series 2A rebuild ,ideas ,wisdom ect

helo ,just bought a series 2a 88 inch 1964,fetched last sunday from a garden where it has been resting for 8 years ,ive bought for my lad who is 13 so we can restore it and it will be his first car ,im after advise on mods ,like brakes ,beater ,windsrceen motor ect ,we want the truck to look as it should but would like it to drive and stop and be as warm ass a good un lol,its a petrol at mo but thinking of a diesel ,any pearls of wisdom would be very helpful ,
regards karl

Would need to watch the insurance if you're modding engine brakes etc

im only gonna try make brakes better ,so safer ,,,engine would be 2 n a quarter diesel,or just rebuild the pet ,looking at in fo on gearbox to see if its a s2 or 3,so i can change it for 3 ,as it migbt be easyer than trying to teach him to double clutch ,

It'll always drive and feel like an agricultural vehicle, the existing brakes will work fine if they're properly reconditioned. Later Series have larger front brakes and Servos, you can put those on if required though. Early Discovery turbo diesel engines are popular to fit. I think the hardest bit is getting it to be warm!

Crash boxes good and strong. Brakes could go for a disc brake conversion or fit LWB backplates and shoes etc. Overdrive would help and a 5 bearing diesel lump. Could also fit a servo.

Fit heated windscreens then just concentrate on heating the cab parabolics help with the ride dont fit polybushes to stiff.

Rattlegun said:

It'll always drive and feel like an agricultural vehicle, the existing brakes will work fine if they're properly reconditioned. Later Series have larger front brakes and Servos, you can put those on if required though. Early Discovery turbo diesel engines are popular to fit. I think the hardest bit is getting it to be warm!

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trying to keep or get warm in any series or fender is a challenge lol,he drives my fender now of road ,and he nos its never gonna be quite ,warm ,and comfy lol ,but its his first truck and hes allways wanted a s 2, biggest prob weve got at min is trying to get parts ,just getting rare as hens teeth

going for parabolicks ,never use poly bush cause they are **** ,seem to change um every year on fender so put genuine on and not changed them in two years ,what servo upgrade can i do ?

get a series 3 servo. You might need to fit a servo vac pump if you swap for a diesel.

To keep warm fit a fume curtain behind front seats, surprising the difference restricting the heated volume can make. Agree with heated windscreen, it's going to be my next purchase. Demisters are poor on any series...

I'd add rear fog light and a reverse light.

Lastly, get a camera/recorder setup for insurance evidence and permanently fix it. Young un's now need all the help they can get with insurance, so being able to prove fault in case of a incident is very important. (might prove it the wrong way , but I'll assume he's a decent driver)

If you go the diesel/servo route. Fit an electric vacuum pump triggered off the brake light switch. 2 hours to fit around £80 and a much better bet than trying to find a servo flap that is not shagged and then getting the linkage sorted. My series three gets warm enough most only need the heater matrix flushing out a few times to make a big difference. Binning the heater valve for direct piping helps a bit.

Don't worry about insurance for the upgrades. Mine is tricked up to hell and there is no quibble for me or the wife to drive it on the road and also use it in light competition.

Its an old car it will always drive like an old car, I got disc brakes and you still take it easy.
Like most have said before go for the larger drum brakes - is it 10" drums And fit the series 3 servo.

I reckon the trick to the warmth is actually not in the heater but reducing all the drafts. Big tick to the heated windscreen for defrosting. Also look at fitting carpet to the roof if its a hardtop. It will help on many levels - insulation, sound deading and stopping the dreading condensation.
Sound deading throughout will make a big difference. The diesel is known to be noiser than the petrol for driving. So you may need to lock into some huge badass speakers if the boy is expecting to be listening to tunes.

As for parts, there out there. Just keep an eye on fleabay and the forums. Sometimes you get a bargain othertimes you need to pay through the nose.

Happy rebuild, now lets see a photo.

major truma 2 said:

helo ,just bought a series 2a 88 inch 1964,fetched last sunday from a garden where it has been resting for 8 years ,ive bought for my lad who is 13 so we can restore it and it will be his first car ,im after advise on mods ,like brakes ,beater ,windsrceen motor ect ,we want the truck to look as it should but would like it to drive and stop and be as warm ass a good un lol,its a petrol at mo but thinking of a diesel ,any pearls of wisdom would be very helpful ,
regards karl

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i'm glad to see you have realistic expectations re the time frame

if you are rebuilding i would look for a galv chassis and bulkhead.

heater is crap, probably better off sticking in heated seats than mucking with it.

petrol has more poke than the diesel, and can drive up hills, you can't run veg or anything in the diesel so with the cost of running i'd probably stick with the petrol.

or stick in a later engine like a 2.5na/200/300

brakes are alright for that engine imo.

my first car was a banger which was useful as i flogged it to death and abused it no end

cheer lads ,,where can i get tje electric servo from , and heated front screens ?

V8 it

Dr_evil said:

V8 it

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lol,,its for my lad and dont want him putting it on his roof ,,but if it were for me id put a t16 turbo engine in t ,and it would **** all over a v8 and be a lot lighter ,dont no why land rover put k series in f l ,when mpi or t 16 much better engine imo

As has been said fit heated screen and then a heated seat cover off amazon. I had them in my rrc as the heater was shagged, worked very well. You dont need a decent heater so much then.
Stick with the petrol theres nothing wrong with them. Fit an overdrive if you want it to be more than a town vehicle and consider electronic ignition. If its a crash box, teach the boy to double clutch before he drives it

ronsealdeath said:

As has been said fit heated screen and then a heated seat cover off amazon. I had them in my rrc as the heater was shagged, worked very well. You dont need a decent heater so much then.
Stick with the petrol theres nothing wrong with them. Fit an overdrive if you want it to be more than a town vehicle and consider electronic ignition. If its a crash box, teach the boy to double clutch before he drives it

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sounds like im stocking with petrol ,and try to teach him to match engine speed to gears ,,gonna be fun lol

Have a twin heater matrix in my Series 3 was out all day Tuesday had to keep turning the fan off or open vent to keep cool.




Also busy with a new fan made with a motor and fan from LDV convoy van.

As to engines, with a bit of fettling you can expect 20ish (I get up to 28 on long runs) from a petrol with a bit of work which is as good if not better than a diesel and 95 petrol is a good bit cheaper than diesel. Plus it's original, goes fast enough and is dead easy to fix or replace the engine. You'll spend a lot of time (and a lot of noise) driving it with a *00*di before you make your money back...

Probably, excluding comfort, the first upgrade is an overdrive. Comfort will depend on the layout, but whatever it is draft exclusion is the first stop.

Brakes are fine unless you're towing/carrying huge loads. I had to do an emergency stop from 90mph recently with standard 10" brakes and was more worried about what would run into the back of me than what I'd hit. As has been said though a series 3 servo or similar is well worth the investment as are dual circuit brakes, but not the stupid failure sensor which leaks all the brake fluid out if there's a fault!

Whatever you decide - it's your motor and whatever you do to it, every time you drive the thing you'll think "I did that" and 90% of the time you'll be proud the other 10% you'll think, what a nobhead! Enjoy!

glad i asked for advice now ,,following on ,defeo sticking with original engine ,
gonna try a find heated front screens ,