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| This is the underside of the central box of the cruciform. The rearmost 2 centimetres or so was rusty so I cut it out to replace it, and I got the idea to strengthen the whole area by adding the extra material. Such a gusset is at the front (which side was well-preserved by oil being blown back from the engine), so I figured it could only help to add one at the rear. The cardboard template shows the shape of the new metal piece. I don't know what gauge it is but it's about 0.095" thick, so it had to be cut with a jigsaw. I made such a mess welding that I ground off all the excess blobs - the picture really highlights the grinding marks but it's not that bad in real life. |