Grill

The grill gets it's own post only because it took three evenings to get it to look like this, seen here propped up on the front panel. The previous owner had painted it gold, and the paint refused to do much even with the strongest stripper I have, and I have no media blasting equipment - and so, every little segment had to be scraped and wire brushed and scraped and wire brushed on and on, until it came back to the original galvanized metal. I don't want to paint it, as I like the look of the original finish. However, if by some chance the galvanizing has been scraped off in some places and the grill rusts in the future, painting it won't be an issue; but until then I like the way it looks, even if it is just a grill.

Visiting Another Land Rover

Today I had the good fortune to visit Tim and his 1961 Series 2 Station Wagon, in Peterborough, Ontario. Only 8 months seperate the manufacturing dates of our respective vehicle, Tim's being made in April, 1961 and mine July, 1960.  Tim's has the original chassis, fully repaired and in great shape, and the bulkhead has had the footwells replaced. The tub has all the seats and trimmings. The engine and transmission have been replaced at some point, with those from a Series 2 109, according to the engine and transmission serial numbers. Tim's put a lot of work into this project, and it shows. The principle differences I noted initially between out two Landies were that Tim's has the lower steering control arms, plus it appears his came with a Smiths heater (mine has a Kodiak). It was interesting to note that we have both chosen the same replacement tires for our vehicles, although Tim's are 6.50 and mine 7.50. And of special interest to me is that Tim has a media blasting machine, and it may be possible to do my wheels in Tim's workshop!

Also worth mentioning is that Tim's also came with a snowplow...must be a Canadian thing. : )

It's impossible to write everything that's been done to bring this Land Rover in the seven years Tim has been working on it, but it's definately producing one nice example of the type.

On the left in the photo below is the frame for the rear door, with some locally-custom-made channel to replace the rusted areas.

Nice replacement wing outer panels over the new tires and re-furbished wheels.

Our interiors are fundamentally identical, but Tim's seat box has a hinged center panel (mine is just a bolt-down panel), plus a horn-push button on the steering wheel center (mine has it on a seperate arm). Mine also has a double-cranked shift lever, unlike Tim's.

Front Panel Stripped

My daughter being off school today gave me some extra time to work on the front panel, and so was able to strip the paint off plus give it a good sanding to try and remove as much of the surface rust as possible. It seems to have worked pretty well, but I think a coat of rust converter will be necessary to reach down into the bottom of all those remaining almost-microscopic corrosion pits. Interestingly, there appears to be some small repairs (spot-weld-sized brown spots in the photos) to the sheet metal around the central opening, that were under the factory paint. A little product prep before painting?

The front panel after washing. Next on the list is sand down the rear side where necessary.

Landy Birthday; Front Panel ('Breakfast') Initial Cleaning

Received the certificate from the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust today, which informs me that this Land Rover was originally completed on July 18, 1960, and was shipped out to the Rover Company of Toronto on July 20. Another birthday to celebrate next summer! :)

Started cleaning the front panel. The rear side is pretty good, easy to deliniate between good surface areas and bad (and where there is paint, it is like new), while the front is different. There clearly was some surface corrosion originally over which there was no Pastel Green paint left, which may have prompted the overlying gold repaint scheme. Where the was surface corrosion, the present paint layers chip off easily, revealing a lightly pocked steel surface. Where there was only minimal corrosion or wear, the black primer coat is still attached, but the gold and Pastel Green colour is gone. Where the corrosion/rust stopped, all paint adheres well. And then, there are areas where just the gold is not adhering (see centre-bottom of panel). Makes it hard to know what's doing what.

Here's a view of where the corrosion/rust stopped. All paint layers still adhere well. The black area is where there is just original factory primer. I'm not sure why the factory Pastel Green comes off but not the primer.  Incidentally, the rear side of the panel does not appear to have any black primer under the Pastel Green paint.

Finally, a view of the other side (front), where the Pastel Green is adhering well, but now it's the gold that's not adhering well.  Those tiny bumps under the gold paint of the curved grill-holder bracket are what surface rust looks like under paint, on this Land Rrver. All in all, I think this all calls for a complete stripping of the front side of the front panel, to make sure all surface rust is exposed and given a primer coat of rust converter. Would have been nice to have had the entire panel soda blasted (and then galvanized!), but that's not possible, and so I'll have to do it with stripper and elbow grease and hope that the primer and paint offer enough protection.

