Thread: Project Serenity

Originally Posted by wrinklearthur

Hi Martin

I live just up the road not far out of Brighton, I wouldn't mind meeting up for a chat and a look see.
Its sad though, all of your Landy's are about ten years younger than me!
.

It would be nice to meet you, I'll send you a PM, see if we can organise a time to catch up.

Cheers,

Martin

Just a quick update with some extra photos of my new bulkheads. They arrived in Hobart at 7:30 this morning, courtesy of Rob's housemate.

Now its off the trailer, here are some better pictures of the inside of the bulkhead.







Cheers,

Martin

Loving the resto, mate. I'm looking forward to the finished product

So, Malcolm...
How's Serenity, still stuck in the Persephone docks?

Sadly she is.

Uni has been stupidly busy recently, so the last time I managed to do any work was weeks ago. I'm hopeful I'll manage to do something over my easter break, but with lab reports, assignments and tests looming, not to mention the gf wanting to spend time with me, I'm not even sure that will happen!

The current focus is building up frames for a rotisserie for the chassis. I've finished one but the second one still needs to be welded together yet. Once that's done it's off with the axles and onto sand blasting and painting.

Can't wait to graduate!

Martin

Well, it's exactly one year today since I bought Serenity. She would have made it home by now. I'd love to celebrate this day by going out and working on her for a few hours, but sadly assignments still call...

The good news (or bad, depending on your view) is I'm only about a month away from finishing up this semester where I can have a good few weeks to work on her. I still need to get the chassis sandblasted, sooner rather than later probably, so I can start painting as soon as I've finished exams.

I'm wondering where you guys would move to after finishing up the chassis. I'll be able to work full time on her for about two weeks, maybe more depending on how things go, so a lot of work will hopefully get done. I'm thinking that the axles and suspension are probably the next important step right after the chassis, followed by a major service of the engine. Should I do things in a different order to that? I'd like to get some bits and pieces ordered now so they're ready for me when I get time to work on her again.

I've got some fairly specific questions about diffs, so I might start a new thread on that...

Engine wise, what would people suggest I replace? As far as I can tell the engine is mechanically sound, it doesn't blow smoke or use any oil. She fires the moment the fuel makes it through to the carby, and when running there's no evident tappet noise at all, nor does it miss. What I was thinking was basically a major service, so change the timing chain etc, water pump, revamp the ignition system with plugs, points, leads and maybe a new coil. I need to go through and check for leaks, so I might have to change some seals too, depending on what I find. I was also thinking of a carby rebuild kit, just for completeness sake. If you want to know what the engine sounded like, have a look at the video I've posted previously, as that has a decent record of how everything sounds. So you don't have go go back and find it, here it is again:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5nU1XfHPdQ"]Serenity's Last Drive (Before Restoration) - YouTube[/ame]

I start her at 1:40, but she wasn't happy for a little while as a little water had got into the fuel pickup when I pressure washed her.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,

Martin

Hi Martin

As far as most of the engine is concerned, if it aint broke don't fix it.

Clean the sump out and the oil pickup gauze. Test; the thermostat, the temperature gauge sender and the oil light switch for correct operation, do a wet and dry compression test.

While you can get at the motor relatively easily, the rear main and front seals would be a good thing to replace, with an eye run over the condition of the clutch plate, then with a fresh set of gaskets to keep oil in, give the block a nice coat of duck egg blue.

Have a look at the welsh plugs and the alloy housing where the top radiator hose sits. I would need to look at the condition of the radiator before making a decision to get it serviced as it maybe a lot cheaper to get a brand new one first up.

If you are short of anything give me a hoy, as I know someone that has a yard full of junk! I will try and get down to see you while you have your uni break.
.

A nice coat of duck egg blue... I should have seen that coming!

I'd totally forgotten about the clutch. I noticed that slipping when I was towing the series 1 round the yard, so that most likely will require replacing.

By the way Arthur, did you work for PMG/Telecom/Telstra in the past? My father Colin reckons he used to work with you, or at least in the same building or something... Small place this Tasmania!

Cheers,

Martin