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1951 Lanchester LD10 - Rear Wing Removal


vulgalour

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No luck with a 20/30 mile facebook search for an old conservatory or plastic sheets or similar for a temp winter bodge? Might be cheaper 

But then I guess 3/4 perspex panels, length of timber and some fancy nails from wickes would cost the same as the fuel and arseache... I've fallen foul of this before! 

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Roofer's verdict on the roof is that it's Totally Fucking Fucked Mate Big Time.

Whoever put the bitumen roof on did more than just put that roof on.  The capping over the tiles is partially dislodged, the pointing is all damaged, the extra 'beams' that have been fitted to support the sheets aren't as secure as they should be, and some of the fixings that hold the sheets down don't actually screw into anything at all, they completely miss all of the beams.  Weather has been getting in at the top of the walls and the top of the beams and steadily causing damage there too.  So, while we could bodge some fresh sheets on, the recommendation of the roofer is that we don't and honestly, having seen more clearly what's actually wrong with the roof on the garage I'm inclined to agree.

We've had to call in some favours to afford it but we've decided that a proper roof is the sensible course of action.  Rather than a corrugated roof, we're going for a single-pitch flat felted roof which will follow the original garage roof pitch and fix all of the current problems.  The cost for a corrugated sheet roof is the same as the flat felt, because all of the same remedial work will need to be done either way, and it doesn't come with as good a guarantee against damage so the flat roof makes more sense.

A bodge job is certainly possible and in the short term more affordable.  But, this is one of those occasions where it's best to do it right the first time.  We hope that we'll have the money together soon for the garage extension but anything can happen to trip things up so rather than take the gamble and have to pay to bodge the roof a second time, we decided it'd be more sensible to just pay someone to put a proper roof on instead.  We have the Lanchester to consider too, it simply can't live out in the elements, or a damp garage, so if for no other reason we have to do the roof properly to keep from having to spend obscene amounts or time and money putting the Lanchester right if it suffers from bad storage.

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We'd recommend Wakeson's Leather Conditioner: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Leather-Conditioner-for-Restoring-Reviving-old-dried-out-leather-500ml/152337386788 since that's what we used on this very car.  Really slap it on and let it soak in, then buff it off to make sure it's not got any residue on the surface.  Get the bigger bottle and see how far it goes, depending how thirsty your leather is and how big the sofa is, one bottle might be enough.  We used two of the 500ml bottles (I think) to do the Lanchester seats and door cards, with everything getting about 6 applications.  Each fresh application uses less product.  We've been really happy with the Wakeson stuff in general, the conditioner doesn't really smell of anything, which is nice.

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The door cards for the Lanchester are now, finally, finished.  These haven't been that difficult a job, just a victim of circumstance with schedule clashes, poor weather, and other things like the garage roof failing.  So, some highlights and then a video.  I'll make the written update a bit whistle-stop since the video goes into greater detail on just how this job is done.

The main issue with the door cards was water and woodworm damage (limited to just one card and none of the surrounding wood, strangely) which had rendered the old plywood very brittle.  All of the old steel brackets and felt discs were salvaged from the original door cards, as were the rexine and and carpet covers.  Even the elastic cord could be re-used with care.  At the risk of repetition, the goal here is conservation rather than restoration.  Using the old boards as a guide, we drew around them onto the new boards - a single sheet of 8'x4' 5mm marine ply was ideal, 4.5mm would have been better as that's what the original was, but that doesn't seem to be available and 4mm was too thin - and then cut out the various holes for the rivets and door furniture with a combination of drill and jigsaw.

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After that, some of the edges - top and short side on the rear cards, top and both sides on the front cards - had a bevel sanded on to them, this was a copying of the original boards and we found that it help give a much better fit of the fabric on those areas compared to the boards before the bevel was done.  Any tear out and splinters were also sanded off.  Old on the left and new on the right in the image below.

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Then the brackets were refitted to the new boards using the copper bifurcated rivets we found on eBay that were a very close match to the originals, and finally the black felt discs added to the relevant door furniture holes, one per door card.

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The factory number and colour were scribbled back on in pencil by Pat, as well as a new date for when we did the work on them, it's part of the story after all.

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After that, the markings for the cotton wadding were transferred from the old boards to the new ones and new wadding was glued in place in the appropriate locations.

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A lot of tacks applied for the various layers, the old elastic cord rethreaded through the new board and new knots made to keep it there.

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The top edge of the cover was glued down with Bostick contact adhesive and held in place with wooden pegs while the glue cured.

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Finally, the door cards were then given a thorough press on the ironing board, using a teatowel to protect the rexine from the heat of the iron and the iron from any risk of ending up covered in melted or scorched rexine.  It would definitely have been easier to assemble with new contact adhesive, new vinyl, new elastic, and staples.  However, we opted to go for the original methods because it worked and because it was a lot cheaper to buy the materials we needed in NOS form on eBay, especially since the tacks (or staples if we'd gone that route) had to be very short and getting staples that short for a regular home staple gun isn't easy.  Here's a little overview of the tools we used.