Radiator Cleaning

Only had time to do a flush and a bit of cleaning of the radiator today. Water flowed through at the same volume it was being pumped in, and so I assume there is not too much obstructing things in there. Will do another flush, and a better one, when the radiator is installed again and the engine is running. Copper cooling fins are in great shape. The paint came off very easily, just needing a gentle scraping, wire brush and a scouring pad, perhaps due to being oil covered for many years - except on the solder, where it adhered very well! Overall, the radiator is a very nice colour combination of metals: brass, steel and copper. Too bad it has to be painted!

Radiator; Front Panel; Axle Markings

Front panel and radiator came off easily enough, to reveal their inner surfaces for the first time. The front panel ("Breakfast") is in as good a shape as I had hoped, just some very superficial surface rust. This will be cleaned, sanded, and primed, ready for painting at a later date.

The radiator appears to be in good shape, too, although I'll try to flush it tomorrow and see what come out. The drain tap performed flawlessly, which was good news. If all is well, the radiator will be cleaned up, stripped and repainted.

With the front panel off, the front axle is now easier to see (and do an initial cleaning of). Revealed were the numbers 7828. I assume for now that it the axle serial number. Once the front panel and radiator are put away, it'll be time to take this apart and see how things are inside.

 Broad view of the area, showing the front panel mounting brackets (the middle one had a rubber 'shim'), steering relay, and engine front - note the small balance weight on the fan blade at right. At the very bottom it's just possible to see the remains of the snowplow mounts, which the previous owner had welded to the chassis and are thus difficult to remove at this stage. On the front of the crossmember is the steering damper bracket, which from its shape and welding technique I don't think is original to the vehicle. The rebuilt Land Rover will not have a steering damper, as it's not needed and most did not have one.



Chassis Painted; Lights; Horn

The chassis, having passed the paint test, is now horizontal and painted. It took four aerosol cans of Eastwood Extreme Chassis Black, and the result is a very nice semi-gloss black chasis. Just got it painted in the nick of time, I think, as the temperatures in the garage are now going to be too cold for further painting.



The headlight retainers, which were rusted (see previous post), were soaked overnight in Evapo-Rust, which does an excellent job of removing rust and leaving any remnants converted and black, following which were then given a coat of rust converter to seal them up, and after that a coat of zinc paint. The result is a finish almost indistinguishable from the originals (they were coated, too, although it looked more like anodizing or something similar)), and will have good rust and corrosion prevention.

The headlight bowls (not seen here) were placed in a shallow dish of  Evapo-Rust, which removed the slight rust on their rims. I then rubbed the rust converter into any corrosion holes in the paint, leaving the original paint untouched, and as the converter is black, have left things like that.

Finally, just a view of the horn after repainting. Thought it came out pretty well!

Headlights and "Breakfast" prep

While waiting for the chassis to be finished, it was time for the front panel, or "Breakfast" as some call it, to get some preparation prior to being removed and refinished. First out were the headlights. The bowls are in pretty good shape, the paint is still nice and shiny, but there are very small corrosion spots in many places, plus a hint of rust on the bottom rim. Will have to think of a way to correct and hide those spots without compromising the original paint, which I'd like to keep.

The front panel, in black and white as the photo came out so yellowy-orange is was distracting! Around the headlight openings the paint is the original pastel green. All the split rivets that hold down the bonnet cushion strip have been drilled out (brass, so pretty easy). The radiator itself appears to be in great shape, with what appears to be only the tiniest of leaks around the drain plug, hopefully fixeable with a new washer.

The bonnet latch cover plate has been cleaned and refinished, while the mechanism itself has been cleaned but will get a bath in a gentle rust remover to clean it thoroughly. The front panel, while having the original pastel green paint chipping off, has almost no rust at all, and that which there is, is very superficial.

All the headlight components in one shot. The chrome parts are in perfect shape, and cleaned up very nicely. The rubber seals can perhaps be used again. The retainers have rust at their very bottoms, and as such after cleaning they will most likely get a coat of rust converter and then a silver spray (perhaps a zinc-type paint). The headlight bulbs will be replaced, as one is burned out (at least, it din't work before, and I can hear something small rattling around inside), and it's probably better to start with two fresh new ones.

