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Post by Mystery Machine on Mar 27, 2012 18:52:30 GMT
Thanks Paul, I love the style of these Series I lights.....but I reckon even a set of 'standard' Series II/III (the little round ones) would look better than the Maltese crosses. Thankfully the D-lights came with the car so I was over the moon to be able to get them bent back into shape and working again  As for the sound, I will take a video very soon. It does sound pretty good - although I reckon hearing it in the flesh is always going to be the best way to enjoy it. This update is where I handed Robin (RobinJI) a coilspring and some basic instructions. He 'got' it and set to work making a cool mod for the Land Rover. "Designed by Bruce, Produced by Robin"  Robin did a superb job of turning my idea into something just how I had imagined it - including adding some of his own little touches  I think everyone loves using the Area 52 welder!  The finished result bolted into place....coil spring cup holders. I spent a while thinking what would 'suit' the Land Rover and most options just seemed a bit 'meh' when picturing them fitted to such a distinctive motor. As soon as I clapped eyes on this spare spring in the racking it just seemed to make perfect sense.  This bottle of beer (actually filled with water) made it to the beach and back with only spilling one tiny drop on the return journey. Proving they are capable of holding drinks safely in place. Even when doing donuts in the sand or hitting pot-holes at speed.  Bolted throught the bulkhead, they fit really well and mean that drinks have somewhere to be stored while driving. Something I realised I needed when on the road after collecting the car. Not having anywhere to put a drink meant having to wait for stops...or risk spilling it when wedged between your legs. Not any more. Robin made some nice detailing with opposing coil sections for the base. I LOVE them!  |
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Post by Dez on Mar 27, 2012 19:19:11 GMT
I'm stealing that one! |
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mdh
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,688
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Post by mdh on Mar 27, 2012 20:01:01 GMT
Originally the lights had a bar across the outside and a divider inside. One bit was the tail light the other the brake light. No twin filament bulbs back in the '50s I guess...
New regs meant the brake light area wasnt big enough, so most lights got converted by removing the bar and divider, like yours.
BTW, if you don't want the old Iron Cross lights, shove them in the MDH pile (recently vacated by the Hustler) and I'll shove them on my LR!! :-)
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Post by brigsport on Mar 27, 2012 20:02:07 GMT
Dude! I seen this going past bath train station recently, and wondered if it was the same one!
Sparks coming off the underside when you hit the raised tarmac just outside the bus station, and no rear lights at dusk.............2012 style running lights? Lol!
Also seen a 60's chevy pickup aswell, I think? Been working on the hotel refurb on the square in bath, opposite the marble players!
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mdh
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,688
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Post by mdh on Mar 27, 2012 20:13:38 GMT
Et voila  |
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Post by Mystery Machine on Mar 27, 2012 20:33:54 GMT
^ I've never seen that style before! Quite cool ^ This is the style I have....and I can guarantee that the bulb holder was a twin filament and a single one next to each other (look at the contacs on the photo I took) - the lens isn't original but some flat plastic lens that's been cut to fit in palce of where the glass lens would usually sit.  Anyway, I'm leaving it there for the lights.....they're fitted and working so I'm happy. They look better than the Maltese cross lights so I'm happy. Dude! I seen this going past bath train station recently, and wondered if it was the same one! Sparks coming off the underside when you hit the raised tarmac just outside the bus station, and no rear lights at dusk.............2012 style running lights? Lol! Yep, that would have been me & Dave on our way back from collecting the car last Weds. It was only when we got back to Area 52 that we realised the lights weren't working on the rear (I turned the lights on, saw the headlights were on so assumed all was good!) I even undertook then cut up a police car in Bristol and didn't realise at the time the lights were off. I guess he liked the car because he was behind me for a good mile or so and didn't seem to bat an eye! Happy days. |
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funkyhunk
Part of things
Old Ford's R Us
Posts: 210
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Post by funkyhunk on Mar 28, 2012 0:14:36 GMT
The steeringwheel, is that a grant?
