If these cars could only talk, what stories they could tell.
I think some DPO of my car must have either backed into his lawn mower a few times or got rear ended by a go cart. How else do you get multiple dents in the license plate area of the spare tire door? There are old repairs in both lead and braze on the bottom edge of the door.
Anyway, I have dents in the stiffener channel on the spare tire tray where the spare tire door hinges attach.
Does anyone have any thoughts as to how to repair these, without drilling out all the spot welds and taking it apart?
Hi Rob, my first car was a Mark V which had a bullet hole in the spare tire door. It was from a 38 or 45. The previous owner maintained it had occurred prior to his use of the car.
Anyway, one solution to ponder is use of replacement parts. If this is of interest, let me know and I will visit my parts car to see integrity of what you would want to use.
Well, today I tried the stud and slide hammer method, where you weld a bolt with a hex or flat head to the work piece at the dent, then use a slide hammer to pull it out.
It sort of half worked; the dents are at least smaller than they were. That stiffener channel is made of much thicker metal than the spare tire tray. I pulled the slide hammer so hard that the welds on the studs broke. I might try again tomorrow with bigger welds, but of course whatever you put on you have to grind off afterwards.
Thanks for the offer, Roger, but this tray is in really great shape other than the dents.
In fact now I see all the spot welds are dimples, so even if I don’t get the dents completely smooth the tray won’t be a work of art, it will be good as new.
I found one caged nut on my spare tire tray was missing a spot weld, poor factory work. I wonder if Lyons ever docked the workers pay for poor workmanship?
The tray and gas tank are painted and ready to install. I’m going over all the bolts and washers, and I find a discrepancy. The Spare Parts Catalogue calls for 14 identical 5/16x1BSF hex head setscrews with shakeproof and oval washers to hold the tank. The tank has 14 cutout notches around the rim, but there are 16 captured nuts around the tire tray rim. I find in my bag of bolts the 14 5/16x1BSF hex heads with washers, and two flat head (aka countersunk) 5/16x1/2 BSF screws, but no washers for them.
The flat heads are not listed anywhere in the SPC that I can find. It looks like somebody forgot them. They also forgot all the felt strips between these panel joints.
I am interpreting this evidence to mean that the two flat head screws are installed first, and are intended to hold up the tray while you put in the 14 screws for the tank. I think these flat heads should have an oval washer with a countersunk hole in it, so the screw head will sit flush with the washer. Felt strips were then glued over them. The tank rim then sits on top of these screw heads and felts; that’s why they are flat heads, not hex heads.
So is anybody in a position to confirm that there are two flat head screws at the forward edge of the tank?
I can’t confirm the screws, but it would make sense.
Mine was very beaten too, but not rusted (except from the top, where dirt had accumulated on the felt strips) but unmolested otherwise, oh the back wall had of course been deliberately dented with a mallet to find room for the Ford Fairlane rear axle in the 1976 “restoration”, they had missed the fuel tank by 1/4", lucky bastards!
Yep, the flat head screws worked out fine, so I think that must have been right.
With the felt strips on both sides the fuel tank sits down nicely on the body frame and the other screws pull the tray up to it.
If/When you can take detailed photos of all the brackets/clips etc for mounting of Jack, Wheelbrace, Jack Handle etc, would appreciate copies sent direct, or on this forum. Can you also send pics of those relevant tools fitted in place.
