Thread: So what do you think??

Originally Posted by back_in

What is holding the old girl together
major work required
a very good donor vehicle would help
cheers
Ian

Charm.

I do hope this lovely thing gets the help it needs.

Originally Posted by Lost Landy

The body work is quite decent, though would take alot of work but it is doable.
Iam sure that if you go out searching you may well find a series 1 in better cond and for a lot less the $4,000.

a good restoration project to start with a little top side on the dollors jim

Originally Posted by Scallops

Charm.

I do hope this lovely thing gets the help it needs.

I'm with you there mate. I really hope it'll be me that gets to help it but that will require some semblance of reality from the current owner. It really is a nice little truck ... just in very poor condition. ("So what is it that makes it a nice little truck" my head asks ... "it just is" my heart says!)

Perhaps a recap of:
1) the good points;
- Truck Cab is in very good condition.
- Tub is in pretty good condition with just the floor being a little buckled, although the underneath cross rails are straight and rust free.
- Tailgate is pretty good with only a little "straightening" required. Both latches are still there and work and line up.
- Seat boxes are very good, although one inspection "flap" is missing. Most of the seat rubber blocks are there. Two of the seat backs are there and hinge nicely.
- Doors, hinges and handles all operate well and in pretty good condition. The external door handles seem to be fairly rare as few models had this type of handle and they are genuine, original ones from what I can tell.
- Bonnet is reasonable, although a little dented from, I'm guessing, kids climbing on it. The hinges work well and all the fixings seem to be there including the loops for the windscreen to fold down to and the bonnet latches.
- Windscreen glass seems good. I guess the old girl never went fast enough for stones to be able to chip it ... or 30 ears of shed dust is hiding the chips.

2) the unknowns;
- Engine. I checked the oil and the end of the dipstick had plenty of oil on it and, although it was black, there was no sign of creaminess. The radiator core is shagged but the external tanks seem good.
- Gearbox. Obviously leaking oil judging by the huge amount of oil dripping all over the cross member but unable to test. How it managed to rust is beyond me!
- Transfer box. Not able to test.
- Diff's. Not able to test.

3) the bad points;
- Chassis cross members are rotten and the front ends of both chassis rails are rotten, although nowhere near as bad as some I've seen on here and the holes don't extend to the front spring hangers.
- Firewall is rotten at the box-section ends where the door hinges mount and the front fenders bolt to. Slightly rusty in the front panels of the firewall at knee height on both sides.
- Front fenders quite cracked and generally very rough.
- Instrument dash butchered to fit larger incorrect speedo.
- Windscreen frame ("A" Pillar) has had a pipe fitting of some sort welded into it on the lhs.
- Transfer Box instruction label drilled though by self tapper screw. (Maybe this should fit in the "minor annoyances" list below but I don't know how replaceable the label is.

4) Minor annoyances;
- Drivers side perspex windows both broken.
- Wheels not a matched set of correct year.
- Front bumper is bent and creased.
- Fuel tank guard rusted away.
- Rear bumper bar on drivers side seriously bent.
- Air pre-cleaner is missing.
- Distributor seems to be a later model one (1955?).
- Gearstick knob missing

The house paint that's been brushed on and the 30 years of wind blown farm dust probably hides a few things but probably minor panel stuff.

I'm psyching myself up to ring the owner tomorrow to put an offer to him.
Let's see if there's another chapter to this story.
Cheers
John B

Originally Posted by JayBoRover

I'm with you there mate. I really hope it'll be me that gets to help it but that will require some semblance of reality from the current owner. It really is a nice little truck ... just in very poor condition. ("So what is it that makes it a nice little truck" my head asks ... "it just is" my heart says!)

