1955 S1 86" addition to the stable

**JayBoRover** · 23rd January 2012, 10:19 PM

When I saw this reasonably nice looking S1 on eBay and realised it was in my neighbouring suburb I just had to go and have a look. I saw enough of it to realise it was a worthy car of looking after and it would be a shame to see it pulverised or abused so I figured the maximum I would pay and put in a bid or two. I won it with $4 to spare

So I'll pick it up this weekend and provide a decent description with additional photo's showing some of the salient points. In the mean time, here are a few of the photo's from the eBay advertisement.

Hiding under the rusted sheet-steel "canopy" are the original "loops" for the canvas canopy. The sheet steel is riveted to the tub and the top of the windscreen. One of my first jobs will be to drill the rivets out and remove the steel sheet and check the condition of the loops - they looked good from what was visible.

There was no rust in the front of the dumb-irons or the rear cross member, where I have normally found severe rust in old Landies I've looked at. The gearbox cross member was severely dented, but not rusted. I think it's beyond repair so might require a replacement.

The engine bay appeared complete with the exception of the battery. The owner did not know why the engine is "non runner", so that'll be an early thing to look at. It'll be a great buy if the engine is okay, but still an okay buy if not as everything else is so good.

Behind the seat backs there was still the original crank handle and several other original tools and stuff. The actual seat padding and upholstery was shot, but all the frames and hinges were still there and correct. There was no rust visible in the bulkhead, the steering wheel was pretty good, the doors opened and closed okay, the windows slid freely, the left hand instrument glass is broken. The tub interior was very, very good.

Not exactly what I intended to do as my next Landy project, but it'll fit in well with the 80" in the shed already and the donor S2a outside and the "temporarily broken" S2a DeeDee in the carport. All I have to figure out is what to throw out of the garages to make room for this one. It's been stored in a shed for the last 20 years (did I say it's a two owner car?) so deserves a garage to park in.

More this weekend.
Ciao
John B

**digger** · 23rd January 2012, 11:40 PM

so which weights are correct?

looked at that thought looked good but the "unknown engine fault" and those massive blinkers had me turned off!!

cheers!

(I have a spare one of those guages if you need it)

**JayBoRover** · 24th January 2012, 12:42 AM

Originally Posted by digger

so which weights are correct?

looked at that thought looked good but the "unknown engine fault" and those massive blinkers had me turned off!!

cheers!

(I have a spare one of those guages if you need it)

Yep

Both the contradictory weights and the indicators kind of scream at me too! The indicators will not last long on there, that I promise you - even if it means removing something of it's history. There are limits!

I have a few bits and pieces of a 1955 engine here already, so maybe whatever is wrong can be remedied with what I have. When I asked the guy if he knew why it wouldn't run he just shrugged his shoulders and said "not a clue, never tried". It was basically a deceased estate sale and he said the family considered getting a mechanic to have a look to see if it could be made to run, but they decided it could be throwing money away that might not be recovered. I won't get a mechanic to look by doing it myself, so not as much money to throw away. Besides, throwing money at an old S1 isn't a waste in my book - certainly not an "investment" in the financial sense but an "investment" in history.

Hopefully I can remedy the issue, sort out a few other things I noticed and then see if I want to keep it or move it on as a running car. At this stage I can see it becoming a useful car on my block and allow me to sell my Nissan Patrol ute without losing the ability to manage the property.

Thanks for the offer on the gauge. I'll see how it looks inside when I have it in my hands. It looked like just the glass was broken by a light impact dead centre, so maybe I can source a suitable glass only for it. If the gauges are damaged I'll get in touch.

Cheers
John B

**123rover50** · 24th January 2012, 05:59 AM

Watching that one but too far away. Good buy.
Fancy chrome wheel trims, wonder what they are from. Might be a Royal

**ellard** · 24th January 2012, 06:02 AM

Hi there John

What a nice find and in reasonable condition. I have a soft spot of the 86 and looking forwards to the rebuild saga.

Ps -if your after another guage I may have one in the shed (pm me)

All the best

**chazza** · 24th January 2012, 08:23 AM

Nice find John!

The indicators are off a Bedford truck, J series by the look of them. I have the same ones on my J3.

