Re: Austin Morris Princess X2
Posted: Wed Oct 02, 2013 7:47 pm
Today my Dad and I trekked over to Yorkshire to pick up some valuable spare parts. The donor in question was this phase 1 '77 Princess 2200 which originally was brazil metallic, a lovely purplish-brown with a gold fleck to the metallic. Or at least it was lovely once upon a time but had since been repainted lilac-brown with a 4" emulsion brush and the roof was painted a combination of silver, white and olive drab. The whole thing was rotten from nose to tail, there wasn't anything in the way of bodywork I could use at all. The interior was much the same with a dead carpet, worn out seats and a great deal of sun and water damage. The brown dash and centre console were tempting as was the early brown steering wheel but my funds would only stretch so far and, sadly, it wasn't quite that far.
Never mind, the main thing I wanted was a displacer but as it happens it was easier to drop the whole rear axle. Some well placed bolt cutter action saw the axle removed complete with 2 healthy looking spheres, complete hubs and cross tube. This will probably turn out to be something of a boon as it'll mean I can more easily refurbish the axle before refitting it to the car and it gives me some great spares to add to my growing stockpile. It's not an easy thing to lug about on your own, but I managed it with a little trolley and someone to help guide it to a safe place to let the fluid drain out before I can get on with properly stripping this down. Axle looks to be in reasonable condition and the car itself had obvious signs of plenty of mechanical work being done to keep it in good health, sadly the same could not be said to be true for the interior or bodywork.
What I was pleased with, and what ultimately cleared my bank account out, was the wealth of spares I did secure from the car. I would have liked to have taken the front and rear screens, bumpers, tow bar, light units, steering wheel and interior brown plastics but both my funds and the time were limited so I spent an hour or so collecting this little lot.
It's difficult to tell what's there, so here's the rundown:
Towing mirror - fits on the driver's door of the HLS as a temporary solution
Full boot carpetting - not all original, but matches well enough
Rear light lens interior covers - both cars sorted now
Interior sunvisors and catches - ideal for the HLS, if incorrect for the year
Pair of complete sidelight/indicator units - very useful spares
Driver's front door window regulator - no need to weld the dead HLS one now
Phase 2 window winder - replaces the dodgy one on the HL
Handbrake gaiter - replacement for the missing item on the HLS
3 Wheel trims with centre logos - spares and replacements for damaged existing ones
5 chrome rim embellishers - I already have 1 good one and 1 bad one.
Spare wheel cover - that's one for each car now
Gear knob - good thread, should replace the thread-stripped one in the HL
Radio fascia - Hoping to fit to a modern unit for the HL dash
Windscreen stainless steel trims - rare, worth grabbing
Rear screen stainless steel trims - rare, worth grabbing
Parking Aid - it's giffer-tastic!
3 C-pillar interior courtesy light lenses - only need one, but spares are handy.
Should keep me busy for a while at least. I salvaged as much as I could afford to and in all honesty there wasn't much more on the car that would have genuinely been of use to me. I feel comfortable having parted with £140 for all that, and it gave me the opportunity to have a poke around a phase 1. I didn't get any photographs at the yard as I didn't have my camera with me.
Never mind, the main thing I wanted was a displacer but as it happens it was easier to drop the whole rear axle. Some well placed bolt cutter action saw the axle removed complete with 2 healthy looking spheres, complete hubs and cross tube. This will probably turn out to be something of a boon as it'll mean I can more easily refurbish the axle before refitting it to the car and it gives me some great spares to add to my growing stockpile. It's not an easy thing to lug about on your own, but I managed it with a little trolley and someone to help guide it to a safe place to let the fluid drain out before I can get on with properly stripping this down. Axle looks to be in reasonable condition and the car itself had obvious signs of plenty of mechanical work being done to keep it in good health, sadly the same could not be said to be true for the interior or bodywork.
What I was pleased with, and what ultimately cleared my bank account out, was the wealth of spares I did secure from the car. I would have liked to have taken the front and rear screens, bumpers, tow bar, light units, steering wheel and interior brown plastics but both my funds and the time were limited so I spent an hour or so collecting this little lot.
It's difficult to tell what's there, so here's the rundown:
Towing mirror - fits on the driver's door of the HLS as a temporary solution
Full boot carpetting - not all original, but matches well enough
Rear light lens interior covers - both cars sorted now
Interior sunvisors and catches - ideal for the HLS, if incorrect for the year
Pair of complete sidelight/indicator units - very useful spares
Driver's front door window regulator - no need to weld the dead HLS one now
Phase 2 window winder - replaces the dodgy one on the HL
Handbrake gaiter - replacement for the missing item on the HLS
3 Wheel trims with centre logos - spares and replacements for damaged existing ones
5 chrome rim embellishers - I already have 1 good one and 1 bad one.
Spare wheel cover - that's one for each car now
Gear knob - good thread, should replace the thread-stripped one in the HL
Radio fascia - Hoping to fit to a modern unit for the HL dash
Windscreen stainless steel trims - rare, worth grabbing
Rear screen stainless steel trims - rare, worth grabbing
Parking Aid - it's giffer-tastic!
3 C-pillar interior courtesy light lenses - only need one, but spares are handy.
Should keep me busy for a while at least. I salvaged as much as I could afford to and in all honesty there wasn't much more on the car that would have genuinely been of use to me. I feel comfortable having parted with £140 for all that, and it gave me the opportunity to have a poke around a phase 1. I didn't get any photographs at the yard as I didn't have my camera with me.