Oliver and Colin's 1960 Series II rebuild.

[island dormy]

Hi Colin

There is no clip for the speedo cable on top of the frame rail, just on that half moon shaped access plate by the main gear shift lever attachment spot and by the speedo drive attachment into the transmission.

The place I found on the Island to get those tiny coiled brush springs for the starter was the starter shop across the highway from the Nanaimo airport. He had then they were about $5.00 each and you may as well change them all if you look closely at them they will probably be rusty and also ready to break. Note you should bring the old ones with you when you go as there are many different kinds and shapes. I might be going by there this coming week and could stop and get you some.
Or you could try the starter shop near downtown Victoria he may have them if you take you in to match up, your down there anyway.

Looking good.

Victor

[cbalme]

Hi Victor, brought the starter down with me, I will try and find a shop. Any suggestions?

Now back to school progress will slow even more. But did some more destruction than construction over the weekend while bending brake lines.

https://i.imgur.com/G4f0HB9l.jpg

Bent up the lefthand side, it may have been slightly kinked in the process but I hope it works out. This is the only route I could find that could work, it doesn't hit the radiator at all.

https://i.imgur.com/Eouvuq8l.jpg

Righthand side bent up. I decided to go underneath the frame rail because I think that's how it's done on the Series 3 lines.

https://i.imgur.com/H3F4Z7il.jpg

Both lines match up equally at a tee piece below the air cleaner, where I will hold it down with a roofing screw or something more elaborate like the original way it was held down.

https://i.imgur.com/WMLSqm3l.jpg

All back to normal held down by push down clips that came with the kit.

https://i.imgur.com/4moRIrcl.jpg

Then bent the lines across the bulkhead. Bit of a pain so they look quite messy but they're done.

https://i.imgur.com/o0fOGlEl.jpg

[cbalme]

Cleaned up the lines on the rear axle, they look much smarter now.

https://i.imgur.com/ZPfFqyql.jpg

Ran the brake line to the back axle and then hooked it up to the line from the MC using a connector since I don't have the special valve thing.

https://i.imgur.com/1i1i0Vhl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/SpiMlL3l.jpg

Then made another line for the front system to the MC, it was about a foot long but I don't have a photo.

After that I got the whole system bled with my Dad, now we just need to solve a few leaks here and there but nothing too major thankfully.

One more job pretty much done, now onto spraying more and more parts and the electrics!

[cbalme]

So far so good! No leaks as far as I can tell on the braking system but I'll find out if any are hiding after the initial test drive.

Got the turn signal restoration finished this weekend. I'll have to test the circuit again to make sure everything is right, we soldered on the wires where they were suppose to be but I fear we "let the smoke out" of the switch.

https://i.imgur.com/lHyPu7Jl.jpg

Also picked up some nice fancy Exmoor trim from Matt on Thursday. I hope they are comfortable. I got everything I need to restore the interior. A full set of elephant hide grey seats and door trim as well as a hardura kit for the transmission tunnel and seatbox. I am going to make my own floor mats.

https://i.imgur.com/99HyOz2l.jpg

The last thing I got done was tapping threads into the bulkhead to hold the distributor on, beforehand it had two screws that would never stay tight. This is much nicer and actually holds everything steady. They have period incorrect heads on the bolts which bothers me a bit.

https://i.imgur.com/FgGVVxYl.jpg

[cbalme]

Not much done on the Rover this weekend. Sorted out a brake line that was leaking, hopefully re flaring it cured the leak but it may need more work.

Other than that little job I picked up some Rocky Mountain Doortops. First thing I did was take them apart so they can be painted. It was very quick and easy, just three screws and the glass popped out, then I masked the rest of the rubber since it was glued in as far as I could tell.

All in bits in the spare room

https://i.imgur.com/RUXFG4Cl.jpg

Masked and put aside for painting.

https://i.imgur.com/AB7frZWl.jpg

Hopefully next weekend I will be able to paint them along with the doors and everything else.

[cbalme]

A few odd jobs done this weekend, was planning on painting the doors and seatbox area but with the forecast calling for snow I thought it would be best to leave it for a few weeks and let the weather improve. Now that I've also improved my painting skills I'm going to start painting bits on the 110 like some new wheels and door hinges. I've found a safe place to store my painted parts it is nice having peace of mind that they won't be run into by a tractor or have hay bales drop on them.

