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ROVER-HAULIN
MONDAY 7:00AM
Day 3 was cracked into early as Mike M. had a lot of paint work ahead of him and he came in for an early start to get the rest of the front body panels hung and ready for primer so that we could have them as soon as possible.
One of the last body panels to be sourced was a deluxe hood for the 88. As we said earlier, the 88 was originally a Station Wagon, so this is the correct hood for the Rover. Now we just need to strip off all the blue paint and get it primed and under green paint. Also missing from the 88 were the front apron and and side sills. Those items we have also sourced and will be installing to make the 88 more complete and more correct for the year and model.
On the mechanical side of ECR day 3 was fast and furious. The prep. work of spending day 2 getting everything cleaned and rebuilt paid off, and systems where able to be installed and hooked up with relative ease. We also had sourced or ordered from Rovers North all the needed parts so the next 2 days could be our main assembly days, leaving day 6 for all the unexpected items. Above you can see that the exposed areas of the bulkhead have been coated with undercoat, the Mansfield heater has been installed, as has the brake parts and the clutch hydraulics. Ian is also installing the fully rebuilt steering box, that is going in with all new tie rod ends and a new steering relay in the frame.
A little further along in day 3 you can see a close up of the new Mansfield heater system. You can also see that we have installed the doors and hinges so that the body lines can be set up and the bulkhead tweaked into the correct position and then locked down with the bolted bulkhead supports. Body lines are crucial in a Series Rover to make the doors work properly without having to slam them, and doing this is a step that most Rover shops don't even think about, but to us it is a vital step to make the 88 a nice vehicle to have, rather than one that pisses you off all the time when the doors won't close right.
On the other side of the bulkhead we have finished up the upgraded brake system and the clutch system. No more antique single reservoir for this 88, now the brakes are one system and the clutch is another, and both are easier to use, and both have full stainless steel pipes throughout.
Inside the 88 we have started to install the wiring harness and the gauge panels. The original multi-gauge was working well, but it required a new oil line and illumination light. We also added the switch for the driving lights and the new 2 speed heater to that panel with new switches. To go back to the original VIN de-coding we added the Hardura trim on the kick panels and the center tunnel. A Station Wagon would have had these items, but they had worn off the Rover a long time ago in its previous 40 years of use.
Here you can see the body lines of the Series IIA starting to take shape. One we are done the lines will be straight and everything will work correctly. As the body lines are being done, Mike M. is also doing the prep. work on the rear body. We didn't have time to spray it on its own, so it will be painted while on the car at the end of day 4, so that it will be dry for more work on day 5. Getting the body lines done, all the hydraulics up and running, the heater plumbing and the wiring taken care of ate up a lot of time, but this is time that needs to be spent. Steve switched to the paint crew for most of the day to get the front clip parts prep'd and painted for day 4 and Ian and Mike S. finished off the details that were needed to make sure that on Day 4 people would not need to be standing on top of each other. If we installed a battery we could get the 88 to run and drive today, but without a radiator or seat box it would be a tough ride. It is the end of day 3.
Click the days below to see the progress of that day. These pages have lots of images.
INTRODUCTION
DAY 1: THURSDAY
DAY 2: FRIDAY
DAY 4: TUESDAY
DAY 5: WEDNESDAY
DAY 6: THURSDAY
DELIVERY DAY