Lift Gate Paint

Haven't had as much time as I hoped, to work on the Land Rover, but progress is still being made. Clutch bleed was very successful, and the rear side windows are now in place along with their seals. Rear window seals have a filler strip, which I though I'd be able to insert with the tools here, but ended up being too difficult to do properly and so have ordered the correct tool from Vintage Car Parts .

The vehicle's value has now been professionally assesed, and so insurance can now be purchased, after which it will be time to get the licence plates. This by the end of next week, I hope.

Small problem with the brake light hydraulic switch means it will now have to be replaced, so that will hold up the first test drive until that is taken care of, as it means waiting for the new parts (switch from 3 Bros. and 5-way junction from Leacy Classics) and after that re-bleeding the brakes.

Inside surface of the lift gate has now been painted, as has the liftgate seal retainer, plus the seatbelt brackets that will be installed in the roof sides.

The lift gate latch mechanism housing has been re-riveted. The gate will now have to dry for a few days and then it can be turned over to paint the outer surface.

Lift Gate

Started work on the 'catflap', as the lift gate is often called. Removed the window and took out the latch mechanism and rods, then carefully removed the lower seal cover and the seal itself. The steel frame on the lift gate is in good shape, with just suface rust, and no cracks or rust-through holes. A little difficult to trace how far the surface rust has gone under the paint, but it doesn't look too bad. Gave it all a thorough once-over with the wire wheel, then scraped and sanded, and then applied a liberal coating of Rust-Converter to the exposed metal then sprayed it into all the holes in order to coat the insides.

Latch mechanism on top the bracket/cover in which it is normally held. Galvanizing has stood the test of time, with no rust in the mechanism, and the springs are in good shape. Have straightened the rods (apart from the normal bends), as they were quite bent out of shape.

A bit of in-the-field ingenuity: using a bolt or threaded rod to replace the tapered end. Must have taken some work, as it's also been tapped to fit on the rod.  It'll be staying, unless the lift gate seems loose.

Roof Paint Completed

The gold paint is finally gone from the roof, which, in broad terms, leaves only the 'catflap' to do. Very nice to have the gold gone from the main body. The paint has revealed other little dings and dents which were hidden via the matt oxidized gold paint, but that's fine, and there will be some small things to tidy up later on (for instance, the remaining red paint of "Goldenrod" managed to bleed through the Limestone, just a tiny bit and barely noticeable, but come Spring it may be worth just putting another coat of paint on that panel).


While sanding the rear roof panels, another decal turned up, one on each side: Shell. A search of the web reveals that this rather ornate version of the famous Shell logo was indeed in use in the late 50's and early 60's.

Same style as the decals on the Land Rover, although the Rover's also has a square striped background.

...And if you were driving in Ontario in 1960, you may have had a map with a cover like this!

The capping stripped, and seals and 'catflap' support brackets removed:

Top panel masked and painted. In hindsight, of course, should have sanded "Goldenrod" completely off, but as the surface was completely flat and I assumed it was the same kind of paint as the gold.... But not a big problem, it's barely visible and it's an easy panel to repaint at some point in the future. The first priority, obviously, is to have a working Land Rover, and the rest can come later.

And finally, in the cold light of a snowy -9 C Winter morning, the completed roof paint, after drying in the warm overnight.

More Painting

The roof sides have now been painted Limestone. All went well, except for one small 'sag' on the left side, just where everyone is going to see it. Ah well, hopefully it'll just blend in with the dents.... For such a small area to paint, this required a lot of masking! Now the side windows can go in, and work preparatory to painting the rear of the roof can start. The roof has now been firmly bolted on.

A final view of "Hayward & Littlejohn", during sanding. The words are still slightly visible under the new Limestone paint, thanks to the paint's shiny surface.

Before painting:

Nice fresh paint on the roof sides, and overall looking more and more as she did a long time ago. The wheels look white due to the outside light from garage door being open.

Aside from the 'catflap', this is the last of the gold paint. Can't say I'll be sorry to see the name "Goldenrod" go. Land Rover is up on jacks from the brake bleed and adjustments, plus will make doing the wheel aligment that much easier.