I picked up a starter a few weeks back from Matt and it didn't work very well we tried to get it going with no luck. I took it in to Brian Roberts Electric in Victoria and they did a fantastic job I'm very pleased. Here it is after picking it up. I didn't expect them to paint it but I'm very glad they did. Before being an ex-mod starter it was rusty and green, now it looks like it belongs on a civilian rover.

https://i.imgur.com/eFXfsXql.jpg

I installed it on Thursday night and it turns over nice and fast as it should. I lubed all the connections liberally with dielectric grease.

https://i.imgur.com/daZWCtgl.jpg

I was waiting patiently for the starter to be rebuilt so I could install the exhaust, I didn't see any room to squeeze the starter in beside the pipe so I didn't want to get ahead of myself.

Since this Series 3 exhaust runs really close to the floor and gearbox I thought it would be a good idea to wrap it in the stuff you wrap exhausts in. Don't really know what to call it. It is very pricey online but I found it very cheap in a small marine store in Cowichan Bay (Thanks for the tip Victor). About half the price compared to anywhere else. When I got back home I opened up the package and threw it in some water to keep the dust down its not nice stuff to deal with. I was able to wrap most of the downpipe with 100 feet of the stuff. Here it is installed.

A view from the gearbox

https://i.imgur.com/MZCZaK1l.jpg

Underneath the frame, not sure if that needs to be wrapped but it is. I wrapped it in the engine bay as well as you can see. That should keep everything cooler in there as well. Overall I think this was a worthwhile job that doesn't take that long and should improve comfort on those hot days spent in the cab on long summer expeditions and those long days being put to good use on the farm.

https://i.imgur.com/6w7N9Zql.jpg

[Christopher Lang]

That lagging is going to pay off big time in the summer! I've used it to wrap boat exhaust and truck headers, the difference it makes is huge. After awhile it loses the bright white colour, and starts to look like a bandage from the civil war. It's great stuff.
Did you just secure the ends with some stainless hoseclamps? For posh stuff, I used to cut a bit of copper water pipe, slit it down the length, then smash it in the vice with the lagging in it to make a little envelope for the fraying edge. Then clamp it. Looks more steampunk.

[bsa_m21]

Re exhaust pipe wrap. If you plan on running in wet weather or through ponds/mud holes, make sure you run the vehicle for a while afterwards to fully dry out the wrap as it holds water and will drastically increase rust over time. Most people only use it in enclosed areas or the header pipes. The further from the engine, the lower the pipe temp and longer to dry out.

Just my 2 cents. :roll:

M.

[cbalme]

Hi Martin and Chris, I was also worried about the exhaust wrap accelerating rust, I'm thinking I'll just cut it off where it goes underneath the frame to stop it from soaking up so much water. I can always take it off it becomes a problem once I get the truck on the road. The parts I cut off I will probably just wrap farther down the pipe so I can fully insulate underneath the seatbox.

[red90]

Under the truck, you want heat shields. Don't wrap it.

[cbalme]

Got a few things checked off the list this weekend. It's very rewarding seeing the list shrinking. Should be ready for June for the island rally I hope! I was hoping to get it to founders day but that's less than two months away. One of my main hold-ups has been the weather, I didn't anticipate this snow when I was hoping to paint!

The exhaust is fully bolted in and mounted, I had to drill and tap a few holes into the frame and modify a few hangers but other than that the whole system fits really well! I decided to leave the wrap on for the moment but may take it off if it causes issues in the future.

Here you can see the full system bolted in as well as the fuel tank. I used the britpart mounting kit but was able to only use 1 of the rubber spacers since there was no room for 2 on the one big bolt. This may be caused by the slight bend in the outrigger on the frame.

https://i.imgur.com/cNW7QS4l.jpg

Now I just need to plumb in the fuel line, I found some fixings that work for the system so I'll just buy some rubber line and fasten it to the top of the frame.

Next on the list of things to do was "restore" the gauges. I ended up just painting the bezels and cleaning the glass for the moment. They look much better than before that's for sure.

