Thread: "Reg - The series 2a build

Granted, a thick layer of dust will indeed cause problems for a sprayed paint, but there should never be a thick layer of dust. Tack rags are used as a final wipe down, following all other prep, on a surface that is already considered to be clean and dust free. Their job is to remove the tiny amounts of dust, hair etc. that may be on the surface immediately prior to painting, and that may cause blemishes and marks in fine finishes.

Generally speaking, a tack rag (after use) should show little dirt - if it has a great deal of dirt on it then the prep wasn't up to scratch in the first place. The tiny amounts of dust that a tack rag would normally be expected to encounter wouldn't be likely to affect the adhesion of any chassis paint.

I've never used a tack rag on a chassis, for the reasons outlines above, but I'd be interested to know how well it worked. Most LR chassis that I've seen are fairly well covered in what appears to be "factory" weld spatter and rough edges, and given the nature of the vehicle and the apparent originality of the spatter I've made no effort to remove them, and they even survived sandblasting. Do they end up coated with small bits of tack rag that have caught and been torn off? That's often a problem with cleaning "industrial" metal surfaces (chassis, tractors etc.), cleaning rags shred themselves on the rough surfaces and do more harm than good!

[This 88" is the first LR I've restored from scratch, but over the last 30 years I've done many cars, tractors, motorcycles and boats]

Another update on progress!! (photo's to follow very soon)

List of acheivements over the last couple of weeks:

• One of the fuel tanks is out (i'll get back to the fuel tank)
• Rear springs off (that was a mission!!)
• Rear diff out
• Cleaned about half of the chassis
• Painted about 1/3 of the chassis

Fuel tank - the pipe the the filler tube attaches to on the top of the fuel tank has a crack where it connects to the tank and the breather hose spiggot has snapped. Can this be welded? Or am i better to just replace the tank?

I have found some juice rust in one of the rear outrigger (front of the driverside rear spring mount), So that will be a challenge to fix!! but that is part of the fun! By the way I have to say outriggers for the springs are a great dirt holder!! I think there was just under 1/2 a ton of dirt jammed into the outrigger (both sides)

Cheers

Before you consider fixing the tank, clean it very thoroughly indeed and see if it has any other rust. As you have noticed, the outriggers catch a great deal of dirt, and dirt is trapped between the tank and the outrigger. My '58 tank was almost perfect on all faces except the one that traps dirt against the rear outrigger. The tank had several pinholes in that area.......

As for fixing it, it was originally soldered and has been full of petrol (?). Welding runs the risk of exploding the fuel vapours and/or melting the solder. I know people who have filled tanks with water and put them in a water bath with just the damaged section above water. That keeps the remainder cool and prevents the soldered joints melting, and it should also prevent explosion! Then they weld or solder the repair.

HOWEVER, my steel fabricator who is VERY good at what he does, will never under any circumstances weld a fuel tank. He restores old tractors and stationary engines and has done for many years, but he won't weld a fuel tank. He says that no matter how careful you may be, there is always the risk of fuel that is trapped in the seams (even in a tank that has been "dry" for years) being vaporised by the heat and then catching fire.

Originally Posted by tibbsy

Fuel tank - the pipe the the filler tube attaches to on the top of the fuel tank has a crack where it connects to the tank and the breather hose spiggot has snapped.

Don't weld - use a very large tinsman's soldering iron and Baker's Soldering Fluid to melt the solder and allow the crack to flow together. Make sure you heat the bit well away from the tank,

Cheers Charlie

Thanks for that!!

Also i found the chassis number while cleaning the chassis: 25303488a

253Model: Land Rover, Series IIA
Body type: Basic
Wheel base: 109in
Engine: petrol
Model years: 1962-1971
Destination: Completely knocked down (CKD), right-hand drive (RHD)03488Serial numberADesign: Unmodified
Suffix used on SIIA from October 1961 till March 1963, and on SIII from 1971 till 1973

And I now have a land rover 4 cylinder, well i will have when i pick it up!! $120 bargin!!

Photo's and progress will have to wait a week or so, just been sent to Mackay for a week!!

Picked up the new engine today!! And some orginal manuals!!

That engine is somewhat older than your 2a, but should work, depending of course on condition. Strictly speaking you need to modify it to the later crankcase ventilation system to be legal, but it is very unlikely anyone will ever check!

John

Older??? Looks like I've been given a bit of a bum steer!!! Thought it was s11a or s111!!!

So a couple of questions:

How old do you think it is?
How can I tell the age?
And what are the mod's you talk about??

Either way it will be the new heart for my rover, I still think it will be better than the Holden 186!!

Cheers