Time for a Re-fit

[Johnno1969]

G'day all,

I thought I might post a few pics along the way while I tinker with my 88 this year. Time for the 45-year service. I've been hankering to get stuck in for ages, and finally got going on the weekend. I've grown tired of numerous layers of paint of different colours (several of them being my doing), all looking shabbier by the year. So....it's back to metal and then back to the original Bronze Green. While I'm there, I'm going to pull the body off, tidy up the chassis, throw in a new spring or two and...and...etc etc.....

I'll post a few pics here of the old girl on Saturday when I started slapping the paint stripper about. Looking at the old Bronze Green, I wondered why some past owner had ever taken to the idea of painting the vehicle a horrible yellow...........

Watch this space...

Cheers,

John

[series3]

Looking forward to this thread, something I will be looking to do a DBG respray in the future sometime.

Do you have much bog in your panels?

[wally]

Ah...Bronze green. That should look a lot better than that pukey series 3 colour.

[Johnno1969]

Looking forward to this thread, something I will be looking to do a DBG respray in the future sometime.

Do you have much bog in your panels?

No, actually, they're pretty clean. A little in the front guards, as you can probably see in the second pic I posted....but they are not too bad. The rear tub is pretty close to perfect. I took the paint off it the day after doing the front panels and it is all nice bright clean alloy.

There's a bit of rust and bog in the bulkhead, and the door frames...and I got rid of the rusty doortops ages ago (actually, I took them out last summer on the day one disintegrated all over a mate when he slammed the door).

When I get those guards cleaned right down, I'll know a bit more. Some dents I am inclined to just leave, rather than fill, as I am not exactly planning a concours vehicle and just want her to look original (rather than pristine) again.

Thanks for the reply and I'll post more down the track.

John

[Johnno1969]

Righto, it's all coming to pieces bit by bit. Took the old girl out for a little drive this morning, as pretty soon she'll be immobile. Actually, as each panel disappears, she's more fun to drive.....

Pulled off the bullbar on Saturday and the dumbirons are a pretty grim sight. Soon we'll have the rest of the body off, have a really good look at the chassis....and go from there. The more I see of old traces of Bronze Green, the more I can't believe anybody would have painted over it all those years and owners ago. By the time I bought the Landy, she was bright yellow and white and looked like a boiled lolly. I repainted her Camino Gold. I'm not sure why, but I did.

At night now, I have dreams where the whole world is Bronze Green. I can't wait.....

[Johnno1969]

Whoops. Forgot the photos....

[Sideroad]

Whoops. Forgot the photos....
I have done similar, and it feels so free. I drive with out door tops, or a roof most of the time and taking off the doors, bonnet or rear tub is the next best thing to extra freedom. Re:no rear tub, scary going down a hill in the rain towards a pedestrian crossing with some ignorant fool just walking without looking. Not a lot of rear weight. Is was getting a gas tank fitted and converting to flat tray)

Love your seats. What are they from? They look too high in the back to be LR.

[Johnno1969]

Yep, sometimes I think it's a shame that we need panels at all. I'd love to see how coolly the engine would run on a long trip in summer with no guards on the vehicle....

Come to think of it, how much cooler would I be? That firewall gets a bit warm usually.

The seats are out of a Valiant. Probably a VH or VJ or something. 70's vintage anyway. I put them in the Landy back in 1991. They're comfy, but starting to show their age. I'm actually looking to change them, as one drawback of the Valiant seats is that they are BIG and they kind of fill up the front of the cabin. I am looking to replace them with some County or Defender seats: a better fit and, well, they're from Land Rovers. I am not doing a restoration, and I'd prefer seats with headrests - so I think something out of a later model Landy would be the go.

[wally]

Righto, it's all coming to pieces bit by bit. Took the old girl out for a little drive this morning, as pretty soon she'll be immobile. Actually, as each panel disappears, she's more fun to drive.....

Pulled off the bullbar on Saturday and the dumbirons are a pretty grim sight. Soon we'll have the rest of the body off, have a really good look at the chassis....and go from there. The more I see of old traces of Bronze Green, the more I can't believe anybody would have painted over it all those years and owners ago. By the time I bought the Landy, she was bright yellow and white and looked like a boiled lolly. I repainted her Camino Gold. I'm not sure why, but I did.

At night now, I have dreams where the whole world is Bronze Green. I can't wait.....

Yeah, trouble is...

The bits are finishing up as garden ornaments.

29757

[Johnno1969]

Yeah, trouble is...

The bits are finishing up as garden ornaments.

29757


Luckily I have a mate keeping an eye on it. If something like that happened, he'd surely let me know....

[Johnno1969]

Righto, bits keep coming off - and the more I remove the more I want to remove....

She's a little tatty, but basically sound.

The dumbirons need sorting, a few other bits of welding here and there, and the firewall/bulkhead is a bit of a mess, but I guess it'll scrub up alright.

Then it's just a quick matter of new brakes and lines, repaint the body and bung it on, overhaul the front axle and steering and so on and so forth until I think I'm finished. But they never are, are they?

One nice surprise has been to find that the bolts for the firewall to outrigger are not only easily-loosened, but that they are pretty easy to drive out of what's been their home for 45 years - and to thing that this vehicle used to spend a lot of time on the Cooloola coast.....

John

[Lostkiwi]

Hey John

Was just wondering how you are going with your rebuild?
It been awhile since we've seen a few pic,s?.........Please:D

So you must be getting close to finishing by now?.... It's almost Easter ;)



Neil

[Johnno1969]

Hey John

Was just wondering how you are going with your rebuild?
It been awhile since we've seen a few pic,s?.........Please:D

So you must be getting close to finishing by now?.... It's almost Easter ;)



Neil

Hey Neil,

Yeah, I've been slack. I will try to post some photos this weekend. We're down to just the chassis now. Next step is cleaning it up and repainting it. I organised for a mate to paint the bodywork, and have just heard that he's moving to Mt Isa on Tuesday, which sets things back a bit.

Of course I am also trying to find a bulkhead/firewall which is better than the one I have. It's repairable, but it would be pushing the relationship too far to ask the poor mate who fixed up my chassis to take on the job....

Easter?? Did I say that? I must have meant Christmas. It'll all be over by Christmas....

Cheers,

John

[digger]

Easter?? Did I say that? I must have meant Christmas. It'll all be over by Christmas....

Cheers,

John


which christmas :wasntme::angel:

[Johnno1969]

Righto then. In January, we got down to business: the rest of the bodywork and the bulkhead off (that bit was surprisingly easy....the big ol' bolts were pretty easy to get out). The it was out with the transmission and then the springs and axles.

34683

A mate did the dumb irons... a beautiful job.

34685

34684

34686



He's just finished replacing the crossmember beneath the bellhousing (I don't have pictures yet of the new one, but check out the condition of the one it replaced).

34687

The new one looks fantastic and is much stronger than before.

More to come in the next post.

John

[Johnno1969]

A bit of work on the rear outriggers too, and it has come up really well.

34688

I'm sourcing some new front springs, brake lines and countless bits and pieces...

Got hold of two doors, complete and in beautiful condition with virtually no rust in the frames or window channels. Amazing, really. Much the same went for a "new" radiator panel: much better than my original one, and not cut and modified and abused as mine had been over several engine and radiator changes.

34689

The chassis is ready now to be sandblasted and painted, and the bodywork is on the way (it's sitting in my front room and I am gradually getting it ready for painting).

That's basically it for the moment. I'm still looking for a new bulkhead, so if anybody knows of one out west in a paddock somewhere just let me know, eh?

Cheerio,

John

[Johnno1969]

which christmas :wasntme::angel:
Maybe I had better not get carried away with predictions....

[Tonestar]

Hey John, could you make the pic's a bit bigger please, love watching other people work and what they're working on.Thanks. :D

Tonestar.

[Johnno1969]

No worries! Sorry if they were small... I've just got into the habit of scrinching them down to e-mail them. I'll attach a few "repeats" here to fill a few gaps.

34766

34767



I cleaned up one of the doors today. It was amazing...it's over forty years old and, when dismantled, was pretty much free of rust. I've got the steel frames back to metal, put on a coat of rust converter (there was a bit of surface rust here and there) and they're ready for priming and painting.

One thing that's a bit of a pain in the proverbial: When I was getting back to working on it this morning, I discovered that some nasty types had been into my backyard last night and nicked a bag of tools which I was using for the job. It included some of my very favourite screwdrivers, which I'd had since I was sixteen. I don't think the police place much importance in the sentimental value of screwdrivers (though they were terribly good ones), but I told them anyway.

Took my ball pein hammer, too, the bastards.....

Can I say "bastards" on this forum?

John

P.S. Because they would have been.

[Johnno1969]

Hey John, could you make the pic's a bit bigger please, love watching other people work and what they're working on.Thanks. :D

Tonestar.


P.P.S. I just checked, and if you double-click on the original photos they open in another tab, nice and big and easy to see. Cheers and I hope that you enjoy 'em.

[Lostkiwi]

Looking good John

Still alot of hard work to go

Little Buggers taken your tools!! I can think of a number of things that one could do to them:twisted:
I'm so Glad we don't have that problem over here We still Leave the house unlocked, windows open, Keys left in the ignition.
Even the kids leave there Surf Boards down the beach for days on end!! Still there when they go back down

Hopefully it never changes here

But i do have to ask you one question...

How do you get away with storing you parts inside? [wish i could] but id never get away with it:(

I keep getting reminded about that "bloody landrover thingy" sitting under the close line [Spare Salisbury Diff one can never have enough spare parts]:angel:

Anyway keep building

[series2110]

I also have a series 2 - which i gave a chassis up rebuild too prior to Cooma in 2008. I repalced all the bits and pieces but put the old body panels back on. One day it will receive its deserved paint job.

Good to see another S2 heading back to the road.

Cheers Peter

[Johnno1969]

Looking good John

Still alot of hard work to go

Little Buggers taken your tools!! I can think of a number of things that one could do to them:twisted:
I'm so Glad we don't have that problem over here We still Leave the house unlocked, windows open, Keys left in the ignition.
Even the kids leave there Surf Boards down the beach for days on end!! Still there when they go back down

Hopefully it never changes here

But i do have to ask you one question...

How do you get away with storing you parts inside? [wish i could] but id never get away with it:(

I keep getting reminded about that "bloody landrover thingy" sitting under the close line [Spare Salisbury Diff one can never have enough spare parts]:angel:

Anyway keep building

Thanks Neil,

Yep, a long way to go still. But we'll get there. I actually got the coppers in over my stolen tools. I was a bit hesitant as I know they have a lot to do, but in the end I was glad I called them. They came around, dusted for prints and were really nice. But, really, the tools are gone for good. I was disappointed when they didn't show much interest in the Land Rover in the front room, as I am used to having things happen like being pulled over for a random breath test and having a friendly policeman say "A Series Two!!" and then talking about Landies to me for twenty minutes.

You're very lucky that you live in such a place. I am sure that you know the value of it, too. When I grow up, I want to finally throw down my swag and settle somewhere where, as I have often said, I don't have to lock anything (a few cattle dogs and a 303 might come in useful though...).

How do I get away with storing bits of Landy inside, you say? Well, it's called being a bachelor. If ever I do get hitched, I hope that the girl of my dreams would welcome seeing bits of aluminium and steel used as interior decoration. Or say things like "Darling, I think we need to get a Series I ragtop for Sundays" or "Your 110 looks lonely. Maybe we should get another one."

