Tales from the Sherpa Shed

[R Lutz]

Chassis cabs didn't get stale air vents until 85/86 with the K2. Not long after, they had to remove the vents from the vans as they posed a security risk. I'm going to guess they moved the stale air vents from the body sides/waistline into the new rear light clusters.

Years ago, I ran a bespoke Discovery which was built during a factory shut down for Christmas in 1989. The number of Sherpa bits fitted to it was astonishing. The Sherpa part was cheaper than the Land Rover part if you went branded...

Does yours have the Allegro seats fitted? My dad had a 1986 Sherpa 350 pick-up and it had ex-Allegro seats, same as my uncles 250. Both brand new at the time.  Allegro ashtray, fusebox cover, etc. I think heater as well. 

[jonathan_dyane]

4 hours ago, Heavyspanners said:

That one must have had an engine swap - the Sherpa got the O Series engine in 1978.

Apparently it's quite easy to swap engines on the pre-LT77 Sherpas, and there are advantages in using the B Series - much better spares availability, and lots of tuning options. I should think B Series engines were (and maybe still are?) quite cheap to buy, too. There are certainly plenty of them about.

Ah I omitted the critical detail that it was a diesel! I think the B series diesel soldiered on until about 1987

[Heavyspanners]

7 hours ago, R Lutz said:

Chassis cabs didn't get stale air vents until 85/86 with the K2. Not long after, they had to remove the vents from the vans as they posed a security risk. I'm going to guess they moved the stale air vents from the body sides/waistline into the new rear light clusters.

Years ago, I ran a bespoke Discovery which was built during a factory shut down for Christmas in 1989. The number of Sherpa bits fitted to it was astonishing. The Sherpa part was cheaper than the Land Rover part if you went branded...

Does yours have the Allegro seats fitted? My dad had a 1986 Sherpa 350 pick-up and it had ex-Allegro seats, same as my uncles 250. Both brand new at the time.  Allegro ashtray, fusebox cover, etc. I think heater as well. 

I don't think they're Allegro seats, although having said that I don't know offhand what Allegro seats look like.

I haven't got any seat photos because I took them out without thinking to take pix, and now they're in the rafters of my garage. However, a swift look around the web throws up this ex-BT chassis-cab Sherpa, which has the same seats:



That's a 1986 Sherpa, built after the next lot of changes, so in some ways the cab is different (new steering wheel, new dash, new door cards), but the seats are like mine. 

Photo from here - is it me, or is it odd that a rusty old thing like that was sold by a proper motoring auction house? Usually, the only vehicles in scrap- er, I mean, 'project' condition you'll see being sold that way are things like E-Types, which are valuable in any state.  It sold for £390, so I think we can say Sherpas have not quite arrived at E-Type values yet.

Still, the photos are a useful reference for me, in my quest for Sherpa Lore. Interesting to see how many differences there were from 85 to 86. Only one silencer on the exhaust - I've got two!

I actually bought a couple of extra seats from the chap who owns this one:

I saw it when it was still undergoing restoration. He's done a great job. There was a lot of rust. Those wheelarches are fabricated by hand from sheet steel!

The seats I bought are a slightly more high-end version, with head restraints - and heating, amazingly enough. Who knew the Sherpa had heated seats?


 

[R Lutz]

4 hours ago, Heavyspanners said:

I don't think they're Allegro seats, although having said that I don't know offhand what Allegro seats look like.
 

I wouldn't argue against you. At the time and with little comparable knowledge, they looked and felt like it. Lets face it, most of these things are parts bin specials with preciously little bespoke.