Lagondaforum

Subject: 2 Litre engine restoration - I wish to publicly express my gratitude

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to the great Peter Jones (who's son Alun runs the excellent Wessex Workshop), who knows more about 2 Litres than we ever will, for helping me getting my Lagonda back on the road after a complete engine restoration.
I had brought the engine to somebody who would dismantle it and coordinate the work; some of that work, done by others, was good - most of it, including putting the engine back together by this "coordinator", was not.
The whole affair was a complete nightmare, jobs were done badly, people did not keep their promises, jobs were delayed for weeks, a clubmember offered to do a certain job "non-profit in the good spirit of the Lagonda Club" when in fact he wanted £20 per hour plus expenses, a hotel and meals if the job would take longer than a day etc. etc.
When I got my engine back (two and a half months later than promised) it leaked from every possible place it could - every nut and bolt was loose, gaskets were made of the wrong material and the "coordinator" did not know how to time the valves although he had claimed he knew at the beginning.
However, I learned much about the engine and it was Peter Jones who spend many hours on the telephone helping me with all sorts of problems and explaining to me how to time the valves which I then successfully managed to do - I even produced a practical and simple manual which was tested and approved by Peter (if anybody would like a copy - just let me know). When there was a final little problem with the ignition which I couldn't figure out, Peter immediately jumped in his car and drove 50 minutes to my house, solved the problem in half an hour and drove back home. He refused any payment or compensation for petrol etc. I will treat him to a great lunch one of these days.
Meanwhile I have learned who to go to and who to avoid when it comes to engine restoration. I will gladly share this knowledge with everybody who is interested.