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It took about an hour and a half to two hours to strip each door card down, and about the same to build them back up again, so definitely a labour intensive job.  However, the end result is very pleasing for what we're trying to achieve, that being keeping as much of the original look of things as we can rather than restoring to as-new.  Because we've used tacks instead of staples, when we come to remove the carpet sections to replace them with new to match the new carpet the car will be getting, the old stuff will be a lot easier to remove.  Since we're a long way off getting the carpetting and we don't want to lose parts, it makes sense to do things this way and put it all back together again rather than waiting until we can afford however much proper wool carpet we need to do the car.  We're both very happy with the end result of these, the look right and they smell right and we can't wait to get them back in the car.

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It was very satisfying to finally have a couple of weekends when we could sit down and get these sorted out and when we get another dry weekend together, we'll get them and hopefully the dashboard back in the car.  For a more detailed look at the job, and a little bit of an update on car things in general, please do check out the video over on the Youtube channel:

 

 

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2 hours ago, dollywobbler said:

I honestly thought for a moment there that you'd opted for Zebra skin door cards!

I'm disappointed, to be honest.

Excellent work again @vulgalour - this is looking really good all round. You encourage me to work on my own cars and push myself every time I read this thread!

Maybe in the future I can pop round for a look when COVID is under control.

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5 hours ago, dollywobbler said:

I honestly thought for a moment there that you'd opted for Zebra skin door cards!

Fascinating cars the Docker Daimlers. As show cars they were extremely luxe and probably put more people off the brand than attracted customers but...

They were bristling with innovation much of which was years ahead of its time - just a pity it did not make it onto the regular Daimlers. Lots of stuff we would find on a modern car as a matter of course.

But in the early 50's these cars had huge innovation on the various models: Powered convertible hoods, double-glazed side electric windows, electric rear window demisters, fared in headlamps behind plexiglass, Triplex laminated heat-reflecting Sundym tinted safety glass, glass sunroofs, thermal insulation, nylon carpets and use of other innovative materials, metallic paint, separate radio controls in the rear compartment and electric roof blinds.

It's a pity that unlike the General Motors 'Futurama' show cars the show Daimlers are remembered for their vulgarity and their innovation did not translate into sales of the Daimler brand - sales in the later 50's were dismal.

My family knew the Dockers in later life when the were long  ejected from Daimler - they were a couple of high-rolling nightmares really - I never met then I was a disinterested teen. It's a regret that I did not try to chat to them about the cars when I had access to 'history'.

Nice to see the thread back and wallow in some 50's nostalgia - a very fine antidote to current things.

Fascinating to see how these cars  went together up close btw. 👍👍

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That's the car with all the 'chrome' plated in gold. I think it is last car in the series 1955. By that time the Daimler/BSA board had had enough and the Dockers exited in a boardroom coup and were ridiculed in public.

Interesting that the front aspect hooded headlamp style found their way onto the 1968 Jaguar XJ6 and Daimler limo after Jaguar bought Daimler - so the cars were not without some minor styling influence and as show cars were not all bad. Things just seemed to get out of hand...

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

A little over a month and no update, eh?  Well, the wiring loom did arrive so we can get that sorted eventually, it's a lovely looking bit of kit and much better than either of us could have made so it feels a good investment at the moment.  Nothing else doing with the car really, with the weather being the way it is and having no indoor space to work on the car we're just having to wait until better weather comes along.  The wiring job needs a good week or so of nice weather for us to be able to strip all the old wiring out and reinstall the new.  Likewise, Covid etc. has put paid to getting the radiator sent off and we haven't even been looking for replacement engine mounts to sort that issue out.  Might resort to using the engine crane to lift the engine a bit to fit the new belt when the refurbished water pump goes back on, we shall see.

As things are the Lanchester is very much our fair weather car and we'll have to wait for fairer weather before we can provide you with more updates on it.

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Just read this start to finish, WOW...Many Kudos points to you for the 'rustoration' (Copyright Mustie1.)

Re the bodywork, did you think about the Wire wool treatment? 0000 wire wool with WD40 or very light oil, takes off the rust but is very forgiving to the paint.

The Leather and woodwork have tuned out fantastic, amazing what can be done to save these..

 Also Radio, Roberts do a retro look DAB Radio that wears over time to look fairly ancient (think someone in sales / wants has a pic of one) , failing that Amazon and wish , do a small radio/bluetooth /Mp3 unit that you could hide in the Glovebox, some subtle speakers - and away you go..

Loving the posts, Now hurry up and finish it!!!!

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We hadn't expected the old door card boards from the Lanchester to be any use and they were in the wood pile waiting for us to dispose of them.  Turns out, they were ideal for stabilising the broken fence panel, at least until the new fence panel parts arrive in a few days.  None of the neighbours recall the fence being replaced so it's probably original to the house, making it about fifty years old, which is pretty good innings for this style.  Looking forward to drier weather so we can do the next stage of work on the garden now that all of the rubbish has been cleared.

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  • 1 month later...

