The Oily Blog
Tales from
the Glencoyne workshop
Older items from the Oily Blog. For newest items click here.
Service update (14/10/07)
Just a quick note to draw your attention to my new fixed-price service menu for older Land Rovers. Get ready for winter, book your vehicle in now for the full Glencoyne treatment.
200Di v2.0 (13/10/07)
I have been working on improving the 200Di conversion, and have rewritten my original article to incorporate various changes. I finished the first vehicle to this new specification yesterday and it is definitely the quietest and smoothest yet. I have put another batch of parts up for sale in my Ebay shop, with more to follow - I have acquired an ex-military 2A 88 inch for breaking, and may shortly have a couple of 6 cylinder Series 3s coming in - watch this space.
The supply of new Defender bulkheads on Ebay seems to be drying up. A few months ago you could buy them for under £200 from half a dozen suppliers, but when I checked today, there was only one supplier offereing them at £275. I currently have two orders to fill for Series 3 repro bulkheads, and I suspect these might be the last ones I can do, unless another batch of cheap Defender bulkheads turns up.
I was surprised this morning, on leaving my house, to find a dead Series 3 a few hundred yards up the road, out of fuel. Turned out it was being sold by a local dealer who had sent the prospective buyers out into the countryside for a test drive, presumably without first checking that there was petrol in the vehicle. I offered to give the customers a lift back to the vendor's premises, but they had already rung him to request help, so I left them to it. I don't know whether they bought the vehicle - one of them actually asked my opinion on it, but I declined to give one out of professional courtesy. But somehow I doubt whether being stranded on the test drive will have helped clinch the sale.
200Di (1/7/07)
I finally finished the article on my '200Di' engine conversion for Series Land Rovers - click here to read it. My 110V8 Hicap has gone to a new home, and I have acquired an unused 109 chassis as the starting point for my new work vehicle. This will be a Series 2A fitted with the 200Di engine, high ratio transfer box, Salisbury rear axle, lots of soundproofing, Defender seats etc. I have most of the ingredients, I just have to put them together. (But I said that about my 88 inch Stage 1 V8, and that has been waiting three years now for me to start on it.)
Plenty of interesting work still coming in. Currently undergoing a general overhaul is a 1961 Series 2 109 inch hard top, believed to have spent most of its life as the works fire engine at the Marconi factory in Chelmsford, and which has just had its rear crossmember replaced for the first time in 46 years. I bet the new one doesn't last as long as the original. The 90 V8 CSW mentioned below should be MOT'd this week, and I will get Adam to give it a good clean and polish.
V8! (17/4/07)
Rover V8s seem to be the theme of the month. The 109 V8 station wagon finally went out to Denmark at the end of March. It was a huge effort to get it back together, but the end product was worth all the pain. I would like to thank Michael (the new owner) for his endless patience in the face of all the setbacks encountered in this project, and for being prepared to restore a rare vehicle which would otherwise have been scrapped.
I am just about to arrange shipping another V8 Station Wagon to the United States, and I have an 88 inch Series 2A being fitted with a rebuilt V8 in the workshop. Finally on the V8 theme, I have two later vehicles coming up for sale shortly:
1. 1985 90 V8 County Station Wagon, selling on behalf of customer, nice solid vehicle with a decent chassis and bulkhead. I need to put it through the workshop, sort out the carbs and brakes and change the radiator. It also desperately wants a clean and polish. It will be sold fully serviced with a year's MoT - price around £2,500 (no VAT).
2. 1986 110 V8 High Capacity Pickup with LPG conversion. My own vehicle, lovely old truck but isn't getting used enough. Again it has a good chassis and bulkhead, sweet running engine, but needs some mechanical fettling which will be done before it is sold. I have an installation certificate for the LPG system. Sold fully serviced with a year's MoT for around £2,250 +VAT. (NOW LISTED IN VEHICLES FOR SALE)
It will probably be a few weeks before I get round to dealing with either of this vehicles, but anyone wanting to view either vehicle is welcome to contact me. I am happy to reserve either vehicle with a small deposit.
