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.