Once the weather gets its act together, the next bit of Lanchester work can happen.  We've had the car out of the garage this year to give it a check over and all's well, it's just how we left it.  An attempt was made to fit the door cards and we then found some minor adjustments were required, which are now complete, so it's just the weather holding us up fitting those now.

In the meantime, I acquired a little something from the blue that I'm hoping to revive or, if that's not possible, modernise internally.

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It be a 1947 Ecko CR32, 12 volt unit rather than 6 volt.  Luckily I've been able to acquire a service manual and wiring diagrams for it, and I've managed to get the dials cleaned up and moving properly.  Given it a clean inside and that's it so far.  There's a few wax components to replace, a new power lead required, and a general inspection and learn of how it all works before applying power.  I also need to get a desktop power unit thing since the only portable power supply I currently have is a car battery and that's not ideal for testing.

Goal is to test it, see if it can be revived, and use it.  If it can't be revived, strip it for any parts others can use and install some modern gubbinz in the case to make it functional.  It's not really a very good radio, by modern standards, having only 6 presets across MW and LW and a single mono speaker for output.  It's also quite power hungry.  We'll have to see what we end up with.  Has promise, all the same.

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Here it is with the faceplate removed to allow access to the preset adjusters.  The dial on the right illuminates and is the channel preselector.  I couldn't find any indication of text on the windows of the right hand dial, it just has the numbers 1 to 6 stamped into the chromed piece, you could add stickers to each segment to show which station is which if you really wanted to I suppose.  Dial on the left is a fine-tune at the back, power on and volume at the front

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I was only thinking about this old crock last night, as it happens.

That radio is lovely. Ekco radios were made in Southend-on-Sea, my hometown.

I have a circa 1950 CR 117 in my Somerset. I bought it years ago off ebay for about £20. It was in fairly poor condition, missing loads of bits so a friend of mine gutted what was left and hid a modern amp inside the case. Looks the part!

Sadly, he's not doing radios any more or I'd put you in touch.

 

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Eckos pre '47 were made in Southend-on-Sea, post '47 they were made in Scotland too, as this one is (it has a stamp on the back saying so), since Ekco moved some of their production north because of the fear of the war taking out the southern factory.  Other half has a contact for radio conversions as it happens, so the Dansette will be going to them and this one will to if it turns out we need to.

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@Angrydicky hop on eBay and get some Wakeson's Leather Conditioner, worked a treat on the Lanchester and it's not too pricey.  Be pretty generous with how much you put on the leather on the first application.   Reapply several times over several days and it should come back nicely.  For cleaning, baby wipes are good, if it's ingrained dirt then regular soapy water like you'd use for doing the dishes is fine, just make sure to condition it afterwards to lock the moisture in.

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3 hours ago, vulgalour said:

It be a 1947 Ecko CR32, 12 volt unit rather than 6 volt.  Luckily I've been able to acquire a service manual and wiring diagrams for it, and I've managed to get the dials cleaned up and moving properly.  Given it a clean inside and that's it so far.  There's a few wax components to replace, a new power lead required, and a general inspection and learn of how it all works before applying power.  I also need to get a desktop power unit thing since the only portable power supply I currently have is a car battery and that's not ideal for testing.

Goal is to test it, see if it can be revived, and use it.  If it can't be revived, strip it for any parts others can use and install some modern gubbinz in the case to make it functional.  It's not really a very good radio, by modern standards, having only 6 presets across MW and LW and a single mono speaker for output.  It's also quite power hungry.  We'll have to see what we end up with.  Has promise, all the same.

IMAG5681.thumb.jpg.1cac11769f32f09f3e9e83972f512b9f.jpg

Here it is with the faceplate removed to allow access to the preset adjusters.  The dial on the right illuminates and is the channel preselector.  I couldn't find any indication of text on the windows of the right hand dial, it just has the numbers 1 to 6 stamped into the chromed piece, you could add stickers to each segment to show which station is which if you really wanted to I suppose.  Dial on the left is a fine-tune at the back, power on and volume at the front

IMAG5693.thumb.jpg.6bcf7e1b1a9baeebce314a0312d9a3ba.jpg

Lovely Valve Tuner! 😍😍😍And my Grandfather had one of these cars. I was given advice on Pre-Select Transmissions by him when I mentioned regular driving of an AEC RT... 

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It has been a productive day on the Lanchester, plenty of footage for an upcoming Lanchester video.  Almost got the interior back together now and decided to plonk the Ekco in the cabin to see just where it might fit and... er...

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That's going to require some thinking.  One advantage of the tiny interior of the Lanchester is that the orange carpet I saved from the Princess has actually got enough material in it to do the Lanchester, at least on a first trial fit, and the colour is a lot less offensive than you might expect due to the copious amounts of brown.

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There will be a full and proper video update and write up in a few weeks when the interior should be all together.  As you can see, I did figure out how to get the dashboard in without removing the steering wheel and three out of four door cards are fitted, the fourth requires some fitment fettling and we simply ran out of time today to do any more.  These old car interiors are surprisingly labour intensive to put together and so cramped that recording-while-doing is almost not an option.

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