Land Rover V8 restoration - what have I got myself into?

[Smallfry]

Ideally detach the windscreen from roof, but you might get away with probing with a BLUNT screwdriver or similar. Scraping the paint will not be good.

Problem with 10.5 pistons, is that its too high unless you have modern engine management to cope with it. You can alter the static timing to be about right, but the mechanical distributor advance weights are not really suitable.

Better off with 9.35 pistons and use a Range Rover distributor which works.

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

Ideally detach the windscreen from roof, but you might get away with probing with a BLUNT screwdriver or similar. Scraping the paint will not be good.

Problem with 10.5 pistons, is that its too high unless you have modern engine management to cope with it. You can alter the static timing to be about right, but the mechanical distributor advance weights are not really suitable.

Better off with 9.35 pistons and use a Range Rover distributor which works.

That's useful to know.

I didn't want to go as far as an Electronic Ignition Control or EFI system, as the vehicle is one of the marketing vehicles, still in very original condition, and one of only two left in the UK (of a full 12 of it's specific model type that were registered)...

Swapping wear-parts like camshafts or pistons is much more "easily' reversible than replacing the whole ignition/timing system.

 

[seriesonewelder]

Don't use 10.5 to 1 pistons. Will cause loads of hassle with timing issues.

Is it harder to time them correctly in general or does it actually need other components from a 10.5:1 engine to get the timing right?



Just to add that 10.5 to 1 CR was meant to be used with 5 star petrol.

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

More progress!

Sorting out this mess:

Took a while to make a template, then just chopped it out of some 1.5mm steel sheet.

Bent it up with a block of wood and a leather hammer pretty neatly.

And it all fits really nicely:

Unfortunately it was at this moment that I learned that I was out of shielding gas...

So I will be off to BOC tomorrow lunchtime for a new bottle of Argoshield Light.

Oh well, progress is progressing.

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

Just to add that 10.5 to 1 CR was meant to be used with 5 star petrol.

Ok, that will be a no then, finding 103 RON fuel is going to be difficult.

Although, 5-Star is technically still available in fairness at a very reasonable £4/litre...

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

So whenever I am welding on this, I feel very strongly that I hate it, and don't want to ever work with sheet metal again... But then I get a bit more done, and my enthusiasm returns.

In which vein...

Footwells, [Dons Fez] Just like that!

The fit-up of the footwell to tunnel joint was significantly less than everything I could have hoped for, as far as I can tell, I bent it in interesting ways separating the old spot welds, which made it a bit of a trying job.

With said imperfect fit-up I had to fillet weld some sections that would normally be plug welded only, to get it as rigid as I was happy with, so god help the next person to have to replace a footwell in it.

I also managed to blow two holes in the little panel I made up, resulting in spending a long time carefully filling them in... Hopefully once ground back it won't be too bad though.

 

[Bobupndown]

Admire your determination.
I will have a Series Landrover at some stage in the future but will buy one already restored on a galvanised chassis and preferably a galvanised bulkhead as well.
Watching your progress with interest.

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

Found just a little more enthusiasm to patch a small gap in the A-Pillar.

This side is getting perilously close to being done...

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

Admire your determination.
I will have a Series Landrover at some stage in the future but will buy one already restored on a galvanised chassis and preferably a galvanised bulkhead as well.
Watching your progress with interest.

It's definitely something I wanted the experience of doing, as much as I wanted a Landy (I am in fact rather skeptical of it as a vehicle, compared to my trusty Hilux)...

I don't think I'd be able to keep dragging myself out there to chip away at it otherwise!

 

[My Old Landy]

Can you sort mine when you are done?
Cheers

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

Can you sort mine when you are done?
Cheers
View attachment 456590

Sure, I'll add it to the to-do list after the Hilux Tub, Trafic Suspension, C15 Bulkhead, and fitting Aircon to Our Lass's MX5.

 

[Smallfry]

Land Rovers. Yes, easy to work on and you can get at everything. How many times have I heard that. They are always love hate. They are easy though, compared to cars, but its the mission creep that gets to you.