Note the shadow of the chassis on the right, which is now horizontal!

Chassis: Painted the Undersurfaces

Undersurfaces of the chassis have been painted. This should make painting the rest a little easier once it's off the wooden frame and lying horizontal. Couldn't open the garage door, as it's too cold outside for the paint requirements, so basically covered up everything except the chassis and used large sheets of cardboard to make an improvised painting area. Proper breathing mask is essential equipment here.

Process used for the Eastwood Extreme Chassis Black was as Eastwood recommends for a galvanized chassis, which is pretty simple. First, scuff the surfaces well. I used a sanding sponge with rough and fine grit, about equivalent to 100 and 400 grit paper, as the sponge worked better over the blobs and sharper spots produced by the galvanizing. Then, wash the surfaces with household vinegar. (This also gives the impression that you are making a weird sort of salad.) After this, paint a small area, wait 24 hours, and then do an adhesion test using scoring of the surface and then pulling with strong tape, just to make sure all is well (Eastwood Extreme Chassis Black does not require a primer on galvanizing, but worth testing on galvanized surfaces anyway just to make sure). If all is well (nothing came off, and it would barely even scratch), then two coats of the Extreme Chassis Black, which leaves a really nice semi-gloss finish. Given the pretty rough surface anyway of the galvanizing even before scuffing (perhaps helped by a couple of weeks of salty sea air in a container?), I'm pretty sure the surface was quite good for adhesion. Time will tell! The chassis will be left for a week or more to cure, and then I'll do another pull test on the paint. Easier to fix at this stage if anything doesn't work out.

Air Cleaner Painted

The paint was dry enough to re-assemble the air cleaner today. I'm glad to get these small painting jobs out of the way before it gets too cold in the garage, as most paints appear to require approximately 20 degrees C for proper application, and it's already becomming a struggle to keep the garage at that temperature. Mechanical items can be done when it's colder.

Air cleaner has a rust transformer as the primer, and Eastwood's Extreme 3X Chassis Black as the topcoat (as on the other black steel parts as well). This is the same topcoat that will go on the chassis. I masked off the air cleaner's flange just to stop scratches from the clasps from showing up; also masked off the overlap of the top cover to the main cleaner body (just visible in the top photo), as the top had become stuck around the rim there before, and adding paint probably wouldn't help in getting the top off in the future. Doesn't show when the top is on.

New Windscreen Glazing

Today's before-and-after-dinner project was to get the new glazing in. The 'Dumdum' putty from the UK was very easy to work with, and coupled with the putty glazing strips from Land Rover, it all went well. Nice not to see cracked panes anymore. In case you're wondering why I would order putty all the way from the UK, there simply wasn't any available here in town - and anyway, helps keeps things as British as possible. : )

The windscreen is presently propped back up on the bulkhead while the putty cures, and then there will be a thorough cleaning following which the assembly will be put away until needed. Incidentally, the bent tube reflected in the glass is a stove pipe in one corner of the garage.

Arrival of the New Chassis

The new galvanized Series 2 chassis has arrived, built by Richards in the UK and imported by Rovers North. A long transatlantic voyage. Looks very good indeed, holes tapped, even has the suspension bushings installed! It'll stay on its frame until the underside is painted, after which it will come off the wooden frame and go right-side-up for the rest of the paint. It may look as if it's going to be very cozy in the garage, but there is actually ample room.

Also arriving today was the glazing putty, so will be able to install the new windscreens soon. Windscreen frame here is just propped up on the bulkhead,which accounts for its unusual angle....



Air Cleaner

Air cleaner's turn for a little work today. Managed to get the top off with the help of some anti-seize oil, to reveal a pretty thick layer of crusty sludge. It was going to be fun trying to clean around all those louvres.

The filter on the bottom wouldn't budge. It's supposed to be removeable, but this one appears firmly attached, with no room for a screwdriver or anything else to help get it to move and slide down the central tube. Did they change the design at some point? For now, I've cleaned the area and applied more anti-seize, and I'll see what it does in a day or so. It could just be stuck to the possibly ancient gasket between it and the top part. Or does anyone know of another way it comes off?

After some scraping, cleaning and a going over with the brass wire wheel, the air cleaner as a whole was starting to look a lot better. Some corrosion and rust revealed, and all that will be taken care of by a primer coat of rust converter. Still have to remove the orginal black paint on the hose insert, which is in good shape and didn't want to come off, thanks to having spent most of its life hidden inside the air hose connection.

