As I mentioned in the last blog, this will be a special post, devoted to Chairman Emyrs' efforts at rebuilding a land rover.
Unless you are a petrol-head, you are excused from reading any further, and just keep an eye out for the regular blog, hopefully, next Tuesday!
AEJ491 is a Series 1 Land Rover originally built in 1950, and first registered in March of that year. The registration identifies it as being registered and sold in the old Welsh county of Cardiganshire, now known as Ceredigion.
This is an example of a 1950 Series1:
AEJ491 led a chequered career with both commercial and private owners, at one time belonging to Emyr himself during the sixties.
Many years later the opportunity arose to purchase it once again, but in a very sorry state!
As much as possible of the original vehicle was salvaged and stored. The chassis stripped and sent to a local metal worker to be sand-blasted and prepped. It then came back to Emyr's workshop, where it was primed, boxes internally protected, and original spec paint applied.
The rear axle and suspension was taken apart, new bearings fitted where necessary and bushes replaced.
Suitably painted, the chassis and axle complete with springs are brought together...
The rear box, or body was removed in one piece and all of the fittings removed. A lot of dents knocked out, and several places required specialist aluminium welding.
The bulkhead had to undergo similar treatment, being in just as sorry a state as the rest of the vehicle:
Once repaired, sanded, primed and painted, it was ready to go back:
Quite a bit more renovation and repair work obviously took place before this picture was taken.
The gearbox and drive system was stripped down and several bearings and cog wheels replaced.
The drive system of the landrover up until 1952 was not straight forward, being semi-permanent four-wheel drive, which could be locked if required.
The three original seat backs were taken apart and rebuilt by a local lady who is an accomplished upholsterer.
The dashboard was refurbished with the appropriate instruments, which are still available, as is quite a lot of the 1950 specification parts, though at a considerably higher price than they were back then!
Also available are the tyres:
The engine has been rebuilt and now in place with most of the ancillary parts fitted:
The radiator and grill are yet to be fitted - most of the metalwork being original, Emyr having to rebuild the headlamps from the old remains,
Fortunately, a replacement grille was available:
As a fitting end to this post, we have a picture of the rear end!
A new canvas tilt and a refurbished number plate...
Obviously, there is still an awful lot more work still to be done - doors to be reassembled and rehung, lots of internal fettling, plus all the mechanical work tested.
We will have more pics and a video when AEJ finally hits the road.
If you got this far, thanks for following this special post, and I'm sure you'll join me in congratulating Emyr in his remarkable endeavours.
Cherrio,
Shaun.
I remember one on our farm when I was a kit, falling out through the side as
ReplyDeletethe side ropes had unhooked themselves, luckily not going very fast through
a hay field, a those where the days.
Thanks for that Roger. Hope you are well - look forward to seeing you at the next meeting!
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