Ok thanks for that tip. I will stop applying force there, hopefully not done any damage yet. I will get the penetrating oil in where you say and leave it for a bit. Seems slightly better with the steering wheel in the straight ahead position. I tried fitting the old bolt back through the hole and managed to get it stuck again, out now but not my smartest move.

Well I finally managed to file away the parts which were blocking the hole through the steering knuckle and preventing the front drop link from being fitted. All bolts torqued up to correct settings and I took it out for a test drive. I was a bit worried I may have upset something in the suspension or alignment, due to some of the extreme forces and hammer blows which were used in getting this job done. Needn’t have worried though. It drives wonderfully, the steering maybe slightly heavier than before and the best bit is how much more planted the front feels. This unplanted feel was quite disconcerting before and the car kind of wandered and did not feel good, especially at moderate to high speed. This feeling was amplified when on corners and on uneven surfaces.

Great to hear that it worked out for you after all the fight with the bolt!