[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

For further information, the particular AMVI Mr Sailesh Koppola, who tried to mislead me during the fitness test in March 2019 with his inexperience, according to the latest newspaper reports has been suspended in a learning licence scam (Nagpur RTO), wherein it was a racket unearthed by some vigilant citizens. These inspectors and a few staffers, hand in glove with RTO agents had allegedly given their login id's and passwords of the RTO website to some agents, who logged in after office hours, issuing learning licences during such odd times to several applicants.

Some links to my averments posted earlier. The AMVI's name is correctly spelt as Shailesh Kopulla.

https://www.nagpurtoday.in/learning-...probe/10111719

https://www.nagpurtoday.in/learning-...ooked/09281848

[anjan_c2007]

My Landmaster has been featured today in DeRivas and Ives, an online vintage and classic magazine:-

https://magazine.derivaz-ives.com/hi...lady-in-black/

[Kosfactor]

What attracted me to this car during my childhood (someone used to visit my great-uncle who was a lawyer had this in dark green) was the white Indicator that is part of the grill surround. It had a crocodile like grill in my eyes and I did not like it in comparison to great-uncle`s much newer Amby with amber indicator, it felt wrong to me!!

At that time and even some years back I did not know that it was a Landmaster. You`ve got a real beauty in your hands, Enjoy it!

[anjan_c2007]

My lady love in black reached the workshop or rather health club yesterday for some regular and routine checkups including engine, gear and differential oil changes, clutch replacement, that was long overdue but the car had the grit to run almost flawlessly. It also needs a change of its third gear synchroniser, both front window quarter glass beadings and undergo other minor checks. It should be ready by next week.







Blessed we vintage owners are as even till this day we have competent workshops where jobs are done well. Most workshops these days are either incompetent or unable to undertake such jobs or even refuse to have to do anything with vintage repairs.

[anjan_c2007]

My lady in black turned 68 yesterday. It was registered on 23.12.1955 and hence has been active since then. It was a great ocassion calling for celebrations.

Also seen are three images below from a vintage display event on 17.12.2023 where the lady was in attendance with two Pontons to its right.

[shancz]

And I was thinking that maintaining your gen 1 Activa was applaudable. This is truly exceptional and honestly beyond my imagination
Kudos to your will, effort and luck to have honestly better maintenance regime and technicians than most of our everyday cars.

This is special and congratulations

[anjan_c2007]

Restoring my 1955 Landmaster 2024-25

It is always a very tough decision for any vintage car owner to send his very original car in a great running condition for full restoration to a workshop. The owner usually passes through nightmares, before thinking over and over again after multiple such preemptions and precursor shocks, thereafter still with a lurking fear, arriving at such a crucial decision. Its always a very major decision. Simply because a vintage car is much dearer may be by several times to his heart as compared to any other car in his fleet. And the nightmares are for possible misplacements/pilferage of spares and components, unexpected breakages and immobilisation of anything within the car while dismantling its components. Unprecedented delays is also the in-thing as one can expect the expected and much of the unexpected happenings. As an example, it was found that lots of rubber components including the door beadings ( these cars have an inner and outer door beading for each door) had outlived their lives. Similarly the four Made in England wheel brake cylinders had become too weary and needed replacements. There were numerous similarly "end of their lives" components that needed to be procured. Quite a few of these sprang sudden surprises. Luckily the Great Dame Ambassador shares quite many components in common with its ancestor the Mighty Landmaster.

The vintages are usually those requiring the most TLC as compared to the newer generation cars. These are not of the daily driver kind and are only driven to places where the owner adjudges beforehand that that it can go flawlessly. The spares and components are tough to come by and if there's any sudden requirement of one, that is not available or available with difficulty, the car gets grounded.
Raj Kapoor (1924-1988) was once asked about his choice of the film dearest to his heart among all those he had made since 1947. The ace filmmaker firstly said "its like if you ask a parent with many children, who is your favorite child?" Then upon insistence he revealed "It's Mera Naam Joker that's dearest to my heart. Simply because it failed to do well at the box office despite me putting in all my efforts and my entire savings. It is just like a handicapped child who is the most favourite for its parents."

