Pleased to have found you all.

[25.Eng.REME]

Hello

I have in the last few days inherited a series II a 109", 24V FFR Hardtop. It is a K Reg., 1970 and at the moment is in standard condition but absolutely off the road / project state. The last time i opened my Grandfathers garage was 1991 and no-one has opened it since and the Land Rover was in bad shape then ! Now it is in a very sorry state and has to have a new chassis and probably lots of other new parts. The body is good and all the original parts are there so i have a question, as an experienced mechanic but a new member and a complete beginner with Land Rovers (This is my first):

This vehicle is being restored in my workshop now and whilst i'm happy to seek whatever advice i need on specific jobs, as and when i do them, i need to know what direction to go in with this project. If i restore the vehicle as a 24V FFR, will it be worth loads of money when it's done or only marginally more, or even less than a normal series II a ? The reason i ask is not for financial gain as i'm not selling it but i would not want to go converting and changing stuff on a rare or historic vehicle that should be restored to standard. Whereas if they are a 'Pig' with wierd electrics and expensive parts for no real gain, then stuff it i'm wiring it up properly and fitting decent components as i go around it. I would like to point out that i will be bugging the ***t out of all of you for info and i'm not a new member looking to make some fast cash out of a forum - far from it, i just need direction with this. I was given this vehicle in 1991 and at the time, turned it down as i had no tools, resource, working space or money. Now, when i was with my Grandfather the other day, i was talking about looking for a project to restore this winter and he said
"Your Old Landy is still in the garage".

Imagine my suprise, but then Grandfathers are like that keeping stuff, so to the garage we went. All these years i had presumed it to be sold / scrapped etc but there it was in exactly the same place i left it, tyres deflated to clear the door height and all.

I was 19 in 1991, now i'm 34 and was actually thinking of buying a defender this winter but now i've re-discovered my original Land Rover, i'm keeping it.

If anyone has ANYTHING interesting to say about my vehicle, please do. Good or bad, i need to know so i don't begin this project in the wrong direction.

I'm looking forward to being here and finding out all i can about this, hope fully even making some new friends along the way.

Many thanks to all who read this,

Phil.

 

[slob]

g'day, reme you say? experienced mechanic you say? complete beginner with landrovers you say? interesting combination i say

 

[Griffdowg]

slob you say alot...

welcome to the zone

G

 

[slob]

slob you say alot...

welcome to the zone

G

and welcome to you too mr dowg

 

[Griffdowg]

you welcomed me in long ago slob old chap

G

 

[slob]

ah thought ah had ah was just put out abit by my welcome from you just there

 

[Griffdowg]

do i have to welcome you every time i speak to you then?

welcome to the zone was aimed at the author

welcome back slob!

G

 

[Gareth Coe]

Good day Slob and good day Griff! I Hope you are both in the best of health.

Welcome to our new victi... er sorry, I mean member 25.eng.REME

will it be worth loads of money?

No

But you'll have SO much fun with it that you won't care


Gareth

 

[slob]

welcome griff and mr coe

 

[Griffdowg]

Welcome Slob (again) and welcome Mr G Coe

 

[Grippa]

Welcome REME, not Slob, Griff or Gareth fer that matter. You lot dunt get a welcome, you just 'are'.

As fer the FFR. Nope, it ain't going to be worth a mint if you restore it. Depends what you want from it. If it'll mean more to you restored, do it. If you want to rebuild it to your own spec, do that instead.

Being a 'proper' soldier you might find hanging about with the 'toy' soldiers on the restored military vehicle scene a bit nauseating (oh, shoot me down in flames someone, frankly I dunt give a munkees..........5 minutes around a bloke who spent 3 months sourcing the correct air for his tyres duz not float my boat. That said their motors often look superb, each to his own, it just ain't mine!)

Whichever you decide there's plenty of help both here & on the net in general to restore, convert to 12 volt or turn it into Chitty Chitty fkn Bang Bang.

The one question you'll always get asked sooner rather than later is: Got any piccies of it.....................so, got any piccies of it?

 

[slob]

welcome griff and mr coe and up periscope

 

[Gareth Coe]

you might find hanging about with the 'toy' soldiers on the restored military vehicle scene a bit nauseating

He he, I'll second that. Rivet-counters galore

 

[stig]

If it where me rebuilding the 109 I would convert it now onto 12v electrics, that way in the future it is easy to obtain replacement bulbs/starter etc not having to chase round for them and be paying the earth.

 

[25.Eng.REME]

g'day, reme you say? experienced mechanic you say? complete beginner with landrovers you say? interesting combination i say

Thanks for such a welcome.

