BRAVE or just FOOLISH RM RESTO

[arceye]

Thanks folks, tickers pretty good apparently, just need to sort out the "oil" pressure now, apparently higher isn't better after all......, got a new little white pill to sort that so I should be good for plenty more miles. :

I like to set myself a list of two or three jobs at a time and an estimate of when I should get it done by, of course I always end up behind that but I think it keeps me motivated. Anyway off to put a skim of filler on the new sills / door shuts

[Fred J]

Coming along well but always remember at the end of the day - your friends would rather have to jump start the car than you!
Remember to smell the roses.
Been there and remember the car will not get finished if you are.

[falconriley]

Having rebuilt a couple of RMB's, I know what you are in for here. Its good to see it being restored even though its such a large job. Have you checked the suspension bushes, as the 33500 mile car had perished bushes that needed replacement even though the mileage was low.
As you might have guessed, I have moved on to pre-war 12/4's now, however engine wise there are many similarities.
Matthew

[arceye]

Back again

Fred, good point well made

Matthew, I just saw your car on your post, very nice. I've always wanted something pre war and that is lovely. My suspension bushes seem ok at the moment, though as I'm trying to recomission the running gear rather than rebuilding it all that may change at a later date when the car sees some action.

So, I have been whiling away the time with some of the fiddly bits that I thought I may as well do now rather than later so it doesn't become overwhelming.

I first gave that sill / door shut a skim of filler,



and got some of the colour on the car, As I mentioned earlier, I want to get a fair bit of the front re assembled before moving to the back so panels need painting as I go. The wings will stay off for now to make it easier to sort brakes / bearings etc later but I'd like to get the lions share done now. This will also help keep the ever increasing layers of dust out of the engine area which will get cleaned off shortly.



I also stripped and repaired the centre bonnet rail, painted and fitted that



With thoughts of the bonnets I also refitted the internal bonnet pulls to the A posts, and fettled a couple of jobs that were best done before I get around to repairing and fitting the engine bay sides.

So, air filter cleaned up / blown out with the compressor and painted / fitted



Another little problem is the oil filter which is a one piece disposable cannister that is no longer available



Luckily the RM club has been supplying spin on type units for a good while, and a bargain £10 Ebay purchase provided a second hand one that is now fitted.



So thats about it for now, I'm planning to sort the bonnets and engine bay sides and get them all painted and fitted, I'll also need to tackle some of the spaghetti that passes for wiring on the passenger side of the engine along with getting the basic front piece of the exhaust system made up and in place before the passenger side gets covered in.

Another basic job that I'm currently avoiding is making slots in the roof above the windscreen through which the gutter will eventually be pinned, I'm going to leave this until the roof fitting stage so as to get things in the right place.

So, quite a bit planned for now, hopefully It will come together as planned and then I can turn the car around and carry on with the crusty body.

[arceye]

Well, I haven't been taking many photos lately as I've been passing the time sorting wiring / cleaning connectors, generally rewrapping the loom with cloth tape up front of the bulkhead. and just getting a few basics right before assembling some of the front.

I have yet to sort the charging issues caused by the old regulator, despite help of forum memebers and scans of literature it still fails to work properly, so I'm going to try a NOS lucas exchange unit I just picked up.

So, after dabbling in the black arts of Lucas devilry it was time to start getting some of the front stripped, painted and back on the car so it doesn't all get lost or damaged more than it already was. This was always going to be a bit of a nail biter as I've done that much work around the body mounts and A posts I just had to hope that things would line up.

Much sanding to bare metal and painting later I have a respectable front end, I still have the drivers side bonnet to finish but when thats done I'll leave it there and turn the car around covering up the front end to try and protect things, it may be an unusual way of tackling this sort of job but as I've mentioned previously limited space makes it my prefered way forward.

Pulled out of the garage for a tidy up of all the debris to be done, you can also see the first run of the exhaust system I'm making now attached to the car. Being a tight git this is being made from stainless steel tube taken from a Range Rover P38's side steps with a centre box from something BL. Rubber exhaust hanging straps are being made from a double thickness of Discovery cam belt, I'm thinking there must be some Womble in me somewhere.










A bit of a contrast with the back end for now, but hopefully it won't be too long before it looks similar, though theres plenty of soft wood around the rear window along with plenty of metal missing along the roof / body join and wing edges.

[suffolkpete]

Brilliant! The radiator shell's scrubbed up well. Are you going to restore the tractor next?

[tractorman]

As a David Brown fan, I reckon the tractor needs sorting first! I'd guess it has a wrong bonnet and is a later 990 Implematic (with battery in front of the radiator) and the bonnet is for the earlier version. Finding a good bonnet could be fun - and expensive.

However, the cars looking good - or the front end is! I'm looking forward to seeing the back completed to the same standard (even if the car going to be F*** blue).

[arceye]

Thanks chaps, it's really only a little bit of F*** blue by the time the wings go on
The tractors the boys, so he'll have to do the shiny bits That said it stopped delivering fuel to the injectors the other day so that will be one for me to sort once the weather warms up......

Its a 1962 990 Implematic, though the seat and bonnet were borrowed from a dismembered 995 rotting locally. Battery is mounted on offside of chassis next to engine or it would be if we hadn't borrowed it for something else....... Rear wheels are my own desperate invention as I was unable to source a set of rims to match the six stud centres when he got it (having sat 15 years in a puddle on flat tyres), even from agricultural breakers etc down the line. So the rims and tyres were taken from a set of bolt on "floatation" wheels with the cut down original six stud centres very carefully and heavilly stick welded in place. The larger tyre diameter gives it a nice tall stance though compared to the originals...... a little Heath Robinson admittedly but they have been well tried and tested over the last four years.

[tractorman]

DB 950 bonnet explains things better - they don't come right down the sides of the fuel tank and the dash is different on them. A 995 bonnet has a completely different front to it (I have one!). the thing that threw me was the lack of "crossboxes" on the back axle - they house the two 6v batteries on earlier 990s and were removed when the battery moved to the front in about 64.

If you need help or advice, I can recommend the David Brown Tractor Club forum:

www.DBTC.co.uk

The moderator is a bit ratty, though the rest of them know their stuff!

I'm still jealous of the car though - and your welding skills!!

BTW - I'm a moderator on the DBTC forum - I don't want anyone to think I'm slagging a stranger off!

[arceye]

950 bonnet and seat it is, I shouted across the drive to the boy before I posted the previous info who then gave me the duff info re which tractor it was liberated from. Close inspection actually shows the outline of the 950 markings so I will clip him round the ear later .

The cross bars would have dissapeared when the seat was put on and another mounting made up, they were rotten as was the plank of wood that was being used as a seat. He was just 13 at the time and tractor mad so it was a fast fix up to make it useable for him but he is still planning a full resto for the future.

I'll pass on the DB tractor club forum addy to him, should keep him out of mischief for a bit

Regarding car and colour scheme, I did paint the cylinder head poppy red at least , plus we have the boys series landy project in Hunting Pink as was a previous RangeRover so I figured it was time for a change. Colours tend to be chosen by what the local agricultural engineering supplier has in stock