A very similar analogy holds good for vintage cars for the owner. The car is old, has lived through the times of its life, usually requires an adept owners skill to maintain it, a steady stockpile of spares and also a very reliable workshop where the car can be handed over confidently with the owner's 80 to 100% vetting.

With this backdrop, as my Landmaster was approaching its 70th birthday soon, I decided that it needs a makeup to re-emerge as a Beauty Queen in Black. My family members expressed full faith in my decision as the last makeup it received was way back in 2003. The car has endured excellently fully living by the company founder Sir William Richard Morris' ((10 October 1877 – 22 August 1963), favourite phrase "Quality First".

I can vouch that during my 22 years of ownership since 2003 the car has never left me or my family members stranded on the road after conking off at any point of time. It has simply never ever happened till now. All its workshop trips and stays were with prior warnings and it was driven to the workshop rather than being towed. Please refer to OP on this thread if you're interested to know it's past prior to 2003.

Back to the topic, come summer of 2024 a tough decision was taken to drive the car to my trusted workshop for a full makeover, better termed as restoration. Rusting discreetly at several hidden and also a few visible spots, the body needed to be fully dismantled to work upon such weak spots to make the car last another 70 plus years hopefully.

( more in the next posts with photos )

[anjan_c2007]

The last event it participated in, in December 2024







The last images in its earlier avatar, just after reaching the workshop during the summer of 2024 for its restoration.

[Hayek]

Just amazing to see your beautifully maintained Landmaster. It brings back very fond memories for me. My dad had a black Landmaster - he was the third owner and bought it from a retired army officer in Poona and drove back to Bombay in it with his then new bride (my mom) in 1972.

I have to say the practically, it was not a great car - I still have childhood memories of the car braking down with 6 kids in it when my dad was driving us to school when I was in KG. My dad was a real engineer, so he could repair some problems - but while one gets nostalgic about the car, I don’t think we enjoyed the number of times we were stuck in the rain because the car suddenly gave up the ghost.

Finally, we sold the car to someone who planned to break it down for parts in the mid 1980s. But looking at your black beauty makes me wonder what could have been!

[anjan_c2007]

The car's components dismantled in the first few images, showing the condition of the metal and corrective measures undertaken. The existing paint and primer are thereafter fully removed exposing the bare metal. Degreasing was the next step in the process Cromax brand epoxy primer with activator and thinner were thereafter used to coat the bare metal. NC putty was also used. Cromax is the present brand in the market and the brand owner is DuPont.



















































(more images to come)

[anjan_c2007]

The top 11 images are of the then ongoing tinkering job. The later images are post the complete fit and finish - all at the workshop and the last ones at a vintage event venue.





















































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[anjan_c2007]

A reel on Facebook summarising the nearly one year of restoration work.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1Bjnq1AXQj/

[BeautifulLife]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

A reel on Facebook summarising the nearly one year of restoration work.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1Bjnq1AXQj/

I am thrilled to see the restoration work. The Land Master has all the scionic lines of Morris Oxford Series II, if I am right.

Any restoration, reviving a bygone era Antique or Car needs perseverance, passion and patience.

Restoring a Vintage Classic is not just crusing down the memory lane but literally reliving a bygone era. Challenges posed by each dent, each scratch, every turn, torque is a classic sweat and blood toil borne of passion and love of mechanic. That's why a Vintage Car is nothing but a matured Vine capped in in Bottle of Time

I know appreciation can be complete because to feel it has to be experienced.

Neverthles heartfelt Congratulations , great job.

[manishalive]

Excellent refresh Dr. Anjan she looks even more lovely now. Was this the original color of the car and I am presuming that red upholstery was the combination back then.

[anjan_c2007]

Two videos one filmed during restoration and the other post the restoration.

https://youtu.be/7DXNrwAEC4o?si=WBA-0vfmLadIXcgj

https://youtu.be/s36GQZzNaqM?si=JG2mcb9BpgTBKW_W