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Land Rover resto - new project and Sandy p25


richardthestag

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Love your updates. I, too have door issues on my '71. It has late doors on it currently, which I understand are different to suffix A ones?

I'm sure* a repairable pair will crop up cheaply, right?!

 

the only difference is that really early doors i.e. 1970 have completely flat sides to the door shell. everything since has the ribs like mine do.

 

 

 
I was surprised to see you put the cross member in already, but then I recalled I took the gearbox out from underneath & you'll be dropping it in complete from above.

 

 

the book method for gearbox on these is through the door aperture and in from above. with an engine crane this should be easy. With a 4 post lift underneath is easy when exhaust and cross member are out of the way.
 
A mate showed me years ago the easiest way to change the clutch on these. Lift the engine straight up from a block and tackle on the hanging from the garage roof, with it hanging replace clutch and just drop it back down again. The book method involves removing the interior followed by the gearbox cover lol
 
I love ignoring threads like this for ages then needing to take an entire morning to catch up! In utter awe are the work being put into it 

 

 

thanks, I enjoy sharing and also updating you lot. Progress on this car will accelerate rapidly now that i r redundant. Plan is to get it finished, enjoy it thoroughly as my daily driver while giving it a thorough shakedown BUT then it will need to be sold to raise essential funds for life. Fret not I have another to start on, also 1972 but customised mildly in the 1980s
 
The driver's door hinge and checkstrap area is rotting nicely on my 92, as well. They never learned - no trace of any protection in there when I opened it up to chuck Waxoyl in earlier this week.
 
 
I'm guessing '2 door' doors are a bit rarer on Ebay than the 4 door kind  ;-)

 

 

mine are also, in fact I only really noticed the rust on the front doors last year. all four doors need to come off my 93 daily for essential rust replacement / protection. One is too far gone but I have a replacement.
 
yep early doors are a nightmare to find, unless they are from Australia or Portugal they will be as rotton as the item you are looking to replace.
 
Stripping the door down to it's bare bones helps me understand if it can be repaired. Next week I will drop the skin off to the metal fabricator to see if (which I am sure he can) replicate in aluminium and how much.
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This weeks updates. 

 

First the door, 180 miles away but I has been thinking. Plan is first stop to mr metalbender to see if he can replicate the skin.

 

Then I plan to repair and rust treat the strengthening section, then replace the thin cosmetic hinge end of the door frame. The bottom edge will be easy by comparison. I travel to Devon tomorrow tomorrow armed with mr Dremel and quikclik discs to cut out some of the smoll hinge holes.

 

So mrs thestag will be keen to find out wtf I have been upto this week. 

 

Gearbox layshaft shims finally arrived, so I was able to shim the layshaft to within tolerance. This cleared the way to installing mainshaft, layshaft and reverse into the gearbox. Never* to be removed again :)

 

Videos are on my youtube channel for the masochists and insomniacs

 

Here is reverse gear (straight cut)

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Next I installed and checked all the gear selector rods

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fitted oil seals and distribution ring into the front cover. That little fibre bastard with 3 holes staring at you! be careful with it, they must fly the Pope in to bless them judging from the supply price.

 

I reused my old one mindful of the above

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Bench was more relieved than my back when I relocated the gearbox and empty transfer casing a bit nearer my car to take it back to Devon

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This selection of bits is how Range Rover centre diff lock is activated. honestly

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Here it is assembled. It is vacuum operated from the inlet manifold. As standard drive can go to any one of 4 wheels on the car. When the plunger is pulled vacuum is allowed to go through to this unit, the fork shifts a gear on a shaft inside the front output housing on the transfer casing end of the gearbox. Then at one wheel on each axle is driven  :)

 

Tested by sucking gently on the tube and the fork moves back and forth easily. It didnt before I rebuilt it.

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also a little pressie in the post from SOC in the form of a Stag rebuild kit for the PDWA

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All finished and ready for brake pipes and fluid

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More coming but supper first Mrs thestag has resorted to nagging ;)

 

 

 

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Heater matrix doesn't leak but then nor does water flow freely through it. full fat cola does the trick. alas Mrs Thestag only buys Max for the lads. seemed to do the trick though

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I took apart and cleaned the front transfer box housing - where the prop attaches at the gearbox end, the vacuum diff lock ^^^ fits onto this housing

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original bearing proudly stamped Gt Britain, replacement unit has Product of China in very very small print on the edge of the box it came in.

