A Little Shop of Horrors

The Midget had been in a front end collision at some point long ago.  I'm starting to wonder if it was used in a demolition derby.  Not only that, but the front frame rails where the bumper and radiator are mounted take the worst punishment from the weather, so everything was a mess.  My dad had brazed the bumper mounts on, and I ended up patching them a couple of times over the years.  But it was finally time for the whole mess to go.

I ended up replacing the front frame rails (you can buy them as a patch, so I can't be the only one who's had to do this) and the radiator mounting brackets.  This was another critical job, as it determines the alignment of the front fenders to the body and bonnet.  So I measured many times and kept the angle at which the front frame rails exit the front cross member.  I think I got it right as everything still fit in the end.

I had ordered new radiator mounts, but only one came in.  The other was backordered for 19 weeks.  19 WEEKS?  Who orders one radiator mount and not the other?  So I managed to salvage the passenger's side (it was still straight and rust free) and reused it.

Here's where I started.

  

 

Look at the lovely rust.

  

All better now.

The bumper mounts were rusted but salvageable.  They aren't expensive, so I may just replace them outright.  But I wanted to try to fix them.

  

  

Time to replace the other side...

 

And after much careful measuring and test fitting...