Series IIA 88inch Driveablility

Excellent. Don't come here whatever you do - I've got some land rover killer hills starting from outside my door!

RemoteRanger said:

Don't come here whatever you do -

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well thats just about ****ed us all up then aint it, according to your location you are in the uk, based upon the vague info you have chosen to put in your profile we are better off abroad

Good one!

I'm an evasive creature (please note how I insult your intelligence because you won't be able to find me)

Still if you're held up by a punter doing 50mph in a shiny 2A you'll know your in my area

yella disco said:

yer cant slam the brakes on in a series, its a pointless exersize, oh they leak as well

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SERIES LANDROVERS DONT LEAK........THEY MARK THEIR TERRITORY!!!!

If you want a 100+ MPH car with comfort, brakes , fuel econ and all the toys
Buy a modern car.

If you want a big boy's toy that makes you smile get a old Landy.

My 1964 2A SWB
Cursing speed = 45 to 50 MPH
Ramming speed = 60MPH (Down hill with the wind behind)
MPG = 17MPG around town (Don't go on motorways with her)
Steering = vague
brake's = Like a super tanker

But if me garage caught fire I would leave the Toyota and get the Landy.

clivees said:

Steering = vague

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I'm pretty new to Landys but I'm impressed with the steering on my IIa. It is heavy but there's loads of feedback and plenty of grip. Much better than many modern cars.

I don't no what all the fuss is about!! my s2a 88" will happily glide along at 55 on the motorway and on the way back from my last trip to cumbria i saw 65-yes 65 mph coming down shap on the m6 with the wind behind me!! the brakes work fine if you start stopping a mile away from the corner!!! an the steering is a bit vague but once you get used to it you can chuck it around like any car on the road!

I own a 1969 Series IIa and up to a short while ago used it almost daily.

1. They leak - through the roof, floor, bulkhead, and windscreen.

2. The heater doesn't - I'm firmly convinced that the heater is only there to extract any available heat from the cab and inject it into the engine.

3. They're noisy - above fifty mph and they can get a bit headache inducing. Earplugs work great though.

4. Steering is vague - and that's being nice. You do get used to it though.

5. The brakes are poor - although you can retro-fit a S3 servo that helps a lot.

6. They're slow - but let's face it, with all of the above you don't really want to be going fast in it, eh? 55 is pretty much the max. speed you'll want to go in it, but your licence will thank you for it.

Despite all the things that are wrong with them they are incredible fun to drive. The high seat position means you get a good view, and sturdy construction means you don't worry too much about idiots in rep-mobiles tail-gating you - yours does have a tow-bar, doesn't it?

"I'm pretty new to Landys but I'm impressed with the steering on my IIa. It is heavy but there's loads of feedback and plenty of grip. Much better than many modern cars."

That's good because I'm used to power steering!

..."yours does have a tow-bar, doesn't it?"

Exactly what I'm thinking - at the moment I might fit a dixon bate adjustable drop plate with a NATO hitch

"If you want a 100+ MPH car with comfort, brakes , fuel econ and all the toys
Buy a modern car."

Never!

The bulk of the feedback is pretty good - cheers! My idea of comfort is a 110 so you can see where my standard is.... I'm presuming it'll be somewhat louder still than the v8 110 but hopefully not too much louder - the idea of earplugs might be put in action if that's the case. I have it confirmed that this one will happily do 60 but due to the sheer noise/ handling it's wiser not too!

I'm only concerned that it'll do 60 if asked to if in an "emergency" because I don't like holding people up. Mind you it'll be interesting to see how the tailgaters like being slowed down....

I was a passenger in my brothers 1964 11a 109". It was the last journey the 2.25 l petrol engine ever made! On the A46 Lincoln bypass coming down the hill it picked up so much speed that we actually slingshotted past a Discovery and we both saw the needle pointing at 70 - yes 70 mph! By the time we got to the roundabout at the bottom of the hill, the engine was terminally ill. We pulled into a layby and found oil squirting out from around one of the sparkplugs. Still, it managed to get us the 20 miles home with regular radiator top ups of orange juice and ditch water and limped onto the drive sounding like a shot up WW1 biplane! The engine was replaced with a 2.25 diesel and 50 mph was rarely seen let alone the mythical 70!

Ahhh, what a relief, you can't get better than landy tales of woe!

"The engine was replaced with a 2.25 diesel..."

That's one thing that'll never happen with me ^

Incidently, a couple of years later my brother had a series 3 fitted with a Ford V6 petrol and he managed to blow that one up on the otherside of the road going up the hill around the Lincoln bypass. Mind you, the 3 litre V6 replacement was fantasic- quicker, lighter, more mpg than a landrover unit and with a homemade exhaust from scaffold pipe with blue flames on the overrun, sounded great too!

you have got to stop eating cheese and watching "fast and furious" just before bedtime

must be the horlicks creatin them dreams

I know you're talking about series II landys but I thought I'd mention my series 3 anyway as landy brake issues always make me laugh.....

The first landy I had was a 109 safari..... It apparently had brakes.... although not a religious man, I had to resort less to the brake pedal, and more to praying.... it seemed to work better! Failing that put the wipers on and apologise to the pedestrians while they're being wiped off the windscreen.......

The bizarre thing is I have a 109 military FFR landy..... the brakes are fantastic, and not just landy standards, modern car standards. I can lock all four brakes with a tap on the brakes if I so desire..... shame I'll be getting rid of this one soon as I doubt I'll find another series that brakes as well......

I love landys though one for driving everyday? Hmmmmnnn........

