Land Rover rebuild

[samc88]

I think theres been a fair few caught out with that when you look at a lot of the second hand parts about theres quite a few cracked where theyve been overtightened (I learnt that mistake quite early on! Still have the cracked red top somewhere)

More progress and deployed the trusty spring balance to set the bearing preload on the rear bearing of the transfer box, this is set with shims behind the speedo drive housing. With that set I stripped the housing to clean it and fit new seals before assembling. Finally I fitted the front output housing which was an interesting exercise in dexterity. Next step is to mount the gearbox amd then rob the parts off my other gearbox which came out of the land rover to finish it off (mounts and the overdrive mainly). New chassis is arriving on Wednesday so got a bunch of things to do to get ready for it. Having the gearbox in one piece being one of the tasks, might fit it to the back of the engine as well if I get a chance

[samc88]

Pinched some bits off the old box to go onto the rebuilt one (overdrive, transfer box sump plate,  dipstick and the disk handbrake, originally this was a drum but I did the conversion years ago when I found a cheap kit on ebay). Other than speedi sleeves for the output flanges this gearbox is finished, I dod a quick measurement of the disk and it will fot on my halifax lathe so Ill use that to clean it up nicely. I found an old clutch plate which I knocked a spring out of amd used to lock off the mainshaft to tighten up the nut on the back

[Sanjay F]

Incredibly speedy and knowledgeable restoration; are you in the motor trade Sam or is it learned skills after doing other such restorations? Either way you're knocking this one out of the park!! 

[samc88]

Incredibly speedy and knowledgeable restoration; are you in the motor trade Sam or is it learned skills after doing other such restorations? Either way you're knocking this one out of the park!! 

Thanks Sanjay! No not in the motortrade, I've just had this one for a long time so learnt a lot of its little features over the years and have done a few gearboxes over the years for other people. I did a similar rebuild on it on a shoestring budget about 14 years ago during 6th form and when I was an apprentice at the boatyard and learnt a lot since then, many years as my daily driver in a sea air environment has taken its toll a bit so thought I would do a more thorough job this time around with the main bits getting galvanised, it was getting a bit annoying chasing rust continuously with a paint brush and an occasional welder.

[CI]

Thanks for the detailed photos.
Most interesting, and inspiring for those of us who like to do their own auto work.
.

[samc88]

Big shiny part has arrived today! Once we had got it off the flat bed and on to a pallet I got around to sorting out the speedisleeves on the gearbox flanges and then fitted the clutch to the engine before joinijg it and the gearbox together ready for fitting once Ive painted the chassis black. I have to modify the flywheel housing slightly for propshaft clearance which I will do soon

[CI]

Very cool to see such a deep-dive rebuild.
How many miles between rebuilds like this ?
.

[uuu]

My Land Rover handbook lists oil change every 3,000 miles.  That's engine, gearbox, transfer case and both axles.

Reline brakes at 6,000.

Cylinder head off for decarbonising every 9,000 miles. 

Wilf

[Michael S.]

The new chassis looks good. Is it galvanized?

Interesting rebuild. These are jobs that are almost impossible to do here in Germany. Just swapping the engine for another one would involve a huge amount of red tape and require a new inspection by a technical expert. It would never be worth it.

Do you have similar problems, or is it totally easy?

Michael

[samc88]

Very cool to see such a deep-dive rebuild.
How many miles between rebuilds like this ?
.

Its one of those where it depends, old land rover stuff tends to run forever leaking oil as they go. Mine lives by the sea and is used continuously which was taking its toll and I didnt want to patch it as once you start you end up chasing rust forever more. The engine swap is one of those might as well jobs whilst I'm here, same as the gearbox (very little is original on this so I'm happy modifying it as I go to make it a nice usable vehicle.

[samc88]

The new chassis looks good. Is it galvanized?

Interesting rebuild. These are jobs that are almost impossible to do here in Germany. Just swapping the engine for another one would involve a huge amount of red tape and require a new inspection by a technical expert. It would never be worth it.

Do you have similar problems, or is it totally easy?

Michael

Thanks Michael, yes its galvanised, I have a galvanised bullhead to go on too which will save a lot of time over repairing my original one. Its easy here up to a point, there is a points system in place where each item is a set number of points and if you lose too many it affects the registration. In this case it is only the engine that is the main modification so I have no issues in that regard, everything else is staying standard series land rover. Chassis on these are basically classed as a service item so a like for like swap for a new one has no registration issues either (unlike if you swap one chassis for another second hand chassis). 

We're quite lucky here really with old cars, are you allowed to do welding repairs over there on them or is it not allowed?

[samc88]

My Land Rover handbook lists oil change every 3,000 miles.  That's engine, gearbox, transfer case and both axles.

Reline brakes at 6,000.

Cylinder head off for decarbonising every 9,000 miles. 

Wilf

Ive seen quite a few about on farms around here that look like they would be lucky to have an oil change every 30 years let alone 3000 miles

[Michael S.]

Hi Sam,

Welding on the chassis is permitted, but only under certain conditions. The inspector, in our case TÜV or DEKRA, wants to monitor and then approve it. It's easiest if a workshop with a certified welder does it.

@Mike, interesting story. There must have been good reasons for that.

Here, you need an operating permit for every part on a car that deviates from the standard model, and this has to be entered separately in the vehicle registration. It's all very complicated, but sometimes also strange.

I have my vintage tractor, 64 years old, registered as a regular vehicle. Since the authorities can't issue an emissions certificate for such an old diesel engine, or don't know what to call it, I'm not allowed to drive the tractor into the city center. So, no parking in front of the ice cream parlor. If I had registered the tractor as a classic car, it would be allowed. Only cars with a green emissions sticker are allowed in the city center.

Michael 

[samc88]

Hi Sam,

Welding on the chassis is permitted, but only under certain conditions. The inspector, in our case TÜV or DEKRA, wants to monitor and then approve it. It's easiest if a workshop with a certified welder does it.

@Mike, interesting story. There must have been good reasons for that.

Here, you need an operating permit for every part on a car that deviates from the standard model, and this has to be entered separately in the vehicle registration. It's all very complicated, but sometimes also strange.

I have my vintage tractor, 64 years old, registered as a regular vehicle. Since the authorities can't issue an emissions certificate for such an old diesel engine, or don't know what to call it, I'm not allowed to drive the tractor into the city center. So, no parking in front of the ice cream parlor. If I had registered the tractor as a classic car, it would be allowed. Only cars with a green emissions sticker are allowed in the city center.

Michael 

What tractor do you have Michael? One of our other interests is classic tractors, my girlfriend is keen on getting an old  Ferguson once this is back on the road

[Michael S.]

Hi Sam,

It's a tractor that was only available in former East Germany: an IFA RS 14/40.

3.2-liter displacement, 2 cylinders. 40 hp. Weighs about 2.6 tons.

I also took all the parts apart and put them back together once.

A little Ferguson like that must be fantastic. It really has a face with its headlights.

Regards, Michael