Air cleaner with top back on, waiting for further work. Louvres took a long time to clean (had to do both sides, too), with a lot of gentle scraping and wire brushing, but now they're clean.

Horn and Battery/Air Cleaner Assembly

Air cleaner and battery support structure, drying (still wet in the bowl area!) after a being stripped, wire-wheeled, sanded and sprayed with a rust converter. Green tape covers the threads for the butterfly nut. It will get its coats of semi-gloss chassis black  later.

The interior of the horn sees the light of day, possibly the first time since leaving the factory, and the cover reverts temporarily to natural metal. The black paint on the outside looked  in good condition, but flaked off easily. Once I took the wire wheel to the cover, it became apparent that a thin layer of surface rust had crept under almost all the paint.

The underside of the horn being cleaned. It almost has a natural look to it, like some kind of undersea Nautilus.

The inside of the horn cover. Pristine paint, as new, although it reveals that Land Rover did not always paint their Series parts in a dust-free environment!

More Bits and Pieces

Various parts, cleaned, sanded and primered. Leaning over on the right is the new galvanized bumper. Note the small corrosion hole in the seatbox panel. Not planning to change evidence of non-rust corrosion, as it's just small evidence of the half-century that this Land Rover has been in existence. Rust is another story: that will go.

Steel gearbox cover, showing indications of its long life, with one coat of rust-converter underneat one coat of reguler primer, lying on top of the box containing the new exhaust system. In the background, the Land Rover's headliner, lying flat and upside down so as to not introduce any new wrinkles

Deep door sills typical of a Series II (as opposed to a IIa), and another seatbox panel.  



Onwards

New seatbelt brackets on the left, etch-primered, and on the right the seat brackets, which have been stripped and then primered with a rust converter, which is why they're black. They'll have black paint on when finished, in any case. The two rods are the hand-crank handle rod and a handle for a jack which came with the Landy. Not sure if the jack is original yet.

Seat box, cleaned, sanded, and wearing a primer coat. Painting of the final colours will be done when the restoration is nearer completion. Bolts were placed in the captive-nuts to stop paint getting into the threads. The black glue used to adhere the stick-on insulation was very difficult and long to remove, the aluminum having to be carefully scraped down very close to the surface before solvent would do any good. Even then, the glue didn't appear to have aged in the same way over all the surfaces, being soft and gummy in places and hard and chipable in others. In some places, it had absorbed soil and dirt, and had to be scraped off very carefully in order not to damage the aluminum (or Birmabright, as it should correctly be called!).

Just a view of the preparation for the front hub bearing and seal replacement, including new swivel balls. On the left are some of the brake parts.

Fun with Photoshop

Just to get an idea of what the Landy may look like in the future, if all goes well. : )

Further Inspection and Some Work Done

Removed the hydraulic pump, as the plow is going to be disposed of, and can finally have a good look at the entire engine compartment with ease.

 Removal of the seatbox panels, to reveal the fuel tank, hand-brake, and condition of the chassis. Black tar-like substance on the seat box is the aweful 'glue' used to stick the insulation on. Not fun to get off.

Decided to inspect/replace all of the bearings, plus the brakes. Small hurdle here was having to cut off a very stuck brake drum. Other side just popped off. Haven't tried the rear ones yet.

Valve cover removed revealed everything pretty much in good order, although a valve job will be done.

A further view of the centre-section, including, on the muffler, a fish hook I found. Along with a bullet lodged in the firewall, it gives a clue to one previous owner's pass-times, I would guess.

The fuel tank, which had been replaced by a "Mr Gas Tank" replacement unit at some point. Sender functionality still to be determined.

Windshield off, and paint stripped from all galvanizing. New glazing will be installed, as one windshield was cracked.

An atmospheric shot of the engine. You can just about read "Made in England" on the dynamo. Arrangement features an early 'goose-neck' exhaust manifold, which will be replaced with a more traditional and reportedly less problematic 'straight-down' type (and a new exhaust system).

A new galvanized chassis has been ordered from Rovers North (from Richards in the UK). In order to organize the garage, I asked Rovers North for a photo, and here's a view of the new chassis preparing to leave their Vermont location.