RESTORATION TIPS
for AC's post-war 2 Litre Saloon (page 3)
If your AC is largely sound, and you intend to do just the essential repairs to the bodywork, then this section may be of interest. It is most likely that you need to renew the plywood bulkhead and boot side panels. It is probably not worth trying to patch these up, since great strength is needed.
There are some basic hurdles placed in your way for such work: The bodyshell makes some of the screws (inserted into the edges of the plywood) inaccessible. Secondly, the rear bodywork was largely built around the boot side panels, and it is physically impossible to fit them in one piece without removing the bodyshell and other parts of the woodwork. If you split these panels into two parts, then you need to consider the load paths. In particular, they help to support the rear shelf assembly and roof, transferring those loads to the main sill boards and also the chassis. They also help to reduce twisting/vibration of the rear bodywork.
With that in mind, the only safe place to split the panel would be at the rear end, below the level of the boot floor. That would keep the joint hidden from inside the boot, while maintaining a single section of plywood between rear shelf, main sill board and chassis. The joint between the two sections of plywood will still need to be strongly glued and screwed, with additional reinforcement sections of plywood. I would not recommend omitting the glue from any joints to ease future dismantling. That would reduce strength, stiffness, and permit water to penetrate it.
When dismantling the front bodywork prior to wood repairs, you will notice a large number of little machine screws and nuts. On my AC, these were ANC 10-24 screws, equivalent to UNC 10-24. I'm replacing mine with stainless steel items, since it only takes a small amount of rusting to ruin such little screws. Precautions do have to be taken with some of them to avoid contact with aluminium panelling - the latter being at risk from corrosion if stainless screws touch.
Rain water leakage
A common complaint from 2 Litre drivers was rain water leaking onto his/her feet. The rubber seal at the rear of the bonnet acts as a gutter, channeling water behind the inner-wings and onto the bottom of the plywood bulkhead to run down onto the road. AC pinned the rubber seal onto the top edge of some plywood distance pieces, but with the copper pins inserted through the bottom of the rubber seal/gutter. That allows water to pass into/onto the wood and drip onto the front floor panels. If the rubber is not fully sealed and stuck down, then not surprisingly, water gets through easily. Modern silicone-rubber sealants solve this and the fixing pins can be excluded.
Too much hot air!
Another old complaint is the amount of heat entering the passenger compartment, especially for the driver, although welcome in cold weather. On my car, there were no seals of any kind around the front floor panels, although any original seals might have been discarded? The aluminium bulkhead also lacked seals where it is fastened to the inner-wings. It should not be very hard to fabricate suitable seals, and possibly include ventilation ducts for the foot-wells for either warm (engine bay) or cool air. The brake and clutch pedal openings in the floor have foam-rubber sheet to reduce drafts. Similar treatment is provided for openings in the aluminium bulkhead for the accelerator and steering column.
