Oliver and Colin's 1960 Series II rebuild.

[cbalme]

Lately not much has got done on the old rover, I did get the pickup cab reupholstered and painted, but the back of the cab is having a bad reaction to the touch up paint and it blistering so I will have to strip the whole thing down and repaint it.

https://i.imgur.com/VEXofdHl.jpg

I was quoted $1000 to have my headliner made locally, and they were only going to glue it in, so I decided to give it a go myself. I made a trip to fabricland and picked out a suitable material, some felt sort of stuff for the top and then a marine vinyl for the trim. I used hushmat beneath the headliner material and glued it onto that. I think it turned out quite well for what it cost me. Here's the breakdown:

$58 in fabric and vinyl
$17on 3M Super 77 glue
$80 on Hushmat Soundproofing (the roof is rock solid now! When you hit it there's a thud instead of a ting)
$0 spent on Bjorn's labour and upholstery skill
I can't put a price on having a dry head when it's wet out, there shouldn't be any condensation now!

No photos yet you will have to see it in person! I am very pleased with how it turned out.

Other than that, I have been glueing on lots of Hardura on the inside, not the greatest fit but it works. Here's the seatbox

https://i.imgur.com/gEa3ULBl.jpg

Behind the seats, Hard to tell but there is hardura there, really cleans up the interior although I will miss having bare metal everywhere. I also insulated with hushmat back there, I put my breaker bar where the jack handle goes until I can get a proper jack, I have the original handle but no jack. Right now the breaker bar is the jack handle for my Canadian tire bottle jack, so it's sort of right I think, won't fool any rivet counters though.

https://i.imgur.com/GwlHONal.jpg

Today I got a new bumper installed, now I have some proper recovery points so I don't have to wrap a rope around the spring hanger! Now I just need to weld something onto the rear crossmember for towing all those toyotas.

https://i.imgur.com/0CXJ2Gyl.jpg

[franko]

Looking good buddy! Just need an 8274 to complete the front end 😊

[Rambler]

Well smart, you can be proud of your efforts. 👍🏻

[cbalme]

Thanks for the compliments, that hardura really tidies up the interior, should be quieter to drive now!

I am looking at either an 8274 or the original capstan winch from my truck, the guy I bought my truck off still has it. I think the 8274 would look good but the capstan would be very unique.

Finally got the last of the Hardura in, it took a bit of modifying but overall I am satisfied with how it turned out, also got the heater cowling installed so I now have defrosters and a way to direct air towards me!

https://i.imgur.com/NDBOOoCl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/5QHJwTfl.jpg

I am still waiting for my dual gauge to come home so in the meantime I went out and bought a water temp gauge that will hold me over in the meantime, once I get my gauge back it'll be going into one of our tractors.

Also used the truck to go get our tree! It was a lot of fun.

https://i.imgur.com/gJc1leNl.jpg

[StuartL]

Hey Colin, what an amazing job!!! It is the attention to detail that really makes it a proper restoration. LOVE IT!

[cbalme]

Thanks Stuart, it has taken a lot of time but I think it was worth it!

Past few days I have been working on the truck cab, I got it all stripped down and repainted.

https://i.imgur.com/m2K1J2Bl.jpg

Here it is in place ready for the top, I have new window tracks for the sliding window and new seals are installed as well

https://i.imgur.com/lVqqnxgl.jpg

Top on! Starting to look like a proper truck, now I can actually use it when it rains.

https://i.imgur.com/JSGuuWyl.jpg

Now the doortops are installed, took a bit of fiddling and scratched them up a bit but I think they fit now.

https://i.imgur.com/wppaOkrl.jpg

Here's the view from the back, I've installed one of the quarter windows it was a right pain without the proper tool to put the locking strip in but it went in in the end.

https://i.imgur.com/wppaOkrl.jpg

Scratched the paint a bit but that's nothing a bit of touch up paint won't fix

https://i.imgur.com/pjXlxekl.jpg

Excuse the dust I am hoping to give it a good wash before I go to Australia!

