Before and After. Ramblin Rover bait?

"GRawesome" (GRawesome)
10/11/2013 at 16:55 • Filed to: None

Got some work done on the cars today (more on that to come over the weekend). Painted a bunch of parts to install as well as the wheels on my Rover. When I got them they were a baby blue color, so I went black to better go with the car. I think it looks a ton better, what do you think, improvement?

DISCUSSION (6)

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > GRawesome
10/15/2013 at 12:05

I missed this post - out of town. Honestly, I've not really seen them with baby blue wheels before. Black is the classic for Defenders, pretty much, where on a Series it would be Limestone, white, or bringing up the rear either black, gray, or body color.

Of course, I could also point and laugh dickishly at your lack of rear grab handles, your modern doors, and other things, but I won't 'cause that's a sweet top and set of flares, and your black-painted trim is set off pretty well by the now-black wheels. I will profess being curious, though: is that a ballpoint pen line, or did somebody bondo-in your flares?

I was actually working to get a set of wheels for my cousin's '64 ready with him this past week, and we went with kind of a gunmetal. Not a classic color, but works with bronze green/rover green well, and I've seen it done.

GRawesome > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
10/15/2013 at 21:45

Don't worry I laugh at the modern additions on this Series as well. I bought it with the intent of returning her to her former glory. A previous owner had tried to make it look like an early Defender (with the wheel arches, modern handles and of course that color, also the wheels which were 16" white steel with the kind of D window). I traded the white ones to my buddy with a Series 3 daily driver so he could upgrade to disc brakes and he gave me these originals which he had painted baby blue to better match his truck which is faded Marine Blue. My original color was also Marine Blue which I found out because they did not spray the engine compartment when they sprayed the rest of the truck. There were also early Defender seats in the truck which I also traded to my buddy for his original seat frames (his cushions were completely shot) and got aftermarket cushions.

Thankfully they did not cut any of the original metal to put on those flares so I can return it to original with minimal work. And yeah, that's a crack in the fender flares from where they tried to blend them into the body.

I have accumulated almost all the parts I need to return it to a true Series 3, the only main pieces I need are the doors. I have the anti-burst latches just need doors to put them into. Hopefully I can find someone who has Series 3 doors that aren't too rough and wants to upgrade to something a little more usable with roll-up windows.

On an unrelated note, I went to a car show on Sunday and there was a Santana there. It was a 65 but had a Series 3 grill. First one of those I had seen in person, pretty cool.

Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull > GRawesome
10/15/2013 at 22:17

I actually spent this evening making a repair patch for an under-seat box on one Series IIa, annealing some bent kick-panels to be straightened, and yanking the engine and trans from a II. If you ever find yourself in western NC, try to look me up - between our Rover stash (6 of them) and a friend that runs a specialist shop in them, you'll have more Series exposure than you'll know what to do with. Interestingly enough, we have a number of door lowers, but almost all (stupidly) are RH with a lot of the LH doors being a bit shady - not sure if we'd have any to sell or anything when covering our needs, but a RH, almost certainly.

GRawesome > Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull
10/15/2013 at 22:50

I'll do that, thanks for the invite. I'm in South Florida and the farthest north I usually drive is Charleston, SC (for work - there are a few ships that we work with stationed there) but if I ever venture in Western NC I'll certainly let you know.

I've been wondering how long I will wait to find something locally (this side of the Atlantic) before breaking down and ordering from England. Guess I'll wait at least until our garage is built and I can start the tear down. It's amazing how much cheaper the parts over there are compared to here. The shipping kills you though unless you are ordering a ton of parts or one big ticket item. But I'm sure I don't have to tell you that.

Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull > GRawesome
10/15/2013 at 22:54

Are you using Paddock Spares or John Craddock for your UK needs? Normally it's possible to get most things we need around here through RN or AB/BP, but it's pricey enough doing that that a lot of fancy-pants stuff are cheaper from Paddock even with the shipping hit.

GRawesome > Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull
10/15/2013 at 23:02

My last big order, the seat cushions, was through PS. After checking Rovers North and Atlantic/Pacific British it was way cheaper even with the shipping. I think the local guys wanted $400 or more plus oversized shipping (close to another 100) for a front set and PS had them for 100 pounds or so and shipping was another 100. I ended up getting a bunch of spares and stuff too while I was at it to minimize the shipping costs per item. So I'm pretty well stocked up for now. Good thing too, I'm planning to do the brakes this weekend and I already have the pads and any springs or cylinder parts I may need.