I should explain; My Father, Lance Corporal Phillip Michael Johnston was a REME Soldier from 1964-1974 and attached to, among others, 25 Engineering Regiment. Me and him took this Land Rover on in 1991 and were beaten back by my lack of tools and my Dad's intimate knowledge of the vehicles told him it was a big project. This one is a 1970 so would have been exactly what he had and had to fix in the Army but he helped me strip some of it and decided it was too big a project for us to do, considering i had no money to speak of at age 19 and he was in a slow decline of health with MS. We left the Land Rover in the garage at HIS Dad's place in summer 1991 and drove away in My dad's brand new Mercedes. I felt a little delflated at the time, but my Dad was offering to buy me a car so i didn't argue and i knew he was GOD where Army vehicles were concerned. I presumed he would tell his Dad but he didn't and so it sat undisturbed.
My Dad tragically died in 2001, just 10 years later, at the age of 53 from numerous infections and hospital 'Superbugs' at the very end of a 12 month stay to treat him for the MS that he had suffered since the mid 80's. It was the biggest blow my life will ever receive and even now i still have a massive problem dealing with the loss and absence of my absolute BEST mate. I inherited the Mercedes we drove in that day in 1991 and every day, it was our family car from 1990 until he died in 2001. It is a big comfort for me to have it and drive it every day (It is still, and kept in, the immaculate condition he left it in and totally unchanged) but still, dealing with the biggest man i ever knew, my Dad the Soldier, fading away at 53 like a frail old man weighs really heavy on me, all the time.
To now find out that the garage we drove away from, that crystal clear day in my memory and in what's now my car, was undisturbed by anyone since that day is more than amazing. When i saw it, i don't mind admitting i broke like a child. I didn't even have to consider whether or not to take it on, i had to ! Back when i was 19 i just couldn't have done it but now, well all i can say is that my restoration workshop is clear and waiting in excited anticipation of the Land Rover's arrival from it's tomb at my Grandfather's.
I am doing this for my Dad and to honour the soldier that he was before desease and illness changed all our lives forever. The original plan was to use his intimate knowledge of the vehicle but now i am on my own with this and hoping that my experience so far will stand me enough to get through this. I do understand most of what i have seen and i watched 'A 4x4 is reborn' on sky so i have an idea of what's inside but i am not put off as i was in the past. I will replace most of what i find so i anticipate a reasonable straight forward build and it is going onto a new, galvanised chassis for lots of different reasons.
The colour scheme argument rages on and is currently being led by Trad. Army green, Camo, Gloss Black and a one-off REME design using the 'Stable Belt' design that is my Avatar, in blue paint with laser cut vinyl stripes and badges.
Whatever it turns out like, it's a rolling tribute to my Amazing Father, the REME soldier and the best Mechanic on the planet. I'm not rushing it and with other, ongoing projects at the same time, i am putting an ETA on this of 12 months. I am already sourcing parts but i am spending a large amount of my time getting the details right and the preparation of the entire vehicle, at every small stage. I will be taking pics this weekend before i move it and start work on it.
To say i'm excited about this is a bit like saying bank robbers are a bit naughty.

As for the restoration / rebuild debate, it's won. I will be rebuilding this to be a 12V vehicle with the most capable and modern suspension, brakes etc that i can get but keeping all the original features, especially the exterior. I will have some FFR bits for sale soon and i will post the Ebay numbers on this forum when i list them but the plan is now to build a proper, decent vehicle that looks original but brand new. This is what i do to all kinds of makes and models of cars and this is definitely the most interesting vehicle to date.

Sorry about the length of this post but it needs explaining fully to get the proper meaning of this across. Thanks for reading this far and for all help that i will need and reciprocate where possible.

Phil.

 

[slob]

what a lot of tripe

 

[GRUNT]

**** me erm Hiya.

 

[Grippa]

Fair play REME. When I saw on yer profile 'vehicle restorer' I thought you wuz being ironic! With what most of us do to keep our wheels on the road (or off it) I reckon we could all put that. Except you probably use less duck tape and smaller hammers.

You might want to look up the military vehicle restoration lot as thay may give you a better price for the FFR bits you want to sell than just sticking them on Fleabay.

I reckon your right, the stable belt design would be a good looking tribute on the finished truck.

Oh, & Slobbo, you ain't got no soul.

 

[EbonynIvory]

Hi 25,

Welcome and good luck with the project!! I know nothing about what I am doing with my landy but I have had some very good help, this lot will help you even if they are heartless........SLOB!!! Oh and they do take the **** but it is ment in good fun. Enjoy.

 

[25.Eng.REME]

Thanks Marcus. I think it's the same with a lot of the cars i work on, takes at least half a mechanic just to own one.

I will look up the military lot for those parts sale, thanks.

The Stable belt design on a blue vehicle is my favourite and most likely to be the colours i finish with.

Like i said in it, sorry for the really long post. I think this thing happening to me is a big part of our family history, so i wanted to explain it all. From now on i will keep my comments and questions concise and I won't bore anyone with such tripe again !

Thanks for the positive comments and any bits of help.

Phil.