Headlights and wings

This work was completed on Monday, June 18, 2018

This step shifted our focus and was not an excuse to use a pun, but we chose to “shine a light” on the headlights and front wing section of our Series. An easier step in the progress so far, compared to the removal of the gearbox prior, with the goal to provide better access to the engine bay for it’s extraction later.

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Removing the headlights themselves was fairly easy to do, as the majority of the components crumbled in our hands after years of corrosion and likely a mixture of Sahara sand.

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Moving on to the wings, stubborn bolts at awkward angles proved again that a simple step tends to end up more challenging than first thought.

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Working on the right wing brought back a memory from our trip, when an Indian army truck reversed into it and caused some damage.

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“So we left Srinagar a week ago to drive over 900 miles south to Delhi via Kishtwar, Kyelang, Batoke, McCleod Ganj and Dharamsala. There we had a bit of an accident. The road was busy as we left the town and there was a traffic jam as we drove down the hill towards Manuli Khad Bridge. The bridge was only wide enough for one vehicle and the traffic was waiting for a bus to cross over. Directly in front of us was an Army truck full of troops and close behind us was our traveling companions Land-Rover and close behind him a taxi and so on. Suddenly the Army truck began to reverse towards us. I yelled and waved as Alec honked the horn. We were hoping the soldiers in the open back would alert the driver too, but no, the truck kept coming and coming until it rammed hard into our right wing.”

Excerpt From: Alec and Jan Forman. “Strangers Like Angels: With a Devil or Two to Boot.”

“So the rest of the day was spent at the military checkpoint, filling in forms in triplicate. They gave us 200 rupees as compensation, enough for a repair, but not for new parts. At the end of the day we were just thankful the accident wasn’t any worse.”

Excerpt From: Alec and Jan Forman. “Strangers Like Angels: With a Devil or Two to Boot.” 

A week or so later when we arrived in the bustling city of Delhi we took the opportunity to have the damage on the front right wing repaired.  

“As we were staying in Delhi for a few days, Alec arranged for a garage to have our vehicle in each day to repair the dented wing. The mechanics worked steadily and produced an excellent result for seventy-five rupees less than the compensation the Army gave us.”

Excerpt From: Alec and Jan Forman. “Strangers Like Angels: With a Devil or Two to Boot.” 

Once the attaching bolts came free, it was relieving to remove the complete wing. One wing proved worse for wear, with extensive rust. It’s going to feel wonderful when we are able to see our legend restored.

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