On the spares side, the Zenith repro carbs are selling well through my Ebay shop, and I have recently acquired some assorted Series One spares which are on there at the moment - only 3 days left, so be quick. I will shortly be dismantling several front and rear axles and listing the parts in the shop, and I have a couple of engines and gearboxes to strip for spares as well. I am hoping to build up the listing of used parts quite a lot over the next couple of months.
Too busy to breathe (18/2/07)
I have been overwhelmed with requests for quotes for a variety of work, from fitting LPG systems to chassis-up rebuilds. If I have been a bit slow responding to your emails, I apologise. I revived the idea of recruiting a mechanic, but quickly realised that the kind of skills needed in this job (encyclopaedic knowledge of Series Land Rovers, full range of skills from welding to engine building) are going to be rather hard to find. So that idea is on the back burner for now.
I have started selling brand new, good quality carburettors and distributors through my Ebay shop. If your Series vehicle is running less well than it should, you may find these are exactly what you need.
The 1968 2A went out to its new home - its owner drove it from my workshop all the way up to Inverness and it never missed a beat. The 109 V8 Station Wagon is still cluttering up the place, and if you want to know why the survival rate for 5 door Station Wagons is so low, take a look at this:
All that shiny silver stuff is new metal, hand fabricated. There was almost nothing left of the floor, and the vertical panel at the front of the floor was in a rough state as well. Repair sections are not available for any of these areas - not that it matters, because even if they were available, I doubt they would fit. The abysmal quality of so many reproduction parts is really starting to wind me up. Does no-one care whether the stuff they make actually does the job it is supposed to do? I fitted a new rear crossmember and fuel tank to a 109 Station Wagon recently, and the dimensions of both were well out. I ended up having to make extensive modifications to the crossmember just to get it to fit, and then I had to cut and redrill the rear fuel tank mount before I could bolt it to the new crossmember. The new exhaust system didn't fit either. If I am struggling to make this stuff work in a fully equipped restoration workshop, what hope for the DIY-er in a cramped garage or worse, out in the open on his driveway? This, I suspect, is why you see so many abandoned restoration projects for sale on Ebay.
Getting back to normal (18/12/06)
Been working in the new workshop just over a week now, and loving it. Decent lighting, no draughts, hot water and toilets. Bliss. I now have a new workshop telephone number - 01842 764229 - which should stop people in other countries who don't understand the concept of time zones from ringing me at home at midnight to ask me what the torque setting is for head bolts on a P38A Range Rover. (To which the answer is I don't know, don't care, it's freezing cold and you just got me out of bed. I hope your cylinder liners leak.)
All sorts of fun stuff going on at the moment - I have a gorgeous 1968 Series 2A in for a chassis swap, a 109 V8 Station Wagon undergoing a comprehensive rebuild (and reminding me every day why so few people are prepared to rebuild these complex, rot-prone beasts) and a rather special V8-engined Series 2A shortly to go off to the paint shop.
This is probably my last website update for a week or so, so I would like to wish all my customers and website a visitors a very Merry Christmas. I look forward to seeing some of you in 2007.
The big move (10/12/06)
At last, on Thursday I picked up the keys to my new workshop. Address is 16 Napier Place, Thetford, Norfolk IP24 3RL (click here for map). I will be delighted to see customers old and new in the new premises, but please give me a ring first. The legal delays have totally trashed my timetable, and I now have a backlog of work which will take a while to clear.
Most of my tools and equipment are now in, but I am still waiting for the landlord to put down new flooring in the foyer, office and toilet areas. I also need to get an electrician in to fit some more power sockets. I am trying to arrange waste disposal, Post Office collections for my spares shipments, lots of racking to put parts on, etc etc etc. Don't even think about trying to set up your own business, it is all far too much like hard work.
My VAT registration has come through, which is good news if you are a VAT registered customer. It should not affect prices for non VAT registered customers too much, as I can now reclaim VAT on parts purchases, and I have cut my standard labour rate by £5 per hour to compensate for the VAT. (I can do this because I can reclaim VAT on most of my overheads.) So don't worry, my services will still be just as spectacularly good value as always.
