Series 2a 109 6 cylinder restoration

[haveyoubooked]

I think that Jones Springs do a refurb programme - or at least they used to do so.

Thanks for that, I pinged them an email just now.

[haveyoubooked]

Finally got her inside for the first time in my ownership today. More pics and questions to follow...

[Old80]

I had a full set of springs for an 88" refurbed by Jones Springs many years ago and they came back like new and good people to deal with but as Diffwine says don't know if they are still providing this service.

[haveyoubooked]

So questions so far in no particular order:

Hole in rear n/s wing. Seems to be a pin hole in ally. Is this normal for its age? Can tig it up but wonder what caused it.

Are these the correct rear lenses for a late 2a? Are the cages OEM option

Is the vent supposed to be there in o/s wing or is it a mod/covering up a hole

O/D - I picked this up off a low mileage SWB series 3. Anything particularly to look out for?

Rivets pointed out in pic on capping - should these be pop rivets as they are should they be closed rivets

[haveyoubooked]

And some closeups of condition. Pretty crispy, and not sure if i dare pick it up on ramp with chassis as it is...

Hoping to save everything but the chassis and door tops. Will repair bulkhead and weld new sections of frame into lower doors...

Anyone got a set of narrow sills they would like to sell?

[diffwhine]

Hole in aluminium bodywork - quite normal - expect to find plenty more in an old commercial vehicle. Normal alloy corrosion. TIG is a good option, but you will find you are filling a bigger hole than you think.

Lights - look about right, but there was a lot of variation due to supplier changes and so on.

LH Wing vent - looks like a Series 3 wing to take an heater air intake.

Overdrive - can't tell without opening it up and inspecting.

Rivets - probably were pop rivets at that age. Propr dome rivets are expensive and cumbersome to fit in production.

[Alan Drover]

The light guards were an optional extra.

[Bloke]

Looks great!

Overdrive - you will need to either extend or shorten the gear lever bracket (I can't remember which way round it is, sorry) in order to fit the 2.6 gearbox.

I spotted these sills on eBay earlier today - might be of use? Sills

Tom

[haveyoubooked]

Looks great!

Overdrive - you will need to either extend or shorten the gear lever bracket (I can't remember which way round it is, sorry) in order to fit the 2.6 gearbox.

I spotted these sills on eBay earlier today - might be of use? Sills

Tom

They look perfect, thanks for the link Tom

[haveyoubooked]

The light guards were an optional extra.

Good to know, I'll probably retain them. One less set of holes to deal with and handy with it being a working vehicle

[haveyoubooked]

Nipped out to workshop tonight (what a difference finally getting it inside makes!!) and pulled off thedoor tops, all the chequer plate and anything I can tell is definitely not original. Still trying to decide whether to keep to keep the patina whilst I can still see it as a whole.

Roof definitely original paint and not many marks, even buffed a soft shine just cleaning it tonight

Having it inside and cleaning it up it  has 1 layer of primer and 1 layer of the same pastel green underneath it so had a respray at some point in the same colour. Only panel I can find any other colour (creamy yellow) is on the o/s/f wing... so that would explain the vent in that wing.

Parts list and sundries I know I'm needing at this stage (beyond the sills that I'll hopefully end up with from eBay) is:

Straight s/h o/s front wing (amazing if it had a nice old layer of pastel green)

S/h or n/o/s wing mirrors

Front light baskets (holes there but they are missing)

Cat flap handle (internal mechanism looks ok)

1 s/h original LR mudflap

Side fold down steps (mrs is 5ft 2 and it's a fair leap!)

Drivers seat frame

If anyone's got those bits I'd happily buy them from on here. Can pick up on the next trip down country or courier if it can't wait. I think I'll be 9-12month on this by the time I'm done.

The rest of the little bits I'll either source new or repair.

I'll try and stick a few up of it cleaned up without the chequer plate when I get in later

[haveyoubooked]

Few pics of it cleaned up a little with the bling removed. The first pleasant surprise that the bling wasnt hiding anything nasty.

[haveyoubooked]

Few pics of it as it stands

I wasn't aware the lower tailgate had an iron section in it to rust as yours does. My '61 truck cab's ali one had dented and split in two through repeated contact with with tow ball and, I suspect because I did it myself a few times, being walked on when open and weakened. Is the iron a previous owner repair?

Pulled the iron off and sure enough its been backed into a hitch or stood on once to often. Looks repairable though.

[Alan Drover]

If by front light baskets you mean the bowl which fits in the wing go for plastic ones. They don't rust.

[haveyoubooked]

Sorry Alan, I was meaning the same type of cages/guards that the rear lights have. I was assuming that there must have been a matching set fitted at the front as there is 3mm holes in a square pattern around each front light assembly that looks like it would have taken a self tapper.