Come to think of it, by definition, I guess that would be only in dreams....

Possibly you could incorporate the Salisbury into the clothesline? I mean, that crownwheel and pinion would kick a Hills Hoist's arse.

Cheers,

John

[Johnno1969]

I also have a series 2 - which i gave a chassis up rebuild too prior to Cooma in 2008. I repalced all the bits and pieces but put the old body panels back on. One day it will receive its deserved paint job.

Good to see another S2 heading back to the road.

Cheers Peter


Thanks Peter,

Yep I am looking forward to driving her again. She's only been offroad since late last year, but it doesn't feel natural not having a land Rover to drive.

Any chance of seeing some pics of your S2?

Cheerio,

John

[Johnno1969]

I just thought I'd better make another post... the project is still inching forward when I find the time away from pesky things like work.

The chassis is now waiting for cleaning and painting. I have done some test patches: wire brushed a portion of the front crossmember, then hit it with Penetrol. I was really impressed with the finish. I experimented today with one of those cheap home-sandblasting kits. It certainly did remove some muck, but not as much as the wire brush had done. If you look at the photos, you can see clearly where the sandblasted bit (still holding a lot of old paint) meets the bit I hit with the wire brush and grinder.

I guess I have to decide just how over the top I want to go. I will get a quote on professional sandblasting in about a month (can't do anything more on the Landy until then) and take it from there....

I've also bought new front springs and cleaned up the rear ones. Both are being smothered in Lanox (I've followed the whole to-lubricate-or-not-to-lubricate-leaf-springs debate, and decided that I like the idea of lanox in between the packed leaves). I'll be really interested in how they feel when the vehicle finally hits the road again.

That's it for now.

John36695

36696

36697

[Lostkiwi]

Keep going....... almost there:p
Xmas is on it's way!:D

Na seriously it's good to see you are still going forward, Keep them pic's coming:cool:

[Johnno1969]

Cheers Neil,

Yeah, Christmas is just around the corner now....

Hopefully I will have some more dramatic pictures to post soon, once there's more measurable-looking progress to report. But for the meantime, to the casual observer, it's just some pieces of steel in a garage (the alloy bits, of course, are gracing my front room....). I have gradually transferred most of the vehicle back home from my mate's farm (just wasn't getting down there enough to do the work and felt bad about the chassis taking pride of place in their shed), so when I get back onto the job in late July things MIGHT move more quickly.....

John

[Johnno1969]

Righto. Here's the latest. I have changed my mind several times about how I was going to clean up the chassis: from wire brush to getting it sandblasted to home sandblasting (el-cheapo) kit. In the end, I have hit upon using paint stripper to loosen the muck (and various layers of killrust smothered on in previous incarnations of the vehicle) then using a wire brush wheel on the grinder, followed by the home sandblasting for all the poky places and a quick once-over. It has worked alright, the chassis is nice and clean now and bathed in Penetrol, ready for undercoating and painting.

Here are some pics.....


....or, rather, there would be some pics, but I never seem to have any luck getting them to upload into my posts. Bugger.

[RaggedJoe]

Interesting that you are using Lanox. I have huge respect for it in marine environments (outboard motors and the like) and have just used it on my SIII 109 springs. But I just jacked up the chassis until the wheel hung, sprayed it all over the springs (hand spray not aerosol) and it really seemed to soak in. Still doing the drive over bumps to help it work in, but so far seems better than other oil based products I have tried for same purpose.

Good luck with the rebuild, good to see it coming along. Might even do mine one day.....

[Johnno1969]

Yep, I am keen to see how the Lanox goes. It seems like pretty good stuff. All those sheep can't be wrong after all....

I'll try posting pics again very soon. The chassis is now painted (well, mostly anyway - I have to flip it over and do 'tother side.

Stay tuned...

John

[Johnno1969]

Right. I think I've managed to attach a few pics here....Well, one, anyway.
The chassis has cleaned up nicely. Slathered it in paint stripper, hit it with the wire brush/anglegrinder, then finished off with an el-cheapo home sandblasting kit. It came up pretty tidily.

I have kind of given up on removing the steering relay, though I would love to: it bugs me to have that one last frontier of nooks and crannies not stripped down and cleaned up properly (then again, a year ago I just set out to paint the car and it's all got a bit silly anyway).

Once the chassis was bare (by the way, I have only done the bottom surface and sides - the top's for when it gets flipped right-way-up at last), I hit it with Penetrol. I am really impressed with the stuff. Test patches I left months ago with no paint overcoated stayed clean, bright with no sign of oxidation (and they got wet too).

Then undercoat grey and satin black enamel topcoat. I've also done the bottom of the rails and crossmembers (and leading edges of crossmembers) with a chip-resistant coating as a last touch.

Most of the bodywork is back to metal now. Can't wait to actually start putting things back together.....

Cheers,

John

[wally]

Whose sandblasting kit are you calling 'el-cheapo'?

[Johnno1969]

But wait, there's more:

[Johnno1969]

Whose sandblasting kit are you calling 'el-cheapo'?

Well it was. I gave it to some bloke in the street when I was finished with it. Going to have a bit of a go at the bloke who lent it to me: usually his tools are better than that.

[Lostkiwi]

Thats come up good John:):BigThumb:


You'll be catching up to me soon:D

[Johnno1969]

Thanks, Neil. Yep, she's coming along. I have had almost no chance to do any work for months, but I am making ground. Catch up to yours?? I reckon I will have to resign, buy a lot of equipment and refuse to see family or friends for six months to give me a chance to do that!

I've found some beautiful "new" doors (in unbelievably good condition after nearly 50 years), the rest of the bodywork is tidying-up nicely and I am keeping an eye out for a tropical roof. I've also been making a few modifications to the Fairey overdrive (will eventually post some stuff on that when it's finished).

Speaking of Fairey overdrives, I am also doing a bit of research on acoustic insulation.....

John

[Sideroad]

Looking great. Do you have any pics of your modified overdrive sump yet? Are you considering keeping your body panels in bright ally or are you repainting them?
Looking forward to more pics.

[Johnno1969]

Looking great. Do you have any pics of your modified overdrive sump yet? Are you considering keeping your body panels in bright ally or are you repainting them?
Looking forward to more pics.


Thanks. I am planning to do a thread on the overdrive modification once I start rebuilding it. Meantime, I will dig up a pic or two and send it to you. I'll be painting the old girl Deep Bronze Green. Can't wait. She's going to look lovely.

Cheers,

John

[Johnno1969]

G'day all,

A big weekend last week. Actually, a bug Sunday...

Pics should be attached.

John

file:///C:/Users/Johnno/Desktop/Laptop%20and%20Beyond/Landy/Landy%20Refit%20Photos/E-mail%20Size/Axles%20Back%20on%20Chassis,%20Nov%202011.jpgfile:///C:/Users/Johnno/Desktop/Laptop%20and%20Beyond/Landy/Landy%20Refit%20Photos/E-mail%20Size/Axles%20Back%20on%20Chassis%202,%20Nov%202011.jpg

[Lostkiwi]

You have been busy!!
Looking good:)

It's a nice feeling when it starts to come back together................................Xmas is almost here;)

[Johnno1969]

You have been busy!!
Looking good:)

It's a nice feeling when it starts to come back together................................Xmas is almost here;)

Er, yes..... I think I meant next Christmas....

[wally]

What's taking you so long?

[Lostkiwi]

What's taking you so long?

You cant rush "Perfection":D

[Johnno1969]

You cant rush "Perfection":D

Thanks Neil. Some people are just impatient and like to rush a bloke.

You'd think I'd left half my car lying around on their farm and all over the place in their shed for the last year or something.........

[wally]

So...... Has anything else happened?

[Johnno1969]

So...... Has anything else happened?

Um, not much. Still looking for the perfect firewall....

[korg20000bc]

Um, not much. Still looking for the perfect firewall....

Mate, are you out of luck...

[wally]

Anything else to report?

[Lostkiwi]

Yes it has been awhile............... Must be time for some updated pic's John

[Johnno1969]

Yeah, you're right Neil. I will get some pics posted shortly. I have recently been overhauling the front axle (one of those "Well I'm here so I may as well do this as well" jobs...). Next thing will be to run new brake lines through the vehicle, drop the engine and transmission back into it, then concentrate more on finishing and painting the bodywork (remembering that all I ever set out to do was to repaint the thing). Still working out what to do with ther firewall.

There's never enough time. I might retire so that I can fully concentrate on the Landy. I'd love to work on it seven days a week if I could....

John

[Johnno1969]

Progress!! Been stripping the front axle. I've been reading a little of what fixes people have tried for rusted or pitted swivel balls. In the end, I opted for JB Weld in the ruts and divots, cleaned it up with a very light sanding and will see how it all goes.

This weekend's excitement has been the respraying of the engine in Duck Egg Blue, preparatory to dropping the engine and transmission back in. Beautiful!

Cheers,

John

[Lostkiwi]

Thats an interesting fix on the the swivel balls. I'll be keen to see how they go.
Even though one of the wrecks i have had two almost new one's on it.. ........but they won't last for ever!!

[Johnno1969]

I've had a very good weekend. Today, with lots of help from a mate who'll remain nameless (but always pops up on this forum whingeing about me leaving my Landy in pieces all over his farm....) - we got the engine and transmission back where they belong, nestled snugly into the chassis.

It wasn't that straightforward, as very early in the piece we had to face the fact that the mechanicals and the chassis were 40km apart. This we rectified by taking the mountain to Mohammed:

By the way, I am going to try to post pics through this narrative, but never have much luck with posting photos here....

First, we loaded up the chassis.....

....then we took it for a drive to see the mechanical bits, and got the two together through judicious use of tractor, various chains, the loading ramp and a bit of breath-holding (and we didn't end up all tumbling down into the creek)....

[Johnno1969]

Bloody hell. I managed to post it before I was finished writing. Stupid attachments. Hang on a sec....

[Johnno1969]

Righto, back to the story:

As I said, we managed to wed engine/transmission to chassis. Then we got on the road to take the whole lot home...

Possibly the fastest the vehicle has gone backwards ever. Or forwards.

The neighbours greeted the new Duck-egg Blue wonder with amazement, and then the whole lot went back into the shed.

Now - I still need a good firewall!!!!!!! Can't do much more until I find one.....

Cheers,

John

[Johnno1969]

See how pretty it is?

[Lostkiwi]

Looking Good:thumbsup:

[wally]

Righto, back to the story:

As I said, we managed to wed engine/transmission to chassis. Then we got on the road to take the whole lot home...

Possibly the fastest the vehicle has gone backwards ever. Or forwards.

The neighbours greeted the new Duck-egg Blue wonder with amazement, and then the whole lot went back into the shed.

Now - I still need a good firewall!!!!!!! Can't do much more until I find one.....

Cheers,

John

I'm very concerned about the bloke on the ground behind the trailer. Did you back over him?

[Johnno1969]

Nah, he was right. He just lay there whingeing.

[wally]

Nah, he was right. He just lay there whingeing.

I heard that he spent all day in the heat and with a slight hangover, using his own 130 and trailer (and tractor) to get this job done for his mate and didn't whinge once. Of course that could just be rumour.

[Johnno1969]

Yeah. Gotta be careful with those rumours....

