Thread: Series 1 purchase advice

Front two belts come off the PTO, but the third on the smaller pully whats it hooked to?

Easo

Originally Posted by easo

Front two belts come off the PTO, but the third on the smaller pulley whats it hooked to?

Easo

Blower to cool the welding generator.

John

Drove it home last weekend, small amount of smoke when accelerating and I need to get used to the lack of synchro on second gear !?
Had to plan braking well ahead, the brakes need overhauling but also maybe I am more used to modern brakes.
First priority was getting under cover. Made a timber frame on the roofrack and put a tarp over it (this way the tarp doesn't rub against the body).

A couple of other features not previously listed.
Has a lift up roof hatch with flywires that fit into the two openings.
Also has a second fuel tank under the back.

Will post some more pictures this weekend.

A couple of questions relating to getting it to a usable condition....

I always assumed the hardtop was aluminium, but it is plywood covered with fabric of some sort. The top half of the rear door needs replacing/rebuilding and several areas are soft so it will need some repairs. Any tips on restoring the hardtop ?

What colour should the chassis be on a '56 ? Looks like it was black (mostly rusted) but the rear cross member is a pale yellow colour although the paint is badly faded.

Should the wheels be body coloured on a '56 ?

Many thanks,

Gromit

G'day Grommet

Plywood covered with Canvas that is an old coach building method, whoever built the body definately knew what he was doing, was seen in early postwar commercial bodies, and top of the range custom English body saloons. RR,Bentley.

cheers

Originally Posted by gromit

........
A couple of questions relating to getting it to a usable condition....

1. I always assumed the hardtop was aluminium, but it is plywood covered with fabric of some sort. The top half of the rear door needs replacing/rebuilding and several areas are soft so it will need some repairs. Any tips on restoring the hardtop ?

2. What colour should the chassis be on a '56 ? Looks like it was black (mostly rusted) but the rear cross member is a pale yellow colour although the paint is badly faded.

3. Should the wheels be body coloured on a '56 ?

Many thanks,

Gromit

1. Similar to most aircraft from the beginnings to the thirties, this was a not uncommon method for building wooden car bodies and boats, either using ply that was not too waterproof, or planks that leaked in the joins and waterproofed with a covering of painted canvas. When restoring this it is worth noting that both the paint under the canvas and the paint soaking the canvas is certainly lead paint, so care is needed when working on it. Repairing/restoring the top would be cabinet making work plus finish of canvas. It would be worth either talking to a specialist in wooden boat building or get hold of an older book on boat building or repairing.

2. Black

3. yes, unless my memory has faded, although if it had a non standard body colour, perhaps when the wooden hardtop was added, the wheels may not have been repainted.

John

Was the LR hardtop originally canvas covered ply or is this an aftermarket one ?
This one looks professionally made and you can see where there was originally a window on the drivers side (where the louvred vent is now fitted).



Gromit

Have attached a couple of extra pictures.
One addition I forgot to mention is an extra gearlever, need to get underneath to determine what exactly it does.
In the rear view the control for the welder output is under the Land Rover badge. There are several brackets at the back I have yet to work out, but I did like the step that swings down with the lower half of the rear door.
I added the timber on the roofrack to support a tarp. The roofrack has been designed to take boat. The arms have a lip at one side and the front is narrower than the rear and angled to match the bow profile.

Should get a chance to work on it this weekend depending on the weather....


Gromit

The hardtop looks as if it is either a modified standard one (e.g. the ribs on the roof) or is copied from a standard one.

The extra gear lever is interesting, the obvious use is to operate the PTO for the welder, but it will be easy to check this. The standard PTO operation was through a hatch in the centre seat box.

The curved brackets on the back look as if they are designed to hold something round, sitting on the brackets above the tail lights, but they look too short a space for oxy/acetylene cylinders and too big a radius of curvature .

All in all it looks like a very interesting vehicle, in quite good condition and well worthy of restoration and preservation. As I mentioned above, it would be worthwhile trying to get some history of it while there may be people who know still alive.

John