The Rover-Landers of BC

I have started a makeover of a 1970 Series 2a. The truck was previously owned by a friend of mine who had owned for the last 30 years. Originally a BC Hydro truck, it has 58000km on it. Here it is on the day I brought it home. He also included all the missing door parts. My plans include a full rebuild along with a discovery 1 coil suspension and axles, a 2.5L NA diesel swap, and I thought I may as well do a power steering upgrade while I'm at it.

Here are some of the parts I've collected for the project so far.
Full set of deluxe seats, and the new axles.

The Koenig PTO winch will also be getting a cleanup and new cable.

Looks great! Tis they season to get inspired and get something done!

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At home, I got a better look after a thorough steam cleaning.

Teardown started. First order of business is to strip down to the frame and transmission so I can dry fit the diesel and get to work sorting out the far side motor mount. This frame is in fantastic shape. It apparently received new paint in the late 80's before my buddy bought it. Then it never left his acreage after that.

Bulkhead is pretty much intact. One small hole on the lower drivers door post. Being a late 2a, it also came with the power brake booster.

More parts from my brothers neighbor. He's been collecting and rebuilding series and defenders for 30 years. He's got a great selection of parts to pick through. So this defender roof and '59 tub will eventually become a trailer.

Diesel fit up time. Today I pushed the frame outside and ground off the front shock mounts, right side motor mount, battery box, and anything else that doesn't belong on a coil chassis. Then I temporarily stuck the diesel in place so I could get a look at the motor mount situation.

Instead of moving the battery inside the cab, I am thinking I will build a new removable battery box to keep the battery under the hood. I want to use the space under the driver's seat for a second fuel tank. The driver's side fit pretty good using the 2.25 petrol mount. This diesel has an extended mount on the passenger side to clear the injection pump.

Looking great, nice find!

Thanks for sharing your progress, keep it coming 8)

Got the motor mount built today.

I had a distraction lately when I took a road trip to pick up this Lister Petter TX2 twin cylinder diesel for my new 10kw generator project. This will allow me to use my plasma cutter and mig welder up at the storage building as I cannot use them in the house. Yes the rover is actually downstairs in the house. Some of you may have seen this advertised in Lillooet for the past month. Made an offer and it was well worth the drive. I brought it home, bled the fuel lines, and she fired right up. Plenty loud too with no muffler on the broken exhaust manifold. I have a manifold on order.

I am actually not happy with the way my right side motor mount turned out for the NA2.5 swap. The frame mount, which fits the stock na2.5 motor mount perfectly is sloped at a sharper angle than the left side stock 2.25 petrol mount. This has the effect of pushing the motor to the left as it strains the rubber isolators. The motor looks like it may foul my front pto driveshaft. It may not matter now anyway as I might be getting a brand new 2.4L turbo diesel! Seriously, I may have found a brand new crate motor at a price I cannot refuse. More about that later.

Look what else showed up today. Its 7 boxes from Paddock Spares. I thought if I compiled one large order instead of several small orders, I might save on shipping. Nope. That didn't happen. Anyway, I have a lot to do now.

What do you plan for the body?
Have been hesitating as it’s open to opinion but to me the body looks perfect as-is. Just protect the steel parts.
Eric.

BuckBlue90 wrote:What do you plan for the body?
Have been hesitating as it’s open to opinion but to me the body looks perfect as-is. Just protect the steel parts.
Eric.

Agreed. At first, I thought that it was a bit too rough to leave as is even though I do really like patina. The rear quarters are quite badly dented and pockmarked although they don't really show it in the photos. The wings are pushed back and creased from years of work in the woods on Vancouver Island. But I recently came around to the fact that, if just for the time being, it looks great the way it is. I will paint the bulkhead and rad support. I'll also remove the paint from all the galvanized trim. But leave the rest as is. I did order some front wing panels, but I'll just save them for later and see what I can do with a dolly and hammer.

My advice re condition of LR bodies is, "She earned the dents, she can keep them." Clean it up as best you can and paint it. :bounce:

So what do you do when you are ready to install your new coil axles but they are stored in a building a half kilometer away in a blizzard, and you have no hoist and no one to help you? Easy. You tie them to a tire, drag them down the mountain, then you winch them the rest of the way into the garage with your 1500 pound winch that you've had on the shelf for years, and that you've attached to your series chassis with a giant c-clamp. Pretty simple really.

Nice trailer grooming drag, might be able to make a few bucks selling those to Whistler ;)

I'm just getting the frame stripped a little further. The Relay removal was relatively painless and only took about 5 minutes. I picked up a 6-ton bottle jack at princess auto on sale and I had a piece of chain laying around. So with those and a scrap piece of 2x2 square tubing it popped right out. It definitely needed some force, but the 6-ton was more than enough. Actually, the hardest parts to remove from the frame were the front springs. The bolts were firmly seized in the bushings and needed to be cut off with a grinder.

