Leyland Princess Resto

[rovamota]

After I said no more restorations, I won this 1980 2200HLS Auto on ebay at the end of September 2011, and going by the sellers description it seemed it would need very little work to make it nice again. And it did have a long MoT.

When I arrived at the sellers address and first clapped eyes on it I have to say I was quite disappointed.

Quite a lot of the body work needs attention and although the seller did say the rear arch panel needed painting he didn't say it would need replacing first!

No oil or battery warning light were concerns, but it did drive very well and the stainless steel exhaust sounds nice!

Anyway I had bid to buy, not kick the (four new) tyres and as I know these cars so well I knew what I was letting myself in for. The seller knew I was disappointed so he threw in a load of spares that he was going to sell seperately and he also apologised for the lacklustre listing.

We then made our way to the Post Office to tax it then dad drove it back down the M3 for the 50 mile journey home. Despite the hot weather and the fact we got caught in three traffic jams due to accidents, the Wedge made it back with no issues at all.

Here's what's happened so far...

Bought on 1st October 2011.

Dad used it to go to the chip shop!


The reality of it all...

Off side arch needs replacing.


Nearside arch needs replacing.


Nearside front wing is different colours!


Offside front wing has a dent in it.


Front just needs tidying, bonnet is perrfect!


And the back end is perfect too!


The black interior is in excellent condition, though.

I get the feeling, though, that if anyone else had bid and won this car they would have walked away once they saw it...

04/12/2011.

A bit more done on the resto Wedge. Cut the front wing off.

















Just waiting for the welder to arrive and fit the new wing and fit and weld the new rear arches.

04/01/2012.

Nearside rear arch replaced.


Front wing replaced.


Found a few holes in the sills as well so more patching required. Again, never believe what a seller in an ebay listing says!

22/01/2012.

More cosmetic work. The drivers door and the nearside rear door are rotten and will be replaced.









At least it's not yet another bloody MGB resto!

Kev.

[JPB]

That's a good bit of welding there, very nicely done. And is that a new displacer I see on the o/s/r? Those things are worth their weight in cadmium if the diaphragms are good and judging by how level she sits I'd hazard a guess that the other bottles aren't too bad either. Then there are the headlamps. Have you seen how much those cost from the one place that's still holding significant stock of the things? (Lots).

It's clear to see why you stood by your bid when you tally up the car's good points, chief among which must be that it's Vermilion.

Just as a matter of interest, 'cos I'm curious to know these things: What's the engine number? Is it preceded by "XFE", followed by either 8, 82 or 90 by any chance? If not then take very good care of it, that really could be a rare bird and one that could have me eating some pro-E6 flavoured humble pie in the interests of karma.

[rovamota]

Well I was only expecting light restoration, and really it still is a light restoration but I wasn't expecting to have to have a new wing (£165!) and two rear arch repair panels. Displacers are relatively easy to come by for these, though prices vary depending who's selling them but I have enough to keep a few going. Rear displacers are the hardest to find as people can't be arsed to remove them, but it's a 30 minute job at most (if the pivot arm isn't seized in there!)

Good rust free doors are the hardest thing to come by, rears particularly, and body panels are generally are scarce. Luckily I have a shed full of parts for these so it's not much of an issue, but anyone taking one on will find that sourcing things like doors and body trim can be quite difficult, though there is a brilliant Princess parts specialist in Lincolnshire who can find most things.

Only the sides will need respraying as the bonnet and boot are in excellent condition. I will have the two replacement doors painted off the car and fit them on when it's all done.

The engine number starts with 22H prefix, and this one has only done 66k.

Not the best time of year to be restoring cars. There's no such thing as a 'nice winter project!'

Kev.

[oman5]

I bow to you sir, theres not many would take on one of these vastly under rated-and now very rare cars. well done and good luck with it. I found the Princess 2 to be an excellent car in no way deserving of the reputation gained by the early models.
Great to see one saved.

[mach1rob]

Dunno why you bother yada yada

Kev, have you realised yet you're a glutton for punishment?

[Ridgeback]

The rust isn't too bad for a Princess!
It's going to make a real stand out car when it's done.Congrats for rescuing it.

[sierra3dr]

I'm so jealous

[richardtaylor]

Wow - my mates Dad was Sales Manager for a local BL dealer and had several - I always thought them to have been one of BL's better efforts - good to see one being saved.

[Paul240480]

Excellent! Fab colour too

[SlipDiff]

bloomin' marvellous