Photographing the 2a

[LSD_AUTOMOTIVE]

Hello, I'm hoping some of the Series Enthusiasts about can help me.

It looks like we've finally got a good patch of weather so I can get to photographing our new Series. It's Pre-restoration so I want to document anything and everything that we're likely to touch (Which knowing Mr LSD, it will be pretty much everything at least once :angel:)

So how would be best to tackle this? Do I just take a few hundred photographs of anything and everything that I feel is interesting? I'm personally not too educated on Series vehicles and which charactertistics are the most interesting. I wan't to get all the little details, not just overall shots of panels.

I was intending to just go panel by panel moving around the car and then interior and under the bonnet. What about under the car?

I will kick myself if I miss something and at the end of the restoration I can't show a before and after:(

Thanks!

[isuzutoo-eh]

You could take a few hundred photos of anything and everything, the most important bits are of course under the bonnet-photos of anything that moves, comes apart, or has adapters, hoses, pipes or wires. Don't forget to get photos of the same thing from different angles.
If you are really worried about missing something, then take a slow video walkaround, poking it around corners and into gaps, go high go low go wide go close... Then you can still frame it for that one peripheral view of the whatchacallit that isn't shown in any photographs.
But in reality, a few dozen photos is generally enough, they aren't that complex a machine, and the manuals are pretty good...if all else fails then ask someone else here for a photo or description of whatever confuddles you.

[JDNSW]

I would use a fairly high resolution camera (this means you can enlarge details), good lighting. If possible take photos from both sides, front and back. Repeat with doors and bonnet open. Photograph from above as well, and particularly above with bonnet removed. preferably repeat with doors removed or open.

Interior (depends on body type) take photos of dash, seating and with seats removed, probably from both sides.

Then, as you disassemble it, rephotograph each bit that is newly visible as you work - for example, when the mudguards are removed, or the wheels and then the brake drums and so on. Before you start disassembling anything, think for a moment whether you have a picture of it - for example, the brake backing plate from the back, or the headlight wiring from the back. In most cases it will be in one of your overall pictures, but may need special ones.

Take inclusive photos rather than just framing the bit of interest - you will probably want to know how it fits together when you are reassembling it, not just the individual bit - solves problems such as which way up the backing plate was.

Hope this helps

John

[LSD_AUTOMOTIVE]

I would use a fairly high resolution camera (this means you can enlarge details)

Thanks John, good point about high res files. I will be shooting with my D90 in RAW format so that should give me plenty of room for cropping without killing the image size :)

Great help, thanks so much both of you!

[UncleHo]

G'day LSD_AUTOMOTIVE :)

when removing the brake shoes and backing plates remember that the B/plates are "handed" and the shoes are also "handed" and have a front and rear shoe,this is easily spotted by the location of the pegs on the brake shoes and how they align with the snail cams on the backing plates,otherwise you will have problems adjusting and having good pedal,and as JDNSW said, take detailed pics of all and any wiring, and remember that all elect fittings have their own earth wire which is slightly thinner and black :)

Most body bolts are 7/16AF headed, and the front end is Whitworth, the inner mudguard bolts down the firewall are an odd size 19/32 AF (I think)


cheers

[LSD_AUTOMOTIVE]

Thanks Uncle Ho! I'm quite glad that Simon will be doing the pulling apart and I'll just be spectating! Great information, thanks for that :)

[JDNSW]

Most body bolts are 7/16AF headed, and the front end is Whitworth, the inner mudguard bolts down the firewall are an odd size 19/32 AF (I think)


cheers

Series 1 is almost all BSW/BSF/BA threads, started the change to UNF instead of BSF with Series 2, and through 2a and 3 the proportion of UNF instead of BSF increased, overlapping with the change to metric that started during Series 3. Since many parts are interchangeable, there is no guarantee that what you have now is what it left the factory with! (And when we are talking about bolts with nuts, rather than ones that are tapped into something, they could be replaced with anything, typically Whitworth from the hardware store).

To take Uncle Ho's example, on my 2a the firewall to mudguard bolts are two different sizes - from memory, 5/8" AF and 3/8"W (which is the odd 19/32"). I believe that this reflects a change in the size of head plus getting the bolts mixed up at some stage during service when several vehicles were being worked on at one time.

John

[LSD_AUTOMOTIVE]

Thanks everyone for your help. I've taken some photos but need to take oodles more. They're linked in the blog :)