Thread: My first Series 2a x3 (NZ)

Hey guys,

Does anyone know if Joe is an original colour? If so what colour is it?

I have had a google, but nothing is obvious.

Marine blue looks a bit too blue
Maybe ice blue, or Dominican blue?

Cheers
Simon

Quick update -

I have been busy renovating my house and haven’t done anything on Joe other than start him up once a week. He starts and runs well with a nice oil leek from the oil cooler on the ld28 dripping onto a towel saving my driveway.

Anyway, today I couldn’t stand the checker plate so I dove in to getting rid of it. The previous owner had gone to quite the effort to mount the grill about 5 inches forward to accomodate an electric fan. He’s welded in a piece of angle iron on each side of the radiator as it normally mounts to the grill so I’ll have to get the angle grinder out and whip them off to return it back to original.

I’ll add a slim electric fan later once everything is back in place.



The grill Lower is not in too bad condition but I’ll end up replacing the lower section as most people do.


Cheers, Simon

Update -

I have cut off the “aftermarket” radiator supports and roughly cleaned up the welds. Quick degrease and a coat of temporary zinc until I start the proper tear down.

Got the grill back in place temporarily and she’s looking much better. Yay no checker plate!

While I’m at it I’m going to take the radiator to the re-conditioners to get a quote for a rebuild. Also going to replace the thermostat and radiator hoses while I’m at it. I’m thinking I may not need an electric fan once the radiator is flowing properly. It wasn’t, judging from the gunk that came out.

Cheers, Simon

Looking much better!

Question -

I have a Salisbury rear diff which has been running in the current set up for what looks like a while. I have been reading up about these conversions which mostly say you can either move the engine and gearbox forward, or shorten the prop shaft. Can anyone tell by the pictures what has been done?

Second question is should I keep it or return to standard series rear? I have a spare lying around.

Any advice appreciated.

Cheers,
Simon

That rear prop shaft looks shorter than me - BUT let’s see what everyone else says. Also - I would consider keeping the Sals because I think that it is meant to be stronger?

Originally Posted by grey_ghost

That rear prop shaft looks shorter than me - BUT let’s see what everyone else says. Also - I would consider keeping the Sals because I think that it is meant to be stronger?

Yeah that is what I was thinking. They seem to have done a pretty good job of the drive shaft in that case.

Cheers for the reply,
Simon

The salisbury is significantly stronger, but unless really heavily abused, the standard one is usually free of issues in the swb. On the other hand, you already have the salisbury in there, and unless you have prop shaft issues (common with the salisbury in the swb) the only thing wrong with it is the higher unsprung weight, giving a slightly worse ride, and the lower ground clearance. But for most use, you will not be able to tell the difference unless you have a look!