The Rover-Landers of BC

Ever since they started building Land Rovers the question of paint removal has been debated, now I have found the solution.


Hire a guy in a space suit with some soda.....

Wow, that's one quick way to getter down.

Looking good! Do you mind posting some specifics, ie who, where, how much?

The fellow in the space suit is Chris from:

Super Clean Soda Blasting

9010 Hwy 97b
Salmon Arm, BC
V1E 2X6

Phone: 250.804.6833
Email: [email protected]

http://www.supercleansodablasting.com/

I thought that the group may be interested in the restoration of the Grizzly Torque.

Here a link to a good article on it written by Alyn Edwards

http://driving.ca/land-rover/auto-news/ ... zly-torque

And a TV clip from CHEK TV in Victoria.

http://www.cheknews.ca/robert-batemans- ... and-rover/

So the GT sat at Alan's behind the "shed" since I bought it about 9 years ago. And it looked like this:
Both the frame and the bulkhead needed "sympathetic but extensive" restoration.

More pictures....

The Capstan Winch has been rebuilt Gauges rebuilt (yes I know it's upside-down, just got excited :)
Seats recovered with original fabric

Now everything is being painted and put back together
Original parts have been sourced from all over the world, we have been very lucky, look at the package date on this

Awesome looks great! Which shop is she being restored at? I can see another series there :-)

Great job Stuart.

Great updates!

A rolling chassis only 90 days after dragging her in from the field. Even the tires are original Land Rover part number by Dunlop sourced in Washington. She is a pretty girl :)

And the original engine and transmission rebuilt for the first time in almost 58 years with original NOS parts.

Wow that's fast and very tidy. It took me 4 years to get my truck back together! Maybe this will be ready for Bobbys B day?!

Matt

Looking fantastic!

This is superb. I read that Mr. Bateman is going to re-create the characters and flags etc. that he had done on the original - Is that still happening? Love to see pics of that too.

Well done, sir.

Thank you for your positive comments,

Here are this weeks pictures,

BTW at the secret location with the primered body.
Engine detailed coming well, proper period decals and fittings
Body and frame to be reunited next week!!!!!

Stuart, who did the copper heater pipes for you? It's hard to get the bend without kinking it a bit.

Very nice. What shop is doing the restoration?

Dave_F wrote:Stuart, who did the copper heater pipes for you? It's hard to get the bend without kinking it a bit.

If you fill he copper pipe with water then freeze the pipe you can get a sharp bend without the kinks. I've also heard of sand filled pipes working as well.

Matt

mepham55 wrote:

Dave_F wrote:Stuart, who did the copper heater pipes for you? It's hard to get the bend without kinking it a bit.

If you fill he copper pipe with water then freeze the pipe you can get a sharp bend without the kinks. I've also heard of sand filled pipes working as well.

Matt

Good idea...I'll give that a try.

Thanks

With only one month to go until the Van Duesen ABFM the body and frame were reunited today in Merritt.

With the body waiting patiently on the hoist...
the frame was rolled in and readied....
the body was lowered to the frame and fit perfectly,
I was absolutely in awe :shock: how well the procedure went, I have never seen a group of men work together in such unison I am very, very impressed with the group that Alan Simpson has put together for this project.

The film crew had four camera's rolling as the body was lowered, it should be an interesting segment.

It was an emotional event for me......perfection.... :D

It looks amazing. Wonderful job so far Stuart!

Dave_F wrote:Stuart, who did the copper heater pipes for you? It's hard to get the bend without kinking it a bit.

They are original parts from the 50's, no stone has been left unturned in this restoration!!!

Thank you Ray, I hope you are bringing your Series 1 to the unveiling at Van Dusen next month!!! Matt, are you bringing your beauty over?

Thanks guys...

Where did you find them, as I was under the impression they were NLA?

StuartL wrote:

Dave_F wrote:Stuart, who did the copper heater pipes for you? It's hard to get the bend without kinking it a bit.

They are original parts from the 50's, no stone has been left unturned in this restoration!!!

StuartL wrote:Thank you Ray, I hope you are bringing your Series 1 to the unveiling at Van Dusen next month!!! Matt, are you bringing your beauty over?

Thanks guys...

Yes Stuart I will be coming to the van Dusen show. Wouldn't want to miss an up
Close viewing of the series 1 before it goes behind glass at the museum!

Matt

Hmm, I just looked it up. ABFM. May 16, 2015.

I've never been but sometimes thought of going.

Stuart for accuracy the oil filler tube doesn't have the Air Cleaner decal on it...only the air cleaner on top of the valve cover.

Good eye Dave, you are first to win this months Torque award!

Yes, you are correct and luckily we had another sticker to place it correctly. The oil filter tube cap will have the sticker removed and be repainted before the show.

I hope you will have your '56 at Van Dusen so we have a strong showing of Vintage Land Rovers. It looks like Ray is coming so you have to come now!!!