Before

https://i.imgur.com/XMskrNSl.jpg?1

After

https://i.imgur.com/WgImA6Bl.jpg

I'm not sure if the speedo works but if it doesn't I'll be replacing it with a kilometers per hour gauge.

I also got the vacuum line for the power brakes installed with the help of my father. We drilled and tapped the inlet manifold with a greased drill bit and tap to keep the shavings from going into the inlet. Here it is installed. I was going to use a proper power brake era manifold but those plans went south when it cracked after trying to separate it from the exhaust manifold.

https://i.imgur.com/piXaaWhl.jpg

There are a few kinks that need working out like adjusting the brakes, plumbing the heater and replacing the new slave cylinder, but there really isn't much more mechanical work to do. Hopefully this week I'll get started on installing the main wiring loom into the truck which may take quite some time.

[red90]

I'm not sure if the speedo works but if it doesn't I'll be replacing it with a kilometers per hour gauge.

Stick something in the drive and spin. It does not take much for the needle to move.

[cbalme]

Tested out my speedo and it works as should, thanks Red90 and Matt for the advice. A Robertson bit on a drill running in reverse works quite nicely.

Been busy the past few days with Rover related activities, still waiting for a week's worth of good weather to get some proper painting done. Hopefully, I will start installing the main wiring loom on Friday. Tomorrow I will hopefully get the loom through the frame rail.

Put some new hose fittings on the block so I can run a heater as well as picked up the heater hose, fuel line, and fuel tank breather line for the 109. Getting closer to fitting everything in the engine bay and making sure it's all neat and tidy. At the moment it seems quite cluttered and messy.

https://i.imgur.com/xk6Ib6Xl.jpg

Here is my routing for the fuel system. It's held down by 4 hose clamps along the frame rail which is a bit excessive.

https://i.imgur.com/MvTCdvJl.jpg

Also dug out the Trim retainers for the original hardura matting, Not sure if I need them but I will know where they are just in case.

[ANDYD]

Excellent progress Colin, those gauges came out great.
:spinning:

Can you click a couple of photos of the whole vehicle, it would be good to see everything you have done so far all in one shot.
It may also give me some inspiration to get busier on mine :roll:

[cbalme]

Hi Andy here are those photos, maybe while you look for your pistons you can restore your gauges too!

Taken from the roof rack of the 110

https://i.imgur.com/05FqbRJl.jpg

Here's a better shot from the side. I have most of the engine bay complete I am leaving the wings off until everything is done I don't like reaching into the bay

https://i.imgur.com/JbnM6a7l.jpg

Another side shot, excuse the cluttered shop I have to share it with the farm!

https://i.imgur.com/qfFd1mxl.jpg

Here's a reminder of what it used to look like, quite the difference in 3 years.

https://i.imgur.com/WhmGEOJl.jpg

I got distracted by other things today so not much progress, I did get the wiring loom labeled and back into its bag for installation tomorrow. There are a few wires which have unknown purposes but I'll find out what they're for soon enough.

[franko]

I like the before picture, should have left it like that and just drove it lol 😂 😜

[cbalme]

Yes I do look at that photo every now and then and think about what could've been. But the engine was seized along with the gearbox. A lot of other things on it had been farmer fixed to keep it going. It would've had a nice patina with a good used engine, gearbox, new wiring harness, brake, clutch, and steering overhaul but then it would be in it's current state without a paint job.


Maybe I'll keep the patina look if I do another truck.

[mepham55]

Looks awesome with the new Bronze Green paint on it. Have fun wiring today. I’m around the shop today if you have any wire questions.

Matt

[cbalme]

Got quite a bit of wiring done today, or at least got it in place. No sparks today but that is because the dash panel isn't ready.

