New Acquisition

Some progress photos...

I started at the rear crossmember and working my way forward. Paint (surprisingly large amount left on the chassis) and rust stripping with poly pads so as not the damage healthy metal and then Septone rust converter on everything. I'm only surface cleaning the mechanical parts at this stage, but it should servicing them later be a significantly "cleaner" job.

White Knight Rust Guard primer will be next with a healthy curing period to make sure the primer's "bite" is good and solid. Bit of welding on the rear crossmember and everything will be topcoated in Rust-Oleum Satin Canyon Black to try and get back as close as possible to the original paint scheme.

Very lucky with no deep rust anywhere other than the rear crossmember. The bulkhead only has surface rust as in the pictures, so I should be able to get rid of that pretty well.

Cheers,

Lou

Progress update on my project...

I unfortunately found a bit more rust around the bulkhead and all good intentions to leave it in place has gone out the window. The plus side is that I'm in the process of giving the engine a really thorough clean and the project will generally be the better for it.

I do however need a bit of advice... I have found some rust in the top of the bulkhead vent recesses (under the old rotten rubber seal). Chassis repairs I'm familiar with, but could I possibly have some direction on tackling these. Apologies for the blurry photos, but the iPhone struggled a bit that close and the fading light.

Cheers,

Lou

Hi Lou,

Could you use one of these - to repair the bulkhead?

Land Rover Defender Series Drivers Side Bulkhead Full Vent Repair Panel | eBay

The seller sells both drivers and passenger side...

It might be the quickest way - cut out the old, weld in the new?

Mate , get hold of Classic Land Rover Mag Issue 29 - there's an article on replacing the vent panel. Lots of good pics etc .


cheers,
D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by grey_ghost

Hi Lou,

Could you use one of these - to repair the bulkhead?

Land Rover Defender Series Drivers Side Bulkhead Full Vent Repair Panel | eBay

The seller sells both drivers and passenger side...

It might be the quickest way - cut out the old, weld in the new?

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Cheaper to buy direct ?

LAND ROVER BULKHEAD FULL TOP REPAIR PANEL RH


Colin

Cheers Colin!

70 odd pound for both is a LOT less than I anticipated. The website says I need to contact them for a shipping quote and I would like to ask them if I can have them without powder coat...

Can't imagine welding, grinding and painting makes powered coat the best option or am I missing something here?

Cheers,

Lou

Some more progress photos... :)

The whole chassis has now been stripped down to shiny bare metal and a few small pitted areas rust treated.

Primer to all exposed surfaces and at least a week's curing before topcoat.

The dumb irons were packed solid with dirt (unsure how it all got in through those little holes! Sediment I suppose) and I ended up drilling two 22mm holes in the front cover plates to get it out. Good result on those as well as it appears to be pretty dry and steel integrity nice and solid. I'll treat the cavities and either close the holes up permanently or fit blanking grommets in order to maintain it.

The rear leafs are in pretty good condition and the local specialists should be able to recondition them for me. I'm not so sure on the fronts as the are pretty worn and the driver's side top leaf has to substantial cracks in it. I'm hoping they can be rebuilt, but I'm certainly not that knowledgeable about leaf springs and I'll have to rely on feedback from the specialists.

It turns out that all 4 shock absorbers are more than likely the original ones fitted 58 years ago, or at the very least Faulls' supplied "genuine" local content shock absorbers from the same period. They are pretty rusted, but they were finished in dark green with Armstrong Engineering and the patent number embossed on them. I'll keep them in storage for the moment in case they can be rebuilt for historic purposes.

The gearbox cross member is for all practical purposes cactus. The car being a 2.0 liter makes it pretty unique (a hybrid Series I and Series II 88" with all three workshop manuals referenced), so it looks like it might have to be a scratch build (unless anyone has a donor vehicle with an intact cross member and willing to surgically remove it and sell to me? :) )

Cheers,

Lou

What's the progress Loubrey?

Nice to see someone taking the time to restore a historic vehicle sympathetically, too much history is lost from the hands of over eager "restorers"

A bit of a progress update then. Finances have dictated progress to date and I'm a little behind where I would have like to be at this stage...:)

I have basically concentrated on the items that would be labour intensive and thus the rust removal and painting have continued.

In the last few days I have been able to place a substantial order for basically all the wear parts of the the two axles including some brake components. I hope it all arrives before the long weekend so I can get stuck in.

Cheers,

Lou

I've "discovered" a product called R-20 Rust Desolver at my local farmers mart. See the difference in the brake backing plates with the one spending 24 hours in the solution!

The last picture is the primed rear axle ready for top coat. Part of my order is the two pinion shaft seals to have a go at keeping the EP oil inside the diff... :)

The wheels in the background are the correct 5" wide steel wheels standard to an 88".

Cheers,

Lou