Search results

Hi everyone, Unfortunately a post with bad news. A recent change of position completely out of my control has been the final nail in the coffin and means I can no longer afford to continue restoring the car. This has been a really painful decision to make however it is final, I will be moving...

Hi all, Just a quick update, I've had a bit of a rethink and I may just put the project 'on hold' for a couple of months and then reapproach it with a fresh mind, and bank account! The biggest obstacle is the bulkhead and thats perhaps my main worry about being able to complete the car. I've...

That was my original hope with the car. I took the initial work as a bit of fun but perhaps wasn't expecting the volume of work that was to come. I'd like to think I've done a good amount personally but its at the stage I'm realising I'm going to losing a good couple of years where I could be...

Hi everyone, This is a bit of a sad post to do but unfortunately I'm going to be getting rid of the project as the scale of the task is becoming more apparent. I'm unable to continue to invest both the time and money to see it through and it's becoming more of a burden than an enjoyment. As it...

Hi everyone, Time for another check in. Once again I've gone off on a complete tangent and shelved the gearbox for the moment and I'm planning on focusing heavily on the engine. I've brought the whole pile of bits back to my workplace so I can stay and work on it during evenings. At the moment...

Hi everyone, Back on it a bit more now after a quiet Christmas. The engine is currently on hold whilst I hunt for a good place to get the machining gone, so I've gone ahead and made a start with the gearbox assembly and steering box. The gearbox assembly to start and I've begun with the front...

Hi Blackburn, I will certainly be looking for a replacement for that casing so would be very interested if you have one spare! Finished off the engine stripping today for the most part and measured up the cylinders to see what the results were. Happily they were all standard size which was...

Hi everyone, Time for another check in! The engine work is on hold at the moment as I wait to find a slot for it to be worked on, I have however removed the pistons and as you can see from the pictures, the damage wasn't just on the surface! With the engine on hold I decided to have a 'quick'...

That's a good point, getting a bit ahead of myself! Once the crank is fully out I can see its overall condition and go from there. Definitely from the one that I looked at a polish might be able to do the trick Jack

Bit of a picture heavy post this time as I've made a pretty interesting discovery deep within the bowels of the engine :D We've been opening the engine up the past couple of weeks to get a rough idea of inside condition. Taking the sump off revealed a matt black oil but with absolutely no lumps...

Hi everyone, thanks for your replies! Quite a big check in now with the car. I've managed to keep good momentum with the project despite being back to work at the college. The car is now completely stripped from its old chassis which I can happily roll out the door and out of my life, its going...

Hi everyone, Just checking in on the cars progress so far. I haven't had massive bounds of progress over the past couple of weeks, only trying to get the bulkhead stripped which I pretty much have done now. The new chassis is only a few weeks now so I'm starting to get a bit more excited over...

I've gone the new chassis route as my current one was going to be too much of a time investment to justify repairing. There is alot of rust all around it and once I started the stripdown in preparation for the new one I've only discovered more areas of rust which was hidden by the body. I could...

Thanks John. The workshop is in fact my college. Its very well kitted out and it means I can use the car as my own learning piece as I go along! I had a go at rebuilding the zenith over the weekend, stripping it, cleaning it all out + the jets and replacing the gaskets. Little job to keep...

I suspect the reassembly will be a bit more like a lego kit than the stripdown. Lots of rusted nut/bolts to remove to get all of the body pieces off, turned out to be a real battle for me. Luckily I had a couple of people helping me, more pairs of hands the better! Keep thinking how much easier...

Not yet, but I've been meaning to. As I've only been stripping the car down so far The Haynes manual and a camera are the main things I've been using. When it comes to starting to reassemble everything or take parts apart I'll keep the parts manual close by. I've done ok so far with keeping...

Thanks everyone! I've been stripping the bulkhead down today which turned out to be a bit harder than expected. The wiring has been seriously bodged in the past and whoever did it left all of the old wires just unconnected which helped with getting the instrument panel out! My bulkheads...

Hi everyone, Thought I'd get a thread going about my first and current ongoing project. It's a 1983 Series 3 109 with the 2.25 petrol. I'm 20 years old and work for a vintage car restorer but have always wanted an old Land Rover or Mini. I was given the Series 3 by the previous owner who just...

Hi everyone My names Jack, I'm 20 years old and I'm currently restoring a 1983 Series 3 109 that was given to me to save from a lonely death! I'm currently an apprentice doing classic vehicle restoration but the landy has turned out to be a bit more of a total restoration than originally...