Land (Rover) Reclamation or (Land R)over the Hill! Rover RIP!

[83C]

Galv chassis is the best way forwards but that quarter chassis would be a very good alternative, probably a couple of slow days’ work as opposed to a few weeks for a chassis swap. Just make sure the cuts are exactly even on both sides (lots of marking up and double checking measurements) and job’s a good’un.

[warch]

I’m trying to rebuild this in stages really. 

It is very well used so almost everything needs renewing.

I mentioned this before before but now would be a perfect time to whip the motor out and get it rebored. 
 

A proper build would be (ballpark) 

chassis (£2-2.5k) I’d fancy the 3mm heavy duty version.

bulkhead (£1.8k)

front panel (£250) 

suspension (£500)

engine rebuild (£1k)

new doors and bits (£500)

tyres (£500-1k)

then you’d start finding fault with all the other bits.

Hence why I’m doing this in affordable bite size chunks.

 

[kevins]

I'd be inclined to cut both dumb irons off, repair the crossmember with plate steel and fit a new pair of dumb irons.  

[warch]

9 hours ago, kevins said:

I'd be inclined to cut both dumb irons off, repair the crossmember with plate steel and fit a new pair of dumb irons.  

Having seen the damage (and provided my welding expert agrees) I think this is exactly what I'm going to do.

[comfortablynumb]

Of course @warch, there's the 4x4 and vintage sort out coming up, first weekend in April, you'll get practically everything you need there. Are you anywhere near Newbury? It's held on the Showground at Chieveley.👍

[warch]

3 hours ago, comfortablynumb said:

Of course @warch, there's the 4x4 and vintage sort out coming up, first weekend in April, you'll get practically everything you need there. Are you anywhere near Newbury? It's held on the Showground at Chieveley.👍

Unfortunately not sadly, I’m Welsh borders. I can get most of the bits I need online though. Luckily they’ve started making replacement radiator/front panels, mine is pretty rotten.

[captain_cal]

The thing about a galv chassis is that it's one of the only things in the whole world that doesn't lose value - i.e. a £2.5k chassis will immediately bump the value of a truck up by £2.5k. You might not get a return on the labour of doing it yourself, mind!

[warch]

After a few months sat looking sad on my driveway things are starting to happen for my Series 2a. 
 

The great thing about getting my mate Will to do this is that he isn't interested in merely welding bits back on, he wants to do things properly, so he's really gone to some lengths to make the repairs as strong as possible. This is the easier side, the other side is slightly complicated by the steering mechanism, but it is possible to work around that. 

I'll feel a lot happier about tackling my new project with this back in one piece, find it impossible to focus coherently with multiple projects on the go. 

[warch]

Finally got to grips with the electrical issues on this (thanks to my dad coming around to help me). Not only was he the previous owner (early 70s to early 90s) but its much easier to test electrical circuits with two people. 

The principal issue with this is that the wiring loom (which is about as basic as you can possibly get) is partially made up of braid covered wires, which have faded over the past 6 decades so identifying/chasing wires is quite tricky. 

1. Headlights, turned out to be a dead connection in the wiring between the ignition switch and the dip switch (which was also faulty), probably caused by a failed connector under the vehicle.

2. Sidelights, I think I've connected these to the wrong terminal on the ignition switch, they should be powered on positions 2 and 3, not just 3 which is the headlights. Found a suitable terminal on the switch so I should be able to be move it to that. 

3. Stoplights, oddly both rear bulbs had furred up and were therefore inoperative despite the fact that same two bulbs also function as sidelights which were working fine. 

Pretty straightforward really, with most issues down to user error or the vehicle having stood unused for about half a year.

When I've put this back together and started work on my Series One (which lacks any loom at all) I'm going to build it from scratch, factory made looms are quite dear on something without any proprietary plugs or connectors (just spade or bullet type connectors) plus I can wire it as I go along. I will stick to the wire colours in the manual though.   

[warch]

It’s back! Now to start on the new old one…