Hopeful Military Series 2 rebuilt

Hey there all,

Im new here on this forum. About a year ago, while enjoying the sun in the coutryside I stumbled upon this vehicle, a 1964 FFR series 2 military landrover which caught my attention immediately. It was situated in a field in the sister island of Malta - Gozo. Apparently a place where it has been for the past 11 years. I have no information on what it used to serve whatsoever..

Looking at it the first thing it crossed my mind was to acquire it to start off a project; this needless to mention was against my girlfriend's and my father's will as I have to admit I do not have much time (and knowledge - hence the word - hopeful - in my thread title) at my dispense. Eventually it ended up in another field next to my house for dismantling. and that's when the story started. The worse it could happen was that I end up burning 400 bucks.. which is not the end of the world..

To date I have managed to dismantle all stuff to the chassis; which does not seem to be that bad. Sadly I did not record much of this process so I have very limited images to show you.

Meanwhile I have acquired some other parts from a donor vehicle which includes a bulkhead which was not as bad as this one (ill be posting pics very shortly). This landy was fitted with a 4203 perkins engine which I shall be keeping for the time being till till I find a suitable engine. I am still undecided whether to go for a full spec restoration (with the help of third-parties), or to have a good runner in good mechanical condition with parabolics etcc. Being a military vehicle it I beleive it would be next to impossible to aquire all the parts to keep it as it once was.. id like your views on this..

in contrast with other threads, I will not be teaching others how to carry out things but I would like to use this space as a channel to get suggestions, and directions on how to tackle certain mechanical issues which I am not capable of doing. As mentioned it is quite a feat for myself to complete as im not very proficient when it comes to mechanics/panel beating etc. Im also limited with specific workshop tools. however I am willing to give my best to get this thing back on the road.. You will have to be patient as I do not have much time at my disposal to work on it. first thing i'll do I will post some more pictures for reference.. Im all ears for any good old tips

this where it was resting







dismantling easy bits..











This is what im at for the past month...



I have one question, looking at the above image. Is it something custom that the second fuel tank is simple cut up and used for storage? I've asked around and seen another 2 vehicle that have undergone such intervention.. which is a pity as it seems to be next to impossible to acquire one. Is it identical to the one on the driver's side?

Chassis seems to be in good condition, so it going off for sandblasting along with diffs when I disassemble them..

I'll promise you more images very shortly!

cheers and happy new year..

warren

Looks like a good project series, good luck with it, looks like a good service and clean up and paint would work

hope the chassis stands up to the blasting, does look good for its age

Hello there..

sorry for no posts but as i mentioned this is going to be a slow build :/

Thanks Paul, as you will see from the pictures it will take more than that!

Joe - we will see. At first glance it looks goes however on a second look it seems to be warped on the front end. I beleive this could be either result of an accident or some extreme welds. I will post some picture very shortly.

Since my last post I have managed to clean up the gearbox (without a power washer) which was one hack of a job to do as I believe that is was never cleaned since production. It had about 1 cm of grit made up from a mix of dirt and oil all over.. thats typical



This is w're we are at the mom.. looks a bit better





removed the clutch release area for bearing inspection and for myself to clean the area around it.. bearing looks fine also so a bit of grease and will close this back..



opened up the lower plate of transfer case to have a look at the gears.. which also to my eye seem decent.. was also happy to find some oil in there too.. I dont know if there is anything particular to look at, however given my knowledge and from what I read online I would leave this as it is...



I noticed there are two openings in the housings indicated in the image below.. one is for the clutch release an one on the opposite side. I would like to ask whether there are any rubber or something to close it off as it is impermeable.. and prone to dirt collection inside which is virtually impossible to clean without the removal of the box/engine..



handbrake drum removed including expander and off for cleaning..





While removing the washer behind the retaining nut of handbrake drum, a seal came out which I have no idea whether this was a quick fix with silicone as I cannot find it in any of the manuals.. it seemed to be attached firmly to the washer as show in the image.. I also asked around and they are mentioning that it is silicone. i'd like some one to help me out on this..



removed form washer - no ideas if it silicone or worn out seal.. (i know for some this may be a straight forward issue but im really green at this)





noticed the brake adjuster has had the bolts welded; guess this was a quick fix for worn out threads..so it will need replacment as it wobbly..



im planning to use epoxy metal paint primer and black hammerite as finish to finish off the metal bits..

id appreciate someone could help out as im pretty sure there is a 'standard' check list and inspection areas that are common to carry out especially seals which do tend to wear out and may need replacement which i am not aware of.. thank beforehand for that..

hope you enjoy the update..

nice.. looks good so far

There should be a felt seal behind the big nut of the transfer box, your series looks good

Very nice "toasty" project.....

I have a great love for series Landys (5 between myself and the Mrs)
BUT ex military ones are my favouritest of all.

Warren, congrats for taking that landy into your care. I drove past it a number of times a few years back. In the fourth picture from the top, I can see an engine lying on its side. I believe that's a Rover 2.25. Is that engine yours? If not, perhaps you could obtain it for little money and rebuild it. It's most definitely better than the monster that you have. Slow, thirsty, noisy and has an appetite for halfshafts.