I did a lot of research before attempting this build. Economics dictated that the low mileage Discovery 1 axles and suspension would be a MUCH cheaper option than rebuilding the series axles and purchasing parabolic springs. In fact, the disco suspension was a fraction of the price and provides many advantages over the stock suspension. As well, my attitude has always been that a land rover engineer at the Solihull plant in 1970 would have preferred coils to leaves if he/she had had the choice. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any specific information regarding the frame modifications required in order to mount a coil suspension on a series chassis. So I did the best I could deciphering the few photos that my research did turn up and went ahead and ordered defender radius arm brackets and spring seats. These photos show the frame mods that I had to do to get the radius arm brackets installed.

Alignment and squaring of the axles wasn't too difficult. I started with mounting the front radius arm brackets in the only spot they can go which is snug up against the bulkhead outriggers. Then I mounted the front axle. It was then a simple matter to measure out an exact 88-inch wheelbase to locate the rear axle. A quick test fit of the tub and it looks like the rear axle location is a perfect fit beneath the wheel arches. I did not try to mount the rear axle exactly where the original rear axle was because for whatever reason that would have resulted in an 86.5" wheelbase.

Shown below is a Defender cross member that I am "trying on for size". It will be heavily modified and reinforced to become an A-arm cross member on the series frame. I know the frame looks dirty but I ground it down to bare metal wherever I needed to weld. The whole thing will be sandblasted after the mods and repairs are complete.

Normally people keep the disco frame and modify it to fit the series body. It is a lot less work and you can buy the body mounts cheap.

Have you got a plan for a fuel tank? It looks as though the original Series tank won't fit due to the arms getting in the way.

red90 wrote:Normally people keep the disco frame and modify it to fit the series body. It is a lot less work and you can buy the body mounts cheap.

Yes, I had no other frame. Besides, then I wouldn't be having all this fun.

cbalme wrote:Have you got a plan for a fuel tank? It looks as though the original Series tank won't fit due to the arms getting in the way.

My plan is to modify 1 or 2 series tanks. I found these tanks at http://www.allisport.com but they are a bit $$$.

Well one thing is for sure ..... that frame isn't going to flex!! :bounce:

M.

Thanks for sharing all the photos. You are doing some very nice fabrication work there!

Thanks, I hope this can help others. As I said, I'm just making this up as I go along. There isn't much online regarding a coil/power steering conversion. The steering box wants to foul the coil spring bracket, and then there is the panhard rod mount to consider. Spacing in this area is critical. I spent some time today planning the power steering box/panhard rod mount bracket. I'm using a standard ANR5321 steering box (range rover/p38). These pics show what I have so far. The design is not finished yet but it should look something pretty close to this. I'll get the drawings done and off the laser cutters tomorrow.

I had a back problem and couldn't work on the project for a while. But I have made some progress recently that I can share.

Here is how the final power steering mount turned out. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I could not find much info online regarding a coil spring conversion combined with a power steering conversion. I had seen a pic or two of finished vehicles with these mods done so I knew it was possible, but I could not find any technical information on how it was done. So I was in uncharted waters, and there was quite a bit of design work and test fitting of the steering box to get it right. The box had to clear the front spring seat, but not be so far forward that it fouled the grill. Then there was the issue of adding a panhard mount as well. It turns out that in this application, the front springs had to be moved back about 3/4 inch. Not just the top spring seats, but the spring plates on the axle were also moved back and their angle shifted slightly. In the end, it turned out great. The panhard bar bracket was then added. Attention was paid to be sure that the panhard bar angle matched the drag link angle.

After the steering parts were finished, I moved on to the rear A-arm crossmember. A defender crossmember was modified and installed. Then it was time for paint. The frame was sandblasted and got 2 coats of por15.

Here is the finished power steering /panhard bar mount. It is made of 3/8" plate and is plenty strong. Clearances were integrated for both the pitman arm, and the pto winch driveshaft.

With all the mods complete it was time to mount the axles.

Thought I would catch up on the progress of the upgrades. The bulkhead and rad support epoxy primered and painted.

I originally planned on re-building a 2.5 na diesel for this project but plans changed when I came across this brand new 2.0L VM Motori turbodiesel crate motor in Kelowna. Originally rated at 90hp, I figured I would tweak it up a bit and add an intercooler to get a bit more out of it. I heard good things about the fuel economy of these motors. They were used in the '80s in British cabs, Alpha Romeos, and a 2.4l version was used in the '86-'89 Range Rover.

Here is the transmission adapter blank drilled for the VM diesel. I am marking the locations for the Series hole pattern.

With the holes drilled and countersunk, it was time to machine the VM starter motor mount opening and stud holes.

Placing the inserts for the starter motor in the correct positions.

