Land Rover fans?

[Jalopyshoppe]

I happened upon a 1971 Land Rover Series 2a. It's super clean cosmetically, but it's sat for 14 years, so I'm reviving the hydraulics and fuel system slowly. Good news is that the carb is clean, bad news is that the fuel tank had 1/2 a tank. The tires were made before DOT date codes were standardized. That puts them somewhere pre 1994.
Also, a new brake master cylinder is $500!
I just bought a 1946 Jeep CJ2A when I was at King of the Hammers, and this Rover happened,so now I have to sell the Jeep, but I think the Rover will be a cooler vintage wheeler.

Anyone else had any experience with these things?

 

[Caddywumpus]

run fish! runnnn!

 

[mrzuzzo]

I drove a 2008 Defender for a while. 5cyl turbodiesel.

Huge piece of shit.

 

[Jalopyshoppe]

So, I should keep the CJ2A?

 

[bpw]

I don't know much as I have never owned one, but my impression has always been that Willys created the Jeep and it was pretty good, then Toyota copied it to make an even better version with beautiful Japanese engineering while the Brits copied it to make something vaguely worse in every way. For example, you never see an 4x4 build swapping Land Rover axles in and I suspect there is a good reason.

Also, are you well stocked with all kinds of esoteric bolts and wrenches to turn them with? I think someone once told me Land Rover actually used decimal inch (metric inches! brilliant!) sizes or something equally retarded for a while.

That said, they are all kinds of cool, and fetch good money when sorted.

 

[Jalopyshoppe]

So far, I'm only finding SAE fasteners, but I do have a set of Whitworth wrenches somewhere. I've long ago lost my British pipe fittings, so I hope the Smith's oil gauge doesn't leak.

I am noticing the ridiculous prices these things fetch.

Architecture wise, it's really similar to my CJ2A, but they put the shackles on the correct end of the front leaf springs. To be fair, people don't swap stock Jeep or Land Cruiser axles into anything but a scrap bin either.

I am a bit bummed that the value dictates that I keep the guts stock, or I'm truly spending money and time to make it worth less. I'm not after a serious crawler, though. I have access to an Ultra 4 truck for that.

 

[KrustyKruser]

My friend has a series 1 rover bone stock. It kicks ass and I tried to trade him for my 85 CJ-7 , he never would go for it. We polished the outer body and it looks great. I would keep the Land Rover and see your CJ. The extra work would be worth it. Even the Defender 90 models go for lots of cash here in the states.

 

[auntiebling]

a friend is a bit of a junkie for old british vehicles, especially rovers. he's been swapping a v8 into his for about 15 years i think. maybe longer. i'm not sure which model it is, but it's SMOG exempt. i've never seen the front sheet metal on it, so it might be similar to a 2a. dunno.

anyway. they're weird things but at that vintage, more truck than the SUV they've become that really is a disposable POS.

possibly cheaper parts source
https://www.roversnorth.com/Land-Rover-Parts/60

I drove a 2008 Defender for a while. 5cyl turbodiesel.

Huge piece of shit.

while true, it's not a comparison at all. it's like claiming the steak you're about to eat is a turd before you eat it.

 

[Norcalslowpoke]

Daniel (1962siia) is the resident expert. I'm sure he will chime in and would not mind a pm.

 

[GPzPop]

also, paging (Redacted) if he is still around

Nope, no longer on BARF

 

[Jalopyshoppe]

Thanks for the tip! I did manage to source a cheaper MC. I'm shocked that I can't buy anything for this rig from my local parts house. They didn't even have an oil filter.

I did get some cool tires for it...

I'm ironically enough driving my CJ to buy parts for the Rover that will replace it.

I will say that this is more fun than I've had with a 4 wheeled vehicle than I have had in a long time, and I haven't even driven it yet.

 

[aminalmutha]

Nothing to add but to say they're pretty tits. Saw one running around last week.

 

[DReg350]

Marlin Friggin' Perkins. Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. Loved that show when I was wee lad. Came on just before The Wonderful World of Disney. Sunday nights were cool back then.

Marlin hammering his Rover across the plains of the Kalahari roping and tagging a giraffe. It was magic. His faithful Rover bouncing and flying through the air, crossing rivers, climbing rutted muddy trails. Loved it.

Always loved the "idea" of a Rover, but have never owned one. I see them, original and restored, on Hemmings, Bringatrailer, Classiccars, and Craigslist from time to time. The 2as are pricey if they're in good shape, so that tells me there must be a following and a collector's market.

At the prices I've seen, I'd be afraid to off road one if I got one, and I'd wanna do that. It'd be interesting to see how robust the supply is for replacement parts. Gaskets would concern me. I spose one could cut them out, but that would we extremely time consuming. Still, I just love the idea of having one. :thumbup

 

[auntiebling]

Thanks for the tip! I did manage to source a cheaper MC. I'm shocked that I can't buy anything for this rig from my local parts house. They didn't even have an oil filter.

I did get some cool tires for it...

I'm ironically enough driving my CJ to buy parts for the Rover that will replace it.

I will say that this is more fun than I've had with a 4 wheeled vehicle than I have had in a long time, and I haven't even driven it yet.

Well, tires are really all that counts anyway!

Grab a punch and a hammer and see if you can put holes in the frame. Pinged my friend, his CA-ALL-ITS-LIFE rover had lots of frame rust. Suspension attach points are among the usual suspects

 

[Johndicezx9]

Marlin Friggin' Perkins. Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. Loved that show when I was wee lad. Came on just before The Wonderful World of Disney. Sunday nights were cool back then.

:laughing :thumbup

"The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh"...

I'm still bothered by the sight of scarecrows.

back on topic: I see a couple of those old Rovers around here. They're fun to see, but look scary as hell to drive.

 

[Jalopyshoppe]

Well, tires are really all that counts anyway!

Grab a punch and a hammer and see if you can put holes in the frame. Pinged my friend, his CA-ALL-ITS-LIFE rover had lots of frame rust. Suspension attach points are among the usual suspects

I did the Rust inspection before 8 bought it. Luckily this was repaired and coated by the PO. It's remarkably solid.

Parts are too easy, turns out. Atlantic British can supply everything. There is a serious world market that drives parts supplies. I'm cleaning the fuel tank now. Eww.

All 4 wheel seals, brake master, clutch master, clutch slave, fuel pump, and a pertronix distributor so far.

The whole floor comes out super easy. 6/10 would fix again.

 

[auntiebling]

sweet
it's still a new vehicle in many less fortunate parts of the world, same story for landcruisers and some others. jeeps less so. sounds like you'll be having fun in the slow lane soon

 

[Johndicezx9]

Post pics when done.

 

[Jalopyshoppe]

So, it turns out that fender removal is required to access the clutch master. Holy shit.

While not shocking, I am reminded of why England never really dominated the transportation market. I'm also incredibly unimpressed with the electrical system. No surprise there.

 

[auntiebling]

How long do you plan to avoid rewiring the whole thing?