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Post by spekkie on Mar 28, 2012 5:21:04 GMT
thats one sweet ride !
proof that everything looks better slammed ;D
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tijs
Part of things
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Post by tijs on Mar 28, 2012 6:23:57 GMT
These bolts in fact:  somehow they look like excellent door-pins to me! I just don't know anything about a landy, so I have no idea if they would fit. Love the way all of you at area 52 work on this, not to scared to make improvements on the car luckily |
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Post by Mystery Machine on Mar 28, 2012 6:53:13 GMT
The steeringwheel, is that a grant? I believe it is, I seem to recall the Landie had a chain link steering wheel and Bryn swapped it for this when he got it. It's a lovely thing to hold....I'm used to varnished shiny wood wheels, but this has a much more tactile feel to it. The dimples on the back are very pronounced and the seperate sections of wood move very slightly, it feels great! The next mod to be done was to relocate the rear indicators. They were tucked up behind the rear bumper and shone down onto the ground, illuminating an area of the tarmac when switched on. This was more effective than it sounds...even in bright light but I wanted other motorists to be able to see the actual indicators. This was one of those 'compromise' mods where a gain in function means a slight loss in aesthetics. Dropping the indicators down meant slightly more clutter on the back end, but this gives no excuse to other motorists that they didn't see my indicators. I raided the 'drawer of wonder' for a suitable solution - a drawer full of various random brackets and assorted bits of metal that BiAS/Ian keeps topping up whenever he visits. He works at a place that builds/converts motorbility vehicles and always has various bits & pieces left over once a conversion is done because most manufacturers supply bits to cover a range of different vehicles. These leftovers seem to find their way to Area 52 and prove VERY handy in times like this....why make a bracket when the 'drawer of wonder' more than likely has something perfect for the job? In this case, some 5mm thick plate with the perfect size hole each end to relocate the indicator. A bit of jiggling to set the optimum position, the indicators are dropped down and also moved back further under the car  The new location means they are perfectly visible from behind the car. The only downside - the rear end has now gained some more clutter.  In order to try and redress the balance between function and form, I strip the units down, give them a key with some wet & dry and paint them satin black, along with the new brackets. This means the light units are no longer shiny chrome and your eye is drawn to them less than before - especially now that they are tucked further back under the car. I also put a dusting of black over the amber lens, again, to try and 'knock it back' a bit visually.  The light is now a lot less visible when off. Even more so when outdoors (this shot taken inside the unit) - in daylight the indicators are hardly visible and you have to specifically look for them to actually see them they are so well hidden  The lights are VERY bright - far brighter than you'd expect which is why I was confident that a light dusting of black over the amber lens would be OK. When on, the light output is still very, very bright & visible....certainly not like conventional lights that have tint spray on them. In all light conditions, there is no missing these lights when they flash yet they are pretty much invisible when off. Happy days.  It's late on Saturday night, we're all hungry and KFC is voted for as the meal to see us through the night as we work on the Land Rover and Chris/Diabolu's Fugitive (which is in for an engine rebuild after dropping a valve on the way to Area 52 and smashing the head & piston to pieces!!) - the RR Beach Party is in a few hours and there is still work to do....but we need to keep ourselves fed. The Landie doubles up as the perfect table and general place to congregate while we fill our bellies...  Chris & Ian decide to carry on working on the Fugitive engine while they eat. It's going to be another long night....(Friday night saw us all turn to our sleeping bags around 5.30am!)  |
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Post by Mystery Machine on Mar 28, 2012 13:37:04 GMT
While out with Robin trying to suss out the locations of the nearest LPG stations in Bristol (kind of essential when the car runs on 100% LPG) we got stuck in Saturday traffic in the city centre. Being a rather warm day, which was great for tooling around in the Land Rover, I noticed the temp gauge rising and rising. Eventually I decided it was hot enough to warrant pulling over and letting the engine cool. It seemed the electric fan wasn't cutting in.... Once we got back to Area 52 Rich and James started checking over the wiring then established that the fan wasn't connected. James offered to rewire it with a new relay too and I requested an manual over ride switch which meant I could turn the fan on anytime I felt the temp was getting a little high. The two of them headed off to Halfords with the trade card and came back with a new toggle switch to fit into the dash. A black plastic one was the only one they had in (other than fancy illuminated LED ones) but function was paramount to form in this instance and I was more than happy to have it if it meant I could control the fan. I can always change it at a later date to something more 'in keeping'. While they were at Halfords, Rich also picked up a pair of new headlight bulbs. The current ones worked perfectly well but had a blue tint which didn't really suit the Land Rover. His idea and I was more than happy to go along with it. I have to say, they do look better for having plain clear bulbs in there. Here is the fan switch James fitted along with a new relay and wiring....cooling