Here is the cover I made for the starter opening. I also added a delete plate where the original series starter would have been.

Lastly in the adapter build was a pilot bearing spacer and clutch installation. Because the VM diesels were used in so many applications from marine engines to industrial and automotive, the flywheels came pre-drilled with several hole patterns. Luckily the land rover pressure plate was a direct bolt-on.

Positioning the VM diesel for motor mount design.

VM diesel installation complete.

By this point, I had installed new brake lines and was installing a bracket for the Wilwood brake balance valve.

Finished brake booster.

Nice new springs on the pedals.

Castor Correction -

When I designed the suspension installation, I made sure that I would have about 4" of lift over the stock series suspension. This meant that I would have some serious castor correction to do. I had seen the castor corrected radius arms online but after looking at the price, I decided to look at other alternatives. Eventually, I thought I would try to correct the stock radius arms myself. The process of adding 6 degrees of castor wasn't that difficult and they actually turned out great. The hole spacing was appropriately adjusted, and the frame attachment stud was also cut and rewelded at an angle to better align with the frame brackets.

Picked up a couple of Volvo electric vacuum pumps at the wreckers since the VM diesel didn't have the pump option installed. I actually got the mechanical pump along with the motor but it requires a drive gear that I don't have.

While in Kelowna I also had hoses made for the ex-mod 2.5l oil cooler.

Attention then turned to the cooling system. The full-width intercooler is from a Saab and was located at the wreckers as well. A 16"electric fan will be mounted on the new stock series radiator. Still being constructed is an aluminum fan shroud. Pics to follow.

Heater Installation. I had to locate a Smiths blower since the Series didn't come with one. I found a rebuilt one in Vancouver and installed it with a new duct to the existing heater core.

Here is a quick RTI test using my floor jack. The tire is 18" off the floor. There is still room for more articulation but I see I will need rear dislocation cones. The alligator lizard shows up now and then in front of the shop door.
This concludes the June 30 thread update and I will be posting in real time now for the rest of the summer as things move along.

Wow, you've been busy, excellent progress. You must have a nicely equipped shop there to carry out all this custom work.
I really like the paint colour, what colour is that?

Its easy to get "stalled" on these project so keep up the good work :spinning:

Cheers, Andy

PS That's a cool mascot, try not to run him over :shock:

Hi Andy, that paint is color I had mixed at NBR Distributors in Vernon. I believe it came from their Imron catalog. As far as tools, I do have a benchtop milling machine, a small lathe, and a welder.
The green didn't match the original rover light green, but that's ok. I don't plan on painting anything else on the body. It's going to have all the original patina.

Before and after

I had the Turbo Diesel installed and running last fall. I have just got back to the project recently so I thought I would post a quick video. I have been driving it around like this with only a rear driveshaft so far but it does really well on hills etc. Lots of torque. Originally I was going to run an electric power steering pump (BMW Mini unit fused at 80 amps) so I decided to change out the 55A stock alternator for this 160A unit. But since then I fabricated a mount for a belt driven Tacoma power steering pump in the space where the original alternator went. I am currently running dual electric radiator fans, and an electric vacuum pump and I plan to install a 12V compressor and offroad lights so its still nice to have the extra juice even without the electric power steering. The copper coolant and intercooler lines were installed as a quick and easy way to get it running. I may change them out for proper aluminum lines in the future.

See it idling here.

On a test drive near the shop.

wow such a cool machine your building here.

Thanks. I have to backtrack a bit to show details of the rear fuel tank build. Earlier in this thread I was asked what my plans were for a fuel tank since the stock under-seat tank is fouled by the rear suspension. At the time I thought I would modify the stock tank or look for an affordable aluminum replacement. Well I still may do that but in the meantime I installed a 15 gallon rear polyethylene unit meant for a Jeep CJ7. A riveted aluminum tank support was fabbed to fit the frame. A Jeep rear fuel filler neck was installed complete with the flip-up license holder.

Sweet fab job on the tank. And bonus - no Aluminum TIG Welding needed!

M.

Lookin good! Keep the pictures flowing!

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Good to have met you the other day. Thanks for the rims. One day Kermit will meet Seventee.

Nice to have met you too Hamberger. Good luck with your project.

Here is a shot of my Rover as of today. I haven't had time this summer to make a lot of progress, but that doesn't mean that I cant put the old girl to work as is. I have been fully field testing the chassis and steering system on the 40 acre property I stay at in the summer. So far articulation is excellent and hill climbing is super fun. Just use 1st gear low range and don't touch the gas pedal. It will idle up a pretty steep grade, even with a relatively high final drive ratio of 29.95:1 and 32 inch tires. I will be calculating final speed with these gears, but I think I may want lower gearing. Also on the shopping list are front 2" lift shock turrets with dislocation cones, rear dislocation cones, and possibly lockers.