Cheers,

I don't know if you want mine parked anywhere near yours.

The social media hashtag for our upcoming adventure is #wedontneednostinkingpaint

So that tells you a little of what our truck will look like.

Ray

Ray, the patina you have on your Series 1 could never be recreated and is priceless. Yours is a working Rover like it should be. Grizzly Torque's heritage will prevent her from daily service and shall be a servant to the public with only the occasional outing back to former haunts such as UK, Kenya and India.

Looking forward to seeing you at the show!

Three weeks to the ABFM.....

Just a few bits to hook up.... and a little touch-up to the paint...
and she will be ready for her debut...

Wow...Alan must be working 24/7 to get this done...I still see lots to do...! :shock:

Dave, let's be positive about this....

There is a incredibly dedicated team of individuals who are making this happen in a short period of time and the workmanship is outstanding, world class. Alan is the Maestro, who is conducting this project. You may not remember but his CV includes an Invitation to Pebble Beach.

The day they lowered the body onto the chassis I was in awe of these men, what they created and how well they worked in unison.

This project is a tribute to two men who have given so much to this Province during their lifetime and continue to do so in their 80's and it all started with a Land Rover in 1957.

Are you bringing your Series 1 to the ABFM, I hope so as it's all part of the tribute.

Hi Stuart,

The answer regarding my truck making it to the ABFM is maybe...

I still have a few items left on my list and unfortunately I am solo.

I was invited to Long Beach Tofino for years...but that may not count the same as Alans invite to Pebble Beach.

We'll see how far I make it.

Cheers,

Amazing work! Thanks for sharing the progress and photos.

You say there were camera's capturing everything? Do you know when or where that can be viewed?

Looking forward to seeing GT's completion.

Hi Bike Mike,

Thank you for your kind words. With respect to the movie, CBC is funding a "concept movie" which should be complete by the end of June. Once that is done they go for the major funding from groups like CBC, BBC, National Geographic etc. and then do the full documentary which will hopefully include a return visit to Africa with Foster and Bateman driving across the Serengeti as they did 70 years ago.

The concept should be very interesting and available for viewing in June. I will post a link to it once it's ready.

Dave_F wrote:Hi Stuart,

The answer regarding my truck making it to the ABFM is maybe...

I still have a few items left on my list and unfortunately I am solo.

We'll see how far I make it.

Cheers,

Hi Dave, I really hope you can make it, it sounds like you are very close. The GT won't be totally complete either and everyone enjoys seeing a work in progress.

You asked before about the copper heater pipes and I may not have given you a proper answer. They were new old stock but I can't remember who they came from. We have been lucky sourcing from Dunsfold and various other UK suppliers. The headlights came from Malaysia, the taillights from Australia and the tires from Spokane. As you know the folks on the LRSOC site have been very helpful.

Cheers,

Dave let me know if you need help to get there, I will probably have my flatbed.

Two weeks to go.... she now runs and stops!!!!

Finally the exhaust has been sorted out. This 107" frame had portals for the exhaust to travel through the frame rather than under it. We cannot determine whether that is unique to this vehicle or not. We have not found any information relating to this arrangement.

So a complete fabrication was necessary.

First the front, you can see the brake assembly to get your bearings...
through the centre brace....
and finally the rear portion...

That's very interesting looking.

Does the Frame have the usual PTO holes?

It was great to see the Grizzly Torque in person at the ABFM! What a vehicle! Thanks for bringing it out to the show.

It was great to see the Grizzly Torque in person at the ABFM! What a vehicle! Thanks for bringing it out to the show.

Saw Grizzly Torque yesterday - looking very good.

Shame there weren't many more Landys there - I left it too late as the event was completely sold out vehicle-wise.

We made it!!!! 136 days from dragging it out of the field to driving in onto the lawns of Van Dusen Gardens. It was wonderful talking to so many different people about the GT adventure. Many people had difficulty understanding that this was the vehicle driven around the world and not a replica, I can't find the words to properly thank Alan Simpson and the "Merritt Boys" for the amazing job they did but I think the comments from the public said it for me.

To be continued......

Painting a Land Rover with a paint brush is not an uncommon occurrence at all but one normally uses a larger brush than Robert Bateman used yesterday at the Vancouver Auto Show.

Here' are the original Rover Boys at yesterday's auto show:

My family really enjoyed seeing the truck -- we compared differences with ours. Hopefully it helped charge the imagination of our eight year old!

This is one of the single greatest Land Rover stories I have read - among so many fantastic stories of these trucks!

I am grateful, impressed, and a little envious - but more than anything, inspired and motivated to work on my own little piece of history.

Well done, and thanks.

I am glad you enjoyed seeing the Grizzly Torque! Our goal is to get young people off their electronics and back to exploring nature and what better way than in a Land Rover. We should all be bringing kids out with us on our outings!

Cheers,