Looking for my perfect series

rivarama said:

Interesting auction about to start on carandclassics... was fitted with a V8 engine. Doesn’t seem to have been received a galvanised chassis / bulkhead

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/auctions/1963-land-rover-series-iia-N8jwvg

Click to expand...

That looks an interesting auction - from the pictures they have put up it looks honest ..... BUT .... why are there no pictures of the underside?

To repeat myself, and most everyone else - the chassis, and proper repair thereof is where the money is! - same applies to the BH ... Might be worth getting it independently inspected ? ( make sure it is someone who knows about Series LR's )

Given the carb service it has just had - I'm a bit confused as to why Craddocks would have been used to do this - But I don't know them well enough ( even though I have an account ) - I thought they were largely modern stuff ?

I was really glad to see that the advert didn't mention "freshly undersealed" - if you ever see this on a description, just run away as fast as you can.... they need proper rust treatment and protection, which is not underseal....

SWMBO & I have just had another look at the piccies on a bigger screen - there are pics of the BH:-



The above needs work .....

There are also pics of the wiring under the bonnet .... doesn't impress me... and .... about this carb service ... why, given the have been stripped and cleaned .... are they not, er, .... clean ?

There are also pics of the underneath - and some crustiness - possibly even some repairs to the chassis - FOS looks to have been patched, which is perfectly fine if done properly .... I'd need to see it, hammer in hand ...

Also none standard exhaust - which I half understand - it's not the standard engine - BUT, taking the pipe out the PTO hole in the rear cross member is a bit "out there" .... how may other short cuts have been taken ....e.g. The standard 2a gearbox won't like the torque from the V8 very much .... so is it the right GB for the V8, or ???

As usual, it's all gonna come down to price - at the lower end of the estimate it might be a goer, subject to a proper inspection - if the chassis and BH are toast, then any buyer would be needing either deep pockets, or facilities and the skills to sort the issues out ....

If I was in the market for a S2a - I'd be interested in that, because none of the work I can see phases me - and whilst it is MOT exempt ( stupid idea IMHO ) - first step might be sending it for an MOT to see what happens

Amazing! What a difference does it make to have true enthusiasts in a forum that know what they’re talking about.

I have spent the best part of last night going through tens and tens of threads and I am amazed about the level of knowledge and creative thinking there is in this community.

I cannot wait to start getting clued up and contributing in my own way at some point.

rivarama said:

Amazing! What a difference does it make to have true enthusiasts in a forum that know what they’re talking about.

I have spent the best part of last night going through tens and tens of threads and I am amazed about the level of knowledge and creative thinking there is in this community.

I cannot wait to start getting clued up and contributing in my own way at some point.

Click to expand...

HTH

Cool - as you say, this is a community - of nutters perhaps , but, LR's get into your blood - if looked after properly, they are truly remarkable vehicles.

Have you been in touch with the auction folk ? do they have an independent report on the 2a ? Surely that would be a great selling point if they did ?

Call me cynical if you like, but if there isn't one - doesn't that tell us something ?

Wow, one thing I have learnt from looking on ebay and gumtree is my 2a seems to have gone up in value again

rivarama said:

Amazing! What a difference does it make to have true enthusiasts in a forum that know what they’re talking about.

I have spent the best part of last night going through tens and tens of threads and I am amazed about the level of knowledge and creative thinking there is in this community.

I cannot wait to start getting clued up and contributing in my own way at some point.

Click to expand...

LZ is an excellent forum, and yes it is full of nutters as said by D1BFG above, but in the true British fashion they are our nutters!

Maybe worth a look, for some reason I can't share a link on my phone

As he is in London, he would be better off looking at vehicles over 40 years old.

They will be exempt from the London emissions rules, whereas the above 1985 example would not, at least for another few years.

Pre-1980 also has the advantage of being tax exempt which saves another few hundred pounds a year.

As Disco 1 BFG says, I would avoid the Car and Classic auction series 2. Looks like a tart up job to me. Paintwork is ropey and scary rust patches. V8 sounds appealing, but sounds like a can of worms to me. Better to go with something more standard/original. The 1985 Series 3 looks overpriced, and as Webley1991 says, better to get one which is tax exempt and able to be used within low emissions zones.