Here's a closeup of the loom into the firewall. Not much to see but really there aren't that many wires. Had to make the holes into the firewall a little bigger the hole is really tight.

https://i.imgur.com/ubtSzmnl.jpg

Unfortunately, Autosparks doesn't realize that there's a difference between RHD and LHD headlight wiring on Series 2s so there will have to be some minor modification to make the whole lot work properly. They have wired the dipswitch circuit so it sits at the right-hand footwell, nowhere near where it should be on a left-hand drive. Other than that the loom is very high quality. I just need to change some connectors because I am not using some Series 2 electrical components like the light switch/key thing. My restore version has spade connectors whereas the loom has eyelets. It shouldn't take very long to change the ends over and heat shrink the whole lot. Another thing that needs changed is the brake light switch wiring since I have the power booster not the hydraulic switch, that is not a very big deal.

A lot of loose wires were not in the bag as well that I expected to come. I had to make a coil to distributor wire because they only had the positive feed to the coil installed. It was also lacking a lot of the joins for the bullet connectors. Luckily I had saved quite a few from the old truck but I may need more.

https://i.imgur.com/zas4jQel.jpg

Overall it's coming along quite nicely, once the gauge panel is restored we can actually see if it all works! We also sorted out the clutch today, but reversed all that progress when I broke the flare nut off. Looks like this is what I'll be spending my Saturday on.

https://i.imgur.com/C0ArDpzl.jpg

[ANDYD]

Hey Colin,

Thanks for posting the wide angle photos, she's looking sexy in green! :bounce:
I also have the Autosparks loom so I will be watching closely ....

[cbalme]

Hi Andy, the autosparks loom is pretty much right other than the headlight wiring. If you have not yet ordered it maybe ask to make sure the loom extends to the dipswitch position for a LHD. It is not a big deal to modify as long as you get some hockey tape for the period correct look.

Not much was done this weekend, I did pick up a few parts from Victor, like a fuse box and longer clutch pushrod. Victor is also helping me install the loom without his help the installation would be very slow.

Here is the Fusebox installed waiting for wiring and fuses. I am going to get 15 amp fuses since there is no such thing as a 17 amp fuse (what the parts guy told me) which is the equivalent to an English 35 amp fuse. I put this box in because I don't need the voltage regulator so I have room for a two fuse box instead of one! Quite the improvement.

https://i.imgur.com/NtseYNRl.jpg

In the future I may install a 12 fuse box to run accessories for a Boat. I think I could get away with running a wire directly from the starter switch to it for power but that's a while until I worry about that.

Other than the fuse block I got an extended pushrod for the clutch which should solve my issue I am hoping once I get a new master cylinder installed. Here you can see the half inch difference which is hopefully enough, otherwise I get to fabricate a new one out of rod which I don't really want to do.

https://i.imgur.com/iJtWLNHl.jpg

I also tried to change the U-Joints on the propshaft today but the joints they gave me are too wide for the yolks on a 109. So I will have to find some narrower ones locally.

[bsa_m21]

I wonder what kind of u-joints you have.

U-joints locally are:

Series 1 & 2s:
RTC3690 - Precision 344 / Neapco 1-0005 - 1.063 In. Bearing Cup Diameter, 2.938 In. wide

Series 2A & 3s:
RTC3346 - Precision 369 / Neapco 1-0153 - 1.063 In. Bearing Cup Diameter, 3.219 In. wide

[cbalme]

Hi Martin, what I got is Moog 344 which I think is also the precision 344. It is a hair too wide installed at the moment you cannot move the joint.

As far as I know I have a Series 2 propshaft but someone may have switched it to a 2A prop at some point in it's life. My Dad is going to go shopping at the tractor store and they will get him the right one I think. It just needs to be a hair narrower.

Looking at your numbers it should work it is the narrower u joint but we will see what they can find at the parts store.

[bsa_m21]

The Federal-Mogul site shows Moog 344 as:

https://www.fme-cat.com/overlays/part-d ... brandId=MU

So it should be correct, except note their description:

"Bearing cup ground slightly oversized to fit in a used driveshaft"

It might be the right model #, but your driveshaft may not be "used enough". :bounce:

I'd measure your Bearing Cup Diameter, 2.938" (74.6 mm) vs 3.219" (81.8 mm) to be sure.

[cbalme]

Hi Martin, the cups fit fine they are just too deep and squish the joint against the top of the caps. I guess my driveshaft is "worn" enough. I am away from my Land Rover until thursday so I will measure them then.

Another possibility is to just file the ends off of the joints just slightly. But that's a last resort I think.