[Johnno1969]

I sat yesterday morning and stared hard at two different firewalls in my carport. The vehicle's original, and another, in much better condition, from a Series II, which I picked up some time back. Which to use...? The first is decidedly shabby....the new (older) one is much tidier, but damaged - bowed along the top length, as it a heavy impact has brought the ends closer and bent the line along which the base of the windscreen should lie.

I had a look, got a scissor jack, had a fiddle with it and worked out that I can straighten the second firewall alright. So I started stripping-off paint. Today, as I continued, the heavens opened and wind lashed rain into the carport - which would happen, wouldn't it, given that I had just exposed lots of nice clean steel to open air for the first time in fifty years. I did what I could, rigged up some tarps hanging here and there, threw some Penetrol onto the areas I'd been working on and retreated inside.

[Johnno1969]

Here are some pics. The "new" grey firewall is definitely much better.....

As this rebuild builds steam (Steam? Now there's an idea...) I will hopefully be able to start posting stuff more interesting than the odd picture of a chassis in varying states of repainting. Hang in there with me... it's only been 18 months.....

[Johnno1969]

Old firewall in the background. Will be useful for donor bits...

[Johnno1969]

Got the paint off just in time for the rain.

[Johnno1969]

Yep, it p*ssed down like a cow on a flat rock all last night and half of today. Wind blew all night, blew down my bloody back fence, blew trees over, blew rain all through the carport, frightened the neighbours' dog, half of SE Queensland flooded...... and it all happened because I stripped the paint off my bleeding firewall yeaterday. It's now got a fine coat of surface rust. Marvellous.

I blame myself, really. Had to happen after my posts on the "god" thread....

[wally]

Oh, so it's your bloody fault. You're responsible for making a mess of my little farm.

[Johnno1969]

Yeah. Sorry about trashing the farm. At least you've got less stuff to take care of now.

[wally]

It's a relief really. I thought god was cross at me for something.

[Johnno1969]

It's a relief really. I thought god was cross at me for something.

You should be able to get insurance for an Act of John.

[Johnno1969]

Anyway.....

The new firewall is coming along a treat. This is the most exciting bit so far: Once it's installed, I can start building up all the things that rather need a firewall in the car - like pedals, breaks, steering, electrics....

Here's a pic. It's remarkably good for fifty years old. A few holes here and there, but nothing that a bit of welding and bogging can't sort out. Check out the pillars! Sound as a pound.

[Johnno1969]

Here's another piccie.

[wally]

Geez. Either you have all those Land Rover parts inside your house or you have a really nice shed.

[Johnno1969]

Bronze Green!

At last. I thought I'd never open the tin. Still a million things to do to finish the vehicle, but today was a boost: put the first coat of Deep Bronze Green on the seat base and transmission tunnel, in between bouts of cutting, welding and grinding on the firewall.

John

[Johnno1969]

Firewall's done (mostly). I promise that this thread will get more interesting in the months (years?) ahead when all this refuse starts to reassemble itself into a Land Rover. In the meantime, for your viewing pleasure, I attach the following photograph...

John

[Johnno1969]

Firewall's done (mostly). I promise that this thread will get more interesting in the months (years?) ahead when all this refuse starts to reassemble itself into a Land Rover. In the meantime, for your viewing pleasure, I attach the following photograph...

John

P.S. Actually, I can't. Still have trouble attaching pictures......

[Johnno1969]

.....and I somehow posted that message twice.

Still can't attach piccies anyway.

[Johnno1969]

Ha! I did it!

I think.

[dullbird]

looks good Johnno ours is sat on the garage floor all welded and rust converted adn waiting for some paint...unfortunately I just never seem to have spare cash to go buy the paint

[Johnno1969]

Thanks. Yeah, paint is not cheap... What have you used for rust treatment? Mine's had Penetrol sprayed all through it, to every place I can reach, before painting (but I still wonder if I shouldn't have another go)

[Lostkiwi]

Looking good:thumbsup:



https://www.aulro.com/afvb/ (http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachments/series-2-2a/46671d1336470861-time-re-fit-firewall-after-painting-may-2012.jpg)

[Johnno1969]

Looking good:thumbsup:



http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachments/series-2-2a/46671d1336470861t-time-re-fit-firewall-after-painting-may-2012.jpg (http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachments/series-2-2a/46671d1336470861-time-re-fit-firewall-after-painting-may-2012.jpg)

Thanks Neil! We're getting there. How's your old girl going?

[Lostkiwi]

Thanks Neil! We're getting there. How's your old girl going?

My old girl is good ...so is the the Landrover!:D
It's been on the road now for 6 months and i have done almost
2000miles:eek: Which for over here is a fare amount

But today the 186 started to puffing a bit of smoke Not to sure whats wrong yet but will try and investigate tomorrow

[wally]

Ha! I did it!

I think.


Yeah not bad, but is that a run I can see in the paintwork on the front passenger side? No big deal I know. You'll just sand that part back and respray it.

[Johnno1969]

Things are moving again. I'm back from a jaunt overseas, and it's time to get back to the Landy. Latest thing: cleaning up and painting all sorts of bits and pieces. Here they are undercoated.

Today I topcoated with black. No pics of that, but it does mean that I am very close to putting in the firewall. From there I expect that it will take only a few minutes to finish the rest of the vehicle.....

[Johnno1969]

A little more progress this weekend. Thought I'd post a photo or two. The rubber boot on the bellhousing for the clutch release rod was about thirty-five years past its use-by date. I haven't been able to get another (though I am sure somebody has new ones) so I made a tidy little boot. It should hopefully keep a lot of rubbish away from the clutch mechanism. I also made up a bracket for the second long range tank (had one for years on the passenger side - adding one on the driver's side too). The photo is carefully angled to avoid showing my crappy welds.

A bit of luck as well. I bought a second long-range tank ages ago and was going to use it and the "original" (which has been patched up a bit over the years). Then I found another at a mate's place yesterday: much better than the patched one....and it's aluminium as well. I'd prefer a more original looking tank....but, hell, it's aluminium.....


Cheers,

John

[wally]

Things are moving again. I'm back from a jaunt overseas, and it's time to get back to the Landy. Latest thing: cleaning up and painting all sorts of bits and pieces. Here they are undercoated.

Today I topcoated with black. No pics of that, but it does mean that I am very close to putting in the firewall. From there I expect that it will take only a few minutes to finish the rest of the vehicle.....

Putting in the firewall, eh? Sounds like a two man job. You should ask someone to give you a hand.

[Johnno1969]

A really big day today. Not the hardest work, but big progress. I'd been meaning to clean out the inside of the chassis for a while; finally picked up a drain-cleaning attachment for the high pressure sprayer today. It was brilliant. It worked its way through each chassis rail brilliantly. Lots of detergent (there was a lot of oily dirt in there), a lot of hot water and then a lot of rubbish came out....dirt, leaves, sticks - and an amazing amount of grass out of the left hand rail. I will give it a number of weeks to dry out, then smother everything inside with Penetrol.

Then as I had a mate on hand it seemed a good time to put the firewall into place. It looks pretty good. there's one bit in the left footwell which I wish was a bit tidier, but it was some old work from a previous owner and I didn't really want to rip it out and start anew...as is, the rough panel work will be well-covered by the time I'm finished with it.

The Bronze Green is going to look good like only Bronze Green can.

I will post a few pics here now of today's activities. Also, I'll add some from yesterday evening when I started putting the underfloor lining on the seat base and transmission tunnel. It's not the actual soundproofing - that comes later - but I am lining the panels to deaden them.

Have a look at the nifty heat insulation on the firewall. A few tweaks needed to accommodate all the bits and pieces in the engine bay, But I'll get there....

John

[Johnno1969]

More of those photos....

[Johnno1969]

Just going through the photos. Nice to compare that lovely Bronze Green bulkhead with what it looked like a while ago....

[wally]

Who's your mate? Looks like he could do with a good feed.

[Johnno1969]

He's some skinny little farmer from down the road. Usually if he turns up I give him a chocolate biscuit or something to keep him going.

[Johnno1969]

Here's some more progress. I did a few checks today for a dry run on fitting the seat base, fuel tanks, floor and transmission tunnel. All seems to be coming along well. The aftermarket fuel tank sits a little further outboard than one normally would, but I have to place it that way to clear the head of the spring shackle bolt. It's going to be tight, but should be alright.

The lining for the floor panels seems to work very well and makes them nice and snug without making them hard to fit. Once all was in place, I was able to peer into and around the mechanicals and the panels to start working out exactly how the soundproofing will sit. It sure beats trying to do all this upside down with the vehicle already assembled.

Lots of nice new stainless steel bolts are going to be tacking the whole thing together.

It's been a good weekend.....

[Johnno1969]

Two more pics. Doing this stuff is a welcome change from road muck, wire-brushing, sanding, grinding, welding.

I wish I could work on this every day of the week...

[Johnno1969]

The aftermarket fuel tank sits a little further outboard than one normally would, but I have to place it that way to clear the head of the spring shackle bolt.

I meant "spring hanger", but I guess you knew that...

[Johnno1969]

Well, not as productive as last weekend - but I did start fitting the soundproofing to the seat base. Some time back, I bought some fancy stuff from a mob in Sydney: cost me about $170 for a piece roughly four and a half feet by three. I know it's a fair bit, but as this rebuild seems to be taking forever these costs seem to be absorbed into the household budget (actually, now I think about it, the Landy is the only thing I spend money on). Anyway...moving right along..... I thought I'd try this stuff as I have gone through any number of cheap alternatives, sheets of lead, you-name-it in the quest for a quiet(er) IIA (with overdrive). I am using this stuff to line the firewall directly behind the engine (for the the rest of the engine bay I'm using a combination sandwich of cheaper materials), the transmission tunnel and seat base. I even have a bit left over now and I will see what I feel like doing when the floor goes in.

The outside is a tough aluminum....actually, er, let's let the manufacturers do this bit. I will cut and paste a bit from their product information:

Facing – Tough aluminium polymer film, oil and water resistant. Rated 4Zero to AS1530.3
Front – Acoustic absorption foam (typically 25mm open cell foam, hydrolysis resistant combustion modified).
Barrier layer – 8 kg/m2 loaded polymer barrier, high performance even at low frequencies.
Back – Foam decoupler (typically 6mm open cell foam, hydrolysis resistant, combustion modified)

I couldn't have said it better myself. Anyway, I will use this stuff for starters and combined with the panel lining I am hopeful about the eventual results. I also have a few more bits and pieces up my sleeve to augment the material if I need to. The way I look at it, I am happy to throw the kitchen sink at this part of the job (oh, though not to break the bank and get one of those floor liners from Britain.... I think I will wait and see before going that far).

When the Landy's running again, she will also have a modified Fairey with four times the normal oil capacity and cooling fins and all new bearings and bushes and seals.

Surely, surely that will make things a bit quieter??

Righto, here are some photos. You can see the layers in the soundproofing quite clearly.

Cheers,

John

[wally]

So what did you do on the weekend? Nothing eh?

[Johnno1969]

Nah, I was at work getting in a few extra hours before we all get Campbelled.

[Johnno1969]

Stripping paint off the inside of the tub today. The thing I keep noticing is how good and tough the original paint was. Been the same on every panel: the later resprays disappear and leave the original Bronze Green. Why on earth did anybody ever paint over it in the first place?

