1966 Land Rover series upgrades

[kevkon]

Hi
I'm about to purchase a 1966 109 in pretty good stock shape ( some cosmetic issues).
I was wondering if any of you more experienced series owners could suggest any upgrades or mods for dependability. Would you recommend swapping out the Solux carb? What about the ignition, are there any pointless systems?
Thanks for any suggestions!
PS, I have been rebuilding Norton motorcycles so I am somewhat familiar with the idiosyncrasies of English vehicles!

[Smokey Mountain Man]

As far as upgrades go. An AC Delco alternator is a good start. I have tried piontless ignition kits and they work OK but it is a good idea to keep the old guts with you incase the thing goes south. I have used weber carbs and I think they give better gas milage. But in my opinion the best upgrade you can get is an Over drive preferably a farey.

[kevkon]

Thanks!
What alternator model did you use?

[greenmeanie]

For reliability:
Air, fuel and spark.
- There's not a lot to say about air. The oil bath air filter works. Just fill it to the right level. CHeck the condition of the hose.

- Fuel. Overhaul your fuel pump if it is the mechanical one. They tend to fail gradually with a resulting loss of top end.

- Spark. I like NGK plugs. The type you use depends on the compression of your engine. I found the qualioty in the Champions was falling off so I switched.

GET RID OF THE POINTS. By far the most posts about ignition problems stem ferom points. Go with an aftermarket electronic ignition, get rid of the ballast resistor and put in a sport type coil for a bigger fatter spark.

The other often forgotten ignition part is the plug leads. I detest the OEM ones as they are a carbon impregnated fiberglass ribbon. They're fragile and I never got much more than a year out of them. For about the same price I went with a set of Magnecors that will last the life of the truck.

Add a second ground strap from the engine to the battery.

You'll be familiar with the whole LUCAS thing. Clean and check every ground and connector. If you upgrade the alternator I'd replace the alternator wiring with heavier gauge.

On a SIIA you only have 2 fuses on the whole truck which results in minimum protection and maximum damage when you get a short. Look at the condition of the wiring harness. If it is knackered and you plan to add things like a winch etc I would do a complete rewire with one of the generic wiring harnesses. Just document your wiring diagram and connector pin outs. If the harness is OK I'd just add inline fuses for each circuit.

Other than that give each system a good inspection and overhaul as required to bring her up to snuff.

[Greg S]

Has anyone mentioned Electronic ignition yet? That is a great first step. Petronixs (Petronics?) is one available locally.

Carb? Why do you want to change it? Is it giving you problems a rebuild kit won't fix? Like a worn out shaft. Run away from anyone recommending a single barrel Weber. A New (or even a newer) Zenith or old Rochester B series. SU with adapter manifold is a great modification, or a new intake with a two barrel Weber like on the 2.5 litre petrols.

Does it have parabolic springs under it yet? Why not? Make sure you get new shocks matched to the springs.

Radial tires!

Alternator. Which one? Go to a local auto recycler and ask them which is the most popular Delco alternator they have and buy one, should cost you under a hundred bucks.

A Pair of Hella FLAT BEAM halogen headlights available off the shelf in ANY auto parts store for about a hundred bucks. YOU DON'T HAVE TO CHANGE ANY WIRING FOR THIS UPGRADE. (Did you hear that? Loud enough for you?) Stock headlamp and LEGAL halogen bulb are the same wattage. IF you want more light from the OEM bulbs OR new FLAT BEAM halogens, THEN add relays at the breakfast where the wiring harness plugs are. Feed the 2 relays with a 12 or 14 G wire from the battery. Your battery is probably right there anyway.

Front Disk Brakes.

A $43 electric fuel pump. Mount it near the tank (Is it a SW with the tank at the back?). Fuel pump should be a 4-7 psi unit.

Back up light.

Winch.

Overdrive.

Get rid of the silly little valance panels under the doors.

Lube the door catches.

Do you know those silly little strings that attach kids mittens together? Get something like that to tie to your left elbow to keep from lifting your elbow outward. You won't know what I'm talking about till you've driven a Land Rover a while. One of your better fixes or modifications actually!

Cam shaft from a 2.5 litre.

8:1 head if it doesn't have one already.

Stelite valve seats if it doesn't have them already, needed to run long time on unleaded gasoline. Such an old modification that it is probably already done years ago.

Thats a start. What are you going to do next?

Greg S
1970 109 SW

[kevkon]

What I'm gonna do is start with the ignition. While I probably will go with the Pertonix Ignitor I am wondering if anyone here has any experience with the Crane XR-700 ignition system.

[nmc1205]

Hi kevkon, I have had the pertronix ignition for over a year and it works great and looks stock b/c it is hidden inside of the distributor. I have even had my heater control valve explode and dump coolant all over the distributor and it did not short out. The ac delco alternator is also awesome and has been one of the best mods I have done. I have a website that helped me with the new wiring harness (becareful I am not sure of your polarity so you might need to change some connections in your voltage box(it's the back lucas thing on your firewall)). The Canyon Product 2 I had to fabricate a mount for it I used a 41/2inch 5/16th bolt grade 8. The pulley was different so I needed to get a new fan belt. I now have a dayco top cog 15405, it is narrower but works well. The alternator was from a 1970's camero I believe part number 7127103. I would love a fairey overdrive, use to have one on my old rover, they are awesome. Good luck, I hope some of this was helpful.

[kevkon]

Thanks for that info. Do you have the Ignitor one or two?

[nmc1205]

I have the ignitor lucas 4 cyl (25) I got it from a british vintage car parts store online but the name escapes me. If you are still thinking about the atlernator conversion I had to get apig tail adaptor from napa part num vrc148 the other number on the box is v08063. If you are converting from a generator I have instructions from when I converted my old SIIA 88" from a gen to an alternator I can try to scan and post if you want. I also was reading the above posts and agree with the sealed head lamps. I had the original orange light lucas bulbs. I thought they were special so I ran with them for a few months until I realized I couldn't see at night. Good luck with the up grades. Oh and check your carb to see if it is leaking, mine was warped (zenith) and the car would run on after I shut it off. I had to sand the mating halves down and then rebuilt the thing.

[Smokey Mountain Man]

Has any one tried asking moss motors about ignition parts?