Perhaps a recap of:
1) the good points;
- Truck Cab is in very good condition.
- Tub is in pretty good condition with just the floor being a little buckled, although the underneath cross rails are straight and rust free.
- Tailgate is pretty good with only a little "straightening" required. Both latches are still there and work and line up.
- Seat boxes are very good, although one inspection "flap" is missing. Most of the seat rubber blocks are there. Two of the seat backs are there and hinge nicely.
- Doors, hinges and handles all operate well and in pretty good condition. The external door handles seem to be fairly rare as few models had this type of handle and they are genuine, original ones from what I can tell.
- Bonnet is reasonable, although a little dented from, I'm guessing, kids climbing on it. The hinges work well and all the fixings seem to be there including the loops for the windscreen to fold down to and the bonnet latches.
- Windscreen glass seems good. I guess the old girl never went fast enough for stones to be able to chip it ... or 30 ears of shed dust is hiding the chips.

2) the unknowns;
- Engine. I checked the oil and the end of the dipstick had plenty of oil on it and, although it was black, there was no sign of creaminess. The radiator core is shagged but the external tanks seem good.
- Gearbox. Obviously leaking oil judging by the huge amount of oil dripping all over the cross member but unable to test. How it managed to rust is beyond me!
- Transfer box. Not able to test.
- Diff's. Not able to test.

3) the bad points;
- Chassis cross members are rotten and the front ends of both chassis rails are rotten, although nowhere near as bad as some I've seen on here and the holes don't extend to the front spring hangers.
- Firewall is rotten at the box-section ends where the door hinges mount and the front fenders bolt to. Slightly rusty in the front panels of the firewall at knee height on both sides.
- Front fenders quite cracked and generally very rough.
- Instrument dash butchered to fit larger incorrect speedo.
- Windscreen frame ("A" Pillar) has had a pipe fitting of some sort welded into it on the lhs.
- Transfer Box instruction label drilled though by self tapper screw. (Maybe this should fit in the "minor annoyances" list below but I don't know how replaceable the label is.

4) Minor annoyances;
- Drivers side perspex windows both broken.
- Wheels not a matched set of correct year.
- Front bumper is bent and creased.
- Fuel tank guard rusted away.
- Rear bumper bar on drivers side seriously bent.
- Air pre-cleaner is missing.
- Distributor seems to be a later model one (1955?).
- Gearstick knob missing

The house paint that's been brushed on and the 30 years of wind blown farm dust probably hides a few things but probably minor panel stuff.

I'm psyching myself up to ring the owner tomorrow to put an offer to him.
Let's see if there's another chapter to this story.
Cheers
John B

Good luck - plenty of support here for you.

Originally Posted by JayBoRover

I'm with you there mate. I really hope it'll be me that gets to help it but that will require some semblance of reality from the current owner. It really is a nice little truck ... just in very poor condition. ("So what is it that makes it a nice little truck" my head asks ... "it just is" my heart says!)

Perhaps a recap of:
1) the good points;
- Truck Cab is in very good condition.
- Tub is in pretty good condition with just the floor being a little buckled, although the underneath cross rails are straight and rust free.
- Tailgate is pretty good with only a little "straightening" required. Both latches are still there and work and line up.
- Seat boxes are very good, although one inspection "flap" is missing. Most of the seat rubber blocks are there. Two of the seat backs are there and hinge nicely.
- Doors, hinges and handles all operate well and in pretty good condition. The external door handles seem to be fairly rare as few models had this type of handle and they are genuine, original ones from what I can tell.
- Bonnet is reasonable, although a little dented from, I'm guessing, kids climbing on it. The hinges work well and all the fixings seem to be there including the loops for the windscreen to fold down to and the bonnet latches.
- Windscreen glass seems good. I guess the old girl never went fast enough for stones to be able to chip it ... or 30 ears of shed dust is hiding the chips.

2) the unknowns;
- Engine. I checked the oil and the end of the dipstick had plenty of oil on it and, although it was black, there was no sign of creaminess. The radiator core is shagged but the external tanks seem good.
- Gearbox. Obviously leaking oil judging by the huge amount of oil dripping all over the cross member but unable to test. How it managed to rust is beyond me!
- Transfer box. Not able to test.
- Diff's. Not able to test.