[cbalme]

Didn't get a chance to wash it before I left but I did get the rear windows installed. I kept some of the original stickers that were intact to preserve some history, just like the bullet hole in the left wing.

https://i.imgur.com/cgrGWFzl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/2cvxUqql.jpg

Out for a test drive with the new cab

https://i.imgur.com/vNW77isl.jpg

Then it boiled over, I think it was caused by running too lean since #4 spark plug was bright white but I will investigate further when I get back in February. Thanks Matt for that tip I never knew about that, still getting used to gas engine maintenance. With that Tdi you just get in and go :P

I am not sure if the head gasket needs to be changed since it has no water in the oil, but there was emulsified oil on the breather but I think that is from condensation.

I had to get it towed since it puked out all the coolant.

https://i.imgur.com/dChgIopl.jpg

It was fun up until then though!! Thank god for BCAA.

[cbalme]

Got my gauge back from England! Only a small issue with it. Thankfully it was an easy fix with a spare satin black bezel from the old gauge.

https://i.imgur.com/dcwiZ24l.jpg

I also sorted out my overheating issue! It was a seized thermostat! I was reluctant to test it for the longest time but I figured I could check it while the coolant was drained and lo and behold that was my issue.

https://i.imgur.com/MUz6B7tl.jpg

Here is the new thermostat compared to an old one. Something is not right that's for sure.

https://i.imgur.com/DprhntAl.jpg

So I installed an old one and put it all back together and it runs really good now! Here it is earning it's keep as our farm runabout

https://i.imgur.com/hNNGy8Ol.jpg

Also installed the rear sliding window latches, had to make up another pin, Victor kindly made me one so I could copy it to make a second.

https://i.imgur.com/U6kb1oll.jpg

Here I am installing the door seals! One of the worst jobs that's for sure they are not going to seal well that's for sure. Probably going to retry them one day.

https://i.imgur.com/AhcQjp2l.jpg

This evening I started putting the door cards on, exmoor trim kindly left me with some extra work because they used poor quality glue so some of the vinyl came off the armrest and top panel. It's a quick fix but it shouldn't have to fixed in the first place.

https://i.imgur.com/oxdH7esl.jpg

[cbalme]

Haven't had much to do on the 109 lately since it was running pretty good! Had a fuel starvation issue due to some silicone in the tank but that seems to have gone away.

https://i.imgur.com/KUBtH1Gl.jpg

This weekend the truck started running terribly and was lacking a lot of power, I could barely get it out of third gear. I had Victor come give me a hand in exchange for a hearty lunch and some frame outriggers, the first thing he noticed was that the points were worn out even though they were brand new. I had forgotten to grease them so the plastic was worn out pretty quickly. A quick trip to Duncan Auto to get a set of points fixed the problem quickly and easily. I was complaining about the truck running rough at idle but now it is so smooth you can barely hear it running. There is still a slight misfire but we are suspecting the sparkplugs are the issue. Overall it has made the truck much nicer to drive and it has loads of power now!

https://i.imgur.com/eKPSW2pl.jpg

Here it is in the sunshine after we cut up the old frame.

https://i.imgur.com/OQ47C8Tl.jpg

I'm feeling much more confident in this truck now and may try and drive it past the Cowichan Valley very soon to self-quarantine out in the wilds of Vancouver Island

[Rob]

I love that you pay your mechanic with food... the true form of a "cashless" society!

[swamijake]

They have electronic points so you never have to fiddle with points ever again. You can keep the points if you want to return to stock for the rivet counters.

https://simonbbc.com/k8-powerspark-elec ... stributor/
https://simonbbc.com/k4-powerspark-elec ... stributor/

I hate points.

[bsa_m21]

I love "pointless" electronic points modules and even adapted a set to work in my 80". But, I always have my original points in the under seat storage for that worst case of a failure while way up in the mountains....
:rolly:

[cbalme]

Never thought about keeping the points in the truck for emergencies. I may do that.

Finally got the door cards in! They make the door very solid and now shut with a thud instead of a rattle.

https://i.imgur.com/P5AlZyYl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/mbgi9vLl.jpg

Almost done reupholstering the cab, just the trim bits are left among a few other bits.