1956 109 Partial Restore

[StuartC]

You are making pretty fabulous progress...good job!!!
Mike at Britannica Restorations has a series 1 engine rebuild YouTube series.....timing can be tricky....this one is fairly recent.
Re the banjo head connection copper washer issue. If you don't want to go down the rabbit hole search for one that will work try annealing the one you have.
Stuart

[NWOnt_1956]

Thanks, has been many hours of work. I will have a look at at those videos. I set the timing better tonight just need to get a new generator so I can run it again. I took mine apart tonight and it doesnt seem worn out just will not produce voltage.
Thanks for the tip on the copper washers I will try and anneal them and hope it seals it up.

My Master Cylinder might be buggered, I cannot get this thing to hold pressure. I have all the air out after many attempts, I have all cylinders clamped so they do not move and can still slowly push the pedal all the way to the floor?? I rebuilt the master but maybe it was too far gone?
Not sure what options I have convert to a series 2. Will have to investigate.

[TimberPig]

Maybe I missed it, but did you re flash the generator? That could be all that is causing it to not charge. Simple fix if that is it.

[StuartC]

Is the master cylinder unit the original Girling?? or an aftermarket??
I have found through discussion in a number of other Land Rover Club sites that the "aftermarket master" cylinders can be really a "hit and miss" game.
Kind of a pretty critical component to play Russian roulette with.
Also, there are numerous documents put out by Girling as to brake bleeding on front and rear brakes. When I read them what I thought worked is not the official procedure.
Would be worth a search. I'll see what I have and send them to you.....apologies if what I send you already know and have.
LAST RESORT....
If the MC is the original Girling send it to Whitepost Restorations in VA and have them rebuild it. Guaranteed and better than original.
Stuart

[NWOnt_1956]

Hi thanks all for the responses.
The generator I tried flashing it, no luck then removed it and applied power to do a motor test, did not move very much, so stripped it down, brushes looked good, cleaned all surfaces and put it back together, motor test performed but turns very slow and laboring? Not like the videos I have watched.

The MC is an original as far as I know. I put new seals in, the inside looked ok no rust or pitting.
Stuart if you have any more info I would gladly review it!!
I disconnected the exit from the MC today and installed an old brake line I soldered, MC still full of fluid. The brake pedal was instantly firm no movement, no leaking, so assume my MC rebuild is ok. I am going to isolate the front and back with my soldered line, bleed and check, or ???
Wish me luck

[StuartC]

Check out "expeditionlandrover.info"....TeriAnn's website with a ton of information. Somewhere on her site is a brake setup/bleed procedure.
I cannot find it amongst all the other info but it is there.
I have attached a Girling tech document.

Not sure if you have a workshop manual but Section P-13 and P-14 (in the series 2 manual) is a good resource.
I don't think much changed from S1 to S2 re the "dynamo"

[StuartC]

Just as an aside I have added a few photos of the original Girling hydraulics from my '59....they were seized and pretty rough.
I should have them back from VA in about a week. I'll give you an update once I receive them as reference.
Stuart

[NWOnt_1956]

Stuart,

Thanks for the information I will have a closer look at it. I did remove my MC after another attempt to bleed the brakes and found after very close inspection, that the inner large seal has a tear/hole in it. This makes sense with what was happening as I would get some pedal pressure then it seemed like the pedal would slowly move to the floor. I must have damaged the seal when installing the new components. Arrrr frustrating but at least I believe this to be the source. I will review what you sent to help with the next attempt when I get a new seal kit. My MC was in quite a bit better shape than the photos you sent, that looks like it will take a bit to get them back in service.

The Generator is going to require attention as I was able to spin it at 4000 RPM and can only get 10.5 VDC out of it.
I annealed the copper washers and then sanded them flat with fine sandpaper on a glass plate. I also found the banjo bolt had a few burrs on the flat engine side of the bolt head, so I files those off and then carefully reinstalled that to ensure I did not reintroduce the burrs to the bolt. I hope this will resolve the leak.

Back to the body work as I wait for more parts. The rest of the wiring will be delivered tomorrow so looking forward to finishing that portion.
Also received the proper ownership from my parents today. I discovered that the ownership they had was the wrong serial number and the wrong year. It was listed as a 1957 and the serial number was way off not just a misread number (Last plated in 1989) . It took 4 months to get this corrected with Manitoba's Gov, so now I can register it in Ontario with the correct paper work.

I have a 24 day deadline to have it on the road.

[StuartC]

Keith
That is a bit of a conundrum re the dynamo....on P-13 there is a section pertaining to the commutator could be part of the problem.

You may already consul the series2.co.uk site which I find quite informative. Sorry in advance if I am offending anyone referring to another clubs site....some of the members have WAY too much knowledge and are happy to share.
That being said a recent post pertains to brake cylinders and the use of "rubber grease" you may want to check that out.
Click on workshop wisdom and scroll to LWB front brakes by Gareth.
Stuart

[NWOnt_1956]

Another quick update. Had a productive weekend. Rebuilt the pork pie tail lights, used some tint on the lenses and then clear coated. Happy with results.
Have been trying my luck with body work, the front wings were in very rough shape. They should look better than when I started.
Also got one coat on the cab, lucky this was in good shape so some sanding, primer and first coat on.
Making some headway. Days are ticking by.
New generator should be here tomorrow along with master cylinder seal .