So..... a great deal of us have been down your road to getting the absolute best Series. I brought mine 4 years ago and it’s been great. I brought it from John Brown 4x4 as I live locally. I know he picks landys for c.£4000 and flips then quite quick putting them up for double the price. When I brought mine it had a fibre glass panel
on one of the outriggers.....they never mention chassis/bulkheads etc. I don’t regret buying from them but you can get a better LR with matching numbers for c. £5-6k

Marmaduke said:

View attachment 227411

Maybe worth a look, for some reason I can't share a link on my phone

Click to expand...

That looks interesting. What website is it on?

Gun7354 said:

So..... a great deal of us have been down your road to getting the absolute best Series. I brought mine 4 years ago and it’s been great. I brought it from John Brown 4x4 as I live locally. I know he picks landys for c.£4000 and flips then quite quick putting them up for double the price. When I brought mine it had a fibre glass panel
on one of the outriggers.....they never mention chassis/bulkheads etc. I don’t regret buying from them but you can get a better LR with matching numbers for c. £5-6k

Click to expand...

I was looking at his stock list - they’re lovely indeed but nothing for less than £15-16k and indeed no mention of the subframe /
BH etc...
What website outside of eBay, Autotrader and Classicandcar would you be looking for?

And yes I would def want to get a 1980 or earlier model as I would be road tax, congestion charge and ULEZ exempt. Not that I live in central central London, but go there every once in a while with the family for lunch / dinner etc...

rivarama said:

That looks interesting. What website is it on?

Click to expand...

Gumtree

Also, you realise there aren't proper seat belts on bench seats that would be in the back of a swb. You can fit forward facing fold away seats but this doesn't leave a great deal of room

Marmaduke said:

Also, you realise there aren't proper seat belts on bench seats that would be in the back of a swb. You can fit forward facing fold away seats but this doesn't leave a great deal of room

Click to expand...

And if you fit forward facing seats in the back of an 88, there isn't anywhere to put your legs, as no footwells.

Although this car looks lovely on the surface, I am not sure it works for me (diesel, no overdrive, and non sync gearbox), I wanted to get what your thoughts for future reference:

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1288227

The lovely owner emailed me pictures of the renovation work... some of the welding looks a bit tatty..
Is that the sort of work to be expected when working on old steel? Or is it the “my friend billy knows a guy who can weld for a good price” sort of thing?

Would this sort of details make you run away?

Your opinion really helps me calibrate the cars I can eliminate from the get go and not waste anybody’s time and money.

Thank you

rivarama said:

Is that the sort of work to be expected when working on old steel?

Click to expand...

Whilst I agree the welding looks a bit tatty - it might be sound, but not cleaned up with a grinder before painting, or it might be cr*p .... from the pics, the welding on the BH looks to be cr*p - one of the reasons why MOT exemption is a terrible idea IMO. Old steel welds just fine if cleaned properly beforehand - sometimes better than the new stuff ....

rivarama said:

Or is it the “my friend billy knows a guy who can weld for a good price” sort of thing?

Click to expand...

Possibly, and in this case probably - welding to a high standard can get expensive due the facilities necessary to do a proper job. Tis why one with a galv chassis and BH is the way forward - the rest is just nuts and bolts

rivarama said:

Would this sort of details make you run away?

Click to expand...

No, because I can fix it. BUT, if you have to pay someone to do such work, then, yes ..... but keep doing the research, learn, ask questions on here, and IMO contemplate setting yourself up with some tools and a shed big enough to do the work yourself .... Do a nightschool welding course ( when CV19 allows ) etc ....

The colour of that one would stop me looking any further at it

Plus, it's a diesel and they are dog slow - IIRC gearing is 15MPH per thousand engine revs without an o/d - so 30MPH is 2K - 60 MPH is flat out down hill with the wind behind you

Why has the chassis been repaired 2 years after being treated with a 'specialist' coating? 10 grand isn't a bad price for a 2 and that bulkhead repair is quite hard to access with a grinder

Quite tidy and honest looking
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Land-Rov...-/265007581472?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

A later 2a with bench seats and galv chassis, could always put a ragtop on at a later date

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274643434221