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Thread: Introducing Betty

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    Introducing Betty

    Several days ago I purchased a 1962 SWB SIIA that had been advertised in the For Sale section of this forum. We drove down to Geelong to view it and basically purchased it straight away along with a trailer load of spare bits and bobs plus workshop manuals and boxes of old English Land Rover magazines.


    We've named her Betty. She was registered in Victoria and used daily by the previous owner to get to work. He had restored it over a 14 month period from a pile of bits he had bought from someone who had pulled it apart but then had lost interest. It is in very solid shape - not a concours car but a great project for me to play around with. There is no rust, it is 99% correct for the period, there is a new wiring loom, newish radiator, battery and hoses and the original motor has been rebuilt with hardened valve seats so normal unleaded petrol goes in. Repair is needed on the drivers side rear after a women ran into Betty just after the previous owner got it back on the road.


    Hopefully if I've got it right a picture of Betty will appear with this post.


    I've got to get it registered in NSW and when I spoke to the bloke who will probably be doing the blue slip he told me he needed to see the actual chassis number on the chassis - not just the plate inside the car.


    The previous owner told me that it was stamped above the left hand rear spring hanger - but I can't find it there. In fact I can find it anywhere. James Taylor in his 2010 book titled 'Land Rover Series II and IIA - Specification Guide' notes that on some overseas built vehicles the chassis number is not stamped on the outer surface of the right hand chassis side rail just behind the front bumper and above the spring hanger where it can be found on English built vehicles. So can someone please tell me where to find it.


    Thanks in advance - and I'll try to keep this thread alive with photos of progress.


    Nic
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    Your chassis number should be stamped as the PO stated, on the LHS rear spring hanger. Does the chassis have too much paint or something over the numbers, anyway it's a nice looking rig, cheers Dennis

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    JDNSW's Avatar
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    Assuming it is Australian built, the number will be on the outside of the LH back rear spring hanger, on the vertical bit above the shackle bolt and below the chassis rail. In the unlikely event it is a imported one, it might be worth looking on the RH front chassis rail, on the bit facing out inside the wheel.

    If the chassis has been repainted, it is likely that you will have to remove the paint (or most of it) to see the number. May even be necessary to etch the bare metal if it was sanded back when repainted, but most likely the number will become clear as you sand back the paint.

    Looks nice.

    John
    John

    JDNSW
    1986 110 County 3.9 diesel
    1970 2a 109 2.25 petrol

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    Thanks John and Dennis - after 10 minutes sanding it magically appeared.

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    Betty's a beauty! Look forward to hearing more.
    Good luck with the roadworthy. It sound alike you know lots already, but the more you know, the better your chances of educating a skeptical inspector that things are as they should be!

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    Since getting Betty home I've been slowly working from front to back to see what I've bought, pulling bits of where I can to check more deeply. I've been polishing it too as I find by doing so I can really get a feel for the 'patina' on the panels. She is showing her 52 years in places but then again didn't we all!


    Everything seems to work, though finding 2nd gear from 3rd continues to challenge me. And the brakes don't exactly throw me through the windscreen. All part of the fun though.


    But I have a question for the very experienced amongst the membership of this forum. Turning the light switch to side lights gets those working brightly but turning the light switch further to headlights doesn't actually see the headlights light up. But if I hit what I thought to be the dip switch the head lights come on plus the main beam red light lights up on the dash board. Is this normal? I can't see that it is. I think I mentioned earlier that Betty has a new wiring loom but I'm wondering if how the head lights currently work needs attention.


    Thanks in anticipation. Latest photo should appear below.


    Nic
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    JDNSW's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by newby@54 View Post
    .....

    But I have a question for the very experienced amongst the membership of this forum. Turning the light switch to side lights gets those working brightly but turning the light switch further to headlights doesn't actually see the headlights light up. But if I hit what I thought to be the dip switch the head lights come on plus the main beam red light lights up on the dash board. Is this normal? I can't see that it is. I think I mentioned earlier that Betty has a new wiring loom but I'm wondering if how the head lights currently work needs attention.

    ......


    Nic
    From the description, low beam is not working. This could be:-

    1) Wiring problem, such a a disconnected wire (most likely at the dip switch or where the headlight leads from memory have a junction near the battery- possibly behind the grille) or possibly a wire has been accidentally cut.

    2) Both low beam filaments blown - this can actually happen!

    3) In the original harness, headlights are unfused, but it is possible the new harness has introduced fuses, and the low beam fuse is blown.

    4) The dip switch is faulty - this is probably the most likely.

    A test light or meter should find the problem pretty quickly - the wiring is pretty simple!

    John
    John

    JDNSW
    1986 110 County 3.9 diesel
    1970 2a 109 2.25 petrol

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    Thanks John. Now where did I put that test light?


    Nic

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    It turned out to simply be that the wires to the dip switch had been reversed. Once I put the correct wires to the correct terminals I had low beam and high beam. Brilliant!

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by newby@54 View Post
    It turned out to simply be that the wires to the dip switch had been reversed. Once I put the correct wires to the correct terminals I had low beam and high beam. Brilliant!

    lucas land rover lighting,
    nah,
    definatly not brilliant......
    Safe Travels
    harry

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