LagondaNet

[Lagondanet]

http://lagonda.skynetblogs.be/

http://www.vassard.dk/lagonda/gallery/13295.html

[Vincent]

As Walt Disney said : all this began with a mouse...
Summer 2006 : I typed "Lagonda" on Google and had just to click on the mouse to be linked to Lagondanet !
Surfing on this wonderful website seeking a car for sale putted me in contact with a french owner, after seeing a lot of other cars for sale at a wide range of prices...
I got some pictures and explanations about the car ( a seller has a better eye on his sale than the buyer ) and decided to meet the car with my whole family on 2 december 2006, 900 KMS far from us ...
I found LHD and US catalyst most valuable, avoiding me to converse the car to unleaded. The car looked pretty in its British racing green suit, and I found immediately some defaults : bearing sound/rattle at rear left, petrol smelt inside car, little bodyshop, veneer and leather works.
We (my wife, my son and myself- my daughter was too little to give an advise... ) decided then to buy it !
The first thought was to get back to Belgium with the car by road. My wife convicted me with reason not to do so !

To be continued
_________________
Welcome to Paradise ! (FRONT 242)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS30BC3D5WM

[Lagondanet]

http://s108.photobucket.com/albums/n35/Lagondanet/13295a/

[Vincent]

13295 arrived finally in Belgium between Xmas and New Year's day with a car haulage. The first thing to make on it was to peel off this awful golden striping along the car I much disliked...Impossible to do because some panels on the cars were vernished over the striping. Ok : I had to respray it !
When you buy such a car, you like to drive with. How my surprise after 20 miles, after having redone the rear bearings and transmission (AUDI),
to take part from my waterpump and all the water ! That was the beginning of full refurbishing of the Lag' ( not ended at this time ) thanks to :
JAGUAR for the brakes, front suspension and steering.
FORD for door handles
LAND ROVER for AIRCO and filters
ASTON MARTIN for all you can't find elsewhere.
AUDI for rear transmission.
TOYOTA for inside lights
And so on...
Almost everything on the car has been removed or checked.
The leather was resprayed by a former owner ( yes resprayed ! :horreur malheur !) and needed to be cleaned 4 times with savon de marseille to give it its original look where it was possible.
As the car was out of factory with BRITISH RACING GREEN and because I found my car was not alike a MG B, I preferred another Aston paint as Buckinghamshire Green Metallic. But, because of thermoplast paints used by AML in the 80's, the body "pumped" a wide part of glance of the paint with the time and 13295 will be re-vernished within a few weeks.
This story is short, but equals more than 400 hours spent on the car.
Next time I'll speek about water cooling ( waterpump, radiator and so...) which must to have been checked before or just after purchase
Vous voilà prévenus...
_________________
Welcome to Paradise ! (FRONT 242)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS30BC3D5WM

[Vincent]

Take a V8 block from about 320ci/5340 cc, put a Morris Minor waterpump on it, get it beneath a close and flat bonnet, put a very little grille in the front of the bonnet, an more or less wide air input below the bumper, a 40° from the low level inclined radiator and you obtain the particular cooling system of the Lag. The radiator is situated beneath the coolant level of the motor...
Not astonishing then that cooling problems are the weak points of our beloved car.
Check the waterpump : sometimes the pulley is not well fastened to the axle.
Check the radiator : with a long time of not use of the car you find a lot of sludge in it; a specialist can remake it.
These are not expensive costs, and do it before you restart your car after purchase; otherwise the head gaskets will cost you up to 5000 € VAT included.

Like on all Astons of these eras the sills are the other weak points I'll treat the next time.
_________________
Welcome to Paradise ! (FRONT 242)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS30BC3D5WM

[david]

You can improve the water pump by fitting the later one as installed on EFI engines and the higher performance two door cars.

The pump body is visibly larger and coolant flows better.

Fitting is pretty easy but there is one catch - on 580 series engines (all Webber equipped cars) the timing case is secured with conventional A/F headed bolts but one of these bolts will prevent the pump from mating to the block.

So, remove the offending bolt and drill out the hole in the timing case so that an Allen key cap head bolt will fit in and end up flush with the face of the timing case. Don't drill the hole too deep or wide - it would be an expensive mistake!!

This, coupled with all the things Vincent has said should ensure that traffic jams will not be too much of a problem.

David