Ab 110

Hi Clarky,

Some impressive restoration work there. Serves as a good reminder of where to keep an eye on things for the future.

Some pic's of the original lights that came with the AB. These were the 4 screw split 50/50 lenses with a number plate clear lense in both. The light housing is steel and the lenses are plastic, approx 110mm diameter and 65mm thick/deep. The two lense halves are seperated by a stiff rubber divider. These lights gave stop, tail, number plate and indicator but no reflector. The lenses were very brittle and sun faded and the previous owners fitted new (modern) lights. The pic of the current rear lights show the original reflector (also sun faded).







I have been surfing the net over the last while and have not found the exact but there are some that come close available possible in Aus (haven't checked yet) but definitely in the UK and Germany. This mob have most of them www.s-v-c.co.uk/ .

I like these with steel body, a bit smaller than the originals dia 80 x 63


Hella dia 112 x 65


Hella dia 140 x 65


Lucas copy, steel body dia 125 x 83 (a bit too deep for the recess in the tub)


These would be top of the list but a bit expensive, Lucas copy, steel body


Like these also, but a bit to large for the back of the tub


Comparing chassis numbers, ours is AB 5498 and probably a fair bit earlier than yours. So maybe the split lenses were the early issue and the others later.

There's also this picture off the net, a C1300? ambulance circular amber and red lense with a amber bullseye but no reflector.


Hope this helps, for me too much choice and haven't made up my mind.

Regards
Roger

Thanks for the kind words guys but really i am just a hack. Roger it looks like you have done your homework on the new lights some of those are really nice. From what i can gather yours is the early type as from what is in the parts book.
This is the other one

I don't think i will be using the ones that i got from the swap meet but i will still keep an eye out for some lenses. I think the biggest thing that either makes or breaks the fun of these old things is the thrill of the chase if that makes sense. Any way the last photo you have is the dodge lights but i have seen these in some ambulance bodys. These are what i used but am still not convinced but they will do.
Note the towbar i really really loved the look but it had to go for something more practical and for something that i could trust.
I thought i would chop these up a bit to make them a bit different so i added xm falcon stars to them. Again i had some more stuff laying around after i had previously done a resto on my father in laws xp ute. Anyway they looked really poxy with the indicator in the centre so i got some old glass refectors and made them fit in the centre. I polished up the lenses with my lambswool pad on the buff with some cutting compound and they came up really good for 40 odd year old lenses but the taillight body's themselves but i lft them alone to try and make them look like they had been there for a long time. This is what i have been trying to achieve all along with the old girl.

Like the job on the Inter and the Falcon Ute looks good too. But then I may be biased.

With the taillights sorted out i got into the interior. I figured now that the outside was sort of done i would get the inside happening. I had an old radio that i was going to put in until my father in law said i have one at home that will be much better than that one. I said yeah ok left it at that. He came over a couple of weeks later with this radio in hand. He said here is the radio for now but i can't find the cradle it sits in. My ears picked up This would be spot on. It was mint , he said it came out of his dads ek and it hasn't been used for 40 years. It was perfect. About 10 weeks later i get a phone call at about 10pm." I found that cradle!". I was quite relieved as i thought something bad had happened. The next day he made a special trip over and dropped it for me. I mounted the cradle under the dash with some old rusty 1/4in bolts and hooked up some power. Nothing no lights no crackle zip. Bummer oh hang on the inline fuse has fallen out. Put it back in Lights crackle crackle crackle tune it in and abc here we go. It still remembered what to do and it looks spot on. I was lucky enough the parcel shelf was in it when i bought it.
You can just see in that photo how i have hotted the old girl up. Two cigarette lighters with a 30 amp fuse. Living life on the edge. I then mounted this tacho on the steering column as i didn't want to cut a hole in the dash next to the speedo. On a shopping trip with my family i spotted a lamp, this might be good for my bbq. Yeah right. Take it apart and volla. Only 10 bucks too. I still have to get it to work though but i may have that worked out. I originally thought some 281 engines had a tacho drive on the distributor but i haven't seen evidence of this yet but i am probably wrong. So i am thinking about putting a generator off a ford 5000 tractor as they have a tacho drive on the back but it is a fair bit of mucking around for something so trivial. http://i1366.photobucket.com/albums/r773/clarkv83/DSCF2764_zps3f45cbae.jpg?t=1376813599http://i1366.photobucket.com/albums/r773/clarkv83/DSCF2765_zpsadfa29e9.jpg?t=1376813678

