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1951 Lanchester LD10 - Rear Wing Removal


vulgalour

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4 minutes ago, Amishtat said:

Very impressive that you got it, about time someone bought something interesting at last. Driving a pre-select is easy, it's all the things you'd usually do but in a different order. After five minutes of driving you wonder why more manufacturers didn't fit them. 

I know in the Daimler I always used to pull away in second as first was so low it was only really any use for pulling away up steep hills.  That did have 2.5x the power though, so first might be more useful in the LD10.  As long as you remember that the left pedal is NOT a clutch, and that if you use it as such for manoeuvring you will burn out the fluid flywheel in short order, you should be fine.

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Nice. Very nice. Which coachbuilder did that body? It seems to be rather modern.

 

Reading up on the gearbox, it seems quite similar in principle to the gearbox in my car, being the technical precursor to it (the Laycock variant being the most similar in concept, admittedly).

Correctly adjusted rod brakes are good though- the principle behind them still in use in trucks with air brakes. They can be poor, snatchy, downright dangerous or actually pretty good depending on how well they're maintained. Nice thing is the mechanical aspect of it is pretty simple.

 

Enjoy!

 

Phil

 

 

Edit: You can easily see why there was post-war animosity towards the USA- government-boosted economy meaning your LD10 was still available when my Pontiac was. Mine was priced $2081 new, for the base model. The deluxe with options on mine was about $3000 which, in contrast gave a 116hp 4.4 liter engine, 4 speed fully automatic gearbox, 7 tube radio, electric clock, heater, electric light indicators, powered windscreen wash/wipe and a myriad other gizmos (basically up in Humber Super Snipe sort of territory) for significantly less money. 

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2 hours ago, vulgalour said:

I'm astonished at how well received this decision has been!

I think you have history with underappreciated cars, so this one is right up your street. 

When I was a student - we're talking ancient history now - I used to walk past a Lanchester languishing in a front garden. Painted blue, it just sat there for years. Think it was only removed in the early 2000s.

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4 hours ago, wuvvum said:

I know in the Daimler I always used to pull away in second as first was so low it was only really any use for pulling away up steep hills.  That did have 2.5x the power though, so first might be more useful in the LD10.  As long as you remember that the left pedal is NOT a clutch, and that if you use it as such for manoeuvring you will burn out the fluid flywheel in short order, you should be fine.

Are these not a centrifugal clutch rather than fluid flywheel? There's little enough power on tap without wasting it.

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What a lovely old motor, really well done. For it to survive all those years is so cool, great old thing, lovely condition, I like cars that look like they've been used, you could imagine that looking like that when just another old car in the 1960's.

I somehow never really used to notice/pay attention to any car of that sort of era but increasingly I do find them appealing (my own increasing age maybe).

I look forward to updates & lots of pics (especially the interior etc).

A positively heroic buy !:)

 

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I realised there's the pictures on the advert I can stick in here so you can see a bit better what we saw on the day.  These photos are surprisingly honest, the only deception being that the car is wet which makes it look a bit cleaner and shinier than it really is.  Otherwise, what you see really did seem to be how the car is.

Passenger side is the worst side, as usual.  This is the side the looks to have had a replacement front wing, the worst of the rust on the outer sill, and the only rust holes of note we could find on the inner arch.
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The driver's side is much tidier, though the outer sill does of course need a little attention which is really to be expected, especially when you see how easily dirt and moisture can get trapped on the back of the outer sill panel.  It's got a bit of a whiskey dent (cheers for that, Coldwarmotors) on the front wing and a little filler, though some panel beating would probably see this right again since it's not serious.
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At the back, the paint is quite thin on the bootlid, which is aluminium, and the bumper has had a bit of a bump, unsurprisingly, so you have to ease the overrider a tiny bit for it to clear the boot lid.  Surprisingly has a locking fuel cap, I hadn't expected that.
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Inside, there's no carpet and the door cards are a bit saggy and tired.  The seats are still quite comfortable, even though they're a little cracked in places and have a couple of tears.  We haven't decided if we're getting the seats reupholstered with new, or are going to just attempt to repair the damage and retain the aged look.  A new carpet will be going in, that's not particularly difficult or expensive on a car this small and simple.
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The woodwork is in suprisingly good shape, as are the headlining and sunvisors.  The battery box under the rear seat was nice and solid and all of the floor boards are in excellent shape.  The car must have spent a lot of its life indoors, it's so dry and free of sun damage inside it would be hard to believe it had spent any significant amount of time outdoors.  I failed to take a note of the mileage, though I wouldn't be surprised if its been around the clock at least once.

I will of course take some more in depth shots when it arrives, and of what we uncover as we work through everything.

 

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You need a bit of this and a couple afternoons of leather massage there. Looks lovely inside though.

Do like "whiskey dent".

 

Oh, and do take care of those tail lights. They are an exceptionally pleasing design to look at but are fragile- the red glass is weak and they are particularly expensive to find these days.

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