Seems like I only get around to looking at the P6 once a year.
Plans went south last year, there is a bit of a saga involving a compressor made in a far off country, parts made of chocolate and doing bits whilst I had things apart.
For those who are interested in non Rover rust.
I have had my trusty 110 Defender for nearly 10 years and it has seen a few repairs to the bulkhead, I had sourced a new old stock one for it but never got round to fitting it. Last year it was obvious that it would need to be done and being locked down there was no where to go, which I took as an omen.
Strip down went well but as you do there are bits you want to tidy up and replace. I did break the welder out, replacing 2 outriggers that were ok but would need done in the next few years.
What was a planned 6 weeks turned in to 9 months. I was working away through out which meant that weekends were the only time I could get stuck in. Frustrating things like ordering spares that took longer to arrive, were wring when they did or broke when opening the packet added to the delays.
A major delay was the compressor, knowing I had a lot of work to do and wanting to do my own spray painting I had bought a belt driven compressor. it had hardly ran when I notice a leak. The non return valve had split, in hindsight I should of returned it but it was a big unit at 70kg. several replacements went the same way and then as I had it apart there were other issues then the head went. Eventually I pushed the supplier to replace, it did have a 2 year warranty. The compressor breakdowns cost me valuable days, a few times I had to brush the epoxy mastic and coach paint on which was not what I wanted to do but when you have already mixed the paint it needs to be used.
When the compressor did work I got a lovely finish with the epoxy, some much so I think I will be using it instead of powder coating brackets and parts that I would normally of sent out. The spray is a decent finish and cost wise it makes sense as I have the tools to do it.
It started as a quick bulkhead swap and ended as a mini rebuild.
Worth doing though, I had thought about getting professional to do the work but a few things put me off. The time a vehicle is away (we have all heard horror stories) and the costs.
Doing the swap and additional work at a garage would have made this uneconomical to repair or near as. There are also the bits a garage miss or don't bother to do, when you have the car in your own garage you can paint all the brackets and replace parts that aren't connected to the main job. So I wont have the 'why didn't they change x whilst everything was apart' moments.
I still have a few things to do, for example the doors rot from the inside out. Before this strip down I rebuilt 2 spares but the drivers side doors were too bad, although some parts were cut out for repair sections that were to complex to make. So I am on the look out for some doors worth rebuilding and then will look at painting using coach enamel.
Other projects have also kept me back, last year I bought a Mk2 Jag that has been sitting in a Californian junk yard for over 25 years. This will be a long term project but the base is very solid.
So time to get back into the P6 not that I haven't been doing anything. I have been chasing parts that have been away for 2/3 years....
Originally I wanted to get the underseal off before I did any else, I hate putting new brake pipes on dirty undersides. However I think getting the car running again will make it easier. This will involve refitting all the hydraulics and brakes that I had refurbished several years ago.
This week I ordered some engine gaskets and started looking out the brackets I had removed for powder coating. I can't find the power steering pump but I do have a couple of spares. I have a new (old) compressor so will be getting them smartened up without any breakdowns.