Finally, if you are a Series 2 Club member, please note that I can now offer a 10% discount to fellow Club members on most items - including servicing and repair work, bulkhead refurbishment and items in my eBay shop. Just quote your membership number at the time of ordering to claim your discount.
Workshop! (26/11/06)
Lawyers permitting, it looks as though I will be in my new workshop within a week. Not before time - we have had so much rain that I am starting to get serious flooding problems in the old place. If I am a little slow answering emails over the next couple of weeks, please be patient with me - I am already snowed under with restoration work, and trying to move premises on top of this will stretch me a little, I think. Anyway, in case you were wondering what the new place looked like, here it is:
Meanwhile I have been out and bought a new trailer, and am now wondering whether it is possible to have a trailer that is too big. It is a monster - 18' by 6'6" load bed, and over eight feet wide in total. A 109 will fit on it with masses of room all round. The only problem is that it is a bit awkward to tow along Suffolk's narrow country roads, so I may have to think about trading it in for something smaller. If you are looking for a trailer big enough to take a LWB transit, at around the £1100 mark, get in touch...
Victim of crime (05/11/06)
My trailer has been stolen. It was an old trailer, and rather tatty, but I liked it. I don't even know when it went: it was hidden behind a hedge, with a Land Rover parked in front of it, so I never noticed it had gone until ten days after the last time I used it. The police tell me there have been a lot of similar thefts in this area just lately, but they are taking mine more seriously than most. Having stolen my trailer, the thieves then used it to transport a £20,000 grass cutting machine that they stole from the big house up the road. So possibly my trailer has just been dumped somewhere - if you see it, please give me a call. It's an Ifor Williams 3.5 ton beavertail with a Superwinch X3 bolted to the load bed as well as a small hand winch. Some of the decking screws have rusted through, and been replaced by new M8 bolts. When stolen it carried the registration plate D63 LKK. Here it is on the last job it ever did for me:
Other news: the workshop move has been a little delayed, and with the onset of winter my unheated shed looks less and less appealing - must ring the solicitors tomorrow and find out what is happening. After much thought I decided not to employ a mechanic for the time being - I want to get the move out of the way first. I have opened an eBay shop, and I can now offer bulkhead restoration and brand new reproduction Series III bulkheads (using a Defender bulkhead as a base).
All change (05/10/06)
The next few weeks will be very busy for me. I have found a suitable workshop in Thetford, about five miles from my current ramshackle shed. I am trying to progress the move as quickly as possible, and it would be nice to think I will be in before the end of this month.
Saved for the nation (14/09/06)
Remember the little ex AA Series 3 that I didn't want to break? (See "I hate dismantling Land Rovers" below.) Well, it has gone to a new home in Yorkshire for restoration. The new owner already has an ex AA Series 2, and fancied another AA vehicle to go with it. Well done Ian, and good luck with the restoration.
Lots going on in the workshop at the moment. All the previous 'long stay' residents are gone, and instead we have a gorgeously original Series 2A 88 inch (in for a new chassis and much else), a slightly less original 109 V8 station wagon (ditto) and a very unoriginal Series 2A (ditto with knobs on). Also a rather fascinating re-engined Series 3 - can't reveal too much about it at the moment as it is under development, but if you want a Series vehicle which combines comfortable 65 mph cruising capability with 35 mpg economy, watch this space. I may soon be moving to a new workshop - if you have seen my existing premises you will know that this is well overdue.
Market trends (26/07/06)
Last weekend I went to the big Land Rover show at Billing, and spent a lot of time looking round the trade stands and chatting with various traders, manufacturers and so on. One thing I noticed straight away is that a lot of the big players are moving out of Series parts and accessories. If you want thin, flimsy chequer plate to stick to the outside of your Defender there are dozens of firms eager to take your money, but Series stuff was thin on the ground. Not a single one of the various companies selling parabolic springs had a stand at Billing (unless I missed it), and even the second-hand stuff was about 90% for the newer vehicles. One chap had a brand new pair of genuine Rover Co. Series 2 front wings which were a thing of great beauty, but at £400 the pair I suspect they remained unsold. (Actually, thinking about it, £400 is an absolute bargain. Try getting a pair made from scratch and see what it costs you.)
