Post by Gallen on Nov 15, 2020 13:47:44 GMT
Hello all,
I've just joined the forum and wanted to share pictures of my car, a 1968 (G reg) P5B Coupe.
I'm based in Frinton-on-Sea, Essex.
So! turns out that my car hasn't been used much at all since 2012 and for around the last 2 years, it has unfortunately been kept outside due to the ill health of the owner. Even prior to that, the previous owner (a member of the club) only did around 40 to 100 miles a year for around a decade (but I get the impression that in his ownership, the car was garaged and well maintained).
Roll on to early this week where I found a classified advert for the car which turned out to be fairly near to me. I made an appointment and to cut a long story short, ended up bringing it home.
The paint had gone very dull and there was green moss all over the vehicle.
- The pictures I have attached are after 2 days of hard work, but it's still not finished!
It has only had 4 owners in total (over 52 years!)
The car had an extensive bare metal restoration in 1987 at a cost of £3000 - quite a big spend back then.
It had new rear wings, new sills and various other metal repairs in addition to a full repaint.
I have photos showing the work that was done and a detailed invoice on headed paper.
The car has what is as much of an "almost complete" service history as you could expect - with bills, invoices and receipts (quite a few on British Leyland headed paper including one for a replacement engine!) which dates back well in to the 70's. I also have all of the old MOT's dating back to 1985.
It makes for a very interesting read.
The car as it stands looks great - and it is what I would call "sound".
The paintwork is now 33 years old and is showing its age around the edges and a few bubbles - but she shines nicely and looks great!
All of the panels are also very straight and true. I have found some areas of filler, but this corresponds with the restoration photos where it seems that they skimmed over some new metal - so nothing too worrying.
Obviously at 52 years old, its not without fault.
The near side chassis leg needs a repair ASAP (ideally a replacement) as does the left inner side of the lower boot floor (where it drops down and meets the rear wing). Similarly, when beneath the car and looking up beneath what would be the battery tray, this also needs a repair - as do both front wheel arch splash panels.
It did drive home 60 miles without any problems other than losing the headlamps 5 minutes from home! My fault as I decided to play with the floor mounted headlamp dip switch whilst saying to my uncle (who was passenger) "even this works"! - Famous last words as the result was that I lost the lights and then had to hold on full beam for the last few miles! (apologies to anyone coming the opposite direction!)
I still have no headlamps and only an occasional dashboard illumination
(checked fuses and they are OK - so any pointers would be much appreciated!).
I also spent most of yesterday replacing some of the heater matrix coolant pipes which were visibly leaking when the engine was running (resulting in lower coolant level). I noticed this as I could smell the coolant evaporating whilst the vehicle was running in the driveway and the temperature gauge had crept up somewhat - I opened the bonnet and could see a fluid constantly squirting out of a pin hole, so easily identified and sorted (albeit using generic hose, so for now this is only a temporary/utility fix).
I also ran the battery low as I mistook the "cold air" lock for the "cold start lever"!
I then jump started it and think I blew the Lucas regulator as the red ignition light remains on and eventually the car will stop if disconnected from the leads. It's now hard to start unless on jump leads as the battery is low, so I've ordered another regulator from Waddhams in the hope that this will sort it.
Comments and suggestions welcomed.
Cheers all,
G.
I've just joined the forum and wanted to share pictures of my car, a 1968 (G reg) P5B Coupe.
I'm based in Frinton-on-Sea, Essex.
So! turns out that my car hasn't been used much at all since 2012 and for around the last 2 years, it has unfortunately been kept outside due to the ill health of the owner. Even prior to that, the previous owner (a member of the club) only did around 40 to 100 miles a year for around a decade (but I get the impression that in his ownership, the car was garaged and well maintained).
Roll on to early this week where I found a classified advert for the car which turned out to be fairly near to me. I made an appointment and to cut a long story short, ended up bringing it home.
The paint had gone very dull and there was green moss all over the vehicle.
- The pictures I have attached are after 2 days of hard work, but it's still not finished!
It has only had 4 owners in total (over 52 years!)
The car had an extensive bare metal restoration in 1987 at a cost of £3000 - quite a big spend back then.
It had new rear wings, new sills and various other metal repairs in addition to a full repaint.
I have photos showing the work that was done and a detailed invoice on headed paper.
The car has what is as much of an "almost complete" service history as you could expect - with bills, invoices and receipts (quite a few on British Leyland headed paper including one for a replacement engine!) which dates back well in to the 70's. I also have all of the old MOT's dating back to 1985.
It makes for a very interesting read.
The car as it stands looks great - and it is what I would call "sound".
The paintwork is now 33 years old and is showing its age around the edges and a few bubbles - but she shines nicely and looks great!
All of the panels are also very straight and true. I have found some areas of filler, but this corresponds with the restoration photos where it seems that they skimmed over some new metal - so nothing too worrying.
Obviously at 52 years old, its not without fault.
The near side chassis leg needs a repair ASAP (ideally a replacement) as does the left inner side of the lower boot floor (where it drops down and meets the rear wing). Similarly, when beneath the car and looking up beneath what would be the battery tray, this also needs a repair - as do both front wheel arch splash panels.
It did drive home 60 miles without any problems other than losing the headlamps 5 minutes from home! My fault as I decided to play with the floor mounted headlamp dip switch whilst saying to my uncle (who was passenger) "even this works"! - Famous last words as the result was that I lost the lights and then had to hold on full beam for the last few miles! (apologies to anyone coming the opposite direction!)
I still have no headlamps and only an occasional dashboard illumination
(checked fuses and they are OK - so any pointers would be much appreciated!).
I also spent most of yesterday replacing some of the heater matrix coolant pipes which were visibly leaking when the engine was running (resulting in lower coolant level). I noticed this as I could smell the coolant evaporating whilst the vehicle was running in the driveway and the temperature gauge had crept up somewhat - I opened the bonnet and could see a fluid constantly squirting out of a pin hole, so easily identified and sorted (albeit using generic hose, so for now this is only a temporary/utility fix).
I also ran the battery low as I mistook the "cold air" lock for the "cold start lever"!
I then jump started it and think I blew the Lucas regulator as the red ignition light remains on and eventually the car will stop if disconnected from the leads. It's now hard to start unless on jump leads as the battery is low, so I've ordered another regulator from Waddhams in the hope that this will sort it.
Comments and suggestions welcomed.
Cheers all,
G.
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