should hopefully be all sorted now:  Another small issue which I hadn't really thought, about due to putting it down to having a steering box, was the play in the steering. It always felt a bit vague and indirect whenever driving. I'd driven cars with steering boxes before and knew they weren't a match for cars with rack & pinion, but after a few others had sat in the car, they all said there was more play than there should be. On closer inspection it turned out the way the steering boss had been mounted allowed for more play than was necessary. Approx 1/4 turn of the steering wheel was accounted for by the play in the boss before the column even started to turn. I hadn't even looked at it that closely. The bolt in the pinch bolt on the clamp of the boss was also the wrong bolt and didn't seat properly allowing for even more play. The boss was removed and the nut from the pinch bolt/clamp driven out and replaced with a new M10 nut which was pressed into place. An M10 bolt was shortened to the right length to allow proper fitment without interfering with the indicator cancel function of the boss/column. This allowed the P4 boss to fix properly to the column once again. The puzzle now remained of how to mount the wooden wheel to the P4 boss? The existing boss is like a large bowl with the open part where the centre of a modern wheel should be. The boss actually used to form the centre of the original steering wheel and the spokes had been cut off from the outside edges....the bowl shape simply housed a centre piece, badge/hornpush. It's bit difficult to explain, but it wasn't going to be that straight forward to mount the wooden wheel securely without some fabrication. Ian & I came to the conclusion that a large steel disc would fill the open face of the bowl and if it was drilled and tapped into the the cast alloy boss behind, could be bolted down securely onto the boss. We found a suitable bit of plate in the unit and Ian carefully measured it then started chopping bits off to give a rough shape. Time consuming on 5mm thick plate. I then used a flap wheel to smooth the plate into a nice round disc that fitted snugly into the small recess in the front of the boss. Five holes were then drilled through the plate and into the chunkiest part of the boss to give a secure fixing for the plate. Ian tapped the holes in the boss while I opened up the holes in the plate to the right size to clearance the new bolts. Tapping the holes wasn't straight forward because where the chunky sections of alloy were also happened to be where the original spokes sat in the boss, so at times he was tapping half alloy and half steel from the remnants of the spokes. Not much fun! With that done, it was simply a case of bolt the plate in place and measure where the steering wheel was going to be mounted. Once marked, three more holes were drilled and then tapped into the centre of the plate (the steering wheel only has three mounting holes). Once done, the wheel was then bolted to the boss and the boss fitted to the column....along with the new pinch bolt. The result....only a fraction of a turn before the wheels started moving. SO much more direct and a real contrast to the previous set-up. A true transformation. A HUGE thanks must go to the guys for pushing this mod to be done. It really has made a massive difference as well as being a lot safer/more secure. Here you can see part of the new 5mm plate bolted into the original boss. I will get some photos soon of the whole set-up so you can get an idea of how tricky it was to make this work properly. The solution seems to simple now, but working out the best way to go about it at the time took some head scratching.  This is the cubby box that originally sat between the seats. It was fitted when Bryn bought the car but he removed it in favour of the open space not having it gave. I can see why, having a nice open space betweeen the seats is great, but I also want some practicality to store bits and pieces. It's a handy thing to have and I certainly couldn't be without storage for the sort of things I will be using the car for. The only downside, it looks so out of place in the interior. I have some ideas to make it look a bit more 'in keeping' but for now it has been removed....  In its place I have fitted a temporary solution. Not as much space in it as the original cubby, but more in the spirit of the car....a rusty little tool case which I have bolted down to the transmission tunnel. It's a bit smaller than the cubby in every respect but it's still useful for holding sunglasses, keys, cans of drink etc.... I will, however, be on the lookout for something similar in style but a bit bigger so that I can carry my camera in there too. It also acts as a good arm rest.  I couldn't resist putting an Area 52 logo on it. I placed a sticker over the rust then carefully dusted some satin black over the top. Removed the sticker to reveal the logo then rubbed it in a little to make it even more mellowed. In the flesh it looks like an old stencil that's faded over the years. Just the look I was aiming for.  |
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Post by scaryoldcortina on Mar 28, 2012 14:20:11 GMT
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leigh
Posted a lot
Travelin' with Flavin
Posts: 4,211
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Post by leigh on Mar 28, 2012 16:12:03 GMT
Great stuff Bruce, glad to see you're delving straight in. I so badly want a spin in this! Would it clear the ramp on the ferry do you think......  |
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Anglia68
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Stop Making Sense
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Post by Anglia68 on Mar 28, 2012 19:27:30 GMT
It's great to see THAT Landrover in safe hands and being sympathetically worked on.
The choice of rear lights are spot on.
I hope you don't mind me asking but is it not old enough to convert the rear lights to operate as indicators as well as tail lights?
