Speaking of the fronts, got some new wheels, put the car on the hoist for some work, take the wheels off to swap tyres to the new rims, and what do I find ...

WTF, I have absolutely no recollection of ANYONE telling me about this!

A straight edge shows only the merest hint of a bend, so it is not clear to me that any significant issues arise, beyond the obvious that it needs replacement, and '
how the hell did that happen?". On the latter, the only thing I can recall is the damaged wheel on that corner when I hit an unnoticed 'thing' on the road at decent speed, as far as I can recall it was the rack end on the car when I bought it. I have a couple of spare racks, so I can cannibilse one of them for the necessary piece.
Which leads to the other discovery ...

What has caused this? It is on the sidewall more than the shoulder, suggesting that it is something other than toe or camber, all bushings and ball joints seem ok, no sign of rubbing anywhere, and both fronts seem equally affected.
I was to have a new alignment done, so I will have him look at the front end before he does the alignment, in case there is some work to be done there to remove/replace whatever is the problem.
