58 landrover question or three

ok i've never had a landy but i finally fancy one (bad idea ?) i know it's not fast and will shake my fillings out but most of my journeys are under 40 miles (if i wanna go fast i'll pull a bike out)

i'm looking at getting a short wheel base one (gotta be pre 73) and have found one that's a month older than me (i'm 50 born in 58 ) and it's being sold as a project ...

this one has already been converted to diesel with a perkins 4203, dunno if that good or bad, but runs

i know the chassis do rot over time and footwells fall out, this one apparently has minimal rot, one hole at the front of the chassis and the bulkhead is "corroded"...

it is a proper fixer upper as far as i can make out over the phone but it moves under it's own steam but will require trailering away to get it home, i'm planning on going to look at it over the next day or two but would like a few pointers if anyone can offer them ..

eg..
which bits if they need replacing are likely to be expensive??

is the bulkhead a problem to repair?? (i can weld and have my own welding tools, mig etc)

should i be worried about the chassis ??

this landy will become my only car once on the road (i doubt i do more than4k miles per year in my car), am i being stupid in going for one that's as old as me ...

i know there's several diesel conversions for them so i wasn't too worried about actually getting one already converted but the age of this one has me seriously tempted, unfortunately i don't know anyone that owns one that could go with me to look at it so i'm going to need all the tips i can get off you folks

Thanks in advance

If it is 1958, it could be series I or Series II? But rot in chassis and bulkhead are probs on both. Bulkhead top rails and other sections are available for Ser I thro their club, and probably same for Ser II. Sections to look at on chassius are front dumb irons (where bumper bolts on), chassis outriggers (hold the bulkhead , fuel tank and body) and main chassis from rear axle back to the rear crossmember (which also rots out). On Ser II also check the outriggers that (should be) attached to the rear springs. If its really bad, and the price is right, then rebuilding on a new galv chassis may be a good option. I am sure they must be someone about in the Brum area who would go with you. (bit far from here!)

Its a big Meccano kit really, so pretty straightforward to work on and can be reduced to just a chassis in a weekend if you need to!

Good luck with your find.

cheers for that ....

the mechanicals (stripping/reassembling) don't particularly worry me apart from siezed bolts/stripped threads as i've done that all my life, all my bikes are old as have been my cars ...

i've built all sorts from mopeds to V8 truck engines (from a rolling chassis up), build my own wiring harnesses when i need/want to (but 80 on there's too much crap in them due to all the unnecessary electronic controls/sensors)...

will be doing all my own welding as i bought a decent mig plant some years ago and have repaired car bodywork (roughly, i hate folks asking me to repair thier rotten car) and straightened out a couple of rotten and bent transit chassis along with all my own welding as and when needed so unless the landy chassis is beyond redemption i can cope with it...

very little scares me around motorised transport as i think i was born with a spanner in one hand and a hammer in the other just needed a few pointers to get me started

the perkins 4203 is a really basic and slow engine, i could get 55mph flat out and it gave 18mpg..... i've been told by i few old boys that the 4203 will just on and on but when something breaks the engine just eats itself!! i've been looking for spares and overhaul kits for mine but they are pretty expensive, although whole engines apear on ebay quite a lot and go cheap (i got one for 30quid!)

im selling my series 111 1982 2286 diesel its an unfinished project and just aboutt complete,major work is all complete, its been totaly taken down to just the bulk head, engine and g box thats all that was left on it, chassis repaired and back half replaced, all brakes and parts renewedm including pipes top half engine rebuilt all new parts ect, if interested send me an email, regards