SNOman said:
Is it difficult to straighten the old ally bonnets?
Click to expand...
How not straight is it, may throw up some pics? I have never bothered straightening any panel on my 110 but none of them are particularly bad, just you 30 years of wear type knocks rather than a full on farmers wing. If the whole body is equally un-straight then I wouldn't worry and would just paint over it. if you make one part perfect then you will just highlight the other parts that are not. Remember these were hand build by brummies' to British Leyland equivalent standards so they were a long way form perfect when they were new!
 
miktdish said:
It's a worrying sign.
Later in life they will be swayed by girls with breast augmentation, brow lifts and large botox bills.
Later on, as a defence mechanism for making the initial choice in their formulating years, they may dye their hair and desire a 'man bun' along with requesting beard wax for christmas.
They will likely reach a point where Gynecomastia surgery is seroiusly considered.

You can stop all this .... say no to a bonnet bulge.
Click to expand...
And what's wrong with that.
IMG_20240508_170911_1~3.jpg
 
Just dropped the truck off at the garage and they really dented my confidence in them.
The old guy who I saw wasn't there but the young chap in charge basically said they would probably do a tune with the CO meter but unlikely want to work on anything like carb servicing or even exhaust leaks as the manifolds are all rusted up and they'll be £90 and hour...

Does anyone know of a V8 or Classic car specialist west or s/w of London?
I'm thinking Surrey or nearby, to avoid London prices.
 
Best you get your boys some penetrating fluid and used to rusty nuts, rather than a bonnet which “looks cool”.

At the end of the day at least he was honest and those hrs add up to a lot of tools and bits if you learn to diy.

SU rebuild kits aren’t expensive and they aren’t that complicated really. I would think even a rebuilt pair are not too much money.

Good luck with it and maybe the old guy will be in tomorrow and sort it in short order cos he knows old school.

J
 
Su carb rebuild kit's are cheap and the carbs are easily removed.

Exhuast fumes are more than likely coming from the flange that joins the manifolds to the downpipe the gaskets disintegrate/fail especially after decades..

The studs might/probably will snap off, however its not the end of the world only a few 1/2in bolts and the entire manifold can be removed for ease of access, but before going bezerk wire brush off the exposed threads and spray a penetrant GT85 or similar and allow to soak for a few days you might get them off without too much hassle... :)
 
Yours is a series III/Defender 90 (like mine and the OP's) not a 'pick up' or 110/130 ?
 
Update: thanks for the advice everyone - the resto project is almost finished, but it's a LR so of course will never be actually finished...
The best result was for my youngest, as the project was aimed at helping him recover from a big cancer surgery - skinny lad beefed up nicely after a summer of spanner work.

Here's where we got to so far, starting with Before and After:

1725965811958.jpeg
1725965909689.jpeg

(sorry for cheesy grin - we had so much fun)

First love (Charlie on bonnet), strip down and paint:
1725966076500.png
1725966196067.png
1725966305022.png


1725966536574.png
1725966774957.png

Searching through LR archives, we found an old colour from 1957 called "RAF Blue Grey" which is much darker than normal RAF Blue. Thanks to Ken for lovely spray/flat/polish. Message me if you want his details and you live near Gatwick.

Series split-doors, rear half door, new galv and sticks:
1725966914362.png
1725966958030.jpeg
1725967262202.png


Happy boys:
1725967409166.jpeg
1725967441832.jpeg


First big run, from home in London to grandma in Sheff:
1725967705029.jpeg
1725967726884.jpeg


Charlie's truck:
1725967502991.png


Just needs spare carrier and number plates now.


My pal in Devon (drive truck cab) asked "are you a waver or a non-waver".
We're definitely wavers :)
Thanks again everyone - we're loving being in the Landie family.
 
Nice one, you got that done quick. Nice bonding session and memory for you and your family. Just have to get out and enjoy it now.
 
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