Check out the photo: after having a go at the surface with a very kali paint stripper, followed by a wire brush on a grinder.... everything else disappears and then there's the Bronze Green underneath, almost unmarked.

Oh, and one last thing. A curse forever upon the house of the man who ever painted this vehicle bright yellow.

John

[Johnno1969]

Here's the tub. Stripped back. Mostly.

I've decided that the tub is kind of the bit upon which a lot of other progress hinges. Got to get it painted and ready before another wet season hits my carport.

[wally]

Here's the tub. Stripped back. Mostly.

I've decided that the tub is kind of the bit upon which a lot of other progress hinges. Got to get it painted and ready before another wet season hits my carport.

Then do it in the lounge.

[Johnno1969]

Yeah. Good point. There's a bit of room there.

[debruiser]

I can't believe your allowed to keep LR parts in the house! I'm not even allowed in the house most of the time!

Looks like a mighty good job! I should post some pics of my machine.... get some feedback on things and share my story....

[Johnno1969]

I can't believe your allowed to keep LR parts in the house! I'm not even allowed in the house most of the time!

Looks like a mighty good job! I should post some pics of my machine.... get some feedback on things and share my story....

Well, the Landy and I have had a bit of an arrangement the last few years since she moved inside. For a long time, I was a cars-outside sort of bloke, then slowly and bit by bit the Land Rover started coming inside more. Initially, she had just the front room. Then after a while, the firewall started sleeping at the end of my bed. I know I should have just chased it outside, but it was winter and pretty cold outside. So I gave a little more ground. Weak, I know...

Then before I knew it, the seat base had taken up residence in the lounge. Mostly it just sits in the corner and doesn't make a mess or anything (that is, unless the transmission tunnel wants to be in the lounge and then the seat base sleeps in the office).

As there aren't too many other humans around these parts very often, this sort of domestic arrangement seems to work out pretty well with the Land Rover and me. We both need our space and we manage to work around each other and get along alright. But I have told it that most of it will have to start sleeping outside during summer.

[Aussiebean]

I still don't see anything wrong with having the Land rover in the house, I just no longer take the hearing protection off when I walk in from the Shed!!
51417
51418

[Johnno1969]

Still going hard at the tub today. Can't wait until it's painted....

[Johnno1969]

Righto - the tub is etch-primed. This is not much of an achievement in the great schemes of the world, but it has certainly got my tail up. There's nothing like whacking some colour onto panels after all that time cleaning and de-gunking.

It will be a few weeks until I get time to put some more coats on, do a bit more surface preparation, undercoat and topcoat... but we're getting there.

John

[Johnno1969]

A wee bit of progress. First time I've got near the Landy for weeks (to work on it, that is. I am surrounded by Land Rover in almost every room of the house now....).

I've put a coat of Bronze Green on the tub. It still needs a bit of work, but it's getting closer to the point where it can go onto the vehicle. Trouble with having it all shiny now is that it reflects all over the place and I can see every imperfection. Still, perfection was never my aim. Just a tidy Landy.

That's it for now.

John

[bell1975]

That's looking mighty fine John. It's quite a milestone you've achieved in getting some colour on. I'm keen to ride over one of these weekends and assist in some small way...and be inspired to buy my own restoration project one day.

Actually, come to think of it, I spotted an old Rural Fire Service FC on my way into Kingaroy last week...but I'm guessing these are best left for the real enthusiasts! I'll see if it's still there tomorrow and put up a new post.

catch up with you this week.

Nigel

[Johnno1969]

Hey Nigel,

Absolutely, mate. Pop in any time and have a look. The billy's always on.

John

[Johnno1969]

p.S. I reckon there would be some people on this forum who'd give their eye teeth for a rural fire service forward control....

[Johnno1969]

Not much progress for quite a while now, but today I had a bit of a fiddle with the insulation in the engine bay. I made up some nice sandwiches of insulation from a few different materials a while ago and it's time to start adjusting it here and there to accommodate the throttle assembly, wiring, clutch slave cylinder etc etc etc.

I'm going to be very interested to see how this all works when the vehicle is up and running. I wonder how cool and comfortable my toes will actually be. All this tinfoil makes it look like a Soviet spacecraft...

[Johnno1969]

A little bit more progress today. Kitted the clutch slave cylinder and installed it, then then installed the clutch pedal. I've just started fiddling with the wiring, which feels like I am actually making steps towards having a motor car, as opposed to various bits of metal bearing some associations with each other.

Looking at the pic of the clutch pedal with all that nice paintwork and clean metal is a good feeling, remembering what it was like when I started it. I might put in a "before" photo to contrast with today's. I cleaned up the starter motor last weekend, so may as well stick in a photo of that too. The other photo is of my wiring (that's pretty much all there is for the engine bay and instruments) on top of my workshop vehicle - or "Toyota Corolla", as I believe some people call these machines.

The wiring is all home-made, done when I was a student several lives ago. As I am not doing a proper restoration, I am going to keep my current wiring as it has always worked fine. It's pretty funny looking at it: talk about "minimalist". I remember sitting in 1991 with wiring diagrams from Valiants (which I knew a bit about), Holdens (the Landy had a 173 in it back in those days) and Land Rovers (because it was one) and rolls of wire and making it up as I went along.

More tomorrow, I hope.

Cheers,

John

[Johnno1969]

Busy day. Started re-wiring the old girl: cleaning up the loom, checking all the wires, replacing any that were old and manky or had wear marks.... also got rid of a lot of unnecessary connectors. Re-routed a bit of it and worked out how to change the setup to accommodate all the new engine bay insulation. Time consuming stuff, and these two photos are all I have to show for the day.

[Johnno1969]

More wiring. Got most of the loom in, with a lot of wires replaced. It is starting to come together, but still a long way to go....

Got the clutch all hooked up after I took these photos as well.

When I was placing the you-beaut grommet into the chassis rail to take the wiring for the rear lights, I reflected on how nice it is to tidy-up things like this. No dodgy wads of silicone, electrical tape, you-name-it this time....

[Johnno1969]

Started on the brakes today.... have fitted the cylinders and shoes on the front. When I took off the rear drums I found I still hadn't removed the old brakes and cleaned up the backing plate. That's the trouble with taking so long on this job - I keep forgetting what I have and haven't done. Anyway, here's a pic of my grungy old rear brakes, some of the new stuff I'm installing and some of the front left once it was fitted with the new shoes, springs and wheel cylinder.

John

[Johnno1969]

Another pic. Rear left brake, Sunday afternoon. Quite a difference from the photo in the previous post (taken on Saturday).

Getting there.....

[Johnno1969]

No piccies today. Oh, actually, now I think of it I do have some piccies. I'll post them in a minute.

Removed the ball-joints from the drag link, steering arm and track rod. There's a lot to be said for soaking 48 year old parts in diesel for a year and a half first: they came apart beautifully. A bit of a pain in the arse to discover that the ball-joints I'd received in my order of steering parts are the wrong type - they're for a Series III and there is no way I could safely put them into Series IIA steering rods. So, I have to wait for replacements. Good thing I am not running to a set schedule here.....

The pics are of one of the original ball-joints and the incorrect replacement.

I also cut and bent the new brake lines. Good fun.

Cheers,

John

[wally]

They look alright. You're being fussy.


No piccies today. Oh, actually, now I think of it I do have some piccies. I'll post them in a minute.

Removed the ball-joints from the drag link, steering arm and track rod. There's a lot to be said for soaking 48 year old parts in diesel for a year and a half first: they came apart beautifully. A bit of a pain in the **** to discover that the ball-joints I'd received in my order of steering parts are the wrong type - they're for a Series III and there is no way I could safely put them into Series IIA steering rods. So, I have to wait for replacements. Good thing I am not running to a set schedule here.....

The pics are of one of the original ball-joints and the incorrect replacement.

I also cut and bent the new brake lines. Good fun.

Cheers,

John

[Johnno1969]

After yet another month-plus hiatus, I got back to work this weekend. I didn't do much, but I put flanges on all my new brake lines, so it is a small step in the right direction. All being well, I should install them next weekend.

Who knows...? If I am feeling reckless I may even attempt to bleed the brakes....

Cheers,

John

[wally]

After yet another month-plus hiatus, I got back to work this weekend. I didn't do much, but I put flanges on all my new brake lines, so it is a small step in the right direction. All being well, I should install them next weekend.

Who knows...? If I am feeling reckless I may even attempt to bleed the brakes....

Cheers,

John

Oh yeah. What did you do the rest of the weekend....sit around in the aircon watching YouTube videos?

[Johnno1969]

I also had a swim and played Marco Polo.

[Johnno1969]

A good weekend. Got most of the brakelines in (not all...discovered that my new master cylinder has different threads to the old one... so have to get the right tube nits now and re-do the flanges on the lines to and from the cylinder).

I still haven't installed all the various clips and clamps to hold the brakelines steady; will get to that soon. They are copper-lined with what appears to be a galvanised finish (got 'em from REPCO).

I am finished with the rear tub. It will never be even close to perfect, but then again it probably never was. I am happy enough to have it the way it looks now. When I started taking off the masking, it was so old (everything on this project gets delayed) that it was pretty dry and powdery, and the galv capping underneath will need another cleanup.

Oh, and I also painted the instrument panel. It spent some time in the kitchen sink this morning, then headed outside for painting...

Cheers,

John

[Johnno1969]

More photos.

[Landy Smurf]

I like that tub

[Ozdunc]

Hi John, Tub looks great - what colour is the paint and where did you get it? And how did you paint it?

Cheers
Duncan

[Johnno1969]

Hi John, Tub looks great - what colour is the paint and where did you get it? And how did you paint it?

Cheers
Duncan



Hey Duncan,

It's the original Deep Bronze Green BS-381C-224 which the Landy would have had in 1965. When I bought it from the local paint supplier, when they found the listing it was not specified in their books as a Land Rover colour per se (they had it as "British Standard Bronze Green")but it is the Land Rover colour.

It's automotive enamel; once the surface has been cleaned back to metal and etch-primed, I coat it with enamel undercoat and then the topcoats. I am no painter, so I am probably making plenty of mistakes. So far, though, I am pretty happy with the results.

Cheers,

John

[Johnno1969]

There's been a bit more progress over the last two days. I nearly finished with the main instrument panel yesterday (hopefully tomorrow I'll install it) and today I put in new bump-stop rubbers, one rear left brakeline bracket (will have to make the other), got the engine and transmission sitting neatly on their mounts, put in the rear propshaft (it now sports a gaiter over the sliding joint) and.....drum roll.....put the rear tub back on.

It's only held by some locating bolts for now - I'll do the rest tomorrow (I think) - but this is a huge boost. It is actually starting to look like a Land Rover.


Pics are attached.

Cheers,

John

P.S. Doesn't that photo from the front show all those dings in the seat bulkhead to full advantage? I have left dents and dings mostly in place for two reasons: 1.) They are part of the Landy's story and 2.) I am a crap panelbeater.

[Lostkiwi]

Starting to look really good John..It might be ready for this Xmas??:)

[Johnno1969]

Starting to look really good John..It might be ready for this Xmas??:)

Hey Neil,

Hehehe. Yeah, how many Christmases is it now? Hell's bells, this is taking ages. I have been really excited by progress lately, but just this evening I was counting weekends on my fingers and thumbs and worked out it'll be another three at least before I get near working on the Landy again.