Oh so noisey..... speed.... lol .... gear changing will take some getting used to..... comfort..... is there a thing with them? When it rains, you will know about it.....But fantastic vehicles...... whenever I see big puddles I grin..... and then aim for them.... The noise is great in town.... everyone stares..... snow? Playtime! I love looking at prices for series spares..... 2.25 parts are soooo cheap it's great!! Everytime I drive one my my back aches, my arms are tired, I'm exhausted from having to be so road aware but I've never got out of it and not grinned from ear to ear!!!! Luckily I do have one more added bonus..... the missus thinks they're great, she's looking forward to going camping at some point and she even had no trouble driving it... albeit off road but she thought it was great!!! The only problem you'll always want one once you've driven it......

dsj1979 said:

The only problem you'll always want one once you've driven it......

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Oh YES!

Ok, some of the critics above ^^^^ may have a point, but if they want the Eurobox standards of the coilers, then a Series landy is never going to be for them. No sweat, these machines were designed in the '40's with on-going mods through to the '70's, so there is absolutely no point in comparing them to Eurotrash.

So, you now have a reasonable idea of the pitfalls from the above posts, but they can all be mitigated in way or another. Your major issue is deceiding whether to do a sympathetic period restoration, or to rebuild a landy incorporating as many features to mitigate the downsides.

For me, total brake system replacement is a must. after all, you have no idea of who has been mucking with it and what they have done, so replace Shoes, drums, snail cams, springs and cylenders. All parts are still readily available to original pattern, and the brake system will work well. If you want to stop on the spot, put in a servo ex seriesIII.

Then put on some sensible boots, with plenty of tread. - if you ain't got any grip it won't matter how good your brakes are.

Steering: - I use the 15" wheel from Paddocks - it reduces a lot of the vagueness....then you can work through the rest of the steering system, oiling, greasing and tightening as you go.....it does work, and likely that it is donkeys since it was last done (if ever)

suspension: Parabolic springs with Procomp 3000 dampers and your roadholding/cornering improves immeasurably.

Heating - often well worth draining, & flushing the cooling system several times, then checking the gills etc on the heater.....if it's the round one, often the fan motor is 'tired' so total replacement is the best result, and if it will fit, put in the flat panel heater from the later IIa - better (2 speed) fan, better heat exchange.

Leaks....replace rubber seals as necessary around doors & windows and if it's bodywork that is the issue, then tighten/replace bolts as necessary...some also seal with a bit of silicon.

Lights - if you have a alternator driven -ve earth system upgrade to halogen, if you don't...then consider for later.

and so I could go on....... ......best place for series IIa advice is from the series 2 club.... Welcome to the Series 2 Club There are some seriously knowledgeable folk there.

But, when you have finished your restoration, and after all that effort.....when you have passed the MOT and are driving back from the testing station, try, just TRY not to have the biggest grin on your face !!!

And as for speed and economy - I have a 1958 series II (with a III 5 bearing engine & servo assistance) it regularly turns in 65+ on the flat (sat nav rated) and at that speed, 20+ mpg. My standard IIa will hit 70 and averages 22mpg.

Have fun!

I get 18.98mpg. The 0.98 is important as its almost a whole mile.

The brakes are crap - but I've got used to them. Use the gears and engine as a brake. Its not a saloon car thats for sure. When I get the chance to drive the odd hire car from time to time, its like driving a go cart.

The heaters are crap and something is wrong if the roof does not leak. The Defender we had until recently was only 2 years old, cost £22K and the roof leaked worse than the old series 3.

Driving - the worst bit is the steering. Lets just say that the steering is vague. When I first driove my series 3 I was wandering all over the road and I thought I'd never get used to it. I did.

They are noisy and draughty.

Even the oldes, tattiest landy commands a certain respect from otehr drivers which you will find odd at first.

Hi Folks,

There's a lot of encouragement still coming in - cheers!

However, the project is being held up at the moment as the gearbox is stripped and needing to be rebuilt and I'm waiting for the bulkhead to be welded (the welding has started though ) so yet again the deadline is being pushed back. It's not going to be a "factory like" finish in that the IIA will have 5 spoke discovery wheels and no sill panels underneath the doors, but as it's going to be a work horse it'll have few sensible differing details such as defender mirrors (as we changed to the later hinges anyway) and indeed proprobably we'll upgrade the braking system later on etc.

This is no hybrid though - on the whole it'll look exactly like a classic, only you lot will be able to tell! Meanwhile, I've got to get Tekaloid on order from somewhere and hopefully use the spars and maybe even the floor from a 90 rear tub as the IIA's original one has got to be seen to be believed! (Might make a clipboard for someone? )

Happy days

having owned my ser 2a for a few years now its not the vehicle for every day use its cold noisy over 50mph brakes are another matter fine at low speed emergency stop forget it other than these little problems i would recommend to anyone

You dont dive a SII - you sail one. Mine came with the optional man with red flag.
Brakes are ok at best, but can put differnet master cylinder on (LWB) which improves SWB brakes.
Steering, I find that the scenic route is best, gives the arms a good work out.

BUT we are missing the point....

We want to drive a series because

i) they look good.

ii) Most are tax exempt (money saved on road tax can be spent on alcohol so govt dont loose it)

iii) to arrive in style is better than to park a Euro-blob in a car park and then try 20 identical looking ones trying to find yours.

iv) Can be fixed with a big hammer or a bigger one lol

Mine tops out at 50ish (weber carb), stops ok. Brings the fun back into driving. Fuel economy, who cares.