Looking just a little strange with one wing missing....

Hydraulics

Tonight Steve was over again, and we bled the brakes and clutch. The brakes went well, but there is a definite problem with the refurbished clutch master cylinder, and so that will be replaced. That was the only problem, however, and aside from that, mechanically and electrically this Land Rover is ready to go for a test drive.

While waiting for the new clutch master cylinder, there will be time to finish up the roof sides. Steve helped put the "lid" on, and for now it is just sitting in place and is not bolted on, so it can be lifted for masking etc.. The new window seals have arrived, and once the painting is complete, the side windows can go on. The roof sides are the only places where the old gold paint still exists, except for the rear 'catflap'.

Wheels will go back on tomorrow and she can come off the stands. Far side wing will go back on once the clutch master cylinder has been replaced (which won't be until next week sometime, at the earliest, unfortunately).

Roof Top Painted

This is the largest surface area painted with aerosols in one go, and I'd have to say it's probably the limit of what I'd attempt with aerosols. It took exactly (and I mean exactly) three cans to do.

The large kerosene heater purchased to warm the garage did the trick of getting the surfaces nice and warm, although the heater can't be left on all day as it consumes a lot of kerosene. Three quarters of an hour heated the garage to 20oC.

Just the roof top was painted, as I think I'll do the sides once its on the body again. That will give better access to the surfaces, and will also put the sides at a nice height for painting. It may also be easier to take the side windows out from there.

Below, the newly-Limestone-coloured roof top drying, with a small electric heater on the floor in front, the orange glow of which can be seen reflected in the paint. This to keep the aluminum warm while the paint dries. The heat is also causing the plastic sheeting, there to protect the windows, sides and insides, to lightly inflate, due to the coldness in the garage.

More History Revealed

This past year or so, I had wondered about the history of the Land Rover from 1960 to 1972, the latter being the year the previous owner bought the vehicle. The gov't licencing office wouldn't give any info. Well, today I was stripping the gold paint from the galvanized rain gutter that runs around the roof, and had a light positioned right above the roof, perpendicular to the roof sides. At that angle, all of a sudden it was possible to see very faint hand painted letters beneath the gold paint. In a year and a half of ownership and some pretty close attention, I had never seen these before.

(Seen here after some further sanding)

And so, some careful lighting and pencil work later, the results were revealed, illustrated here in correct size and placement with the aid of Photoshop:

Killaloe, Ontario, is a village just 30 km south of Pembroke, Ontario. Pembroke is where I purchased the Land Rover.

I've also added the losenge-shape of the decal on the door. The underlying photo is from when the Land Rover arrived here, before restoration work began.

A search of the web revealed this surprisingly complete history, along with photos of the owners, including why the Land Rover was sold on in 1972:

(found here: http://www.pembrokelibrary.ca/kpl010602/history_project/vmmainframe.htm )

What is even more surprising, is that the Keetch family, from whom Hayward and Littlejohn originally bought the business from in 1953, became the second owners of the Land Rover when Hayward and Littlejohn sold the business in 1972!

By virtue of having Mr. Keetch's residential address when he was still alive (Mr. Keetch passed away in 2007), plus the above information, it has also now been possible (thanks to Google Maps) to track down the service garage where the Land Rover was based during its first 12 years, and the short distance away it resided in the following years as well. It so happens that Mr. Keetch lived right next door to the business - and so, the Land Rover was based in this spot, and a few feet down the road, from the time of its initial purchase in 1960, through to 1989. From 1972 to 1983 the Land Rover was used for snow plowing on the Keetch property in the winter, and to go to the Keetch hunting camp in the Fall (which may explain the bullets and fish hooks found during the restoration), and so did not accumulate many road miles. From 1983 to 1989, the Land Rover sat abandoned on the Keetch property. In 1989, the son in law acquired it for his own snowplow use on his own property, his home being some 40 km kilometres away in the direction of Pembroke, but without putting the vehicle in his name or having the vehicle licenced for the road again (which is why I had to purchase the vehicle from the Keetch estate), and it was also at this time that the Land Rover acquired its gold paint.

