Steering Parts; Instruments

Thanks to a tip from a gentleman and fellow Series 2 restorer named Lars, the top steering arm bolt on the steering relay has now been reversed - as Lars discovered, in this direction it's easier to remove the bolt in the direction of the 'breakfast', if necessary. No radiator in the way. On RHD cars the bolts is the way it was originally (and would have drawn out towards the front), but when making a LHD vehicle, the factory just turned the unit around as they moved the relay from one side of the chassis to the other.

As the new bulkhead is getting closer, tonight it was the turn of some of the steering coumn parts to come off the old bulkhead for their turn at restoration. Note the condition of the rubber seal for the steering column - the exposed portion hasn't stood the test of time too well! A nice new replacement is waiting....

The steering column itself, including the steering box, is next on the list. All the bolts are loosened, but ran out of time tonight.

Just a couple more views of the rear of the main instrument panel. Nice untouched Pastel Green paint back there, as well.

Test Fitting Steering Rods

Having the swivels basically finished, just thought I'd try out the steering rods for size, to make sure everything still fits without a problem. All's well, but one of the ball joints/rod ends spun in its socket when trying to tighten the nut, maing it impossible, and so it looks as is they may need replacing. Also, the dimensions I have for the rod lengths doesn't appear accurate at first glance, as putting the rod ends at the indicated distance apart gave a pronounced toe-in. Could it be a Series 2 versus Series 2a thing? Will have to check on this.

View below shows the completed swivel housings, with the interior of the brake backing plates painted in that stainless-steel based brake fluid resistant paint. Not completely sure it's necessary, but thought I'd try it out. Certainly has a nice finish. The locking plates were slightly too long, so are bowed in the middle, but that's not really an issue. The tabs will be folded around the nuts once I'm confident all's well and the nuts will not need any further tightening.

Here's a view of the steering relay, once again installed. Note the different surface textures on the chassis, some due to the nature of the surface of a particular piece of metal used to make the chassis (such as the cross member the steering relay is on), but mostly due to the galvanizing, which left little lumps and surface irregularites over most of the surfaces.

Swivel Balls; Instruments

Finally have the swivel balls installed, but ran out of time to do the rest of the hubs. Will get to that soon. It'll be nice to have the front axles done, as it will mean a rolling chassis isn't too far away.

Have pulled away the instrument panels, preparatory to taking them out - but first I will take many more photos to aid re-installing. Here, the somewhat chaotic wiring of the main instrument cluster.

This view is of the turn signal and dome light auxiliary panel. At left is the switch housing, in the middle is the indicator light, and at right is the pull-knob switch for the dome light. Judging by the condition of the terminals, I doubt a dome light has ever been connected.

Here's the auxiliary panel for the oil pressure and water temperature gauge, which can't be removed unless it's unbolted from the bulkhead plus has the input leads disconnected - which I'll do later. And what is that extra thing with a light bulb at the end?

Here's a view of the bottom of the oil instrument auxiliay panel. In there was the red knob for the high/low ratio lever (had already bought a replacement, of course!), plus an assortment of bolts and debris plus a good many bullets and casings. Will be removing those with great care.

Pedals Out

To do something a little different today, the clutch and brake pedals were removed, along with the "bean can" brake fluid reservoir. This also afforded a little better view of the rust around this area. Interesting to compare the pedal openings with those on the new galvanized chassis. Aside from the bulkhead, though, everything else is in pretty good shape aside from surface rust and dirt.

Not too much left here! The accelerator pedal will come one next, but only after I carefully photograph all the linkages, etc.. The black substance on the bulkhead is the remains of the glue that held on the original insulation. The strait-edged sheet metal at bottom is just something the previous owner had put to stop his feet going all the way through....

Axle Work

With the differentials complete, they've been attached to their respective axle casings, and the casings are now attached to the springs. The rear axle just needs its hubs and brakes, while work should begin soon reassembling the swivel hubs at the front.

In this view, it's just about possible to note that the insides of the brake backing plate has been painted with Eastwood's brake fluid-resistant paint, which is stainless steel based (and silver in colour).

Ready for the swivel hubs:

New Galvanized Bulkhead

Ashtree Landrover International were kind enough to send two photos of the new bulkhead as it was being prepared for crating and shipping, and so I thought I'd share the pictures. Bulkhead looks really good, and note the 'extras' in the 'glove shelf' - these will be very welcome!

Hand Brake Re-assembled

Put the hand brake together this afternoon. Hopeful that it works (and looks) a little better than when it was taken off! The outer backing plate shows some signs of its former surface rust under the paint, but the inside was almost rust free. New parts are the brake pads and springs, plus the locking plate, packing plate, retaining spring and their rubber dust cover (which were completely missing). The rest is original.