mk1-forum.net

I have been making some progress lately. I just got through replacing the tunnel and crossmember and fitting new outer and inner hinge panels (spent several weeks positioning and tweaking these for best door fit). Now I am finally on to the front of the car and I am starting with replacement of the lower windscreen valence. I went with full replacement of this panel since I already had an old (30 year old) Rover full panel to use as a donor. The problem I am having is the complete panel doesn't fit perfectly across the entire span. If I position it properly on the left side it is a bit short on the right side.

Left side roughly positioned- Results in this fit on the right side- If you look close you can see it is off by around 1/4" +/-...

This full valence panel is also shaped differently at each side with the left having a slightly different curvature near the wing joint and a much wider body seam.

My question for the body experts is how to best address this issue? I am tentatively planning to cut the panel somewhere near the center and insert a thin section to make up the difference. I am concerned about losing the shape in that area and what may happen to the panel when stresses are relieved when I do this.

I have had to adjust and cut pretty much all the rest of the panels but this one is very visible and I want to do it right!

Have you got a windscreen you can check for fitment?

Hi Gary,
I encountered the exact same issue with a Heritage panel.
Not only was it the wrong dimension...the curvature where it aligned with the bonnet was not correct....also, the radius of the crease where it meets the bonnet was more rounded...if that makes sense.
Red arrow showing how the original panel aligns.
I ended up cutting the two ends off and welding in a section of a panel i salvaged from a MK1 wreck.
Picture to help illustrate.
Cheers
D

Yes, I have the front screen but I don't expect an issue there once I get this panel sorted.

I see what you are saying about the fit of the bonnet across the rear edge. I just threw on the bonnet I expect to use (ignore the gaps at the wings, I haven't worked on that yet). Looks like there is a gap at the center of the bonnet while the corners are touching. Mine is also a different shape than the original however the panel I removed is in pretty bad shape with a bunch of poor welding and filler. I can't really use much from the old panel so now I need to figure out what to do with this.

Hi Gary
I've fitted a genuine scuttle panel and from what I remember it was ok in length. I can get you a measurement across the top of bulkhead tomorrow if you want.

Nick

Nick W wrote: ↑Thu Apr 07, 2022 9:23 pm Hi Gary
I've fitted a genuine scuttle panel and from what I remember it was ok in length. I can get you a measurement across the top of bulkhead tomorrow if you want.

Nick

That might be handy but either way some dimension is just slightly off so I need to formulate a plan of attack that will minimize the possibility of things going wrong! It does appear that the shape is off at the rear of the bonnet and front of the scuttle and it would seem that is hard to fix up regardless of the side to side dimension not quite being right.

Would be nice to have access to an original scuttle (or portion) so I could address some of these issues. I used the full scuttle panel because everyone was telling me the special repair sections for the ends are rubbish but now I am not so sure...

By the way, the scuttle panel I used dates from about 30 years ago and is labelled as follows (just an FYI)-