Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[safechief]

Hullo again all,
Following my post on Prefect Headlining Rick asked whether I could start a thread to follow the restoration. Well not quite sure what a 'thread' is, but I thought that now I have mastered the photo issue I might be able to show some of the restoration so far and then extend on. Please excuse typos. I am no typist. I found the car in a private garage of a house that my son was renting in Loughton in about 2009 the garage was locked and only the landlord has access, but the windows was generally in poor condition and curiosity got the better of us. Despite being in the garage for a number of years(>20 we think the car didn,t seem in bad condition. The paint on one side was badly pitted as that side of the garage was leaking and rain got in. I had been parked with the brakes off and the engine was free (tested with the handle). The car struck a chord in me as my Dad was a commercial traveller in the fifties, and had one of these and he and I went for many miles over east Anglia and to London when I was about nine or ten. So I said the my son, if you talk to the landlord see if I can buy the car. So in 2011 his house came up for sale and he bought it and I bought the car in September. Any way for one reason and another I couldn't move it then, but I put air in the tyre, which stayed up and are still on the car, and put gas oil down the plugholes in case any of the rings were stuck. So in April 2012 we were able to bring the car home
[img][/img]
See the photo. The good looking one is my son.

We got it home and into the garage easily as it rolled quite well.
First thing was to see if it would run, but having had experience of six volt systems with my old Model Y and some VW beetles in the sixties I decide to change it over to twelve volt negative earth. Once I had the necessary second hand parts ( coi,generator, voltage regulator etc) it took me about two days to do the swop including the voltage reducer on the fuel gauge . I had already checked the compressions and they were all within normal limits. Cleaned the plug and points, cleaned out the carb, new vakves & diaphragm in the fuel pump. cranks on the starter and away it went

[img][/img]

i'll post more later
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best car ever Daimler V8 saloon 1965, cost me £450. first car Model y Ford cost £15.cars ove 50 years A40 Devon, a30, 35 , consul 375,mini cooper 1962 herald,viva hb Opel ascona, austin1100 capri mk2 many cortinas, saab
Peugeot, renault etc

[Rick]

What an excellent find, was the body as sound as it looks in these pictures?

RJ
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Rick - Admin
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[safechief]

Yes the body work was in pretty good shape, a few bits such as the spare wheel cover a the bonnet opener/mascot ( and I discovered later the brake light switch???) were missing. The right side paint was badly pitted and need much work with the grinder to remove (much to the sprayers disgust-he said he would brain me with it), the rear wings when I removed them were badly rusted along the seam where the anti rattle strip let the water in and had to be professionally repaired and sprayed and there were three small holes in the wheel arches which I patched with steel plate. Looking at the paperwork that I got with it the brown logbook shows its last owner ship transfer in 1978, and the MoT with it is dated March 79-80. There is also a bill of sale for 350 involving two owners not on the Log Book. DVLA had no record so it probably went off the road before 1992 and could have been as early as 1980. So not bad if it had been stored that long. With the help of the FSOC I managed to get a new V5 with the original reg. Anyway back to the serious stuff. I had changed the oil and fitted the new oil filter before starting it up, and bodged the silencer with an old tin waste paper bin and jubilee clips (I had seen my dad do this on his Austin Seven pre MoT) Any way now I knew it would run I got down to the serious work. Up on stands, off wheels, unbolt wings, take up floor and derust as far as possiible underneath and inside chassis members and wings and coat with underseal[img][/img]Sorry I forgot, before this I had taken out the interior door trim and glass because I could see that all the window channel and weather strip needed replacing and derusted and painted/ undersealed the insides of the doors [img][/img]. So by thhe time tis all was done the old girl was looking a bit sick[img]img. Another strange thing, all the rubber on the car, except for the water hoses and the tyres had practically disappeared. Derusting and painting the running gear followed. By this time it was early 2013 and we had sickness in the family so I had to leave the car for about six moths, picking it up in September more later
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best car ever Daimler V8 saloon 1965, cost me £450. first car Model y Ford cost £15.cars ove 50 years A40 Devon, a30, 35 , consul 375,mini cooper 1962 herald,viva hb Opel ascona, austin1100 capri mk2 many cortinas, saab
Peugeot, renault etc

[Roger-hatchy]

If you need a spare bonnet or front grill I have one of each surplus to requirement, near Colchester, also a bumper that needs attention.

[safechief]

Roger,
ThanKs for that, the chrome, including grill not bad, as you can see from pics and has cleaned up ok. Bonnet has been sprayed and is OK too. Chrome on one overider is gone, so need decent one of them and also need curved chrome centre for the front of the bonnet that supports the mascot.
Thanks for kind offer though. J
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best car ever Daimler V8 saloon 1965, cost me £450. first car Model y Ford cost £15.cars ove 50 years A40 Devon, a30, 35 , consul 375,mini cooper 1962 herald,viva hb Opel ascona, austin1100 capri mk2 many cortinas, saab
Peugeot, renault etc