My Landmaster Project

Steeroid · 12th July 2008, 10:43

I like to think that everything went fine because the day started for me at 3.30 am in Chennai with this:

My Landmaster Project-san_0724-medium.jpg

It is just a belief, but you need that when you're going to drive 550 kms at night with a car whos body only just met its engine and wheels a couple of days before. You need a LOT of faith to do that, and as things turned out everything went fine except for a blown fuse when A S H V I N tried to work the semaphore while the car was running - unfortunately it was the ignition fuse and the car came to a standstill.

The fuel tank was leaking and the fuel line burst, spraying the inside of the boot with petrol - AFTER we reached Cochin and parked at home. What if this had happened while we were driving?

It was a giant leap of faith, taken with a prayer and the trust in Rohan's quiet words that he has done the car in the best possible manner, as he would have done for his own car.

The skies opened up with a huge downpour as soon as we moved the car out of the garage compound. We spent the next 1/2 an hour waiting in the rain for the mechanic who was to join us.

Thereafter we moved, or rather crawled, through PEAK hour Bangalore traffic in a car that was sounding like a badly tuned matador diesel and pulling like it was on LPG. We didnt think we'd make it out of Bangalore with the car running so rough. To make matters worse, the accelerator pedal would get stuck for no reason and the car would keep running at high revs even if we took our foot off.

JayD · 12th July 2008, 11:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steeroid

8. Hidden A/c (really hidden - I havent seen it so far)
9. Power Steering that is both unseen and unfelt

Man! The Hidden AC is an awesome work of engineering, its been 3 days, and we still havn't found it! Hide n seek is over buddy.... come out wherever u are!!!

Power steering is great, One needs a lot of power to steer it!

The engine is becoming smoother with every passing (non recorded) mile! But the power delivery is reallly awesome!

The front seats are supremely comfortable, while the rear needs a lil work, which a Kind Bhp-ian from cochin has voluntarily accepted to do.

The finer details, like the window working, the ign unit etc need a lil fine tuning, and will be done very soon.

To sum it up,

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steeroid

There are a LOT of things to be done on this baby. - and they will be.

egangsta · 12th July 2008, 12:02

Congrats Steer, the car looks fantastic, absolutely beautiful, the paintjob is perfect. Now for the things that you require i think anjan_c2007 may be able to help you if he can locate something out in Nagpur.

nikkibike · 12th July 2008, 14:43

A real "dream come true" stuff!!! Hats off to you steer... and all those who made efforts to rejuvante an 'oldNdying' car!!

Seems like good fortune came late for this car... A very lucky car to have a luxurious fresh life!!!!

I too would like to do something like this!! Waiting endlessly for my 'dream come true' day!!!

Steer... this IS to be CELEBRATED!! So how bout a 'landy meet' sometime tomorrow??!!

iraghava · 12th July 2008, 14:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steeroid

That is because it isnt a real dash - it is the facia of an Amby dash hastily cut and bolted on to the original LM dash frame on account of a long story called "Snake in the Monkey's Shadow" (how many of you have seen the movie?) featuring the following unseen stars:

Well I had heard the script but didn't know that there were new characters being added everyday! Can't wait to read the revised script now!

Quote:

Originally Posted by JayD

Man! The Hidden AC is an awesome work of engineering, its been 3 days, and we still havn't found it! Hide n seek is over buddy.... come out wherever u are!!!

Power steering is great, One needs a lot of power to steer it!

To be frank, I did not think things would go to such an extent. But anyway what is past is past, it's time to move on & complete the beautiful car.

suren181 · 12th July 2008, 14:59

Hey anyone in Hyderabad, Who is glued to this thread, who could help?

Ok, the deal is I know this place which has this Landmaster, relatively resting/rusting. It has the original dashboard and meters, the owner might have the steering wheel lying around too.

From what I gathered from seeing the car, the owner seems to want to modify the interiors, because he has fit in bucket seats and a console. Someone persuasive enough could make him part with the stuff needed by Steeroid.

The owner, would shoo me away literally if he sees me for I bugged him to sell his car to me. He was not inclined, and no it did not have the original engine, it had a Toyota diesel engine.

If anyone wants to give it a try please pm me. I shall point out the car, from a distance and you could just give it a shot. What say? No harm in trying is there?

No, I'm not trying to play part of that script. :-)

anjan_c2007 · 12th July 2008, 15:28

Steriod nice to read about the Landmaster. In fact, it looks like a nice Landmaster on steriods- the big fat wheels and the other goodies you've listed .

