The Rover-Landers of BC

Well it has been an extremely busy summer starting up a farm business, buying a home, renovating a shop, planning a wedding... But most importantly starting a Series 1 restoration project! I've decided to share my progress as I go along. This first post is a bit late due to the previously listed distractions, but I'll try keep this thread updated more regularly now.

Here is how I picked up this project back in May of this year.

Before the garage slab was poured I had to store some stuff outside, so I decided to see what the body would look like assembled. The rear half at least... This project is titled red&red because that is the colour listed for this series 1 in the factory logs. It also has a red interior, hence the mention of "red" twice. Normally red Series 1s were firetrucks only. This is 1 of 8 red&red series 1s that were produced in 1958.

Edit: Normally red&red Series 1s where fire trucks. As Matt Mentioned, there are lots of red Series 1s out there.

Here are some shots of the frame before painting, after painting, and with new springs, and brake lines installed. Note that the garage is slowly getting built around the landy.

Looking great!

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This project did not come with an engine or transmission, so I had to figure out how the heck I would get ahold of these old parts. Thankfully, Gary Mummery had given this engine a bit of a refresh decades ago, and it has been sitting in his storage ever since. I couldn't afford to buy it off him at the time, but he call me back a few weeks later and offered it to me in "three easy payments" split up over a couple of months. I graciously accepted.

The transmission was from a group member on here who bought a series 1 transmission it thinking it was for a series 2/2a. Upon realizing that he stubbled upon a piece of gold he decided to sell it to sell it to me for an arm and a leg. Just kidding, he gave me a good deal. Mark Kenton delivered the transmission to me last weekend on one of his hunting trips out to the Kootenays. He says he is hunting for deer, but I think he is really just looking for old Land Rovers out here ;-)

Okay this post brings me up to date on this project. My brother lives in Calgary and whenever he visits I get him to galvanize parts for me in exchange for really old wood timbers from a barn that fell over on my property this spring. I guess people in the city like that kind of thing... I am picking up the rims, sills, and some other small parts from him this weekend. The bulkhead, radiator panel, and other small parts are going back with him to get sandblasted and galvanized. The rims will need some serious cleaning up.

Wow. Bulkhead looks to be in great, non-rusty shape. Good progress!

Looks great, the world needs more series ones so we can all slow down

jacobko wrote: Mon Nov 01, 2021 10:44 am Before the garage slab was poured I had to store some stuff outside, so I decided to see what the body would look like assembled. The rear half at least... This project is titled red&red because that is the colour listed for this series 1 in the factory logs. It also has a red interior, hence the mention of "red" twice. Normally red Series 1s were firetrucks only. This is 1 of 8 red&red series 1s that were produced in 1958.

Red was an option for exported trucks, only in the UK red was reserved for fire trucks.

Matt

mepham55 wrote: Tue Nov 02, 2021 12:54 pm

jacobko wrote: Mon Nov 01, 2021 10:44 am Before the garage slab was poured I had to store some stuff outside, so I decided to see what the body would look like assembled. The rear half at least... This project is titled red&red because that is the colour listed for this series 1 in the factory logs. It also has a red interior, hence the mention of "red" twice. Normally red Series 1s were firetrucks only. This is 1 of 8 red&red series 1s that were produced in 1958.

Red was an option for exported trucks, only in the UK red was reserved for fire trucks.

Matt

Thanks Matt, good to know! I guess it's cool because it has the red interior too. I wonder if anyone knows where the other Red and Red Series 1s are today.

My 1956 86"I am restoring has a red left wing-

Slow progress report today. The project has been on hold for the past few weeks as I have been working towards my P. Eng. license (hopefully will be done with that in the next month). Christmas came a bit early with these galvanized parts though!

I was a bit worried with the bulkhead warping, but it came out fine as far as I can tell. I guess the big test will be when I go to attach it to the frame. The bulkhead was in really nice shape when I got it, and only required welding a few small cracks as shown in the photos.

Can't wait to get rolling on it soon!

Looking really fantastic, Cant wait to see more!

Great job so far!

Tires are now mounted and balanced. I'm not too keen on how the galvanized wheels came out. There were sharp zinc deposits left in the innertube area which took a long time to smooth out before mounting the tires. Also there are some runs and heavy zinc deposits on the rim that were hard to remove. Hopefully when the shiny zinc coating weathers and gets duller they wont be as noticeable. I took these into a shop to get lug-balanced, and they balanced out just fine.

These are STA Super Traxion 650-16 with 165/185R16 tubes that I got from Coker Tire. I also had to get some valve stem grommets as the stem was quite a bit smaller than the valve stem hole in the rim.

Managed to rebuild the Solex 32PBI-2 today. The original pump rod was broken but I have a new one coming in from the UK.

I also stripped down the fuel pump to get started on the rebuild and I noticed that the points pedestal was broken in half… will either have to glue it together or order a new one.

