure. Post some pics about your HLM project pls. Bernd

 

[bernd_st]

Other than a perfect fit this avoids bigger amounts finishing bondo.
And the factory laid the bondo on thick! The angle your shop added is a great fix to that. Great to see your Le Mans getting close to being finished. Will it be red?

Indeed Eric. I actually wonder why I didn't have that idea earlier, but think it's very good compared to what the Harrington workers did. All those bondo layers were a terrible rust trap. That's why most bodies started heavy corrosion at that separation line. No, I'm not very keen about red colour. I tend to make it early moonstone ;-)

 

[bernd_st]

Yep. The frame is in and modified to HLM spec. Thinking to put an old glass into the frame just to make sure. Post some pics about your HLM project pls. Bernd

Have a look from the front:

 

[jumpinjan]

...heavy corrosion at that separation line.

The early cars also had corrosion, from some rivets(?), at the rocker/fender seams for some reason (One could see 3-4 bumps in that area, and looks like rivet heads).
If you noticed, Harrington used a body filler with heavy ladened, metallic powder. It looked like powdered aluminum and was pretty hard. Yes, it can be easily chiseled off the body metal.
Jan

 

[bernd_st]

The early cars also had corrosion, from some rivets(?), at the rocker/fender seams for some reason (One could see 3-4 bumps in that area, and looks like rivet heads)

Yes, you are right. My S2 bodies (one cut up) had those bumps too. When carefully examining a shotblasted, but very original body on a recent UK Show I could confirm that Armstrong Siddeley appearantly used 4-5 rivets at the rear rocker/fender seams. A very bad rust trap. Have not noticed those on my S1 though. Have a look here:

 

[alpine_64]

Yes, you are right. My S2 body had those bumps too. When carefully examining a shotblasted, but very original body on a recent UK Show I could confirm that Armstrong Siddeley appearantly used 4-5 rivets at the rear rocker/fender seams. A very bad rust trap. Have not noticed those on my S1 though. Have a look here:

View attachment 30948

Have the same on my original sills late series II but at the front. 3 riverts top one starts about the same height and the other 2 are quite evenly spaced to the bottom.

 

[alpine_64]

. No, I'm not very keen about red colour. I tend to make it early moonstone ;-)

The white makes the large amount of the body over the rear wheels appear even larger... Especially if it doesn't have the side trim and rear swage trim... A little colour helps a lot ( darker the better to help get stronger reflection)
Andrew Yates car in seacrest green is a great compromise.. a Lakewood blue car would be nice... Think Oliver did that with a Scarlett interior

 

[bernd_st]

The white makes the large amount of the body over the rear wheels appear even larger... Especially if it doesn't have the side trim and rear swage trim... A little colour helps a lot ( darker the better to help get stronger reflection)
Andrew Yates car in seacrest green is a great compromise.. a Lakewood blue car would be nice... Think Oliver did that with a Scarlett interior

Certainly a matter of taste. I love the Seacrest Green A.Yates car while there is another one in UK already. Famous Lake Blue HLM also out there. Nice colour too. For me however white works best (check J. Logan's promo car). Intend to install all the trim (still seeking for one rear bow though) so it will turn out nicely. Most importantly a white closed coupe which is intended to be used/hard driven with limited venting capability will withstand sunlight exposure/heat up much better. On top I just love the early moonstone specifically matching with the intended interior colours. Too early to disclose further details here, just keep watching ;-)

 

[valueextra]

My car is being done in Wedgewood blue it’s been 10 years since I started work on it so getting it blasted again and epoxy primed before starting paint prep.

 

[bernd_st]

Wedgewood blue is also nice. In my case the project was bought 15 years ago. OMG what a long time . Always happy to hear more Harringtons are being put back on the road. 20 years before nobody wanted them, except a few hardcore Sunbeamers...

 

[bernd_st]

Just visited the body shop again today and brought them the side windows. They were very right - their fit/gaps to the glassfibre roof make all the difference. Quite amazing how much flex can occur around the lower side window recesses. Gaps have to be 100% straight...