Thread: My 1955 86" Restoration Project

thanks mate,

hahaha, skinned my knuckles quite a bit on this Landy. I had to cut one of the bulkhead bolts off and i was cutting it with a thin disc on the angle grinder the bolt head flung off the disc hit the bulkhead and landed on me scorching hot. got me between my collar & my neck. by the time i got it off it had burnt me ouch! it left a scar but im ok i try to be as safe when working but sometimes things just happen i guess!

I'got a front cut quarter chassi from a series 2. someone in the LROCV gave it to me for free but i did them a favour and pick up a hard top roof for a 2a that he bought from someone in Frankston, as this person lived in mt.Macedon, VIC and the roof needed to be picked up from Frankston a bit far for the fella, so we swapped parts half way at our next cub meeting. i thought why not, sounds like a fair deal to me!

I also welded in bracing to stop the chassi from warping when i re weld the new member in place and removed them at a later stage. Also repaired the battery tray & front end pieces with new tubings for the bumper bolts.

I capped the ends with and opening and close it off with a rubber grommet
and at a later stage spray the inside of the chassi with SW2 oil simmilar to fish oil but without that fowl smell.

I did these repairs during the summer period of 2006-07, and i tell ya, i was working in 30 degree heat outside, welding too. which lost me a few kilos!

Nice work Chris.
love the golden brake reservoir!

G'day hope you all have been well. Some more pics of the Chassi upon completion off to sandblasting and back home the next day for a couple of coats of Por15 and Chassis Coat Black.



Bellhousing, Gearbox & front cross members all repaired took me a bit of time but i am very happy with the outcome.





leaf springs i had ordered new front springs from QLD, and got 2nd hand rear springs off a 107" removed the helpers and had the springs re set, wire brush + penetrol & splash of black paint to finish them off.



Here i fabricated new brake pipe plates for the rear diff as they were missing when i got the landy. the one on the left is an origional that someone gave me so i can use as a template, measure etc.





Ignore the copper brake pipes, they have been changed with bundy tubing. Personally i dont have a problem with copper brake pipes as long as they are rated. I still dont understand how they are approved and dissaproved in various states. My mechanic told me they can burst i said they were rated he says no, no they wont pass. i said i went to the historic car show in Flemington i saw a dozen English and European cars with copper brake pipes, he had no awnser for me when i mentioned it. I could never get a straight awnser i changed them because it will be more difficult to replace once the vehicle was together i didnt want any problems when it comes to rego. So just note to check with your local mechaninc or authoroties before you purchase copper brakes from the UK.

i could of sprayed them silver, who would know?

I stripped all the cappings and pieces which were origionally galved, cleaned them up with a wire brush removed any paint and sent them off to the galvers in Preston, Vic. (Industrial Galvanisers) cost me $200 to do the lot as they base their price on volume, weight. So if you can pair up with someone to do your galving as one lot will save you a bit of money. I was extremely happy with the result, the windscreen warped a bit but was an easy fix. Anything with threads will have to be re tapped as the galv is quite thick.
Also just note that if you have areas with slight rust or where the metal is thin or have a few pin holes, the galv might burn through and make a slighly larger hole. it happened on my door frames on the inside corner where the bailey channel is placed. its ok though its not on the outside.

Mate that is looking FANTASTIC!

Really looking forward to seeing the finished product!

Absolutely superb work Chris!!

I love your chassis work - a man after my own heart!

I agree about the copper brake pipes. I have used them for years but found it impossible to buy the stuff anymore, so I had to fork out a fortune for a bender and double flaring tool, just so I can have rust-prone pipes on the car

Very impressive mate; well done