Sunday, 29 March 2015

1974 LAND ROVER 109 V8 CONVERSION - PROJECT NEARLY FINISHED. EX MILITARY


1974 LAND ROVER 109 V8 CONVERSION - PROJECT NEARLY FINISHED. EX MILITARY

Land rover Series 3 Ex Military: General purpose 3/4 ton chassis truck, heavy duty chassis, HD Overdrive, wing reinforcements, longer seat leg room. Originally a 2.25 petrol engine but now fitted with a 3.5 Rover v8 engine. The engine conversion has been done with no expense spared, there are many new parts I will try and list below.

No tax, No MOT, Sorned in August last year (Last MOT no advisories!)

Complete V5, still registered with the 2.25 petrol as I never got round to changing it. Easy to do, simply send off the relevant section with new engine details. I am not sure of the mileage, the clock only shows 14,000 miles but I believe this has been replaced at some point.

Some history of the Land Rover

Manufactured: 7 March 1974

Despatched 14 March to central depot Ashchurch

Condition

Chassis is the original, fully under sealed and in excellent solid condition for age. A few repairs here and there but all appear to be done properly and are solid. Front and rear cross members in superb condition.

The body work is in very good condition, re-painted in army colours about a year and a half ago.

The bulkhead is a modified defender bulkhead to accommodate S3 brakes, throttle, windscreen hinges etc. The bulkhead is rock solid with absolutely no rust at all!!! The bulkhead has also been modified and widened to accommodate the Rover v8 engine.

Gearbox axles and drive train: The gearbox selects all gears excellently, no crunching or jumping out of gear. The overdrive works excellently and is really useful when on the move. The axles have recently been serviced with new prop shaft seal to the front axle as was weeping. Prop shafts in good condition and regularly greased. The land rover also has freewheeling hubs to help the economy.

clutch: The clutch friction plate and pressure plate have been replaced with new. Because of the engine conversion a series 2A 9.5" pressure plate has been used. The clutch thrust bearing has also been replaced with a brand new one. I also replaced the clutch master cylinder and the clutch slave cylinder with new parts.

Brakes: The brakes are in good working order, with nearly new drums and shoes on the rear. I had the land rover on the road around 8 months ago and it stopped brilliantly.

Tyres: Tyres are all in very good condition.

Canvas: The canvas has been recently sealed and is water proof, condition is average overall for age.

SEE VIDEO BELOW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_l_OTmv2XIk&feature=youtu.be

The Conversion

I pulled the original engine out in August last year to make way for the Rover v8. The Rover v8 starts well and runs fairly well, HOWEVER, the head gasket/s appear to have gone! Please see video link below to land rover running. These will need replacing, its not a difficult job to do, just needs two gaskets (£20 for a pair) and a new set of head bolts (£30) and a little time. The engine is making good oil pressure (smiths oil pressure gauge fitted). The land rover has been sat for a few months now so could do with a good tune up. All parts removed were cleaned, repaired, repainted and resealed as appropriate. All bolts have been replaced with new ones to make maintenance easier in the future.

Rover v8 engine & other new parts:

New oil

New oil filter

New plugs

New intake manifold gasket

New exhaust manifold gaskets

New exhaust manifold studs

New sump gasket

New HT leads

New Mallory points and condenser

New Mallory ballast

New Coil

Front Carpet set included but not currently installed

New Thermostat

New Alternator

New fan / Aux belt

New Lucas starter motor

New Facet fuel pump

NEW STEVE PARKER EXHAUST SYSTEM

Push button start module (fighter pilot ignition switch)

Cold start switch (by passes the ballast resistor to supply more voltage to the coil for cold starts)

Water Temp gauge

Smiths oil pressure gauge

New Head lights with Halogen/xenon gas bulbs

New Clutch friction plate

New series 2a pressure plate

New clutch thrust bearing

New clutch master & slave cylinders

Brand New Aluminium radiator (won't corrode)

New engine pipes and hoses

Electric cooling fan installed

New Classic sound Claxon horn (fitted) - Operated by separate switch to main horn.



Spare parts

BNIB front drums, shoes and slave cylinders to be fitted

Low mileage gear box

low mileage front axle

low mileage rear axle

Leaf springs

military bonnet

front and rear prop shafts

soft top frame

tub galvanised parts

spare steering box

3 x spare windscreen frames

Centre bulkhead

90" hard top side panels

109" hard top and sides, blind spot window fitted to passenger side

Rear door for hard top complete with glass



Bad Bits / bits to finish

·         Brake lights / indicator lights wiring loom need replacing / repair as it has unfortunately shorted out on something and melted part of the loom. This will require splicing / replacing with new. (see photo)

·         Head gaskets need replacing  - see video of land rover running -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_l_OTmv2XIk&feature=youtu.be

·         General Land Rover TLC (bit of paint etc here and there)

·         Horn to be fitted (included)

Otherwise it is ready for its MOT test. This Land rover only needs a couple more jobs doing to it and then it is ready for the summer!! It is amazing fun to drive with the canvas off and the v8 growling!