I'll get there......

Cheers,

John

[Johnno1969]

Assembled the overdrive in its modified housing this weekend. I managed to source all the bearings and seals from here and there and gave it a bit of a spruce-up.

I'll post a thread one day when I have it running to follow the progress, or otherwise, of the mods.

Meantime, here are some photos. Note state-of-the-art facilities utilising digital photography and laptop computers to rebuild a vehicle bristling with the latest in 1940s technology......

John

[Johnno1969]

A few more piccies.....

[wally]

Nice bench.

[bell1975]

There's been a bit more progress over the last two days....It is actually starting to look like a Land Rover.

That BS-381C-224 really looks great in the light and out of the shed John.

And what a shock to see that it can MOVE! I was starting to think the tyres might have bonded to the concrete slab somehow there! :p

[Johnno1969]

That BS-381C-224 really looks great in the light and out of the shed John.

And what a shock to see that it can MOVE! I was starting to think the tyres might have bonded to the concrete slab somehow there! :p

Yes, I get quite excited when it rolls twenty feet across the back yard. It feels like quite an expedition. Sometimes I pack sandwiches.

[Johnno1969]

Installed both fuel tanks this weekend, the lift pump and some of the new fuel lines. It doesn't sound like much progress, but like a lot of things it took longer than the it might have. The two tanks are new to the vehicle, so of course the mounting holes were different etc etc etc. The aftermarket tank which I have put on the left, though the same in overall dimension as a factory item, has a few differences which meant that it took a little fiddling to get it mounted correctly and not rubbing against any bodywork or, more importantly, the head of the spring hanger bolt. I have also bushed the mounts at each end of each tank with rubber strips.

The fuel tanks are 16 gallons each.

Oh, and I also painted the engine fan, pulley and a few other bits and pieces.

No photos for now, sorry.

Cheers,

John

[bell1975]

If this rain keeps up you might need those fuel tanks for some buoyancy to float to work on Monday John.

[Johnno1969]

If this rain keeps up you might need those fuel tanks for some buoyancy to float to work on Monday John.

Yes, we needed a shower today, didn't we? At least it keeps the drought index down.....

[marting]

Hi
Where did you get the tanks from? I am looking for some for mine at the moment.
Cheers, Martin
(You probably don't remember but I met you and Wally at the Shell at Nudgee last year. We were in the TDi)

[Johnno1969]

G'day!

Yeah, I certainly do remember you. We were ogling your nice 110 sitting there at the fuel bowsers.

I picked up one of the tanks from another member of this forum a few years ago, and the other from a local fellow who has lots of Landy bits lying around.

Though the long range tanks are not particularly common, they are not particularly hard to find, either.

Now, how's that nice 110 going?

John

[marting]

Hi John

Thanks I will start looking around for some.

The 110 is going well thanks, getting it ready for a trip to the desert later in the year.

I have also got a start on the 2A. Nothing much to show at the moment, but I have made a start and I have a plan in my head of how to go about it. I have been following your thread with great interest.

Cheers, Martin

[Johnno1969]

Hey Martin,

It's certainly worth some experimentation. The engine has always run well, has heaps of compression and usually doesn't spit out oil - but it does do so on higher-speed runs (and by that I mean around 75-80km/h with overdrive engaged).

Thanks for your interest in my re-fit thread. I had a chuckle yesterday when I went back and read the first post in it, in which I waffled on about doing some work on the Landy "this year"... in 2010.

If ever you want to have a yarn about your vehicle, just give me a shout.

Cheers,

John

[Johnno1969]

Hey Martin,

It's certainly worth some experimentation. The engine has always run well, has heaps of compression and usually doesn't spit out oil - but it does do so on higher-speed runs (and by that I mean around 75-80km/h with overdrive engaged).



Whoops. Got myself confused there. That first bit related to the thread I posted about the filler tube with the breather-cap.

Not going mad..... just a little tired and confused....

John

[Johnno1969]

One of the best bits about this project is that I have discovered rubber grommets.

Getting the instrument panel in is a lot of fun.....

[Johnno1969]

Righto.... I have grown tired over the years of a scrambled mass of wires behind the instrument panel, so I am working on making it all nice and tidy. The final layout of wiring and how it's gathered may be a bit different from this photo, but you get the general idea. As none of the wiring is original, and I'm not doing a restoration, I am pretty much free to arrange it however it works out best. There is still the auxiliary stuff (a few electric fans, lights etc etc) to be sorted out, as well as the wiring to the second fuel gauge and lighting to all instruments.

The other shots show the cabin area as it is now, with the two 16 gallon tanks fitted. Once the overdrive and the fuel lines are fitted (and the old exhaust put in place temporarily) I can look at fitting the seat base and seats.

Cheers,

John

[Ozdunc]

I could only wish the wiring behind my dash were as neat as that!

Very nice.:)

[debruiser]

I could only wish the wiring behind my dash were as neat as that!

Very nice.:)

SAME! behind my dash looks like a rats nest... :(

[Johnno1969]

Today I stripped the old paint off the radiator panel, then hit it with a coat of Penetrol. I am not going to miss holding the grinder for ages and ages using the wire wheel; it's effective, but a bit of a pain.

Tomorrow should be spent on fuel lines (still not finished) and, if it's dry, putting in the injector pump and injectors and painting the radiator panel.

[Johnno1969]

Forgot the photos!

[Johnno1969]

Here's the clutch sleeve from the Fairey overdrive. If you squint, you can see a bit of wear on it. It's had about a year's use. I am smothering it in high quality grease before installing the overdrive... which was today's job but it didn't quite get done. It is reluctant to slot home, so I am going to have another go at it another day.

In the backkground of this photo is the undercoated radiator panel. It looks very nice in focus as well...

John

[wally]

Hey Martin,

It's certainly worth some experimentation. The engine has always run well, has heaps of compression and usually doesn't spit out oil - but it does do so on higher-speed runs (and by that I mean around 75-80km/h with overdrive engaged).

Thanks for your interest in my re-fit thread. I had a chuckle yesterday when I went back and read the first post in it, in which I waffled on about doing some work on the Landy "this year"... in 2010.

If ever you want to have a yarn about your vehicle, just give me a shout.

Cheers,

John

You told me it would be a few weeks.

[Johnno1969]

Weeks schmeeks.

[garrywlh]

G'day John,

Really enjoying this thread. I'm hoping to get to work on a 2a very soon. You mention a drain cleaner attachment for high pressure water. Where did you get that?

Also, wondering if you are still happy with the lanox treatment on the leaf springs.

I have to say your bit about sharing the house with multiple LR components gave me a much needed laugh.

Thanks and keep up the great work. Very inspirational.

Garry

[Johnno1969]

G'day John,

Really enjoying this thread. I'm hoping to get to work on a 2a very soon. You mention a drain cleaner attachment for high pressure water. Where did you get that?

Also, wondering if you are still happy with the lanox treatment on the leaf springs.

I have to say your bit about sharing the house with multiple LR components gave me a much needed laugh.

Thanks and keep up the great work. Very inspirational.

Garry

Hey Garry,

Thanks for the encouragement, mate. I must confess that to me this thread sometimes seems a bit dull compared to all the exciting goings-on elsewhere on AULRO.... I seldom seem to make much progress. Nevertheless, I will finish this project and things will get more interesting as the vehicle really starts to take shape. I have been quietly squirrelling-away all sorts pf bits and pieces for the final assembly and am looking forward to working them into the vehicle while trying to keep the original feel (oh, except for the industrial deafness... happy to lose that bit...).

I just picked up the drain cleaner attachment from the local hardware shop and attached it to my K'archer sprayer. Dead easy and about $60, from memory.

I guess I won't know how the Lanox on the springs will stand up until I have had it back on the road for a while - probably around the time of King William's Golden Jubilee. I am very interested myself to see how this goes (the Lanox, that is, not the jubilee - though I am sure it'll be a terrific celebration and wish them well). I have seen so many contrasting opinions on lubrication vs non-lubrication of leaf springs, and thought I might try the Lanox idea. Stay tuned...

I still seem to have an enormous amount of Land Rover inside. It pretty-much has an entire room to itself and the transmission tunnel is now serving as a hat stand in the lounge.

Cheers,

John

[Johnno1969]

Beautiful, isn't it??

[Johnno1969]

Here's the three-way valve for transferring between the fuel tanks with its nice new fuel lines.

Fuel filter mount and master cylinder reservoir all cleaned up....

[Johnno1969]

Here's something a little bit different. It's a photo which a mate just sent me: it's me with the Landy in 1991.

[bell1975]

G'day John,

Really enjoying this thread. I'm hoping to get to work on a 2a very soon. You mention a drain cleaner attachment for high pressure water. Where did you get that?

Also, wondering if you are still happy with the lanox treatment on the leaf springs.

I have to say your bit about sharing the house with multiple LR components gave me a much needed laugh.

Thanks and keep up the great work. Very inspirational.

Garry

Here it is. (http://www.sweepex.com.au/shop/karcher-15-metre-pipe-cleaning-kit-2-637-767-0.html)

[bell1975]

Here's something a little bit different. It's a photo which a mate just sent me: it's me with the Landy in 1991.

Hardly aged a day John. :tease:

[Johnno1969]

Hardly aged a day John. :tease:

Hehehehe. Yeah, I kid myself that sometimes...

[Johnno1969]

Here it is. (http://www.sweepex.com.au/shop/karcher-15-metre-pipe-cleaning-kit-2-637-767-0.html)

Thanks.... there is a shorter one available too. 7.5m - which is the one I purchased.

[Johnno1969]

Fuel filter mount and master cylinder reservoir all cleaned up....


I mean OIL filter mount.

[Johnno1969]

The attached photo is not my engine.... I don't think I could ever manage that perfect look (I will be happy with about 60% of that quality...). But I thought I'd post it anyway as it is so pretty. At least it goves me something to aim for and miss badly. We all have to have goals in life.

The reason I found this photo on the interweb was that I have been checking for the correct colour for the oil filter housing (there goes another interesting rivet). I am about to paint mine. In this case, I want to match it as best i can - not too worried about getting the perfectly correct paint, though.

I'm finding this refurbishment an interesting process. It is definitely not a restoration, but more and more I want things to be the correct colour, fitment etc etc etc. I think the best way to think of it would be to imagine if I had had the vehicle from new and not made unnecessary changes along the way to its character (such as changing colours willy-nilly or chopping things up) but rather that the vehicle slowly evolved with practical modifications that suited me. That's basically the end effect anyway. I just need to start with as clean a canvas as I can at this point.

More later today.

John

[Johnno1969]

....and of course I forgot to attach the picture. I got carried away with my eloquence and forgot what the post was for in the first place.....

[bell1975]

The reason I found this photo on the interweb was that I have been checking for the correct colour for the oil filter housing (there goes another interesting rivet). I am about to paint mine. In this case, I want to match it as best i can - not too worried about getting the perfectly correct paint, though.

BS-381C-224 ? Just kidding. Good weekend for it eh?

I wish I was in the shed pulling that b**** door lock apart, but alas, there are 2 little ones that are underfoot while their Mum is off getting the $100/hr pay today. I'll put "Childcare fees" on the invoice and only bill her for half a day...

Don't forget Supercheap have 20% off today if you need paints, etc.

