So during Lockdown, stuck at home with Sciatica awaiting surgery, and basically climbing the walls, I bought myself a Lightweight. This is my 9th Land Rover, (S2 Station Wagon, RR Classic, S3 Truck cab, RR Classic, Disco 300 Tdi, Disco 200 Tdi, Defender 90, S2 Ragtop), but never a S1 or a LWT, so, for the first time ever in my life, covering the purchase/ownership of 50 vehicles, as I couldn’t drive and couldn’t travel, I bought this Lightweight unseen!
I figured that as it had supposedly been re-built on a Galvanised Chassis with lots of new parts it couldn’t be too bad, and would be sortable. It had the V6 Essex conversion, which was popular back in the day, which I’d always rather fancied, but unfortunately it was also Orange, but I figured I could change that.
Here we are, 12 months later, post surgery, and it’s now almost finished. However it’s been quite a lot of work. It was a pretty poor re-build. For one thing, hardly anything had been tightened up, so investigating steering wander I discovered that: the wheel was loose on the column, the column was loose in the bulkhead, the steering box bolts were only finger tight, the idler was loose in the cross member, all the ball joints were shot, and the swivels were shot. For another, the body was in the wrong place: the door gaps were the worst I’ve seen on a LR, and when I started measuring up the bulkhead was too far back, 8mm on the n/s, 11mm on the o/s, and the tub was 25 mm too high at the front. The bulkhead had been quite nicely repaired, but the holes for the door hinges were in the wrong place. The handbrake and choke weren’t connected, only 2 brakes worked, it was stuck in 4wd, the coil was wired up wrong, one headlight dipped when the other was on main, the brake lights weren’t wired up, the exhaust was sitting on the rear axle and every joint was loose. It was overheating, and the cooling system seemed to be filled with drinking chocolate. It was missing, and the dizzy had seized in the block. The clutch pedal was seized. The underbonnet wiring looked like an accident with a bag of wool: I’ve tidied and re-routed it and re-taped the loom.
Oh, and it ran out of petrol as I backed it off the transporter!
So, it does have lots of new parts, but most of them hadn’t been properly fitted. In short it was a mess, and if I’d gone to look at it I wouldn’t have bought it!
However, I couldn’t go out, and had time on my hands, and I found that most days I could get out to the garage and work for an hour, as long as I was standing up, and it’s kept me mentally occupied while I waited for surgery and then recovered.
I’ve basically pulled the body apart, stripped most of the panels back to bare metal, painted it and put it back together.
Steve Parker in Whitworth pioneered the Essex V6 conversion back in the day. It delivers about the same power as a NA Rover V8, or a 200Tdi. So nearly twice the bhp of a standard series. Mine is from a ’71 Capri. It came with parabolics, (those garish blue ones!) and I’ve fitted extended shocks for comfort and off-road articulation. I know that’s not to everyone’s taste, but I figured the trade off in comfort and articulation was worthwhile.
So, I’m just at the point of feeling confident taking it out, and over the next few weeks will be venturing further afield to put it through its paces.
I'd be interested if anyone else has experience of the V6 Essex conversion
I figured that as it had supposedly been re-built on a Galvanised Chassis with lots of new parts it couldn’t be too bad, and would be sortable. It had the V6 Essex conversion, which was popular back in the day, which I’d always rather fancied, but unfortunately it was also Orange, but I figured I could change that.
Here we are, 12 months later, post surgery, and it’s now almost finished. However it’s been quite a lot of work. It was a pretty poor re-build. For one thing, hardly anything had been tightened up, so investigating steering wander I discovered that: the wheel was loose on the column, the column was loose in the bulkhead, the steering box bolts were only finger tight, the idler was loose in the cross member, all the ball joints were shot, and the swivels were shot. For another, the body was in the wrong place: the door gaps were the worst I’ve seen on a LR, and when I started measuring up the bulkhead was too far back, 8mm on the n/s, 11mm on the o/s, and the tub was 25 mm too high at the front. The bulkhead had been quite nicely repaired, but the holes for the door hinges were in the wrong place. The handbrake and choke weren’t connected, only 2 brakes worked, it was stuck in 4wd, the coil was wired up wrong, one headlight dipped when the other was on main, the brake lights weren’t wired up, the exhaust was sitting on the rear axle and every joint was loose. It was overheating, and the cooling system seemed to be filled with drinking chocolate. It was missing, and the dizzy had seized in the block. The clutch pedal was seized. The underbonnet wiring looked like an accident with a bag of wool: I’ve tidied and re-routed it and re-taped the loom.
Oh, and it ran out of petrol as I backed it off the transporter!
So, it does have lots of new parts, but most of them hadn’t been properly fitted. In short it was a mess, and if I’d gone to look at it I wouldn’t have bought it!
However, I couldn’t go out, and had time on my hands, and I found that most days I could get out to the garage and work for an hour, as long as I was standing up, and it’s kept me mentally occupied while I waited for surgery and then recovered.
I’ve basically pulled the body apart, stripped most of the panels back to bare metal, painted it and put it back together.
Steve Parker in Whitworth pioneered the Essex V6 conversion back in the day. It delivers about the same power as a NA Rover V8, or a 200Tdi. So nearly twice the bhp of a standard series. Mine is from a ’71 Capri. It came with parabolics, (those garish blue ones!) and I’ve fitted extended shocks for comfort and off-road articulation. I know that’s not to everyone’s taste, but I figured the trade off in comfort and articulation was worthwhile.
So, I’m just at the point of feeling confident taking it out, and over the next few weeks will be venturing further afield to put it through its paces.
I'd be interested if anyone else has experience of the V6 Essex conversion
