1965 Series IIa 109" Build

[Koopsy]

Hi everyone. I am new here and thought I'd start a thread on my Rover build if anyone is interested. I have been struggling to find time to work on it and hopefully this thread will be a way to keep me committed!

I picked up my 1965 Series IIa 109" 3 years ago about an hour away from me in B.C. An older gentleman's wife had fallen ill and he just couldn't work on it anymore. He started restoring it 30 years earlier by painting the frame, engine, and rust proofing the bulkhead etc. Because of this, these parts were in remarkable shape when I got it. But because he had disassembled everything, I had just bought boxes and boxes of the biggest puzzle I had ever taken on.

Thinking back now I'm not too sure why I bought it. I've always been interested in racing and muscle cars, not off roaders. There was just a draw to it, a curiosity. But now after spending hours and hours labouring with every nut and bolt, I understand. There's just something about the simplicity, complexity, history, and style of the series Land Rover that is intoxicating. I have fallen in love with a machine. And I'm sure that's why all of you are here as well.

Mind you I've never actually driven one yet...

The original plan was to get it running and just do body work and paint so I could drive it around. But after getting into the tear down, I decided to fix some rust on the frame, then repaint the frame, then repaint the motor, then rebuild the motor and so on and so on until I found myself doing a complete frame up restoration.

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[franko]

Nice, looks like a great start to me. Look forward to seeing more.

[ANDYD]

Good to have you aboard, thanks for sharing your project.

She looks nice and straight, you are off to a good start...

Enjoy!

PS - where are you located?

[terayon]

Great work! Thanks for sharing... i'm currently restoring a '63 station wagon, so I'll be keen to keep an eye on your build.

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[Kelster1055]

Hey Koopsy, I
Nice looking project with greatly potential. Thanks for rescuing it.

I'm in the Cariboo region of BC so shoot me a note and we can swap parts.

I have a 1970 Series IIA 88" that I'm well into.

Thanks for posting.

Kelly

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[Koopsy]

Thanks guys! I started the project 3 years so I'll get you up to speed of what I've done so far when I have the time.

The tear down was easy as mostly everything was just hand tight.

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[Koopsy]

I started by cutting out and replacing rusty parts on the frame
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The bottom of the frame crossmember had run over a few rocks... so I cut that out, banged out the dents and repaired it
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The transmission crossmember had seen better days so I fabricated a whole new piece. My plan was to be able to bolt it in place to aid in transmission removal in the case of a problem but ended up just welding it back in place.

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[Koopsy]

The next step was to replace the rear bumper/1/4 frame. It had been repaired already at some point but I wanted it to look original and proper so I bought a brand new piece. I thought for a while of a way to be able to place the new piece in the exact place of the old one. I decided to build a 'scaffolding' set up to line up the bolt holes of the old piece to the new.
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[franko]

Clean!

[rayhyland]

Very nice


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[The_Anachronist]

Lovely. Well done - and lucky you to have such an excellent shop (and some welding skills)!

Where are you located, if I may ask? I am in Langley, while my '63 109 wagon waits in a pile in Aldergrove storage until my house reno is finished and I have a garage again...

[Koopsy]

Lovely. Well done - and lucky you to have such an excellent shop (and some welding skills)!

Where are you located, if I may ask? I am in Langley, while my '63 109 wagon waits in a pile in Aldergrove storage until my house reno is finished and I have a garage again...

I am in the little town of Trail. Yes the shop is definitely a blessing while working in the winter!

[Koopsy]

Almost exactly a year from my last progress post... a lot has happened since then! I’ll try and get you all caught up...

Next I painted the frame with a chassis paint outside, it turned out better than I expected!

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[Koopsy]

I painted the axles and suspension components at the same time and assembled everything with new copper nickel brake lines along with the trans, driveshafts, and sterling linkage as well as new swivel ball boots.//uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201801 ... 204672.jpg//uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201801 ... 3d7f9a.jpg//uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201801 ... f8c271.jpg//uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201801 ... 9a290d.jpg The previous owner said the transmission was in good shape and he had gone through it.


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[Koopsy]

My next step was the engine build. I had the block steam cleaned and the cylinders bored. I reused the crank and rods but bought new pistons and new bearings all around. The water pump is new//uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201801 ... 2da22f.jpg//uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201801 ... f353ec.jpg//uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201801 ... 8e1f52.jpg. The valvetrain was in good shape so I reused that. I had new hardened valve seats, guides and valves put into the head as well. The assembly went well, I found the paint in lordco, I thought it was a good match and looked good! //uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201801 ... aaa76d.jpg//uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201801 ... 72559e.jpg//uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201801 ... 2b575a.jpg//uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201801 ... fef579.jpg


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[Koopsy]

Engine in and painted wheels and new tires! (Yes the fan is on backwards) //uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201801 ... 03e84e.jpg//uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201801 ... b37d07.jpg//uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201801 ... 17d047.jpg


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[Koopsy]

Next was bulkhead repair and painting. I replaced the foot wells and cut out any rust spots and patched it up. The foot well replacement was a lot more tedious than I thought! I attached a brace along the bottom to keep everything lined up. I used a portable sand blaster to get all of the old paint off. Luckily it had been coated to protect it from rusting too much by the previous owner. I used a little body filler to fill in the low spots. I had more photos but I can’t find them now. //uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201801 ... 63d65b.jpg//uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201801 ... 6f172c.jpg//uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201801 ... 0300bd.jpg




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[Koopsy]

Another one
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[Koopsy]

I decided on Limestone for colour and had Napa mix up some Nason single stage in as close to original limestone as they could. I chose single stage because it’s easier to apply and it’s a Land Rover... it wasn’t meant to be perfect! I set up a shelter in my shop with pvc pipe and vapour barrier with a fan sucking out air. My goal was to be able to start the engine and put it in gear to make sure everything worked so I only painted the bulkhead and radiator support for now.

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[cbalme]

Wow, that all looks really good! I like your shiny freewheeling hubs.

What are those tires? They look very good.

When I tried to repair my old bulkhead someone went crazy with the spot-welding.

Thanks for the Update, will it be on the road for Founders Day?

[Koopsy]

Wow, that all looks really good! I like your shiny freewheeling hubs.

What are those tires? They look very good.

When I tried to repair my old bulkhead someone went crazy with the spot-welding.

Thanks for the Update, will it be on the road for Founders Day?

Thanks! It’s been a long time coming...
The tires are STA Super Traxions, they were the closest I could find that didn’t look too modern.

I’m hoping for next year to have it on the road. But I am planning to make the trip to attend founders day this year!


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[bsa_m21]

All I can say is..... Your garage is waay too big and clean. :D

Great work!

[Koopsy]

All I can say is..... Your garage is waay too big and clean. :D

Great work!

Oh it can never be too big... I don’t think I could ever have one big enough because then I’d just keep filling it up with more vehicles and tools!


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[Koopsy]

Here is right after I installed the bulk head
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[mepham55]

That’s looking great! Very nice work. I like the “paint booth”, when I painted my truck I ended up painting all my tools with a nice limestone(best colour) dusting.
I agree, you can never have enough space. My garage/shop I just built is no where near big enough! I have my 1966 SWB and 1961 SWB both crammed in and now have 2 1959 SWB’s waiting outside for their turn!

Matt