Catch you next week.

[Johnno1969]

More pics tomorrow....

[Johnno1969]

Today, for something new, I am trying to get those little brass *%#ing washers out of the base of the injector seats....

[Johnno1969]

I tried winkling the damn thing out of number one seat...no luck....gave a screwdriver a light tap against it to cut it...

It came out alright..... but that tap broke the seat behind it.

I guess we're not allowed to swear on here, but you can imagine. I have now busted the base of the injector seat and sent the bit of metal down into the cylinder. What a complete ****ing idiot. Of course, good 2.25D heads grow on trees these days too.

[Johnno1969]

Yeah, well, righto. It seems that I have managed in one deft move to increase the scope of this project.

No point in railing and ranting now. I have to fix this. The seat has lost the portion between, roughly, five and six o'clock. I can't see any alternative to removing the head and starting from there (which is kind of funny, as I was planning to re-start the engine this weekend).

I guess it may be possible to repair the area if I can find a genius at welding cast somewhere between here and Stalingrad. The bugger is that the engine is (was) so sweet and healthy and about the only thing I was not going to touch. I would prefer to keep the head and repair it, but I understand that may not be possible.

Any suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks,

John

P.S. What a bloody idiot.

[Johnno1969]

OK. I have gone to look at the Green Bible (I actually should be calling it "On the Origin of Land Rovers By means of Natural Selection", really, considering that the information therein is useful and factual, but I digress...) and things may not be as dire as they first appeared. This in no way lets me off the hook for the stupidest thing I have ever done that didn't involve three bottles of tequila, two Latvian hitchhikers and and a combine harvester - but all the same there may be a way out of this.

Looking at Origins, I see that what I appear to have slaughtered was an injector shroud, which is pressed into the head. At least, that's what I hope happened. It's a pain in the proverbial and I hate having to take the head off that sweet little engine - but that is what I will have to do.

Arriba! Arriba!!

John

[wrinklearthur]

Looking at [Origins, I see that what I appear to have slaughtered was an injector shroud, which is pressed into the head. At least, that's what I hope happened. It's a pain in the proverbial and I hate having to take the head off that sweet little engine
Hi John

Don't be too hard on yourself, when you get that head off, treat it with loving care, get the valves tidied up, check it for true and any cracks.
A chance to make a good engine even better.
.

[Johnno1969]

Hi John

Don't be too hard on yourself, when you get that head off, treat it with loving care, get the valves tidied up, check it for true and any cracks.
A chance to make a good engine even better.
.

Hey Arthur,

Thanks mate. As you can imagine, I have been a bit crook at myself since mid-afternoon. You're right - in for a penny, in for a pound, eh? Why not extend my repainting to overhauling the head?? Thanks for the encouragement.

Cheers,

John

[wally]

Here's something a little bit different. It's a photo which a mate just sent me: it's me with the Landy in 1991.

That's not you, it's some skinny bloke.

[wally]

The attached photo is not my engine.... I don't think I could ever manage that perfect look (I will be happy with about 60% of that quality...). But I thought I'd post it anyway as it is so pretty. At least it goves me something to aim for and miss badly. We all have to have goals in life.

The reason I found this photo on the interweb was that I have been checking for the correct colour for the oil filter housing (there goes another interesting rivet). I am about to paint mine. In this case, I want to match it as best i can - not too worried about getting the perfectly correct paint, though.

I'm finding this refurbishment an interesting process. It is definitely not a restoration, but more and more I want things to be the correct colour, fitment etc etc etc. I think the best way to think of it would be to imagine if I had had the vehicle from new and not made unnecessary changes along the way to its character (such as changing colours willy-nilly or chopping things up) but rather that the vehicle slowly evolved with practical modifications that suited me. That's basically the end effect anyway. I just need to start with as clean a canvas as I can at this point.

More later today.

John

...although it could reasonably be mistaken for your engine, given its positioning in some bloke's living room, in a house that could just about be yours.

[Johnno1969]

That's not you, it's some skinny bloke.

There was another photo of the skinny bloke with a dopey looking mate.

[Johnno1969]

I've decided to pretend that the engine doesn't exist for the moment.

Today I started fiddling with making a panel to hold the extra gauges (oil pressure, temp and a gauge for the left hand tank). I've got some nice heavy aluminium sheet, so I'm using that.

The gauge for the second fuel tank is an original item from a Series III which I've always had fitted into a home-made panel. In keeping with this whole project, I am trying to do a better and tidier job of fitting it than I did many years ago. The final effect will be managed through using a bit of an old thread-tape holder as the surround for the gauge (some old dodgy habits never die).....

Here's the panel in progress. The old item is in the frame too, as well as the gauge destined for the irregular hole in the panel.

Is it no wonder these projects take forever? All afternoon filing and shaping the mounting for that gauge.........

[Johnno1969]

Here's the panel for the extra instruments and a few switches. Coming along nicely. I've thrown in a gauge and a switch to get an idea how it'll pan out. I reckon it'll look good.

More cleaning with a wire brush: all the brackets for the steering column. Then got to work cleaning up the steering wheel with emery paper. Final word for these jobs today: Penetrol.

Cheers,

John

[Johnno1969]

A little bit more progress. Painting the fittings and brackets for the steering column, and painting the steering wheel too. No pics at present, but I have had a go at the wheel with Penetrol, then undercoated and am in the middle of topcoating now. Should look good. How long that lasts is anybody's guess.....

John

[Johnno1969]

Here are a few pics. More (slow) progress. The steering wheel has come up quite nicely. I hope it lasts.

Just making up a grommet to fit snugly around the steering column where it passes through the bulkhead. If you look closely at the scribblings on the bit in question, it goes to show that those primary school lessons about how to find the centre of a circle didn't go to waste.....

John

[Ozdunc]

Steering wheel looks great! You'll have to report back on how well it lasts...

What undercoat and paint did you use?

[Johnno1969]

Steering wheel looks great! You'll have to report back on how well it lasts...

What undercoat and paint did you use?

I used my new favourite thing in the world (Penetrol) to seal the old surface (which used to get all yukky when it got a little bit wet), then painted with etchprimer, then enamel primer (I think...can't remember exactly...that's what I have done to a lot of parts anyway), then a topcoat of satin black enamel (out of a can on this occasion). Yeah, we'll see how it goes.....

Oh and the centre boss was just cleaned up (light sanding) then (you guessed it) hit with Penetrol to prevent any new rust spotting reappearing.

Cheers,

John

[Johnno1969]

A few weeks ago, thanks to a remark by a neighbour, I managed to find myself at a local scrap metal yard, where there was a mongrel old Landy lurking among piles of steel and car bodies, awaiting execution. As it had an organ donor card, I felt that the best thing was to lever as much material off it as I could before the unmentionable happened.

So, for the princely sum of $25 (the bloke originally asked for $20, but I felt guilty and managed to bargain upward, Gomez Adams-style) I got myself a tropical roof, a wiper motor, a handful of nuts and bolts of interest and a roof console.

It was a long wheelbase, so I'll be cutting and shutting the tropical roof panel. True Land Rover style, there's a join right at the right spot - I assume that they used to tack a bit extra on to make them for the long wheelbases.

By the way, when I said "mongrel", I was in no way being disparaging. It was a IIA with a Series III wagon body on it....

I am getting nearer to getting all the instrumentation and wiring finished on my vehicle (but, of course, not actually finished.... that's kind of lying ahead in the misted wastes of future time). I will attach some photos: the tropical roof panel, auxiliary gauge panel and the nifty little marine plug tucked away in the glovebox (craftily sited so that I can still put my long-serving enamel mug in its customary spot below it).

Cheers,

John

[garrywlh]

Continuing to inspire, John.

I'm still getting warmed up at the starting blocks for my project, so thanks again for sharing the journey.

And just to demonstrate how your inspiration has effected me...

[garrywlh]

oh, and, before

[Johnno1969]

Continuing to inspire, John.

I'm still getting warmed up at the starting blocks for my project, so thanks again for sharing the journey.

And just to demonstrate how your inspiration has effected me...

Thanks mate. It certainly helps me too, to read other folks' project threads and see how they're coming along. Your steering wheel is rather and improvement over its old self; I've seen how expensive they are to buy through UK suppliers as restored or exchange items, and a bit of elbow grease can give a pretty good result for much less outlay.

Keep at it!

John

[Johnno1969]

One problem I am having is that from any five minutes to the next I seem to hop from doing brakes to bodywork to suspension to steering to electrics. I am starting to wonder about my attention span, but sometimes the hopping is necessary when I come up to a temporary dead end on one thing and jump to another. That's my story, anyway, and I'm sticking to it....

Today I decided that the auxiliary gauge panel (or AGP to those in need of more acronyms in their lives) needed another coat or two of Deep Bronze Green (DBG) before I fitted the gauges in their allocated positions (APs). It's not a perfect finish, but it looks nice now.

Then I did a little wiring. A crimp here and there, and I had the power to the marine plug sorted, then checked the ever-evolving wiring diagram (EEWD) and worked out from where I'm going to draw the power for the Watchdog engine alarm when it is fitted.

Scratched my head and looked at the vehicle. Brakes. First thing this morning, after the bacon and egss and two pots of tea, I had fitted the flexible line to the rear axle (previously I thought I didn't have the right part yet, but a few days ago I found it lurking in a bag of assorted things.... I have ordered so much from so many different suppliers over a few years that I am tending to forget what I actually have in the Land Rover's bedroom....). So, this afternoon I decided to bleed them. Finally.

It didn't start well. Immediate leak from the brand new wheel cylinder on the front right. Checked it out, and it appeared alright - possibly had just hyper-extended on one side when I first hit the pedal as it was not adjusted correctly and the other side may have been seized up. Cleaned things up, and got stuck into it.

Over the years, I have used a lot of different tricks in bleeding brakes. One that does seem to work for me is to clamp each wheel cylinder with a G-clamp while pumping fluid through (and, hopefully, any air in the lines) and once it appears clear I reassemble the shoes and springs. I did this for all four wheels.

I had considered buying one of those one way valves for bleeding (I also considered using an old fuel pump....) but in the end settled on a length of clear plastic flexible pipe and a used Chinese takeaway container. I punched a small hole in the container lid, then pumped fluid through to it, with the line from each wheel cylinder first arcing upward to carry bubbles of air up the line, whether under pressure or not. I didn't seem to get much air drawing back through the threads on the bleeder valves and at the end of it all I have a fairly good brake pedal.

I'll see if the pedal is still firm next time I get back to work on the Landy. The brakes have yet to be properly adjusted, so I am not too concerned that the pedal is not as hard as I'd want it yet. Stay tuned.

Righto, now it's time for pictures. After all this verbage, they should be pretty self-explanatory.

Cheers,

John

P.S. Oh yeah. Almost forgot. Whilst bleeding the front left brake, I started seeing chunks of dark rubbish coming through the line. "What the ****??" I said to myself, as the lines and the cylinders are all brand new. I wondered if it was something out of the second-hand (but very nice) master cylinder reservoir. It didn't look good. Then I looked closely. It was insects. One ant and what appeared to be a beetle. A few other bits of rubbish came out with them, then the line went nice and clear again. Possibly the ant and the beetle had started an illicit romance which could never be accepted by their respective communities and had run away to live in my brake lines together. Whatever happened, I ended it for them and they are together forever now in the attached photo. RIP.