That the Land Rover was owned by a service station, and after that by someone who may have been the service station owner previously, may be an idication of why this half-century-old Land Rover was in fairly reasonable shape, all things considered, when it was acquired here.

That there is a truck with the exact type of snowplow as came with the Land Rover, was just one more interesting surprise.

Nice to have discovered! Knowing who owned the Land Rover and where the vehicle was for most of its life in Canada is a nice addition to the project.

Roof Roundup

Took the covers off of the roof today, in preparation for starting work. Like the rest of the Land Rover, it's battered and bruised but still in surprisingly good shape overall.

Below, the roof top in its faded gold paint, after a light rub down. Paint is chipping here and there, but nothing too serious. The holes in the center stiffener are from where a yellow flashing light was previously mounted (as told by the previous owner). There are very few dents, one being on the left above the door, the other being a long-ish one at lower left, where it looks as if someone dropped a heavy chain onto the Birmabright.

The window seals are in pretty bad shape. I'm hoping they may sand down to a good finish, as other rubber parts have, but I have the feeling these will end up replaced as they are very cracked and are even missing small bits here and there.

The interior is in great shape. I'm hoping it will clean up nicely, as I'd like to keep the original paint. The only repair needed in there is two rivets missing at the top of the right-hand 'cat flap' hinge bracket.

The insulation that will be hidden under the headliner. It had been coming off, but has now been re-glued. It will stay, but I may spray it with something in order to keep it from shedding quantities of particles when disturbed.

The 'cat flap', sporting what will be its new door handle when finally affixed. Some surface rust on the steel frame, needs a new window seal, and the fastening rods need straightening, but otherwise in good shape. Once those are taken care of, it will regain its original Limestone colour, as will the roof.

Things Left to Do

The list of things to do is getting shorter. The hood/bonnet is now on 'permanently' (although the driver's side wing is not). This list will probably turn out to be incomplete, but, as of today, this is what I think remains to be done:

1. Brake and clutch bleed (followed by 'permanent' attachment of left-side wing, once access to the m/c's isn't so important);

2. Seatbelts;

3. Wheel alignment

4. Hood "rub strip" on the 'breakfast'.

5. Oil into the differentials and swivel hubs, including new plug washers;

6. Wing mirrors;

7. Replace flasher module in dash, as it has decided not to work;

and last but not least:

8. Roof.

In the sub-category of  'Roof' , a somewhat large job:

1. Sand and re-paint;

2. Replace window seals if necessary;

3. Repair catflap hinge and handle;

4. Repair headliner and 'eyebrow' headliners;

5. Install seatbelt brackets.

6. Rearview mirror restored and installed.

Barring anything going wrong or something new showing up, I think that's it. We'll see.

Engine Sound Video

Not the best video you'll ever see or hear, but due to popular request, here's the Land Rover in action.

Engine Test

No photos from testing this evening, as I was more focussed on the engine. Steve adjusted the accelerator linkages, tightened a few things, and we started her up. Started almost instantly. A shut down followed for a few more adjustments to the linkages so that the engine could idle correctly, and we let her run again. Soon, Steve noticed some coolant gathering at the front of the head, where it meets the block, and thought the head gasket may need replacing. A closer inspection revealed it was just the water temperature sensor bolt that was not sufficiently tightened, allowing coolant to pass.

The engine was allowed to warm up fully, and all temps and pressures were normal. A bit of exhaust blowing near the manifold was quickly solved with the tightening of the bolts around the base of the carburator that hold the intake and exhaust manifolds together. After that, the engine just ran and ran without any further problems. Even got some nice heat out of the Kodiak heater.

Steve's summation is that the engine and ancilliaries "run like new", and was truly and pleasantly surprised at how good a condition everything appears to be in. It runs like the proverbial sowing machine (touch wood), and is an absolute pleasure to listen to.

Next step will be the to bleed the brake and clutch.

