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.