[wally]

A few weeks ago, thanks to a remark by a neighbour, I managed to find myself at a local scrap metal yard, where there was a mongrel old Landy lurking among piles of steel and car bodies, awaiting execution. As it had an organ donor card, I felt that the best thing was to lever as much material off it as I could before the unmentionable happened.

So, for the princely sum of $25 (the bloke originally asked for $20, but I felt guilty and managed to bargain upward, Gomez Adams-style) I got myself a tropical roof, a wiper motor, a handful of nuts and bolts of interest and a roof console.

It was a long wheelbase, so I'll be cutting and shutting the tropical roof panel. True Land Rover style, there's a join right at the right spot - I assume that they used to tack a bit extra on to make them for the long wheelbases.

By the way, when I said "mongrel", I was in no way being disparaging. It was a IIA with a Series III wagon body on it....

I am getting nearer to getting all the instrumentation and wiring finished on my vehicle (but, of course, not actually finished.... that's kind of lying ahead in the misted wastes of future time). I will attach some photos: the tropical roof panel, auxiliary gauge panel and the nifty little marine plug tucked away in the glovebox (craftily sited so that I can still put my long-serving enamel mug in its customary spot below it).

Cheers,

John

That tropical roof looks good. You did well removing it and getting it home on your own. Well done.

[Ozdunc]

Whats the marine plug for ? 12V?

[Johnno1969]

Whats the marine plug for ? 12V?

Yep.

[Johnno1969]

That tropical roof looks good. You did well removing it and getting it home on your own. Well done.

Thanks. It was a pretty big effort.

[Johnno1969]

Quick update before I get into things today:

For the left hand tank I've used a Series III gauge in a home-made panel for years. Now it's going into the new panel and should come up alright. To accommodate its wedge shape in the panel, it rests in a matching aperture and when all is finished (and I've got it operating and calibrated) I'll close it off with a circular surround I made in 2001 from a thread tape holder (just the right diameter) with the corresponding bit of panel blacked-out. I'll dig up a bit of perspex or glass for it somewhere.

The gauge is held in place with some dollops of JB Weld, which will be augmented with craftily-located Sikaflex and then an instrument light fitted.

Next door are the switches for the interior light, rear work-light, stereo and (when I find the right switch) klaxon. Above will be engine temperature and oil pressure gauges.

Cheers,

John

[Johnno1969]

While I've got the opportunity, with the vehicle in bits, it's good to be able to add a feature here or there from ideas that have come along over the years. Not always essential, but good to do nonetheless. I picked up a nice battery isolator switch this week. I've mounted it near the clutch pedal, out of the way of my foot and, as far as the other side of the firewall is concerned, in about the only place left that would have been convenient in the engine bay anyway.

I have never really had electrical problems with the vehicle, but it is good to be able to cut all power in an instant should I ever need to do so.

[bell1975]

Next door are the switches for the interior light, rear work-light, stereo and (when I find the right switch) klaxon. Above will be engine temperature and oil pressure gauges.

What oh what will you use a klaxon for dear John?

P.S. I know where you can obtain an orange and green flashing light bar if you're wanting to go all out....I mean, you'll feel incomplete with just a klaxon won't you? :cool:

[Johnno1969]

What oh what will you use a klaxon for dear John?

P.S. I know where you can obtain an orange and green flashing light bar if you're wanting to go all out....I mean, you'll feel incomplete with just a klaxon won't you? :cool:

Who wouldn't want a klaxon?? I had always thought it'd be fine to have one for a horn, given the Landy's venerable age, and mentioned this to a friend one evening. "I have one of those lying in the back of my car!!!" he said. We went out to his car, he rummaged in the back of it and then presented me with a klaxon. It was meant to be.

[Johnno1969]

P.S. I think I will pass on the light bar, fine idea as it may be....

[bell1975]

Yeah, they'd have looked a little bit out of place given the vintage of your Landy. And although the pace dropped off there a while back it's good to see that there's still some DBG being splashed around your shed John.

How's the head coming along?

[Johnno1969]

How's the head coming along?

I'm leaving it until I'm back from my leave. Will concentrate upon it then....

[Johnno1969]

Had a little bit of a tinker today: Wired up the gauge from the left hand tank, put a bit of fuel in the tank; it seems to be calibrated pretty well.

Then I spent a while re-drawing the wiring diagram for the vehicle, including all the changes of late such as new components and various bits and pieces replaced. In a sign of the times, I have gone from 1991's hand-drawn version to spending time to do a digital version. It looks pretty (though, like all things computery it took me much longer than doing it with paper and pencils would have done.....).

[Johnno1969]

The instrument panels are almost ready. A lot of fiddling today to hook everything up; all that's left to do is to clean up the left hand main gauge cluster (I decided that it wasn't tidy enough) and wire in the auxiliary stuff like stereo and extra lighting when they are ready to go into the vehicle.

I'm leaving the bit of takeaway container plastic over the extra fuel gauge for a while as I want to check the calibration further as I gradually fill the tank before closing it off with my homemade bezel.

I can't decide if that temp gauge, with its white face, looks too out of place. I'd prefer it matched the rest of the gauges... but the trouble is it's a really good gauge. I'll see how I feel down the track a bit....

[Johnno1969]

Here's the wiring diagram. I may be opening myself up to scorn from the electricians amongst us, but in my defence this basic layout has worked for the last twenty-two years with no problems. I've tidied things up, replaced a fair bit of the old wiring and thought I'd update the diagram accordingly. I got carried away with nice colours, rather than simply writing the wire colour next to the corresponding wire or in a key. Of course this leads to a problem in drawing white wires, but I have got around that by drawing them in black and labelling them "White" (as opposed to black wires, which are not labelled at all. Simple, really.....).

Anyway, for your viewing pleasure, here it is: my you-beaut, homemade wiring. It kind of looks like the map of the London Underground.

You may notice a high-tech touch creeping into the IIA. It's an "Engine Watchdog", located around Clapham Common.

John

[garrywlh]

brilliant, Johnno, love the 'London Underground'. Bet you had fun getting out the colouring pencils.
Your diagram actually helps me to make sense of the wiring diagram in my Haynes that has baffled me a bit.
Just a newbie question...what is an engine exhaust fan? The one on the Heathrow line.

[Johnno1969]

brilliant, Johnno, love the 'London Underground'. Bet you had fun getting out the colouring pencils.
Your diagram actually helps me to make sense of the wiring diagram in my Haynes that has baffled me a bit.
Just a newbie question...what is an engine exhaust fan? The one on the Heathrow line.

Hey Garry,

Thanks mate - I'm glad it's of use to you.

The "engine exhaust fan" is a little addition I'm planning. I have a heater fan from a Discovery (I think) which I am planning to set up in the engine bay and use as an exhaust fan ducted to the outside, so on ridiculously hot days I can draw hot air away and out of the bay. The idea at this stage is to site it near the exhaust manifold. If it proves too difficult to fit (there will also be the aircleaner cylinder from a 200Tdi in the same area) I will shorten the wiring, cutting it somewhere between Acton Town and South Ealing and diverting the power on the District Line through Turnham Green to some driving lights at Kew Gardens.

Cheers,

John

[bell1975]

C'mon John. Get back from holidaying in the jungle and get to work on your Landy again!

Can't be that long til you return anyway?

[Johnno1969]

C'mon John. Get back from holidaying in the jungle and get to work on your Landy again!

Can't be that long til you return anyway?


Righto. I'm back. Normal service will resume as soon as possible.

[wally]

Oh, you're still at it. It's gone on so bloody long, we've all lost interest

[Johnno1969]

Oh, you're still at it. It's gone on so bloody long, we've all lost interest

Actually, I was thinking about putting some of it back in your shed.

[Johnno1969]

After a hiatus of a number of months, today I finally got back to work.

Anybody who may have been following this thread (including Wally, who is pretty bored with it) may remember that back in March I did a silly thing and damaged the injector shroud on number one. It kind of knocked the wind out of my sails and things kind of slowed down, then ground to a halt in June when I ran away overseas.

Having damaged the shroud in a moment of stupid haste, I thought long and hard about how I might fix it. By the book, it's a head-off job and needs the pre-combustion chamber removed so that the damaged shroud can be driven out of its pressing and replaced. This I have been prepared to do, but I had a few thoughts about how I might simplify the job, especially as the engine is not high-mileage since its last rebuild and I really don't feel like opening it up....

Anyway, it occurred to me that I may be able to make a puller to draw the damaged shroud out of the head instead. Of course, this would still leave the little bit of metal I knocked out of it in March somewhere hidden in number one cylinder - but first things first.

Due to the nature of the damage, I thought I'd try grinding two opposite sides off the head of a 7/16"AF bolt and seeing if I could work it into the shroud and then turn it through 90 degrees to give me a chance of "grabbing" it.

Once the bolt fitted through the gap, I placed a number of small washers over it and lightly threaded a nut all the way down to strengthen the surface against which I'd be pulling the bolt. The bolt then passed up through a plate placed against the head and located by the injector retaining studs. The last bit was simply a washer and nut onto the bolt and.....carefully...carefully tightening it.

After a while, I heard a wee "crack". This was either really good or really bad, so I stopped, pulled the lot off and checked. Nothing broken... maybe I had started to unseat the shroud. So I repeated the process twice more..tightening, checking - until the shroud popped out into my hand neatly and in one piece.

So far, so good. Now, for the piece of broken metal somewhere in the cylinder: At least if I did have to remove the head to find it, I would not have to remove the pre-combustion chamber and could avoid any machining work.

But first, I had a go at vacuuming it out. "Can't hurt to have a go," I thought.

So I got the ol' vacuum out and, using a rubber grommet to provide something of a seal against the head, alternately placed the suction at the injector and glowplug ports. I turned the crank a little to allow some airflow in through the inlet and exhaust valves and checked the vacuum bag......

Now, I don't often quote Margaret Thatcher (if you discount words like "and" and "the") - but, REJOICE!!!! That little bit of metal somehow got sucked out of the pot and into the vacuum.

So..... I am thrilled to announce that the project is almost back to where it was in March. How's that for progress?? It remains for me now to gently drift the new injector shroud back in place and (assuming that I don't stuff that up) I can progress towards getting the engine started again.

I will post some piccies below. Sorry for the long post, but I put a lot of thought into this and thought it might be useful to somebody.

Cheers,

John

[Johnno1969]

More piccies of the job:

[garrywlh]

I know nothing about diesel engines (and not very much about petrol ones for that matter - although I'm learning fast), so I don't have a bloody clue what you are talking about John! :eek:
But, it is good to have you back and especially good to hear how pleased you are at the success of this little bit of innovative problem-solving.
Well done! :BigThumb:
Garry

[Johnno1969]

Thanks Garry,

Yep, it is good to have this (almost) fixed. It will be even better to actually finish the Landy!

Cheers,

John

[Johnno1969]

Progress!

Check out the piccies below. Today I veeeeerrrrrrryyyy carefully fitted the new shroud into the head for number one injector. Once I had the shroud lined up, I used the injector itself to press it into place (same deal as removing the damaged one.... pressed it a little bit, checked, reset, pressed some more...) and it worked a treat. Note the mark at twelve o'clock on the shroud, keeping it lined up alright.

Then things galloped along. The pics show the injector port sans shroud, shroud, the injector being used to press it into place, then the washers in place ready to receive the injector for its final installation.