Below, just some photos after tonight's work. Another major part of the project complete. Note the exhaust manifold just beginning to discolour! Green tape of the side of the radiator panel is just to protect the paint until the wing is attached 'permanently'.

And how it appeared when it arrived here, on the old chassis and with the side-exit exhaust. The side-exit would be correct for this year and model of Land Rover. The present exaust is the later 'straight down' type for simplicity and reliability's sake and because of the unavailability of the correct exhaust pieces. I've kept the original 'swan-necked' exhaust manifold in case it's ever decided to put the original exhaust configuration back on.

Odds and Ends

While waiting for Steve's next visit tomorrow, have installed the new oil filter seal, which arrived today. Ran the engine for a short while a couple of times to see if all's well, and the result is no more leak.And with that solved for now, have busied myself with some other tasks which need to be done.

Below, the left-hand ABS outer wing has been attached properly to the inner wing (although not firmly attached to the bulkhead yet). A nice fit, and a very good quality part. Dent resistant, too! Had to stretch the top holes just a little to get the best fit, but given what has to be done so often with other parts, this is just par for the course. I would still recommend the plastic outer wings to anyone, if originals aren't available. The wing itself will come back off when Steve is back tomorrow, as it makes working on the engine much easier. Also attached are the wing mirror brackets, mainly just to stop me putting stuff on the wings that may cause scratches, and to give something to hold on to when manouvering the wings in the tight spaces of the garage. The hub caps are also on. Took a while to find some that looked like those on the original Land Rovers when new.

Not original, but more of a 'common sense' thing to add: tow rings. Apron has also been properly attached.

Waiting for Steve's return, so the timing and carb tuning can be done. All major parts and assemblies are original. Orange box on the radiator panel is the battery charger/maintainer. You can just make out the top of the radiator fan shroud, which I haven't seen installed on too many Land Rovers. Fits very nicely, and also goes a little ways to stabilising the radiator assembly when a wing is off, as there is a bracing bracket that attaches to the battery support stand.

Slightly better view to better show the bracing bracket:

Winter is back, as the view out the rear window this morning shows. It was much nicer when the garage was warm! Have bought a large kerosene heater, and so with luck the garage will be easier to work in this winter.

Started

... And it started quickly, with almost no smoke. Nice! We let it run for a minute, and then noticed that the seal on the oil filter canister (an old seal) had failed and there was oil leaking all over the ground, and so things will have to wait now until a new seal is here. And so, the run was a bit short, which is why there are no photos or video for now.

Sum total of problems found before starting:

     1. Sediment jar wasn't on the fuel pump firmly enough, and allowed a little air to be sucked in. Not much, but enough to effect fuel flow. Connections were also tightened to ensure as much of vacuum as possible.

     2. Contact on the starter motor was dirty, and had to be cleaned before it would work.

All found and fixed by Steve of Classic Automotive Repair.

Sum total of problems found after starting:

     1. Oil filter canister seal needs replacing. It had looked ok visually, but not in practise! I also hadn't quite realised how much force the oil pressure exerts.

     2. Exhaust downpipe bolts need to be tightened.

With luck these shouldn't take too long to get sorted, and then Steve will be back (hopefully next week) to complete the tuning of the carb and show me how it's done, and check the timing. Also get the brake system bled and checked.

Other good news is that the fuel gauge works well.

Voila. Too bad it couldn't have run longer, but all in all pretty good. Could have had far worse problems. Looking forward to the next session.

Mudguards and Kodiak Duct

Finished up the mudguards and Kodia intake duct, except for a couple of minor things which need to wait. The mudguards were a little more challenging than I thought, as I had assumed they were a part of the wing, whereas they must be removed before a wing can be taken off, as they block access to the bulkhead/wing spire nuts. The original mudguards had rusted completely away, and the manuals don't offer any help, so I came up with what I think is a logical system. Once the mudguards were done, the supports for the Kodia intake duct could be done.