I learned to hate mine when I worked on them, but loved driving them, the series especially. Crude but characterful.

Locking ay old Landy's bulkhead, that reinforcement that holds the windscreen hinges seldom gets replaced and is just plated over. They are normally like this and I don't know if YRM or whoever do replacements.

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

Land Rovers. Yes, easy to work on and you can get at everything. How many times have I heard that.

It can be as accessible as it damn well likes, but if every fastener corroded to the point that it's being cut/burned out, it becomes a palava (or perhaps a rust Pavlova).

Doing the brake lines brought that home to me, in the end it was far easier to just cut everything out and replace it all.

They are always love hate. They are easy though, compared to cars, but its the mission creep that gets to you.

It's not bad to work on, anything that's body on frame with decent ground clearance is always going to be easier than a unibody car.

But my closest comparator is the Hilux, which is altogether far easier to work on, better engine packaging, better access, less complicated structurally, fasteners better protected from corrosion.

Even so, on that the mission creep still gets you!

but loved driving them, the series especially. Crude but characterful.

I learned to drive in a Series 2, which left me with a sort of nostalgic yearning to own one.

It has a feeling of "purity of experience" to it, not unlike my partner's MX5... But less "Horse and rider as one" and more "Elephant and mahout in constant friendly disagreement"

that reinforcement that holds the windscreen hinges seldom gets replaced and is just plated over. They are normally like this and I don't know if YRM or whoever do replacements.

As far as I could tell during my research, no repair panels exist for the internal supports.

It's not too hard to fabricate a replacement though, with it just being several (intricately shaped) flat plates at 90° to each other.

Unlike how I went about it My Old Landy has also fully exposed the internals which should make it much less awkward.

 

[DuncanCallum]

Nice build i believe we've a mutual friend in the form of David H. Its a small world!

Be well worth it once done!

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

Nice build i believe we've a mutual friend in the form of David H. Its a small world!

Be well worth it once done!

Hah! A small world indeed.

Was David messaging you our collective tale of woe when we were repairing the brakes by any chance?

 

[DuncanCallum]

Yes mate he was!

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

So my pickup has been a bit of a distraction from finishing this off, but it needs to get done.

The light and weather is now against me, so I decided some enabling works are in order.

I previously tried to put a cheap marquee over it but to no avail, so spoke to a local scaffold supplier, and have done a deal for some used tube and fittings to build a 8'×16' shelter that should allow me to work under cover going forward...

The size is maybe a bit tight for a 5'5"×14'6" vehicle but I'm trying to be as considerate as possible to the neighbours I share a yard with.

Picking it up tomorrow morning, so hopefully get that up over the weekend, then start back up on some welding.

 

[marlinspike]

This is partly why my project has dragged on for years. Realistically once it gets to September it's pretty hard to work outside for long until about Easter.

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

This is partly why my project has dragged on for years. Realistically once it gets to September it's pretty hard to work outside for long until about Easter.

Yeah, I don't have the patience for to wait another 7-8 months to make serious progress, or the flexibility to keep waiting for a weather window and jumping on it.

I think this was about £200 all up (including sheeting not yet added), and wasn't too hard to put up on my own.

Annoyingly I am 5 doubles, and 2×6ft tubes short of finishing it as I had to add some bracing that I failed to account for in my original design.

 

[Smallfry]

Is it harder to time them correctly in general or does it actually need other components from a 10.5:1 engine to get the timing right?



Just to add that 10.5 to 1 CR was meant to be used with 5 star petrol.

Sorry, completely missed this.
It is down to the advance weights and springs, total advance stop, and probably the vacuum capsule in the distributor.

If you use a P6 or P5B distributor, which will be points, they are meant for 5 star fuel, so the advance curve is unsuitable for modern fuels, it advances too quickly. Causes pinking or pre ignition, and will blow holes in the pistons if you are unlucky.

Opposite with the LR low compression distributor.

If you use 9.35 pistons you can use a Range Rover distributor, and get away with it.

You could of course get the distributor reworked, but those who can do this properly are very few and far between (and expensive)