In between me running in and out of the house with an eye on the cricket, the Landy did something she hasn't done in ages: she moved under her own power. For the first time since October 2010.
The last hurdle which had stalled me for weeks (mainly because I never had time to deal with it) was the overdrive refusing to slot home. Yesterday I carefully took a little out of the inside diameter of the new bush in the overdrive input shaft and then hey, presto, in she went.
My brother and my sister in law happened to turn up for the big moment, which was fun (they even filmed it.... I may even post the epic fillum here sometime).
Anyway, out trundled the Landy from the shed. First impression is that the steering is lighter and sharper than before (which it should be). The rest will follow, I guess.
The engine settled after warming for a while; the knock which had bothered me and the blue smoke disappeared after a while, which was pleasing. She sounds and feels the way she always used to: that is to say, brilliant.
Here are a few photos of the vehicle standing proudly in the summer sunshine.
I'll also post some photos of the transmission, including the modified overdrive in place. Its sump capacity is up from the old 400ml and it now holds 2.25 litres (though I must confess that in my excitement I did overfill it slightly and will probably have to drain a little out under operating conditions).
I might even start the thread I have been meaning to do for ages on this overdrive, to save me filling this thread up - and it may be of some use to somebody on the technical forum.
Righto..... the annoying bit about this post is that I wrote one last night that the computer decided to make disappear for no good reason, so I have to try to remember it all over again...
Either side of Christmas I got a few days here and there for some time on the Landy. I’ve fitted the seat base and transmission tunnel and have been working on the floor panels too. I’ve lined all the various panels to deaden vibration before then adding the soundproofing. I’ll post some photos here of the soundproofing in place.
The driver’s seat is in (awaiting its tailored seat covers from Tanzania) and the passenger seat will go in soon too.
The bonnet and tailgate are off getting sandblasted (I have had enough wire brushing on some items...) and yesterday evening I got stuck into the roof to start cleaning it up.
I really don’t want to put paint on any of the galvanised steel, but in places where it is damaged and inviting rust I am prepping it with cold galv then dusting it with hammer finish, blending it into the rest of the capping/windscreen frame/whatever.
I have replaced a lot of nuts and bolts on the bodywork with stainless items. Even though it is nice retaining as much originality as possible, a lot of fixings were not original anyway and in some places I like the clean finish of the stainless steel.
The motor is running beautifully. It was a bit rattley at first when it came out of hibernation, but it has settled nicely and purrs like a 2.25 litre cat now.
I installed one (yes, one - don't want to overdo things) shock absorber and got stuck into the interior matting. Very time-consuming making templates for the footwells.
Here's a photo of the passenger side. I'm very happy with the result.
Another photo of the tub. The Chequerplate pattern rubber looks pretty good.
Oh, and I also put more soundproofing into the floor on the passenger side and did some plumbing on the fuel tank fillers and overflow pipes.
Today was one of those quiet sort of days on the build, but I got a little done nonetheless.
I started cleaning up the fuel/amp gauge cluster (had decided that it wasn't looking tidy enough any more) and gave the block and radiator a flush and some new coolant (and new radiator hoses...may as well have the old ones for spares, rather than the other way around).
I also enlarged the mounting holes on the new bottom section of the radiator panel (replaced the rusted double-skin section with some nice thick steel quite a while back) and cut rubber pads for buffering its mounting to the chassis.
So, that's it. Achieved three-fifths of the proverbial, but I'm getting there.
Oh - and I also picked up the bonnet and tailgate from the sandblaster's. They look terrific. The bloke undercoated them as well - which is pretty good, except that he also painted the galv section for the spare wheel mounting on the bonnet. Never mind, he did a great job on the rest of the panel and I hadn't even asked him to do it.
Mostly spent today working on the instruments and gauges.
Cleaned up the amp/fuel gauge cluster. Had soaked it overnight in degreaser to loosen the gunk holding the glass in place. It came up pretty well, though not perfectly (just as well, really; if anything on the vehicle looked perfect the rest would disappoint it). I touched up the edge with a cable tie dipped in paint to re-blacken it. It came up too glossy, so I rubbed the whole shebang in fine dust when it dried to give it more of a satin sheen. As I said, not perfect, but....
I reinstalled the main gauges and the various toggle switches, as well as completing the dashboard wiring for various ancilliaries set to come along later (rear work light, interior light, stereo, driving lights, engine watchdog). Unfortunately, there was not quite enough time to finish the gauge for the left hand fuel tank. It's a bit of a home-made job. I've got a nice piece of perspex now for the binnacle (made from part of a thread tape holder) and hope to get that sorted next weekend. I think I bumped the needle on that gauge a while ago, so will have to recalibrate it.
I'll throw in a photo of the dash and instruments. Yes, I know that the white-faced temp gauge doesn't fit with the rest of it. It looks more out of place in the photo than it does when I look at it here. I'll think about changing it sometime. It may not even work any more....
Oh, and I put in the remaining front shock absorber. Then I went to install the rear ones to find that I have been sent the wrong ones.... they are at least four inches too short.
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