Below, an overall view of the Kodiak duct in place. The original duct brackets were rusted to oblivion. The new brackets use the original mounting points. For the rear support, a portion of rear axle safety strap was used, as it it's both extremely strong and flexible and therefore shouldn't crack, shouldn't chafe the duct too much, and is designed to live in a wheel well in any case, and so should easily put up with rocks, water, etc., thrown up by the tire. For the forward bracket, a metal strap was used, as I felt the duct should be more rigidly in place so as to not put undue strain on the wing intake flange and it's relatively soft aluminum wing skin. If this metal strap ends up cracking, then another axle strap can be used. The tire shouldn't hit the duct except in perhaps the most extreme situations, as the distance to the duct is greater than the distance from the axle top to the bump stop on the chassis.

The mudguard, with the rebuilt wing mudguard support bracket peeking over the top. The original brackets up there had corroded significantly, and looked as if they may not be strong enough for too much stress over the long term, and so I sandwiched them between two supporting aluminum plates (aluminum to reduce risk of further dissimilar metal corrosion on the original brackets) which are rivetted on. Holes were drilled in these to take spire nuts, so that the mudguards can be easily removed.

Rear of the mudguard new support brackets.

Driver's side mudguard, with removeable steering box cover. A spire nut was used at the top of the steering box cover, and the bottom attaches via a bolt (not visible here) just like the mudguard. I'm not sure yet what to do about attaching the mudguard and steering box guard to the inner wing, and so have not drilled any holes. I'll wait until the outer wing panel is on, in any case, as there's always a fair amount of flex in all these parts and it's naturally important that the holes continuet to line up! The large hole in the wing is where the original exhaust pipe came through. This may just get taped up, as I don't want to do anything permanent in case the desire to put the original-type exhaust system comes up. I've kept the original swan-necked exhaust manifold, just in case.

Getting Ready

Tomorrow, Steve Hayes, a specialist in British automobiles (website here), will be over in late afternoon to see if we can start up the Land Rover. And so, today's Land Rover time was just making sure everything is in order as much as possible. The antifreeze is in, new spark plugs ready, battery fully charged, etc.. Also put the oil in the gearbox and transfer box for the first time. Tomorrow I'll put the fuel in the tank, and if time permits, oil in the differentials and swivel pin housings. If startup goes well, and Steve has the time, with luck the brakes can be bled tomorrow as well. We'll have to see how it goes.


Always fun working in the dark, seeing if the lights work. : )

Rear stop light, looking yellow due to the camera, and the licence plate light.

Front side and turn signal lights. They've weathered their 51 years quite well. The rubber even came back to pretty good shape after gently sanding off the dried/cracked surface layer.

Good thing my daughter's not grown up, or I think that once the Land Rover is running, Dad would be looking at it driving off into the distance. My daughter took the portable light and did a tour underneith, and asked a million questions about what things were what and what does this do. Second time she's done that....

Electrics

Hooked up the battery today, for the first time in over a year, and first time with the new wiring loom. Haven't done the front wings or headlights yet, but everything else that was hooked up worked, including tail lights! Nice to see!

A little overexposed, but at least you can see what lights up. I was so caught up with running the Kodiak, tooting the horn, running the fan, listening to the windshield wipers motors and looking at the lights that I almost ran the battery down.

With today's work, the passenger/driver area is basically complete, just needing the seatbelts. The tub, with all its fittings including taillights, is also complete. More things will probably show up that need doing once the roof is on, but for now, that's that. In the future, I plan to add the insulation panels, but not right now.

The two-speed Casco fan, above the speedometer. These date from the 30's, 40's and 50's, from what I've found on the web, and was primarily used by American car manufacturers. This is having a long useful life in a Land Rover - after whatever car it was in before. : )

Added the air filter, hose (still needs clamps) and intake bracket, plus purchased new hoses for the Kodiak heater after the old showed some serious cracking in one spot. A few things left to do, and then it's start up time. The last major thing to do here at this stage is to finish the lighting wiring, build the mudguard support brackets, and then assemble and attach the wings. Coolant may go in the radiator tomorrow. Brake fluid is also here, and is standing by.