 

Luckily original bearing responded beautifully to a paraffin bath and relube

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Engine and gearbox mounts were grit blasted and then rust converted. even though they looked clean the converter worked hard

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These two bars sit above the side - sliding - windows. they are original but were tatty, prep wheel got them back to bare steel, no corrosion anywhere so repainted ready for install

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This little fella is one of a mirrored pair, they fix to the rear underside of the gearbox cover and secure it to the chassis. they were both rusted solid.

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A lot of work and some heat saw them apart

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Hand/transmission brake next. Range Rover doesnt have a handbrake to a wheel but to the rear end of the transfer box, effectively locking both axles. the rear oil seal from the transfer box appears to have been leaking... a lot

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despite the massive amount of sticky gear oil all over the place, every single circlip and pin was seized, took a lot of effort to get it apart to this stage. Lord alone knows how this handbrake would have worked more recently.. I suspect that it just didn't  

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Here it all is after a decent gunking

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Transmission brake shoes escaped the lube + the drum cleaned up nicely

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as did the backplate, which I then grit blasted before paint

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these are the reassembled gearbox cover - chassis mounts ready for reinstall

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handbrake linkage is all back and flexible again

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Heater unit was the last thing to do this week.

 

needed new sponges on the flaps + motor needed new brushes and lastly the awful noise needed to be silenced somehow.

 

First, the case responded well to a lick of paint, nothing fancy, just less fucked than it looked before. Secured one end with all screws and removed the other end to allow for flap and matrix install

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then to fit the rheostat thingy that allows for two speed fan operation. right inside the heater unit 

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felt came in a nice sheet from woolies trim, the shipping cost was horrific but the product cost was good. I think forward planning and bigger order next time

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cut it into lengths and then glued it in where the foam had existed before, installed the flap and checked it's operation

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after a couple of hours fiddling, all flaps in place and working, all heater controls in place and working. happy days. now the motor

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new brushes sourced, iirc standard 7mm box section. easy to solder in place, reassemble motor and lube up various joints and all is humming beautifully. no more nasty noises. not that the noise was to do with the brushes anyway. will post up a vid at some point

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lastly filled the car with stuff done this week to be installed in and on the car next week

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watch this space

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this weeks update

 

Been an interesting week really.

 

Started out with a photoshoot with a journo in a new Overfinch, suggestion was 220 bags and it could be yours  :shock:

 

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Exmoor this time of year is stunning

 

Then Tuesday was a drive up to Hull to view a potential purchase, ended up with 4!! details to follow

 

I am absolutely living the dream, should have been doing this a decade ago, black dog can FRO

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on the project great progress, some rework which is always irritating.

 

gearbox first, transfer gears go onto the end of the mainshaft and end float is normal

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next is the High/Low gears from the transfer box, 

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needs to be orf the shaft before assembly, took opportunity to clean and inspect. All perfect

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fitted into transfer end of the gearbox casing and checked tolerances which again were fine.

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good news is that the box of bits is getting smoller, bad news is this needle roller bearing, wtf! (where the feck) should it go. I knew but spent an hour double checking

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yep! on the end of the mainshaft and inside the input shaft. Bollocks, front bearing plate off again then

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it fits in there

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like this. irritated that I missed this. having bits in two locations is not helping me here. but still, 30 mins to get it apart and another 30 mins and a 50p gasket and I am back to square one but the knowledge bank is topped up.

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in the meantime (while waiting for Mr Postie to bring me new gaskets) I fitted the brake lines right through to the front calipers 

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only back plates to go on and I am done

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Mr Postie dropped off on Wednesday

 

actually it was Mr Fedex but he isnt quite as chatty as Postie

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bearing (bastard) in place and hylomar all over the shop

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bearing plate, layshaft and mainshaft back in, like fucking Groundhog Day this is

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Hylomar on top face of bellhousing because selector rods go up against this and want to seal as much of that leaking oil as possible. 

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Bellhousing back on, just need to flip it now. yeah it is quite heavy and bulky. Back is still complaining

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the diff unit drops in easily

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followed by part of the Hi/low selector mechanism

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All done for now!