A couple of my mates have done this on their rods using kits from Pop Browns and it saves having to have separate indicators and keeps the back end looking nice and clean.
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Post by stealthstylz on Mar 29, 2012 0:02:24 GMT
It would be old enough but the number of near rear enders I had due to wiring them like that in the T means I wouldn't bother now.
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Post by Vulgalour on Mar 29, 2012 3:03:05 GMT
This is precisely the selection of people and subtle mods that this car needs and why you're the perfect custodian for it. It's not often I feel I can trust the fate of a known car to a new owner, but this one I think I can. That sounds a bit presumptuous I suppose, but I hope you understand the sentiment behind it.
As others have said, those rear lights are such a huge improvement over the maltese ones and I can empathise with a car being too fun to care about one little detail like that. Sometimes, it needs a new owner to get a little job done while they're learning the car, I guess.
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Post by Mystery Machine on Mar 29, 2012 9:28:48 GMT
Great stuff Bruce, glad to see you're delving straight in. I so badly want a spin in this! Would it clear the ramp on the ferry do you think...... If I can get the autobox sorted (possibly got something in the pipeline for this) then I'll certainly consider making a trip over in it. It's just finding the funds that's the killer  The ferry is the least of my worries....I can just see us blasting around some of those roads with HUUUUGE grins! I hope you don't mind me asking but is it not old enough to convert the rear lights to operate as indicators as well as tail lights? It's funny you should mention this...Matt (Stealthstylz) and I were discussing this on the phone yesterday and we both agreed that it's better to have seperate indicators. In this modern world where everything has to be clearly and carefully spelt out to some people, having the indicator built into the rear light & brake light would be too much for some people to fathom. I don't want to rick someone rear ending me because they can't work out the difference between a brake and an indicator. I am far more comfortable having the indicator seperate, it's VERY clear to see when it flashes but luckily pretty much invisible when off. When you see it in person, in daylight, you literally have to look for them they are that hidden (which means they don't visually clutter the rear end) yet when on, there is no mistaking that they are indicators. I'll get a video to show....it's a solution I am very happy with because it meets the balance between function and aesthetics perfectly. It would be old enough but the number of near rear enders I had due to wiring them like that in the T means I wouldn't bother now. As discussed yesterday (althought the subject of the 'T' was never mentioned) ^^ THIS ^^ is reason enough to make me think I've done the right thing with the indicators. I can empathise with a car being too fun to care about one little detail like that. Sometimes, it needs a new owner to get a little job done while they're learning the car, I guess. Me too....the four days I've driven it, I've not wanted to stop. Not wanted to get out...just wanted to keep enjoying it. More than any car I have ever driven, this thing really does get under your skin! I am determined to strike a balance between using it and evolving it. It's frustrating that I'll never be able to take Jed in it, he's far too nervous a dog and I wouldn't ever consider putting him through that. This leads to me not being able to use it as much as I'd like because Jed is with me pretty much all day, every day. But on the flipside, this means I have more time to work on it because when he's with me I can't take it out. It's looking like tomorrow I'm off to collect a new gearbox for it. 300 mile round trip to Welling in Kent and back in the Demio to pick it up. More than happy with that if I can get the gears to work properly and Jed & I get to spend the day on the road. We like our little road trips |
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Post by Dez on Mar 29, 2012 9:40:05 GMT
 seriously. id try it! jed being the little poser he is, I recon he'd like em. and if it means he'll then ride shotgun, its gotta be worth a go ;D |
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Post by Mystery Machine on Mar 29, 2012 9:47:55 GMT
It's not just the noise....it's the vibrations, the ride, the way everything shakes.....and also the openness of it. I know Jed and I know there is no way he'd ever 'get used' to it unfortunately. For that reason, I'm not even going to try. He didn't even like the MX5's and spent most of the time trembling in them....this car is on a whole different level. What would make us grin like a loon will make him very scared and I just don't think it'd be fair to think about putting him through that.
It's a shame, but I've made my decision and I think know it's the right one. A more confident dog would be a different story.
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garra
Part of things
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Post by garra on Mar 29, 2012 10:59:15 GMT
He's your dog and you will know best.
We had a dog who loved going in the car but put him in a convertible and he just cowered in the passenger foot well.
Normally our dogs ride in the boot (of a Discovery) but this week I had Basil our Border Terrier on my lap in the passenger seat with the window down, he loved it, paws on edge of window face in the wind. (I was holding very tightly to his lead).
Mark
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