Steeroid · 12th July 2008, 16:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by nikkibike

Steer... this IS to be CELEBRATED!! So how bout a 'landy meet' sometime tomorrow??!!

We've already had a few - prabhuav's goodbye meet, where the guys got together to send him off in true C O C H I N style, stretched from 12.30 pm (afternoon) to 12.30 am (past midnight) spanning the famous kallu shop at Mullapandal, my house, Zak's house, Cocoa tree and so on and so forth.

UPDATE: Took the Landy to my friend's garage in Cochin thats over 60 years old and features several 60 year old employees. We got the grating sound from the left front wheelwell fixed, but the rear will require some more work. The leafs on the right rear are weak and will need to be replaced with new ones, and the rear axle is slightly off centre so we have some noise from the differential.

A/c will be fixed on Monday morning - 1/2 a day's job because the car already has a 'hidden a/c' inside and they only have to find it

Power steering - sometime next week. Then we open up the carbs and clean it up, and she should be ready for a conditional delivery. And before I forget we need to fix the pedals too.

nikkibike · 12th July 2008, 17:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steeroid

We've already had a few - prabhuav's goodbye meet, where the guys got together to send him off in true C O C H I N style, stretched from 12.30 pm (afternoon) to 12.30 am (past midnight) spanning the famous kallu shop at Mullapandal, my house, Zak's house, Cocoa tree and so on and so forth.

ooops!! I missed all the action! None informed bout it too!!!

v12 · 12th July 2008, 19:13

Great pics Steer, the result is amazing.

Quote:

A/c will be fixed on Monday morning - 1/2 a day's job because the car already has a 'hidden a/c' inside and they only have to find it

Power steering - sometime next week. Then we open up the carbs and clean it up, and she should be ready for a conditional delivery. And before I forget we need to fix the pedals too.

Shouldnt this have been done during the restoration itself? I mean now that the painting.. everything is done, you have to re-open for the a/c and PS installation.

SuperSelect · 13th July 2008, 00:44

Steer, your project is totally amazing man. Have been following it up since a while, all the best

muneemmk · 13th July 2008, 01:23

Steerbhai Ask Around about the rear leaf my mechanic said that it wouldn't be good to replace the rear leaf altogether and get new ones try to get a 2nd hand leaf and give it 8 inch bent it would be purrfect as the new leafs don't stand much abuse if thrown at it.

Check the CB point settings and also see if an electronic ignition can be fitted it will do wonders for the erratic RMPs.

DO NOT fix the tie rod connecting linkage after welding it(to reduce turning dia) for it will break off in a couple of days and if u are driving at the same time god help you. You could get that same linkage which is available for the powersteering version of the amby @ Aditya Autospares at 450 Bucks a piece.

So Does it really have an A/C unit ? if so from which Brand & is it new or reconditioned?

prabhuav · 14th July 2008, 10:03

The hvac unit that it has is a combination unit. For directional air flow it has the 170 degree turnable front quarter glass. For mass airflow it has 4 wrist torque operated pane glass air control system. For hot air we have Steer. Steer is getting greedy and wanting to put some phoren a/c from gelf. I think it is called neshonel or something.

Steeroid · 14th July 2008, 10:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by prabhuav

Steer is getting greedy and wanting to put some phoren a/c from gelf. I think it is called neshonel or something.

Going NOW for the gelf a/c phitting. The A/c currently fitted in the car is NOTIONAL

. Apparently this is the only unit that is fit for cars with a 4-lakh plus body job. To be fair, though, we did get free hot air as part of the rebuild...

When are you sending Kumar to Erode? Any luck there?

speedzak · 14th July 2008, 10:47

Update:
Car is currently going in for the Ac finding/fitting. Now, Steer can blow less of hot air it seems.

The power delivery of this car is amazing. It left many of us with dropped jaws when it took off yesterday.

12th July 2008, 10:43	#376
Steeroid Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: N.A Posts: 7,046 Thanked: 2,751 Times	I like to think that everything went fine because the day started for me at 3.30 am in Chennai with this: It is just a belief, but you need that when you're going to drive 550 kms at night with a car whos body only just met its engine and wheels a couple of days before. You need a LOT of faith to do that, and as things turned out everything went fine except for a blown fuse when A S H V I N tried to work the semaphore while the car was running - unfortunately it was the ignition fuse and the car came to a standstill. The fuel tank was leaking and the fuel line burst, spraying the inside of the boot with petrol - AFTER we reached Cochin and parked at home. What if this had happened while we were driving? It was a giant leap of faith, taken with a prayer and the trust in Rohan's quiet words that he has done the car in the best possible manner, as he would have done for his own car. The skies opened up with a huge downpour as soon as we moved the car out of the garage compound. We spent the next 1/2 an hour waiting in the rain for the mechanic who was to join us. Thereafter we moved, or rather crawled, through PEAK hour Bangalore traffic in a car that was sounding like a badly tuned matador diesel and pulling like it was on LPG. We didnt think we'd make it out of Bangalore with the car running so rough. To make matters worse, the accelerator pedal would get stuck for no reason and the car would keep running at high revs even if we took our foot off. Last edited by Steeroid : 12th July 2008 at 11:02.
	() Thanks