I had a chat with the very friendly people from SPI and tried to get them interested in making some decent Series footwells with the correct strengthening ribs pressed in, but their view was that the Series market is in decline, and there is no benefit in tooling up for new Series products. Meanwhile, having received a commission to rebuild a Stage 1 V8 onto a new chassis, I found that Richards Chassis no longer supply the 109 V8 chassis (previously they were able to state that they could supply the correct chassis for every Series 2 and 3) and that Marslands no longer make any 109 inch chassis at all.
So I suspect that Series parts supply is about to enter a difficult patch - with the big players (Britpart, Bearmach etc) moving away from Series stuff towards Defenders, and no-one else to fill the gap. Given the number of Series vehicles still on the road I don't expect the supply of parts to dry up, but some of the less common bits will become more expensive. (Example - front brake drums for 6-pot and V8 vehicles are now £99 + VAT each from Craddocks). So if you are planning to restore something a bit unusual (such as a 6-cylinder station wagon, or a 109 V8) best buy your parts up front, before the price goes up.
P.S. As a follow up to my piece on cheap tat, I spoke to a couple of the guys who run the company which made the ill-fitting outriggers. They took my complaint very seriously, promised to investigate and get back to me.
Cheap tat (01/07/06)
One of the most irritating things about working old Land Rovers, whether as a professional or DIY, is that so many of the (non genuine) replacement parts you can buy are simply not up to the job. Recent examples from the Glencoyne workshop include brake cylinders which leak fluid from around the bleed nipple, rubber seals which don't even come close to being the right shape and size, galvanised rocksliders which had to be brutalised with an angle grinder before they would fit, and a rear quarter chassis for a Series 3 which was twisted in the middle. The latest infliction of cheap tat comes from a pair of bulkhead outriggers which I bought for a Ninety. Made by a well-known and reasonably reputable manufacturer of replacement chassis and body parts, they fit the chassis beautifully, but the tubes for the bulkhead mounting bolts are about 6mm inboard from where they should be. Bulkhead mounting bolt spacing is just about the only part of a Land Rover body which cannot be adjusted. The distance between the left and right hand mounting bolts has to be exactly spot on, and with these outriggers, it isn't. So now I have to cut out the tubes and reposition them 6mm further out, which is a good hour's work. I could send them back, but what chance that the replacements will be any better?
The aftermarket suppliers do an amazing job supplying a massive range of parts for older Land Rovers at very low prices, but sometimes the cost cutting goes a bit too far. Doubtless the manufacturers will say they are only giving customers what they want (i.e. very cheap parts). But if something doesn't fit, or breaks within weeks, it doesn't matter how cheap it is. If certain suppliers (and I am naming no names here) persist in selling badly made tat, sooner or later their customers will lose patience and look elsewhere. There is already one major manufacturer whose parts I avoid wherever possible.
I was interested to hear that Land Rover have set up a 'Land Rover Classic Parts' operation, although at present it only covers Disco 1 and Range Rover Classic. If the operation is expanded to cover Series vehicles, and we are all able to purchase Genuine parts at a competitive price, this might just give the other suppliers the kick up the backside that they need.
Done up like a kipper (14/6/06)
I went out yesterday to fetch a Series 3 which turned up locally for very little money, mainly on account of the chassis being rotten. It is a tidy old thing - a 1983 88 inch diesel with very straight bodywork, but it won't be back on the road in a hurry. Indeed, it is so rotten that I am surprised it hasn't broken its back. With it came a small pile of bills, and they tell a sad story. The vehicle was purchased in March 2001 from a reasonably well known independent Land Rover specialist down south. The new owner paid £2,250, which in my book is top money for an unrestored Series 3. For that sort of money you would expect something solid and usable. And to be fair, apart from some early problems with a broken rear diff and flaky wiring to the ignition switch, this little Landie seems to have given good service, covering about 10,000 miles over the next 11 months. Then it appears the gearbox broke. Another specialist (not the one who sold the vehicle) fitted a reconditioned gearbox (supplied by the customer) and a new clutch, and also carried out a fair amount of work on the brakes, before presenting the owner with a bill for £750, which doesn't sound totally over the top.