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4:47pm and it is v cold

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Next day, vacuum diff lock mechanism goes on

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followed closely by gearbox-chassis mounts

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It is going in from above and via the passenger door aperture

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The strap positions were not quite right for a level lift

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this worked

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bolted in and resting lightly on the chassis cross member

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handbrake linkage all in

post-3439-0-30420200-1542994806_thumb.jpg

 

Next up leccies

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also got the loom in place and routed into the right locations

 

earth points need protection too

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bulkhead and rear light sections in the right places

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trying to get the chunks of the loom on the right sides of the steering column, this area is quite busy. thank goodness I took thousands of hi res piccies when I took it all apart over 2 years ago

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engine bay loom strapped into place

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fitted windscreen and pleased that it still fits :D roof is just dropped into place to check alignment

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Brake chassis line in place and connected up to rear brakes. all brake pipework now in place. Hope to bleed them today

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checking tailgate, no idea why as i have done nothing to the rear end alignment

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Next brake bleed, fit rear wings to check alignment and find paintshop to get them shiny. Roof panel needs paint then I can start fitting up the interior.

 

Engine build is high on the agenda, just need to buy pistons and bearings and put it together.

 

Oh and I found a chap who can balance the propshafts 

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Today I secured the purchase of these.

 

Went up to Hull last Tuesday to view the red car and ended up agreeing a good price for all four of them + a good spares stock also.

 

All 4 are genuine 1971/2 cars

 

All have early axles, axle numbers are in the correct range for the chassis plate

3 have early LT95 gearboxes that are in the correct range for chassis plate. The 4th has an LT95 but from a 1974 vehicle

3 have original v8 engine numbers are early and match. The 4th has a diesel

Most of the Triplex glass is in the right date range

 

The idea is to restore the three good cars, all of which are savable (and certainly no worse than the car I have been doing) will be nut and bolt restored back to original. should make me a tidy living for a fair few years to come (enough to live and enough to give)

 

The bobtail might look horrific, front and back of chassis have been chopped, alas it is scrap. I can get a new chassis galv for about £2k. The body has taken a fair few knocks off roading BUT I reckon it is still too good to be a spares car, maybe.

 

 

 

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I've always admired these, proper landed gennrty mobiles, alas a lack of welding abilities and restoration skills on my part in general put me off. This thread has proved to me in spectacular fashion that I was right to be afraid.

 

I've thoroughly enjoyed reading my way through this lot with my morning coffee, the car looks fantastic even if the level of work you're doing does make me feel like a neanderthal. Hats off.

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I've always admired these, proper landed gennrty mobiles, alas a lack of welding abilities and restoration skills on my part in general put me off. This thread has proved to me in spectacular fashion that I was right to be afraid.

 

I've thoroughly enjoyed reading my way through this lot with my morning coffee, the car looks fantastic even if the level of work you're doing does make me feel like a neanderthal. Hats off.

 

Values of the newer ones are still pretty wobbly. I've got nothing like Richard's abilities, hence starting out with an OK but scruffy one in the first place:

 

http://autoshite.com/topic/32104-1992-range-rover-saving-the-planet-a-gallon-at-a-time/

 

You can always farm out the welding, as long as there's not too much of it.

 

On these later cars at least, I think a lot of the work comes from the fact that it's basically a 60's design, with all that implies, as well as the poor build / component quality. For instance, all the channels which hold the window glass to the regulators are rusting through - I've never seen that before. The passenger side one had simply disintegrated and fallen off!

 

So, in reality, plenty of jobs well within the reach of the average DIY mechanic at the weekend, even if you end up paying someone else to do the big stuff.

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There was a scrapper in a scrapper in Hawkhurst Kent a few months ago , don't know if its still there

 

 

attachicon.gifpost-17940-0-65427200-1521124130.jpg

 

I bet that 'kin hurt, looks like it rolled hard on front drivers side corner. channel above passenger door has twisted 90degrees so roof will be at dash level in middle. Seen a chap at a pay n' play site make a hash of a steep decent. the back overtook the front .... but by going over the top. the pillars are NOT that strong.

 

SAS and special forces were good at rolling them too, fitted cages. these cars are quite sought after now but always called ex-SAS. there are far more cars than they ever used :D

 

Quite a late car by the look of it. which yard was it in?

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Values of the newer ones are still pretty wobbly. I've got nothing like Richard's abilities, hence starting out with an OK but scruffy one in the first place:

 

http://autoshite.com/topic/32104-1992-range-rover-saving-the-planet-a-gallon-at-a-time/

 

You can always farm out the welding, as long as there's not too much of it.

 

On these later cars at least, I think a lot of the work comes from the fact that it's basically a 60's design, with all that implies, as well as the poor build / component quality. For instance, all the channels which hold the window glass to the regulators are rusting through - I've never seen that before. The passenger side one had simply disintegrated and fallen off!

