LagondaNet

[JohanB]

For the first time in an unknown number of years (probably 10 or more), 13456 ran yesterday. Having bought the car as an unfinished project I had no idea of the state of the engine except that it was complete and looked unmolested and could be turned over. After cleaning the carbs, replacing fuel pipes, filters, oil, ignition components, cleaning the cooling system cranked to see if oil was circulating she managed the first coughs a few weeks ago. Had time again this weekend, checked timing which looked quite ok, cleaned all main electric connections and after a few attempts there was life. The engine ran actually quite nice and even of all cylinders when warming up. Started to become a bit more lumpy when reaching operating temperature, clearly running rich. Still, no frightening noises, big clouds of smoke or fluids leaking out. Need to check whether the ignition advance mechanism works, get the air pump connected (no belt at them moment) get the cooling fans working (nothing reacted to hot wiring the sensors) and than sync the lot and adjust idle mixture. In the mean time also working on refurbishing the interior, collecting missing parts. Will post some pictures once there is visible progress

[Lagondanet]

Good Luck Johan! Should have it ready for Belgium then?

[JohanB]

Yes, that is absolutely the target. Bodywork is planned for May. It will be tight....

[JohanB]

Here are a few pictures of 13456, initial pictures are from the car at the seller. After doing a number of not very visible mechanical things like putting the rebuild diff back in place, getting it running and various brake and suspension jobs the restoration company is now doing its work.
The damage to the rear has been repaired, any rust encountered (which for a Lagonda was relatively limited) removed and stripped of all paint. There was quite some filler on the car which after stripping turned out to be unnecessary as the body is quite straight and free from dents. Probably the result of paint over paint.
The original color will go on again, will however have the roof painted as well instead of having it covered with Everflex as per original for this car. I'm not much of a fan of Everflex covered roofs. Will keep the specific bits in case I change my mind one day....

https://goo.gl/photos/PgAUydkcbRs1y6u3A

[JohanB]

The photos in the link in the previous post have been updated with the progress made in the mean time. Made a few changes compared to how the car left the factory, Originally it had a blue everflex roof, that had been removed (Everflex, not the roof). Everflex roofs are not so much my thing so now everything is in the same and original color. The valances were missing as well, the front valance is a standard valance that has been modified to do without the chrome trim as Tickford body kits don't have that, the rear is a newly crafted Tickford version as per original. I liked model wise using a standard valance in the front as it accentuates the wedge shape more. If I change my mind at some day, a Tickford valance can always be recreated.
Last job for the restoration company is to install the front, rear and roof windshields. I was missing the front and rear window surround strips, however thanks to always helping Harry, both have been sourced so now the lot can be put in place. Roof windshield and bumpers are from David, the front and rear windshield are new from AM through Rikki Cann who have been most helpful in providing new parts.
Now it will be over to me to start building up the car again

[Lagondanet]

Great progress Johan!

[Vincent]

[JohanB]

I had asked Rikki Cann for advise in the mean time and yes, I'll remove the pump and piping. It seems that the tubes that go into the exhaust manifold are the most important to get rid off as removing them frees up the exhaust gas flow.

[JohanB]

Update on this restoration: A lot details have been addressed and sorted out. Getting the window frames and glass back into place, getting the various solenoids working again and also non-trivial things as putting brakes back on.
The electrics are mostly back to life again, all latch relays and normal relays were fine. Connections issues, bad earthing, replacing the indicator relay and a few of the dashboard switches needed attention.
The dashboard switches on a CRT dashboard are made up of 2 parts, the actual switch is an industry standard switch which I got from Conrad for less than 1 Euro each. A bit of soldering and all was restored. The backlighting was gone as well. Managed to find strips of the illuminating material and associated power supplies. It doesn't cover the full switch area, have some ideas on how to fix it but that is for later. The wiper delay didn't want to stay in place as the thread that secures it to the binnacle was badly scored. Fortunately these units are still available from Hella. A bit of comparing prices pays off as there was a factor 2 between the lowest and highest advertised price on internet.
The computer is back to life and I converted the screens to TFT ones to reduce power consumption, heat build up and hopefully increase reliability. Added 2 fans to the computer, one to cool the voltage stabiliser and another one to suck air through the main boards. They are wired in series to keep them quiet and no need for huge airflows. Just a bit of additional air going through to keep the old electronics from getting hot.
The windscreen wipers were another challenge as there were no arms with the car and nothing available for a LHD car. Harry suggested as a potential alternative to use a set from a Lexus. Got the arms and drive mechanism however it would take some serious work as the spindles are different. By luck I noticed that a Lotus Esprit has a wiper which is very close to the left hand wiper with the tilting mechanism. Managed to get one from a specialist but of course things are never completely the same. The way the arm is attached to the spindle differs again. However the part to fix this could be sourced from Jaguar XJ arms. A bit of a battle with the spring that keeps the arm down ensued but in the end it all fits. The other wiper arm was made by extending a Jaguar arm. If one day I come across a set of good original arms I will happily fit them but for now one item of the list.
Next step will be to fit the interior back in starting with the roof lining and then working my way down. Most of the interior pieces are already refurbished so hopefully this will go (relatively) quick. I added a few more photos, they should be accessible through the link posted before.