After that, I removed the old washers from the shrouds on numbers two, three and four (more carefully than my effort in March) and got down to installing the injectors. Then it was oil filter, injector pump and secondary fuel filter. The positive cable (now running via the kill-switch) is in place, so before fitting all the injection system I turned the engine over by with the starter to blow out any oil in number one that may have been sucked into the pot by my vacuuming efforts last weekend (only a little residue, it appears).

The fuel lines, spill line and returns were almost completely installed by the time I closed up shop this evening, had an exquisite bit of rib fillet and sat down with a pot of tea to watch "Midsomer Murders".

Now I'd call that a good day.

John

[Johnno1969]

The rest of the pics....

[Johnno1969]

I didn't quite get to start the engine today. It's more-or-less ready to go now (just needs the glow plugs put back and the fuel system bled), but I called a halt. There are a number of jobs to finish in the engine bay (steering drag link, some retaining clips for brake lines and the like) and it'll be easier to do them before I put in the radiator panel and radiator. So, I made myself be patient (which is relatively easy after close-on three years of sporadic work).

Stay tuned.

John

[Johnno1969]

I believe that she's ready to start*, except that the battery, after three years of doing three fifths of f-all, lacks the oomph to turn her over quickly enough. Off to the rural suppliers this week to get a new battery....

I had a fiddle today looking at some panel fitment (needs work....) and how I am going to organise the aircleaner and snorkel hoses. Things are potentially complicated by my idea of an exhaust fan to draw hot air out of the engine bay (considering that this motor and radiator have never actually overheated, my idea may appear to be frippery, but I digress...). I guess I will fit the aircleaner and hoses as best I can and then see if I still have room for my fancy-pants fan. I'm using a 200Tdi aircleaner, by the way.

Here are some pics of fiddling around examining different orientations for the aircleaner - and one of the old girl actually starting to look like a Land Rover.

Cheerio,

John

* Mind you, I really believed that we were going to win The Ashes in 1981 and I am still coming to terms with the fact that we didn't.

[Johnno1969]

Here's a photo of the Landy with one guard (I want to say "wing" and become a real anorak, but old habits die hard) on and the bonnet in place.

[Johnno1969]

I mean, here's a photo.

[wally]

I believe that she's ready to start*, except that the battery, after three years of doing three fifths of f-all, lacks the oomph to turn her over quickly enough. Off to the rural suppliers this week to get a new battery....

I had a fiddle today looking at some panel fitment (needs work....) and how I am going to organise the aircleaner and snorkel hoses. Things are potentially complicated by my idea of an exhaust fan to draw hot air out of the engine bay (considering that this motor and radiator have never actually overheated, my idea may appear to be frippery, but I digress...). I guess I will fit the aircleaner and hoses as best I can and then see if I still have room for my fancy-pants fan. I'm using a 200Tdi aircleaner, by the way.

Here are some pics of fiddling around examining different orientations for the aircleaner - and one of the old girl actually starting to look like a Land Rover.



Cheerio,

John

* Mind you, I really believed that we were going to win The Ashes in 1981 and I am still coming to terms with the fact that we didn't.

I like your bangles.

[Johnno1969]

I like your bangles.

Skinny little redneck.

They're Maasai fertility bracel - er, hang on, you've got kids and I don't.

Whatever.

Just get back on your tractor and keep harvesting or whatever it is you do when you're not whingeing about prices and rainfall.

[wally]

I believe that she's ready to start*, except that the battery, after three years of doing three fifths of f-all, lacks the oomph to turn her over quickly enough. Off to the rural suppliers this week to get a new battery....

I had a fiddle today looking at some panel fitment (needs work....) and how I am going to organise the aircleaner and snorkel hoses. Things are potentially complicated by my idea of an exhaust fan to draw hot air out of the engine bay (considering that this motor and radiator have never actually overheated, my idea may appear to be frippery, but I digress...). I guess I will fit the aircleaner and hoses as best I can and then see if I still have room for my fancy-pants fan. I'm using a 200Tdi aircleaner, by the way.

Here are some pics of fiddling around examining different orientations for the aircleaner - and one of the old girl actually starting to look like a Land Rover.

Cheerio,

John

* Mind you, I really believed that we were going to win The Ashes in 1981 and I am still coming to terms with the fact that we didn't.

What's wrong with the original position like this?
65796

[Ozdunc]

:lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2:


Very good :twobeers:

[Johnno1969]

What's wrong with the original position like this?
65796

Alright, you win. I know people write "LOL" and all that crap. Is there a common acronym for "****ing myself laughing at what you just posted, you little bastard"?

[Johnno1969]

By the way, why won't the site let me write the first four letters of "****ing" but lets "little bastard" through....?

Note to censorship board: Possibly this is because he is? I guess one can't argue with facts*

*Unless you have just scrapped scientific advice to the federal government over climate change and possible anthropogenic sources thereof.**

** See Wally? There's something upon which we can agree.***

***Though it is much less fun.

[dullbird]

Alright, you win. I know people write "LOL" and all that crap. Is there a common acronym for "****ing myself laughing at what you just posted, you little bastard"?

actually there is PMSLAWUJPULB and that is the truth:D

[bell1975]

They're Maasai fertility bracel - er, hang on, you've got kids and I don't.

No kids John but what about a cat?

It can keep you company as Midsomer drags on....

(BTW, nicely played Wally)

[Johnno1969]

Got the aircleaner modified a bit this week to neck down for the smaller intake hose on the 2.25D and a fitting for the snorkel attachment. It looks alright - now I just have to work out how to fit it all into the engine bay....

[Johnno1969]

Great news! At approximately 14:56 today, after three years of silence, my little diesel started again. Things are really moving now.

It isn't as smooth as I remember it - it does have what sounds like a pre-ignition knock in it... will try to iron that out.

It all seems alright otherwise, though as you can see from the photo I still have to operate the throttle manually as the linkages are not set up yet....

[garrywlh]

ah, nothing like a little bracelet envy amongst real men. :D

[Johnno1969]

Hehehehehehehehehehehe................

[Johnno1969]

Making up the cradle for the aircleaner. Note important equipment in foreground, installed in correct position on wing.

[Johnno1969]

More of the cradle. The "legs" are temporary, being too light for the job, but serve as a template for the proper ones when they're made.....

Cheers,

John

[wrinklearthur]

----- it does have what sounds like a pre-ignition knock in it...

Winter weight diesel can do that on indirect injection engines.
.

[Johnno1969]

Winter weight diesel can do that on indirect injection engines.
.

Hey thanks Arthur. Interesting. I will keep fiddling with the timing and see how I go...

[Johnno1969]

The wheels are coming along.

I had them sandblasted (just didn't feel like going through the wire-brush-on-grinder routine this time...). I got two quotes: one pretty reasonable, one ridiculously expensive. After some deliberation (4.8 seconds, mainly given over to laughter) I said thanks to Ridiculously-Expensive-Quote-Bloke and that I would take my wheels from his reception area and think about it (run away).

So here they are on my kitchen floor. Unfortunately Cheap-Quote-Bloke forgot to take off the weights before sandblasting and undercoating - but that is hardly a problem... just a little cleaning up and undercoating and it's done.

One photo has the little sample of "Limestone" paint I had made up. Interestingly, the paint shop bloke could not make head or tail of the paint formula I gave them (got it from this forum, from a post by Diana, I think) - but he did find a Land Rover colour in his catalogue from 1966-68. Only those two years - I don't know what that's all about. As my Landy is a 1965, I am not sure if using this colour is correct or not - I might post a quick thread to query it.

Two of the rims are, I think, ex-military - with a reinforcing ring around the centre of the dish (will post a photo). They also appear to be dished about 5mm deeper. I will post some photos of the numbers on the wheels. I guess I have six wheels it makes sense to have the four identical wheels as my road wheels and the reinforced ones as the spares.

Cheers,

John

[Johnno1969]

Here are the six of them. I'll have to just work around them doing the roast lamb tonight.

[Johnno1969]

Ah, Sunday: Fiddling with the Landy, with The Who's Quadrophenia blasting out the neighbourhood.....

Landies, Reign O'er Me.....

[Johnno1969]

I think I might want to put sill panels back on it.

Anybody got any?

[wally]

Here are the six of them. I'll have to just work around them doing the roast lamb tonight.
So the new fridge is still in the lounge then?

[Johnno1969]

Yeah. It is quite convenient, though it does mean that there's less room there for the trampoline.

[Johnno1969]

Started painting the wheels. One coat finished.

Time for a cuppa.

[garrywlh]

Nice to see another 6 wheeled Landy in the making.

[Johnno1969]

Six??!! Is that how many I have? I always lose count after three.

[JDNSW]

The wheels are coming along.

.......
Two of the rims are, I think, ex-military - with a reinforcing ring around the centre of the dish (will post a photo). They also appear to be dished about 5mm deeper......

Cheers,

John

In my experience, the "reinforced" wheels are Australian made late Series 3 rather than military. My set of them are off a 1981 civilian 109.

John

[Johnno1969]

I've resisted the urge to post another picture of those wheels (they're so pretty...).

Here's the overdrive gradually moving into position. In these photos, I am just checking the fit. I had the sump extended back when I started this project in 1824, and it will hopefully keep things running much cooler when it's all back on the road.

I will run a thread on the overdrive modifications and how they go when the Landy's running.

Cheers,

John

[wally]

You could probably find room for your second spare wheel next to the fridge (if you move the trampoline).

[wally]

What happened on the weekend? Nothing?

[Johnno1969]

I've been stopping places from burning.

[Johnno1969]

The Landy just kind of sat there.

[Johnno1969]

The rims have dried nicely, though. So, I guess something happened on the weekend. It just wasn't very spectacular.

[Johnno1969]

Just got the wheels back from getting the tyres fitted and balanced. They look mighty purty.

[Johnno1969]

Hands up everybody who's undertaken a project on their vehicle and, when the weekend rolls around, thinks "Great. In the next two days I will get jobs A,B,C and a little bit of D done..." - and then manages to get a little bit of A done, give up, do B, not have the parts/tools for C and start D too late in the day so the light runs out and everything has to stop.

I thought so.

Today, I managed to get all the steering gear in and properly adjusted, so I can't complain..... but, really, when I think about it that was just doing up a few balljoint nuts and checking clearances here and there. It should have taken minutes....

Yesterday, thinking I was almost home on the job already, I failed miserably in getting the overdrive fitted. I am being somewhat delicate in my approach (except for the bits where I hit it with some 4"x2" hardwood...) as I do not want to damage anything. It has all-new-everything all the way through it and it seems that the fitting of the overdrive to transfer is a little tight. I am being cautious as the modification to the sump may have led to distortion or swelling through the welding heat. This doesn't seem to be an issue, though, as after a light clean-up with emery paper it fits-up easily enough. The new bush inside the input shaft is very tight on the gearbox mainshaft and I think that is where the holdup lies. So, I did the prudent thing and downed tools yeaterday before I damaged anything. Walked away. Had a cuppa.

Then today I made a wee bit of progress in shaping the "legs" for the aircleaner bracket. Slow job.

Here are a few photos. Steering gear (under all that dust is all the new paint somewhere), modified 200Tdi aircleaner box in all its glory and a few wheels looking beautiful and Limestone-y.

Toodle pip.

John