 

So, in reality, plenty of jobs well within the reach of the average DIY mechanic at the weekend, even if you end up paying someone else to do the big stuff.

 

Newer 90's car values seem stable'ish, there is just a wide and dangerous grey area that sits between something that is on the verge of MoT failure every year and something that is together and reliable. some real nice cars are advertised at what I might think are comedy prices but then people still buys them.

 

I bought my daily a decade ago and paid £3200 for it. that was a fair price at that time for an unmessed car with solid sills and a rear cross member. Nowadays I think that figure has just about doubled or thereabouts.

 

The same goes for a 90's wreck, back then they could be had for £500, now that figure sits between a bag an a bagn'half. Tread carefully, these cars are more often than not source of spares unless you are brave and can wield the sparkly stick.

 

stuff that has been OLLI'd up is only worth what someone is prepared to pay, personally I would run and not look back.

 

A rough estimate to sort a body frame on a 90s car that has not been parked in a field. i.e. needs sills repairing rather than replacing as I did with mine, and doesnt have a world of bodges and checkaplate ;) including replacement of rear cross member, boot floor, repair inner/outer sills, repair sill mounts, replace rear outer arches, repair a post, repair bulkhead, footwells and replace front inner wings could be upwards of 60h in labour to strip out and rebuild + £1500 in panels

 

 

So fixing up a 90s car is achievable but as always the more work you do yourself the cheaper the job :D

 

the glass channel you mention was never painted from my experience. Early doors have a complex multi layer construction inside, none of the steel appears to have been painted. So by the time rust bubbles through on the hinge edge then it is a war zone inside the door. Gah

 

Doing one of the early cars yourself is worth it. I agree with a number of independent other sources to budget 1000 hours for a nut and bolt resto, I am certainly on target :). In the project I am currently doing I was in the region of 250hours to repair the body frame. That included stripping the car out and cutting away the rot. It also included messing about making up templates for repair sections. I kept those templates so less time should be needed next time around. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

last weeks activity update a bit late

 

Fitted screen and dropped roof on, both fit which pleased me. Next up was to bleed the brakes through

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only I cannot find the brake caliper squeal shims and pins. nails will hold pads in place for now. However an hours work and I have a nice firm pedal. will see if anything leaks over the next month  :D

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refitted rear wing to check how much the rubber window seal hangs over the wing. I have a cunning plan which involves not only the better quality used old stock window rubbers but also will save me undreds also

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both front wings are fucked, they will not be used again. I have a trip later this month to bring a container load of spares down from Hull which may well provide me with a more viable solution.

 

There is a big chunk missing here, which while hidden by the sidelight/indicator housing is just not good enough for me.

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Lots of extra bits here and many holes underneath

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More missing bits, this area could be seen when the door opens

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deck panel went on to confirm.

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D post covers are also birmabrite and on this age car should be painted, happily vinyl was a glue on modernisation

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after removing and cleaning back much of the original 72 Davos white paint was evident.

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back at home again for half the week 

 

handbrake control just apart for clean and paint, need to work out how I am to replace the plastic handle on the end, I have the original but it is broken

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wiper rack next, which appears to be cut n shut from two items, note weld on right and side. effective and seems to work so will stay as is.

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Motor is as new

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and works beautifully 

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The Facet fuel pump also works but looks shit, the end cap should twist off but is rusted solid. Soaked in Cola for 24h

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Meanwhile fuel filler

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even though steel, cleaned up well, rust treated and ready for paint now

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clutch master responded well to blast cleaner and steel wool. Needs new seals else done

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Gearbox covers ready for paint

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Facet pump apart, the big brown sleev on right of photo is a desert filter. still works but is pretty clogged

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blasted the case and reassembled.

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been a week of odds and sods, ups and downs

 

Daily needs some fettling, actually it needs all four inner wings and stuff. that is for next year though

 

car is still consuming coolant, block test shows no combustion gasses so I expect that HGF is not the issue.

 

Pressurising the system when cold using my pump found no obvious leaks, obviously having fixed the core plug the next weakest link has been found. 

 

ran the car upto normal temp then attached the pump and pressurised it to 15lb while the engine was running. Got a whiff of anti freeze. sniffing around I found it to be coming from around the radiator. removed fan and shroud

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oh

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duck farts

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not exactly pissing out, but this will not help. recore required, this one must be 10 years old now

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celebrated with a trip up the field, Exmoor in background. 

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