It was getting fairly close to going on the road. My original plan was for the inter to be my daily driver. But with three rego's already on one wage with three young kids and a mortgage i decided to put the old girl on the club permit scheme. After much deliberation i joined a local car club which in hindsight i should of done it a long time ago. It is great to enjoy your rocket with others and it is always great looking in your mirrors or up the road and seeing a heap of kool stuff rolling along. So it was inspected and passed inspection and 2 days later i had the number plates in my sweaty excited hands. But one thing was annoying me my bumper bar was all twisted and really bought the front of the ab down. I don't know what happened in the past but they are made of real steel and they take some bending. This had nothing to do with the small tree that one day fell over in my yard either. the end was all twisted and nothing i did would take the twist out. My cousin had just bought a hz one tonner that he and i are going to do a ,sigh, resto on. Anyway he is going to put hq sedan front sheet metal on and there was a commercial bumper laying around. MMM cut cut cut weld weld grind etc

I frenched the number plate just because i could and i think it would of been poxy if i had of put it on stock. I don't have a folder so i just bent it up with a hammer and dolly and a leg of my engine crane. Now i could screw the plates on. Yee haa Full comprehensive insurance with shannons and we were good to go for a drive. After i filled the log book out. The first drive up the street was just fantastic, The whine from first gear, the great big steering wheel, the old picnic radio crackling under the dash but the high light was when i hopped on the brakes they did every thing i asked of them. That was it. Out of all the cars i have owned and still do the old inter is going to take some beating. It's not fast like a new ute, it doesn't stop like a new ute, it doesn't handle like a new ute nor does it ride like a new ute but it does every thing else so much better and so much more stylish. The first trip was out to my nana's house to so she could see it. She just smiled and shook her head and invited me in for a cuppa. It was just the reaction i was after. Then i headed off to see the guy i bought it of to show him. Him and i have become good mates since the deal was done a year and a half ago. He still wishes that he didn't sell it to me in the first place. But he eased his pain by buying a very tidy d5n dodge which has just gone on the market. For he has just bought a super tidy d1110. He said it's like buying a v twin honda when all you want is a harley.
If anyone has a water pump kit for a 281 inter please let me know as thats all he needs.

The clincher was when we had our last kinder working bee. My dear girl was adament that she was not for love or money going to hop in the hos. Which is what the inters name is. The heap of ... I can't remember. Anyway i said we are not taking two cars GET IN. She reluctantly opened the door and fastened her seat belt. I fired it up pushed it up into reverse and out on the road. I HONESTLY NEVER THOUGHT THIS DAY WOULD HAPPEN!
Into first gear and clutch out we were up the road. i put it into second gear and i looked over and saw a little smile on her face." Don't tell anyone but i secretly like this thing" Hook line and sinker All that AGRO for nothing although she still hates it parked out in front of our house. Which is where i think is the best spot for it. Besides if i parked it up the driveway no one would know if i was home or not!

I went to the Fire Brigade Training Ground the other day to get some bits of a car - the Training Ground is where they mock up accidents and fires etc.
Someone had brought in a AB 110 and before I arrived they set it on on fire in a simulated truck crash rollover.....such a waste of a nice old truck! >

Yep, it looks good.

Hi Clarky,

Thanks to Big Cam's eagle eye, he has found where to get the lenses for the original lights.

Also recommended by v8 inter nut, is Aussie Ed in Dubbo on 0419 632 853. Great bloke to deal with and knows his stuff.

I had new lenses arrive today,

They correct in every way and probably look better than the originals, even have the brand name in them "HiLite".

Ed is also in the process of making the rubber stop/tail and indicator dividing piece and the lense gaskets (6 to 8 weeks away).

Regards
Roger

Roger, I think you will be one of the very, very few people around with the correct lights on one of those.
I never found the right ones for mine. I did get a Bosch off the AR110 I used for parts, but the lense with the screw in the middle was broken....(and not sure if it's correct, anyway)

ASW.