Series 2a 109 Restoration

Hi everybody, well our much awaited 2a arrived today after a couple of weeks waiting for transport and quite frankly we can't wait to get stuck into restoring this classic (on top of resorting a series 1 ) . It's all there and won't require a complete disassembly but the engine will need to come out (original 2.6 6 cylinder) here's some pics to start with and I'll keep you all posted. Thanks!

Woohoo! top truck, I love the big station wagons. Get on with it.

Cheers mate! We fell in love as soon as we saw it, first up will be to wash and polish the outside to see how good it'll come up then move into the interior and do the same, I'll post the pictures this weekend.

Great old truck that, look forward to seeing how you progress with it

Glad to see there's interest in this old beast!, just a quick question, now would I be right in assuming that this air brake thing (under the air intake line in pictures) is non original? I've never heard of one being put on 2a's so if it's not original, it's going.

I always thought servos only on later series 3s. I would say a servo makes braking much easier than the other system! Much less force required to apply the brakes!

I've fitted one to mine using a defender pedal tower

that is a beaut, I too love the wagons, good luck with the resto, keep the pics coming

LRDiscoV8 said:

Hi everybody, well our much awaited 2a arrived today after a couple of weeks waiting for transport and quite frankly we can't wait to get stuck into restoring this classic (on top of resorting a series 1 ) . It's all there and won't require a complete disassembly but the engine will need to come out (original 2.6 6 cylinder) here's some pics to start with and I'll keep you all posted. Thanks!

Click to expand...

looks like you couldn't wait to get stuck into a beer!

samc88 said:

I always thought servos only on later series 3s. I would say a servo makes braking much easier than the other system! Much less force required to apply the brakes!

I've fitted one to mine using a defender pedal tower

Click to expand...

Well we inspected the unit more closely today and looking at the original 2a workshop manual that came with the car, that is an original unit, however previous owners have bodged it to use as an assisted trailer brake system and has resulted in additional non original parts in the engine bay… They how ever have been removed
So today we tidied the interior a bit and sorted a LOT of electrics and discovered that somehow most of the electrics actually work. We removed the toyota seats (one of the first things we did ) and attempted to start it (plenty of oil and water). We actually had surprisingly good results as she did fire and seemed like she wanted to go… there were 2 reasons why she didn't run. Mainly because the fuel pump doesn't work) and because we had no airo start and tried some deodorant instead (might sound stupid but nearly bloody worked!).
2 questions however. are the brake lights original? (in pictures obviously)or are they meant to be the same as the indicator lights?
and 2… is the Land Rover badge on the front grill meant to be like it is? surely it didn't originally come placed all wonky like it is? the only thing is, is that theres no evidence that it would have been placed elsewhere.
Its always the small things that get us!
Thanks for interest and advice everybody! Appreciated!

trax said:

looks like you couldn't wait to get stuck into a beer!

Click to expand...

Haha he's the 'foreman' :beer2:

The grille looks home made, just noticed you're in Australia so maybe that's how they were done, never seen one like that before though. Love the Rover Australia badge.

Tail light isn't original or at least I've never seen one like it.

Agree the grill looks home-made but the badge looks original similar to 'special vehicles' badge but don't know if it was standard to LR's sold in Oz

Stop lamp looks like an old series 1 style

I've had a look around the Internet and in the manual and can't really find a grill that looks like our one, perhaps it is a home made one? There's a few people I know I can ask over here that should be able to give good advice also. As for the lights, they are made in England if that's any help? But if their not original to a 2a then they are going to get replaced (not chucked out though!). They do look very similar to a S1 brake light though.

That's a standard Series 2/2a and early Series 3 rear stop/tail/reflector unit. They only became the same design as the indicators early in Series 3 production. So many have been changed since production stopped 42 years ago most would think that they were always the same size, and it would seem to be logical to have them the same! They also have a clear section underneath to act as a numberplate lamp which is why some series 2 vehicles don't have them. 4 uses in one, that is quite Land Rover actually!

give us a better photo of the grill please, my knackered eyes and ancient monitor don't help with making out details

there is a couple of "odd" grills that were genuine factory ones fitted to 2/2a's

Okay so progress over the last week has been going well (not the quickest but progressing non the less). We have gone ahead and removed everything thats not original both inside and out. Bought some aero start and tried to start her and was so close but after diagnosing a stuffed fuel pump she didn't run… She was so close to starting though!
A quick overview of what we have done:
- Removed non original parts
- Sorted more electrics
- Compression test (compression was all over the place)
- Replaced rubbers and glass on the safari roof
- Removed the head
- Battery relocated to correct place
- Removed the air brake system (which is an original part but needs overhauling)
We have also spoken to our resident Land Rover expert and have been told the rear lights are original and so is the grill however the LR badge has been moved up and the mesh has been fitted later. Over the next week we plan to remove the engine and start work on that. Heres a couple of photos (been a bit lazy photoing everything) of the grill, S3 towing the S2A to shade and the engine without head… Cheers

that's a really nice grill so even if it was fake it wouldn't matter

NiteMare said:

that's a really nice grill so even if it was fake it wouldn't matter

Click to expand...

Fortunately for us it's original so it's definitely staying but previous owners have fiddled with it and added the chicken wire mesh stuff to it and moved the badge upwards... Been told that the 'six' badge is also very rare (at least over here)

LRDiscoV8 said:

Fortunately for us it's original so it's definitely staying but previous owners have fiddled with it and added the chicken wire mesh stuff to it and moved the badge upwards... Been told that the 'six' badge is also very rare (at least over here)

Click to expand...

i'll guess the chicken wire is to foil the kamikaze sparrows/budgies etc' from destroying your radiator