12th July 2008, 12:02	#378
egangsta BHPian Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: thane Posts: 365 Thanked: 26 Times View My Garage	Congrats Steer, the car looks fantastic, absolutely beautiful, the paintjob is perfect. Now for the things that you require i think anjan_c2007 may be able to help you if he can locate something out in Nagpur.
	() Thanks

12th July 2008, 14:43	#379
nikkibike BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: QoAS Posts: 526 Thanked: 4 Times	Splendid!! A real "dream come true" stuff!!! Hats off to you steer... and all those who made efforts to rejuvante an 'oldNdying' car!! Seems like good fortune came late for this car... A very lucky car to have a luxurious fresh life!!!! I too would like to do something like this!! Waiting endlessly for my 'dream come true' day!!! Steer... this IS to be CELEBRATED!! So how bout a 'landy meet' sometime tomorrow??!!
	() Thanks

12th July 2008, 14:59	#381
suren181 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 850 Thanked: 11 Times View My Garage	Hey anyone in Hyderabad, Who is glued to this thread, who could help? Ok, the deal is I know this place which has this Landmaster, relatively resting/rusting. It has the original dashboard and meters, the owner might have the steering wheel lying around too. From what I gathered from seeing the car, the owner seems to want to modify the interiors, because he has fit in bucket seats and a console. Someone persuasive enough could make him part with the stuff needed by Steeroid. The owner, would shoo me away literally if he sees me for I bugged him to sell his car to me. He was not inclined, and no it did not have the original engine, it had a Toyota diesel engine. If anyone wants to give it a try please pm me. I shall point out the car, from a distance and you could just give it a shot. What say? No harm in trying is there? No, I'm not trying to play part of that script. :-) Last edited by suren181 : 12th July 2008 at 15:01.
	() Thanks

12th July 2008, 15:28	#382
anjan_c2007 Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: India Posts: 8,331 Thanked: 20,645 Times View My Garage	Steriod nice to read about the Landmaster. In fact, it looks like a nice Landmaster on steriods- the big fat wheels and the other goodies you've listed .
	() Thanks

13th July 2008, 00:44	#386
SuperSelect Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2008 Location: Mumbai. Posts: 1,806 Thanked: 247 Times View My Garage	Steer, your project is totally amazing man. Have been following it up since a while, all the best
	() Thanks

13th July 2008, 01:23	#387
muneemmk BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Cochin Posts: 832 Thanked: 99 Times View My Garage	Steerbhai Ask Around about the rear leaf my mechanic said that it wouldn't be good to replace the rear leaf altogether and get new ones try to get a 2nd hand leaf and give it 8 inch bent it would be purrfect as the new leafs don't stand much abuse if thrown at it. Check the CB point settings and also see if an electronic ignition can be fitted it will do wonders for the erratic RMPs. DO NOT fix the tie rod connecting linkage after welding it(to reduce turning dia) for it will break off in a couple of days and if u are driving at the same time god help you. You could get that same linkage which is available for the powersteering version of the amby @ Aditya Autospares at 450 Bucks a piece. So Does it really have an A/C unit ? if so from which Brand & is it new or reconditioned?
	() Thanks

14th July 2008, 10:03	#388
prabhuav BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 672 Thanked: 128 Times View My Garage	The hvac unit that it has is a combination unit. For directional air flow it has the 170 degree turnable front quarter glass. For mass airflow it has 4 wrist torque operated pane glass air control system. For hot air we have Steer. Steer is getting greedy and wanting to put some phoren a/c from gelf. I think it is called neshonel or something.
	() Thanks

14th July 2008, 10:47	#390
speedzak BANNED Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: India Posts: 4,347 Thanked: 27 Times	Update: Car is currently going in for the Ac finding/fitting. Now, Steer can blow less of hot air it seems. The power delivery of this car is amazing. It left many of us with dropped jaws when it took off yesterday.
	() Thanks