[Lagondanet]

Great to hear of your progress Johan. Keep it coming!

[JohanB]

As a further update: been working on various topics. Most of the electrics are back to life. Still some things to fine tune, not all windows go up as smoothly, one headlight is not lifting consistently to the full extend.
Had the engine running again after doing more carburettor cleaning it run quite well until I saw that one carburettor was flooding so added a new float valve. It also confirmed that the heater matrix was leaking. Fortunately Harry had a spare heater unit, the matrix in that one is currently being recored and I could figure out how to get the matrix out. As it turns out, it can be done with the heater remaining in place, it is a bit of a fiddle but it came out of the car quite easily. It was in poor state as expected, fortunately the heater unit itself had little rust and was in good shape.
When I had the engine running, the fans didn't come in, this was down to a wire that had come detached, no big deal except that it made me wonder who designed this. A crucial function like feeding the circuit that activates the fans is at the end of a wire chain and screwed into connection of the latch relay for the horns. One could have considered to feed important things directly and not chaining them but probably that is a different school of thought.
Also fitted the fuel flaps, 456 originally had an Everflex roof, however this had been stripped off and I'm personally not too much of a fan of it so had the roof painted in body color. The fuel flaps for cars with an Everflex roof are a bit smaller to cater for the lining material folding over resulting in too large gaps with the wing section when fitted without the lining. Found a pair of normal ones, had these painted, badges on and now fitted. It is funny how adding these things to the car makes it look a lot more complete.
Started fitting the interior and working my way from the rear roof forward and down. I was missing some of the roof lining parts and these come from another car, well, cars. Everything sort of fits but doesn't, had to move brackets a few cm here, cut material away there, all screw holes are different....very much handmade so taking quite some time to get things in place.
Main focus is now completing the interior, Keith got me a pair of sun visors so that is another missing item resolved. When the heater matrix is back it can be fitted, check that things don't leak, reassemble the heater and then start assembling the dashboard followed by carpets and in the end seats....to be continued.

[Lagondanet]

Marvellous.

[JohanB]

456 has progressed slowly but steadily which accumulated today in a visit to an assessment center of the registration authority to get it licensed in the Netherlands. Now need to submit the paperwork and then should get the registration in the mail.
It was the first time the car moved about for more than a few meters which immediately revealed some more work like the horns that come on at will when turning the steering wheel, no fuel indication, cabling in the doors to be fastened. However it was warning of low outside temperature and talking to me, unfortunately my Arabic is not good enough to understand what I'm being told.
Wheel refurbishment is next and after that to Feniks as the engine needs to come out to find the cause of a leak.
A few recent pics have been added to the shared album (link in one of the earlier posts)

[Steve]

Great news Johan, well done!

[JohanB]

Happy to share that the Lagonda is now road legal, it passed its roadworthiness test last week, It had been off the road since 1998 when the registration in Germany was suspended.
To get to this point was quite an undertaking and would not have been possible with the help of Feniks Classics. The engine has been rebuilt with another engine block (from a Lagonda). This was necessary due to severe cracks in the original block, probably frost damage which likely occurred while in storage. The rest of the engine was in perfect shape confirming its 33K KM on the odometer. Then the steering rack had a serious issue, fortunately a good LHD replacement rack was sourced and solved it.
Not done yet, still some work to do like finishing the boot trim, fixing cabling in the doors and various other small jobs. I've added some photos to the link listed above completing the transformation.
I'd like to end with expressing my sincere thanks to the various Lagondanet members who contributed with knowledge, skills and parts in bringing this car back from a very long and deep coma. It wouldn't have been possible without you! Hope to see you at Lagfest 2019.