Getting a new glass cut shouldn't be any problem,

Cheers Charlie

**Avion8** · 24th January 2012, 11:58 AM

Congratulations John, a nice find & only 4888kms on the clock. I had to attend a Chinese New Year dinner on Sunday night & hence missed the email from eBay announcing that I had been outbid. I even had a slot in the shed cleaned out for him, thanks to last weeks thunderstorm & approx 60mm's of rain in half an hour. You could always name him "Flash" for his indicators & at least where they are located there is no risk of leaving them on, which of course I never do with Lionel.

Cheers Nigel

**JayBoRover** · 24th January 2012, 10:03 PM

Originally Posted by Avion8

Congratulations John, a nice find & only 4888kms on the clock. I had to attend a Chinese New Year dinner on Sunday night & hence missed the email from eBay announcing that I had been outbid. I even had a slot in the shed cleaned out for him, thanks to last weeks thunderstorm & approx 60mm's of rain in half an hour. You could always name him "Flash" for his indicators & at least where they are located there is no risk of leaving them on, which of course I never do with Lionel.

Cheers Nigel

Hey there Nigel. Sorry to beat you in your absence. Doesn't seem fair. I hope you had a nice Chinese New Year dinner then. There were a couple of other bidders. The seller said one was from Melbourne and had rung about the car before bidding.
I have a real mission on my hands to make space in a garage for the addition this weekend. Then I hope the engine doesn't have to come out as the engine stand is full with the '49 engine from my 80". I'll have to pull my finger out and do something instead of just buying old Land Rover bits but preparing for the Dakar is the big goal for the year so the S1's have to take a back seat.
"Flash" might be okay for now but might be hard to explain when I remove the indicators, an early job for sure!
Had you been to have a look at the car? I'd be interested to hear what you thought and what you noticed that maybe I missed. The owner did say that someone had come to have a look on Sunday - I looked on Saturday late afternoon.
Maybe when I've got it home we should meet. I like the look of your one and would be keen to see that and discuss them.
Cheers
John B

**Avion8** · 25th January 2012, 11:39 AM

Hi John,

A fair win, & yes the Chinese New Year dinner was great, nice company, fantastic food & of course lots of good red wine.
I did view the vehicle before Christmas when it was a set price sale, but what with Christmas, SWMBO & then New Year it just didn't happen. But when I saw it back on eBay the good wife said go for it, most unusual as she hates riding in the 80" as does the dog. They don't mind a crappy old 20 year Ford Courier, or the Citroen!

Good luck with the garage space, our shed is 20X11 mtrs & is still full of junk. If I had purchased I would have pulled the engine out & down to inspect bottom end & probably replace exhaust valves, as I suspect they are the originals. I had quite a long list of items that needed replacement on "Flash", the wiring harness, tyres, exhaust, seats need a total rebuild, looked like the mice had eaten them. Then a tilt needs installing & I agree the sticks look OK, instrument glass, probably brakes & clutch, & if Lionel is anything to go by anything with a diaphragm in it needs a new one, carby, auto advance (just changed mine on Lionel with a Distributor Doctor unit and seems to go a little better up hills), fuel pump. Then it needs new indicators, Pork Pie rear lights, & I think outher than chassis crossmember he should be all set. I would have left the body pretty much as is for time being, just scrub off the TARE lettering/numbering.

I would like to see your '49 80" & Flash again when you get him home. Don't know if I can get Lionel as far as Perth yet, he is getting more reliable by the week, but definitely needs new tyres before a 70km trip to Perth, I think I'm going to go back to as close as standard 6.00X16 as I can get, the 7.00x16's make him just a tad too high geared for the Great Eastern Highway - I hadn't even noticed the hills on it before? - and it is no joke going up them in second gear. Good luck with your Dakar preparations - now there's a thought a Series 1 Dakar entrant!
Cheers
Nigel

**JayBoRover** · 25th January 2012, 02:41 PM

Thanks for the great response Nigel. Your list of items requiring attention is almost identical to mine. I hadn't looked at the wiring loom in much detail so missed any potential issues there, but everything else I had noted. I also figured that most rubber and diaphragm bits would need work/replacement and that "moving parts" like the clutch and brakes would need work.
I'll PM you my contact details and maybe we can catch up for a chat sometime soon.
Cheers
John B

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