Great progress on your truck. Can’t wait to see another series 1 rolling around. I think I have a “parts” SU fuel pump with the pedestal, if not, I do have a good, used working fuel pump.

Matt
Victoria BC

mepham55 wrote: Wed Apr 20, 2022 8:09 am Great progress on your truck. Can’t wait to see another series 1 rolling around. I think I have a “parts” SU fuel pump with the pedestal, if not, I do have a good, used working fuel pump.

Matt
Victoria BC

Thanks Matt!. I guess I should post an update. It's been awhile. I managed to find a pedestal from a guy in the UK. It's a newer style one, so much more plastic reinforcing around where the securing bolts pass through. I might need to take you up on some parts for the fuel pump as my aluminum housing isn't in the best shape. I also made up a pump rod and spring for the carburetor. Fuel pump and carb are now good to go.

On to the steering relay. I have heard that these are normally a pain in the rear to remove from the chassis. I guess the Land Rover gods were looking favorably upon me that day, as It just came out with a few light taps of a dead blow hammer. I replaced all of the internal components with new genuine components except for the shaft. I heard the new aftermarket ones are weak as if they are made from toffee, so I kept the original.

Handbrake time. This was pretty straightforward, and there were no worries of big springs flying around the shop (as with the refurbishment of the steering relay in my last post), so that was nice. I am waiting for some of those felt seals for the brass bushes to come in the mail, so the assembly is just loosely bolted to the frame for now.

Does anyone know what to lubricate the brass bushes with? Are they made from Oilite brass, and all I have to do is soak them in oil overnight?

If you haven't heard already, Lucas (the parts company) has started a classic line for lots of their original electrical parts. They also sell genuine Girling shocks for Series Land Rovers. I put on some of their new headlamp bowls, and shock absorbers.

If you are wondering why the axles haven't been put in yet, it is because I had some unfixable problems with my rear axle housing. With the help of some members in this group I was able to locate one, so I am just waiting patiently for it to arrive. There is still plenty of work to keep me busy in the meantime.

Okay, I am overdue for an update again. Here we go:

- I put the bulkhead back on the frame. This is the original bulkhead for this frame, but has been galvanized. I have heard stories of warpage to bulkheads, and subsequently not being able to reinstall them onto the frame. This was not the case for me. I used the two-jack method for lining up the bolt holes. The bolt holes were only out by about 1/8" so the jack between the frame and the bulkhead could be cranked with just my fingers.

- I installed new clutch shaft bushings in the frame. Super easy to do with some threaded bar, just do them one at a time, or you risk them going in cockeyed.

- I installed the brake/clutch pedal pivot. Don't be me like me. Install this BEFORE the bulkhead. A BFH was required, and a piece of soft metal to protect the pivot from the smashing. Eye, and hearing protection is a must!

- I installed a few tidbits onto the bulkhead and breakfast: fuel pump, fuel lines, fuel filter, accelerator linkages, accelerator pedal, vent flaps, recommended oil lubricant plate, and bonnet rest strip.

Looking good! Thanks for posting the updates.

Matt

Thanks Matt! Lots more updates to come. I recon I'm about 40% complete in the whole rebuild. I've done a bit more work in the past couple of weeks, so I'll make a couple of posts to cover what I've done.

Finally on to the axles! These have been tough for me. The axles that I got with the project looked to be okay, but there were some massive dents and holes in the diff covers. So I welded on new ones. Turns out the rear axle had some serious warpage in the flange where the diff bolts on. The warpage was not caused by welding. A previous owner had installed new studs crooked, and when they bolted the diff back on the studs straightened out, at the expense of warping the mating flange. Well, I was then on the hunt for a new rear axle housing. With lots of help from group members I was able to track one down. After getting the new (new to me) rear axle housing, I had them painted and replaced the pinion seals.

Not all is good yet. When I tightened up the nut on the back of the pinion for the rear differential after replacing the seal I could feel that not all was well with it's internals. Troy came by for a boo and confirmed my suspicions. Frick, I need to replace some bearings in the diff. The rear diff in the photos below will be taken out and fixed before going back in.

On to the wiring! Get a harness from Autosparks. Easy job. Not much to say on this one. The wiring isn't totally finsihed. I need to get some more clips and wire up the dash. I'll post updates when that happens.

Body time! I had some nasty galvanic corrosion on the rear tub. To fix it I riveted on some thick Birmabright patch pieces slathered in 3M 5200. When I put the installed and aligned the tub I slathered the attachment points of the frame with 3M 4200 and bolted it back up. 3M 4200 and 5200 are used as a barrier for galvanic corrosion, and to reduce crevice corrosion in alloy panels. Once the tub was aligned I could align the bulkhead and get the roof/doors installed. I'm waiting on getting some proper bolts for the windshield frame before getting the roof and doors aligned. Oh and replacing the upper and lower windshield seals is a bear. Make sure to use lots of dish soap.