Welcome to Week 12 of Project Purdey! Despite the holiday slowdown, the team managed to tackle a mix of challenges, progress, and a surprise connection to rally history.
Tidying Up the Details: Flaps and Tunnels
Our attention turned to the vent flaps. After cleaning and prepping the old seals, they were ready for reinstallation.
The gearbox tunnel also received some love this week. A subpar repair from the past was stripped back, and Chris worked meticulously with fiberglass filler and fine filler to ensure it looked as good as new. Rally cars don’t usually need pristine interiors, but hey, why not aim for half-decent?
A Sentimental Road Trip and a Piece of History
The highlight of the week was a road trip to collect a dashboard support panel. This wasn’t just any panel—it came from Clarissa, a V8 90 once owned by the Gazelles. She now belongs to Jean-Michel, who converted her to left-hand drive, and her original right-hand-drive panel was exactly what we needed.
But the trip offered more than a spare part. At Jean-Michel’s friend Emmanuel’s workshop, we stumbled upon a Dakar 110 from the 1980s. Standing next to a piece of rally history was a surreal moment, and it felt like fate bringing Purdey’s rally aspirations full circle.
New Year, New Windscreen, and Vaseline Solutions
Back at the workshop, the team prepared for the New Year by tackling smaller yet essential tasks. The windscreen was finally fitted, thanks to a local expert who came to the garage to help. Watching the process was nerve-wracking—one wrong move could shatter the glass—but the screen went in perfectly.
Another milestone was fitting the vent flap controls, made possible by the panel retrieved from Clarissa. Vaseline, unexpectedly, became the hero of the day for easing the flap pins into place.
Picking Up Painted Panels
Midweek, we headed to the paint shop to retrieve Purdey’s freshly painted panels. The doors, bonnet, and other bodywork pieces came back looking fantastic. Now it’s all about reassembly to get her ready for the trip back to the UK next week for her roll cage fitting.
What’s in a Name?
A frequent question we’ve received is, “What does Purdey mean?” While the name doesn’t have a technical meaning, it’s a tribute to Joanna Lumley’s character in The New Avengers. With Joanna as our patron for this adventure, it felt fitting to name our Land Rover in her honor.
The Road Ahead
With the start of 2025 comes renewed urgency. In just a year, we’ll be driving on the Saudi sands during our first test run, and there’s still so much to do. The next big step is taking Purdey to the UK for her roll cage installation. Once that’s in place, we can tackle the cockpit and finalize her transformation.