Beauty is More than Skin Deep

The Rovering Member

Well-Known Member
Not a new project but a new extension of an existing one.
A couple of small patches needed on each sill & the boot lip needs some attention at both ends. Apart from that l couldn't see anything else when l went to view her. Full removal of the pretty manky panels will show if l missed anything but if l did then l don't expect it to be much. She turned over today with a small spark but for want of a good battery, she wouldn't fire even with the booster's help.
Even the handbrake gaiter is pretty good & l have the full carpet set too which is not half bad at all & should respond well to a re-dye.

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Well, this is going to be Bruiser Mk2. We did a fair bit of welding on 'B' Mk1 as you may recall:

The Bruiser.

And the D-posts are now showing signs of deterioration too. So when l saw this car on here recently it didn't take long for a seed to germinate in the terracotta flower pot of my mind. A transfer of parts from the much-repaired '69 base unit to this potentially mostly rot-free '68 base unit rather than more welding to the '69, plus the installation of further parts l have for 'Project Bruiser', such as Sundym glass, PAS & the LT77 which this unit, being auto will accept without modification.
I had a word with Harvey who rather than (as l expected him to) dissuading me of the ludicrous idea, was positively luke-warm towards it (which with Harvey counts as enthusiasm), actually dubbed it 'The Bruiser Project' & suggested this was the way to keep it alive. I also talked to the guy at the yard where the car was & to Richard Moon who is halfway to Wales already. He agreed to check the car out & bring it home if it was as good as it looked in the photos but in the end though, due to his workload l finished my Friday night shift (a forty-footer to Tamworth & back to the Essex docks) & immediately set off for Wales in my 75 to have a look for myself. I liked what l saw, checked in with Harvey & did the deal settling on £500. The scrap guy obviously had a transportation facility so suggested that for an extra fee, his man could take it down the M4 for us so l checked in with Richard & we agreed to have it dropped off to him on the Monday. He is also enthusiastic about the project as it's right up his street.
There things stand at present but wheels are in motion now so watch this space.
 
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Well by my standards & not being one for the aftermarket replacements (as grand as they look in other members cars), this is a very nice original set of carpets. No rotten patches, very few bald spots & an unworn heel mat to boot. Faded in places obviously, it's red but after a proper clean with our new & impressive Bissel portable wet vacuum, perhaps some strategic dye applied by brush would be the way to go.
One missing Furflex strip & one of the small sections at the side of the rear seats. They might be with the car along with the tunnel carpet which is still in place, but l can replace those if not. Very pleased & somewhat surprised that it was all still with the car:

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Richard has started work on the car. There are some areas needing attention of course but on the whole it's looking like we've caught her in time for a decent spruce up without too much work.
The rear decker area was full of old leaves which probably did that damage quite a few years back after she had been put into storage:


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Nice work going on there. I've just gone out and vacuumed under the rear decker panel after looking at those pics! This is the time of year when the leaves get blown in there, rained on, and start their mischievous corrosive magic! One more winter, then it'll be time to have the wings and sill covers back off my car and see how all those concealed areas have either withstood the elements, or more likely succumbed...
 
There's confidence.....

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Not many updates lately but suffice to say the rust continued to appear in pepperpot formations rather than large chunks. It all took time & rather more money than l'd hoped but Richard has done some very nice work & has now completed the welding. D-posts & floors are untouched & the sills are largely original. The boot lip needed replacement as did Original Bruiser's who is now in the workshop too as the mechanical changeover is approaching the start point.
Before that he's hopefully going to get the SC lump running & filmed, also hopefully the autobox can be demonstrated as well before both are removed & put up for sale. The engine bay will then be cleaned up & tittivated ready for the changeover to begin. Also on the agenda is the fitment of the PAS (Saxo electric powered), the LT77 & Hif6's.
Regarding the LT77, Harvey has questioned the loss of the release bearing lubrication & Richard has also seen that little matter now. It's also come up on farceache in the week. Simon Owen did the conversion a few years back & packed it with grease but he didn't really use it for long enough to show up any problems. There's a crude access hole in the bottom of my bell housing which would seem to point to this matter also being considered by the man who converted this box, thoughts of a possible grease nipple perhaps but as Rich said, where does the old grease go. It's got to be a suitable grade too, hard enough to stay in place but will that just adopt a shape & stop lubricating.
Some thinking will be done. Simon did say if he did it again he would modify the conversion to use the LT77 clutch assembly.
We are where we are though. Rich did mention a possible yearly box removal to replace the grease. Not ideal but doable.

Work on my A60 Oxford Estate is also progressing nicely in Yorkshire & she will be the first to return to the fold.

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Regarding the LT77, Harvey has questioned the loss of the release bearing lubrication & Richard has also seen that little matter now. It's also come up on farceache in the week. Simon Owen did the conversion a few years back & packed it with grease but he didn't really use it for long enough to show up any problems. There's a crude access hole in the bottom of my bell housing which would seem to point to this matter also being considered by the man who converted this box, thoughts of a possible grease nipple perhaps but as Rich said, where does the old grease go. It's got to be a suitable grade too, hard enough to stay in place but will that just adopt a shape & stop lubricating.
Some thinking will be done. Simon did say if he did it again he would modify the conversion to use the LT77 clutch assembly.

Interesting that you say that about the grease...
I did my original LT77 conversion with an SD1 box, flywheel and clutch and when I killed the LT and went over to the 4spd O/d Jag box, it started squealing soon after. I thought it was possibly due to a misalignment in the adapter I had made, but now, it looks like it may also be the release bearing....
 
The SC engine & box being pulled. It failed to proceed & locked when tried again but no time was lost in further investigation. It will be inspected later to see if it's anything obvious:

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Wow who's doing this work I think its fantastic workmanship

Richard moon at:

YOUR CLASSIC CAR RESTORED AND MAINTAINED

Turns out that Bruiser has a broken offside front spring:

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ISTR the PO saying they were uprated but there's no way of telling & l think on balance l'll have Rich use the standard springs already on Bruiser 2 with an uprated ARB if l can get one. Poly bellcrank buffers will be fitted with Original Bruiser's pivot bars which have better bushes.

On the subject of the bellcrank buffers, the latest thing seems to be selling them (poly & rubber) with the domes made out of stainless. I can see no reason for this as the originals are pretty much indestructible & are easily re-equipped with new bushes. Changing the actual domes is probably not an easy task & the price of the new option is four times what you pay for the bushes alone so if you don't fancy the emperors new clothes & you want a pair for the shelf then l got mine here:

Rover P6 Spring Cup to Bell Crank Lever Bush Kit - SuperPro Poly | eBay

They come in red now & are the ones we fitted to the Denovo V8:

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Further to my chassis stiffener thread bump I've decided to have them fitted. Probably more of a 'have them so fit them' than a necessary addition but the cars in the ideal state to have them welded on being partially stripped at the front & it shouldn't cost too much more than just buying the stiffeners at the Classeparts price. :)

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It means Richard having to strip a bit of his newly applied paint off but it's a bit of a evolving project in parts. Such as these being involved in the Bruiser plans for some time now:

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Escort Mk1/2 estate inspired by this car:

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.....seen & admired at various shows over the years (l suspect also Ford?). Then Richard also pointed out somewhere else they suited well so l bought another pair. All part of the fun.
 
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Noooooooooooooooooo. They look bloody awful.

I hate the fake vents on that Wedgie.. and the owner is an ass. Tried to have a conversation with him years ago at a show, and he kept claiming that the vents and covered quarter panels were fitted by Rover, and that I couldn't possibly know any different.

Then he started insulting my Wedgie.
 
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