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!