[ANDYD]

Awesome, keep it going ...
Reading through your "challenges" reminds me of going through very similar scenarios. It will be all worth it it the end and you will know the vehicle inside and out.

Looking great 8)
Cheers
Andy

[NWOnt_1956]

Thanks Andy, It has been a challenge but making headway.
I ended up with a Master cylinder rebuild kit again, I installed new seals and put it back in place. Still problems with getting a pedal. I was able to talk with Peter at 3Brothers. After some discussion on what was going on he recommended a replacement Master as I do not have time to get this one rebuilt. Luckily he had one in stock.
Also I ended up getting a new Dynamo and was excited to get this in place and finally charging. Well more disappointment, the new generator did not work, ARRRRR.
Took it back out and bench tested it, only producing 3-4 VDC. I did notice the F terminal was loose so not sure what was causing the issue? Back on the phone with 3Brothers. AS luck would have it they had brushes in stock for a C40 (my old Gen).
They helped me out with overnight shipping of brushes and a new Master Cylinder so I could get to work for the weekend.

Happy to report the brushes worked on my old Gen I put them in flashed the gen and it was putting out 19V at high idle.
Next Master cylinder - installed that and noticed my return line was damaged after too many times on and off. I got a new one and installed it, then start the bleeding AGAIN. At the end of the night I finally had a bit of a pedal. Not complete but thought just a little air left somewhere. I then clamped the lines off and tested the MC it was pretty hard, I released one at a time and seemed the passenger front was the problem. I thought maybe the top cylinder might still have air as it was new, so I loosened the line where it enters instead of bleeding the lower cylinder. Low and behold some air bubbled out, could it be might it be fixed. It was midnight and time to let it rest. Next morning back to bleeding (all the way around) and sure enough a few more air bubbles showed up, leave it a couple hours and come back. By the end of the day I think I FINALLY have brakes. I unclamped all the brake shoes and installed the drums and adjusted the shoes. After turning them a bit and working the brake pedal they are all set. Boy that was one hell of a process. A few beers died trying to solve this one.
With that resolved I needed to look at the voltage regulator, I printed out the Lucas test guide and a buddy came over to see what I was working on. We worked through the tests as my warning light was staying on the and the Ammeter was not showing any action. I installed a new regulator that was included in a box of parts I got with the LR. After a few adjustments all was good and it was charging the battery, that was easy. I just needed to swap the wires on the Ammeter so it would show a charge instead of discharge. I carefully swapped the wires, and noticed a small spark as I hooked up the brown wire, (it was getting late and I should have disconnected the battery my fault). But all good, until my buddy yells smoke???? He was standing by the battery and popped the terminal off as I had it just fit loosely (lucky he was there as all this only took 2 seconds). The regulator was smoking, WTF??????
We started checking things and could not find a dead short anywhere? It was midnight and time to give up, didn't sleep good.
Next morning I reassessed, wiring looked ok, regulator smelled a bit, hmmm what happened. I decided that a fuse on the Brown main wire is required as a just in case for the future, installed that and removed the regulator. I grabbed the old one that it came with and put it back on. After carefully checking all the wiring again, I put a amp meter inline from positive terminal to the battery and 0 amps. Ok pop the battery cable on, all good, turn the key, still all good, push the starter and it came to life. No smoke and the battery is charging, I suspect the new regulator (sitting in a box for 40 years????) was faulty.
With that resolved I needed to get this thing running better, timing or carb??
It is popping out of the carb and will not rev properly. Seemed like it was running too lean.
I took the carb off to check it over again. The first time I cleaned and rebuilt it I thought I had done a good job. Off it came and disassembled again, cleaned it out with carb cleaner and ensured all passaged clean. I did notice some problems with the gaskets so made new ones and sanded all the surfaces flat (they needed some work). I installed to old float as the new one seemed a slightly different size.
I reinstalled the carb and crossed my fingers. Fired it up and bingo it ran great, revved up and no popping.
That resolved my biggest mechanical problems!!!
Back to the body work.
Cab back on, Front wings on with rebuilt lights, put parts back on the hood.
I need to assemble doors and minor repairs to the tub (then paint) and put that back on.
Lots of little loose ends to resolve, I have about 10 days to get this completed I might make it!

[NWOnt_1956]

Pics

[NWOnt_1956]

Well made it, got it on the road last week. Had to work my butt off but 99.9 percent done. Just need to finish tailgate and a few odds and ends.
Very happy with the result and it seems to run great. Have put on about 50 miles so far and fixing small snags. I guess I can call it a complete rebuild as it definately was not partial lol.

[NWOnt_1956]

Thanks for all the assitance along the way!

[NWOnt_1956]

:D

[ANDYD]

Congrats, great job! :occasion5:

She/Her/Him/He/It is looking awesome 8)