Thinking about a rover again.

[norville]

Folks, long story short, I got soured by my supposed to be daily driver Hunter edition RRC. So I've been out of the game for a while. I found a decent looking rover for sale somewhat locally.(2hr drive) I'm in the northeast.

"1955 Series One 88'', hard top, that is in very solid condition, but will need mech. resto. Does not run, will need extensive electrical, hydraulic and mechanical work to be great again. Vehicle is complete and 90% original. Straight body panels, solid chassis and bulkhead, 2.0 liter four cyl. gas engine,"

From the pics it looks solid. I'm only looking for a part time driver. I'm hoping I can esily swap the motor, and go???

Any thoughts the vehicle is under $3000 I am decently mechanically inclined? I'm not looking to fully restore it just drive and enjoy it.


bob

[XtremeMarine]

To swap out a SI engine, I believe (believe) that you must also swap out the trans and t-case. Not like the later II, IIa, and III, where most parts are interchangeable. Also, whereas there are only two pictures, I'd crawl under every inch of that northeast kept frame with a good flashlight, an icepick, and a hammer. You're probably looking at 5-7k to make a decent runner out of it, on top of the purchase price. The good thing is it's a later I, 88 vs. an 80, or 86. So parts should be pretty fair to source.

[norville]

Well, that kinda kills that idea. I was hoping to maybe drop another 2K and have a weekend bopper.
There are more pics availble and the body looks extremely solid the few pics of the frame look good but we all know I'd need to get under there and poke around.

This whole project would have went forward only if the body and frame were solid. Then I thought about either fixing the engine in there or swapping in something else. I've done a few fab on the fly engine swaps in the past and I was hoping for a "kit" this time around.

thanks for the input.

bob

[pickuprover]

SerI's are not cheap to a mechanical rebuild on them. If you need engines parts, some of then are like like hens teeth to find, and when you do find them, they are worth more than if they were made out of platnium. There was one for sale here in Canda that had basically 2 of everything engine/electrical/brake wise. Really kicking myself for not buying it, as just one set of spares was worth more than the asking price. ( the guy had been stock piling for a bout a decade and just never got around to the rebuild an decided he needed the space...)

[norville]

I really was thinking an engine swap to chevy 4, I guess I didn't think about brakes, conversion items and other fitment stuff. I just saw a solid body , frame and thought "engine swap" and have one more landy on the road...

bob