3) the bad points;
- Chassis cross members are rotten and the front ends of both chassis rails are rotten, although nowhere near as bad as some I've seen on here and the holes don't extend to the front spring hangers.
- Firewall is rotten at the box-section ends where the door hinges mount and the front fenders bolt to. Slightly rusty in the front panels of the firewall at knee height on both sides.
- Front fenders quite cracked and generally very rough.
- Instrument dash butchered to fit larger incorrect speedo.
- Windscreen frame ("A" Pillar) has had a pipe fitting of some sort welded into it on the lhs.
- Transfer Box instruction label drilled though by self tapper screw. (Maybe this should fit in the "minor annoyances" list below but I don't know how replaceable the label is.

4) Minor annoyances;
- Drivers side perspex windows both broken.
- Wheels not a matched set of correct year.
- Front bumper is bent and creased.
- Fuel tank guard rusted away.
- Rear bumper bar on drivers side seriously bent.
- Air pre-cleaner is missing.
- Distributor seems to be a later model one (1955?).
- Gearstick knob missing

The house paint that's been brushed on and the 30 years of wind blown farm dust probably hides a few things but probably minor panel stuff.

I'm psyching myself up to ring the owner tomorrow to put an offer to him.
Let's see if there's another chapter to this story.
Cheers
John B

Hi there John,
The wear and tear you have noted appears to me to be fairly reasonable for a vehicle of its age and probable usage on a farm. There is a heap of work there though to get it to a condition suitable for registration or respectability. You will want to be a gun with a welder and metal fabrication to fix the chassis and bulkhead (or willing to pay someone to spend a lot of time fixing them). Also, you will need to find a good source for a heap of parts including front guards etc.

I paid $600 for my 86" a couple of years ago which could be driven onto the car trailer for the trip home. I found a local LR nut who had a huge supply of second hand parts that I could pillage for very good $$. I would hate to have had to pay top dollar for all of the bits I have bought. I have spent about $3K rebuilding the brakes, axles, oil seals etc. The radiator alone cost me $600 to be recored. I'll probably have another $2K to finish it off. You need to judge how much you are willing to spend but know there will be a few $K by the time it gets on the road.

My 86" was bought when I lived over east and I don't know how often they come up on the market over here in WA. But for $4.5K, I would think you could pick up a much better S1 over east and get it over here and still have change left over.

Just my thoughts. It is not easy to take the initial plunge. Good luck with it.

Cheers,
Chris

Another good point is that steering wheel! Rather hard to come by in that condition.

I agree with Dennis; about $600 is a fair price for a well-worn out Rover.

As for the chassis and bulkhead they are very easy to repair and very cheap if you can weld. If you can't weld and you end up with this car, give me a call and I can give you some lessons for free,

Cheers Charlie

Originally Posted by chazza

Another good point is that steering wheel! Rather hard to come by in that condition.

I agree with Dennis; about $600 is a fair price for a well-worn out Rover.

As for the chassis and bulkhead they are very easy to repair and very cheap if you can weld. If you can't weld and you end up with this car, give me a call and I can give you some lessons for free,

Cheers Charlie

That's a very nice offer Charlie. I can see a drive to Narrogin in my future. I have done a bit of welding but just home hobby level stuff with a stick welder. Seems to be a heavy amount of luck involved and much use of the grinder! Haven't used oxy acetylene for decades - since trade school in the mid eighties.

I tried to ring the S1 owner tonight but didn't catch him. I'll try again tomorrow.

Ciao
John B

John - if you are planning on doing a heap of welding, I'd say forget using a stick welder, and get hold of a MIG welder. Much easier to control on thin sections of steel.

I have tried one of these new Inverter Stick Welders and they are Sooooo much better than my big old transformer welder, and make stick welding a lot easier, but still not as good (controllable) as a MIG in my experience.