That's a main chassis rail. Thank you and goodnight.
So far, so Series 3. These are old vehicles, things break sometimes, and you would think that with a new gearbox this little Landy would be fit for several more years. But just two weeks after the gearbox was fitted, the vehicle was put in for its MoT, and it failed on twenty-three separate points, of which eleven relate to chassis corrosion. The others are just the sort of deterioration you get on a well-used Land Rover - couple of tyres, a worn track rod end, faded indicator lenses and so on. But to sort out the chassis would have needed new front chassis legs, all new outriggers, a rear half chassis and plenty of patching elsewhere. I would guess the owner was quoted a four figure sum for the work, and decided that enough was enough. It was stored off road for a couple of years before the owner finally cut his losses and sold it on Ebay for just £100. He would have lost less money over his year of ownership if he had bought a brand new Defender.
So who is the more guilty? The dealer who sold the vehicle? Chassis corrosion on that scale doesn't happen overnight. The vehicle must have been rotten when it was sold, and probably didn't deserve to have an MoT at the time. All it had going for it was shiny paint and a sweet-running 5 bearing diesel engine. Still, 'caveat emptor' as they say, and this illustrates very nicely the risks attached to buying an old Land Rover. Not all Landies are structurally sound, and not all dealers are honest. As for the 'specialist' who fitted the gearbox - he must have known, the moment he looked under the vehicle, that this Landy was doomed, and that fitting a new gearbox, brake shoes and sundry other bits would be a waste of money. Perhaps he told the customer exactly that, and the customer didn't listen. But somehow I doubt it. He certainly didn't seem too bothered about putting it all back together properly - most of the floor panel screws are missing.
One thing you can be pretty sure of - that customer won't be buying another old Land Rover.
I hate dismantling Land Rovers (14/6/06)
Going, going, gone... Another Series 3 prepares to meet its doom
Monday morning I picked up a vehicle for breaking. A 1975 Series 3, 88 inch petrol hardtop, off the road since 1990 (and not started since then) and with holes in all the usual places. I bought it for the hardtop (it has the 'catflap' top tailgate, which I need for a customer project) and because it has a good sound bulkhead and straight front panels. But having got it home, I found myself going through a familiar process - trying to find reasons why the vehicle should be saved rather than broken up. I really, really hate breaking Land Rovers. There is something rather tragic about taking a vehicle which has given good service for thirty years or more, and dismantling it so completely that it can never, ever be returned to the road.
So what excuses did I come up with for this one? It's an ex AA vehicle (interesting history), still in bright yellow with the AA logo clearly visible beneath the paint on the hardtop sides. It is very straight, apart from some minor accident damage to one rear wing which would pull out easily enough. It is utterly, fabulously original and unspoilt, down to its skinny little 6.00-16 Traction Mileage crossply tyres on ridiculously narrow rims. The engine and gearbox numbers are about right for the age of the vehicle, and are very probably the originals from when it was new. With a new chassis, springs, brakes, an engine overhaul and the usual Series 3 disposables (doors, seats and so on) this one could live again, and it would be a lot easier than trying to restore a bodged example.
But what would be the point? Petrol 88s aren't exactly rare, and this one isn't even tax exempt. It would cost far more to restore than most people would want to pay. If I break it , I get a good pile of spares for my other projects, some of which are quite hard to find in good condition (for example, it has a perfect seatbox and radiator panel). So with a heavy heart, racked by guilt and anguish, I will take the gas axe to it, and very soon it will be gone.
Unless someone wants to make me an offer of course...