[Jared]

I bought a 1971 SIIA 109" SW last week. Drove it back to Colorado from Virginia. Wonderful car- albeit primitive compared to my other LR. Anyway, I am starting down the list. I have the workshop book- and have put it to good use. I have some questions best answered by knowing owners.

1) Fueling the vehicle is tedious- there seems to be a problem with the breather- I fill gas until it reaches the top of the filler- then it drains incredibly slowly. Repeat. After several iterations, the fuel does not drain. I assume it is full. The gauge reads 3/4 full. The fuel meter goes from 3/4 to 1/4- then I put in 8 gallons- back to 3/4. The original gauge has been replaced with a series III.

2) The speedo has been replaced with a series III. The needle is bouncy and inaccurate. I know the new gauge needs to be fitted with the SIII cable- not sure how to tell which cable is currently mounted. Odo is innacurate.

3) Shifting is roough 1-2. I ordered the req. parts in order to do the shift selectors. See how that helps.

4) All the doors fit like a NASCAR fan at the opera. As there is no adjustment, I assume it must be the body. The frame has been welded- new outriggers in places. Seems quite accurate measuring off the pavement.

5) The rear end is sitting on the frame. The front springs seem to be replacements- at least keeping the thing up in the air. All shocks are shot. This seems to be the issue I get the biggest variety of opinions about. I read one catalog and they say parabolics are the way to go- no doubt. An old land rover parts seller told me he almost hung up on the phone when I asked him for prices on parabolics- he wants to sell me a $1000 set of four "custom" springs. I have heard that the original equip. springs from LR are actually purchased from some crappy mfg. of aftermarket stuff. Some people say only Old Man Emu (which I have fitted to my 95 RR)- others say only buy original. I am most confused. One guy even told me he though the makers of parabolics springs should be charged with endangering the lives of others. Can I get a clear idea about this?

6) My distirbutors vac. advance has given up the ghost. The unit appears to be the old style SII model (my SIIA came from the factory with a 6 cyl. and now has a 2.25L providing power). What should I do- new lucas, new other type, rebuild?

7) I want to know more about the engine in the LR- like I said, the 6 cyl. was replaced. How do I know my compression ratio, regular or unleaded, etc. It is fitted with a double barrel weber- which, amazingly delivered more than 20MPG on our drive across country. I intend the rebuild the unit this weekend. Passed emmisions no problem.

Anything I can do to make the 33 year old paint look better. Showed a car paint guy- he laughed an advised repaint- which will happen at some point. Anything inbetween?

I really appreciate any help the group can give me.

Jared

 

[V8_Agro]

Hi there Jared welcome and here go's

1) I would replace all breather lines between the filler and tank and maybe flush out the tank itself
2) With the gauge if it running a 2.25L maybe get some good second hand units and do it that way before using new ones. The needle bounce's because of 2 things 1-its a series /land rover thing 2- the cable is not in the back of the speedo correctly
3) Tells us how the parts go
4) There is some movment but not alot loosen the bolts that bolt on to the landy first and see if that helps then if you need more movment loosen the ones the door
5) With the springs I am going through the same prob with the Stage 1 over here in OZ the para's will cost me around $1300 and standard being around the $700 mark but I stll like the para's.
As for shocks OME are very good on any landy and they make one of the best steering stabilizers around but for the shocks I would go for a KONI or Bilsteren type
6) Get a new or recond it won't matter too much there will only be the money side to stop you buying one or the other
7) With your engine you can find out all about it but you need you engine number and get the Green Bible and match the numbers. It won't be an unleaded one unless someone has done the head conversion

Hope this helps


Adam :beer:

 

[Bogatyr]

Jared,
Welcome to the world of series ownership.

1.If you have the standard tank that's under the passenger side (for LHD vehicles) it's about 12 gallons. So certainly, pulling the pickup and sending unit to see what's in there is a good idea. Your fuel level sending unit might be bunged up with goo...
2.I don't have a series 3 speedo, but the IIa cable has a square metal shaft that fits into the back of the gauge. My speedo bounces around once I get over 50 indicated...I just take that to mean I'm approaching the upper limit of my vehicle's speed capabilities.
3.I'd look into bleeding the clutch out prior to replacing the parts here. Make sure the slave is ajusted properly as shown in the green bible. Also, realize that with this tranny, 1st gear is about enough to get you into the intersection, any higher rpms and you'll grind something. Remember, you can't drive this thing like a modern vehicle.
4.Well, you can adjust the bolts holding the hinges to the firewall. Loosen them a little, wiggle the door around as needed and tighten them up...you can also fiddle with the shims on the striker.
5.Springs...ah. I'd look at a few things here. I have aftermarket ellipticals (stock replacement parts) on my truck. The performance is fine, although they let the vehicle list. I've had no complaints about the ride on or off road. If I were to do it again, I'd go with the parabolics, prolly from Wise Owl. If you do a good amount of offroading, look into the parabolics, otherwise the ellipticals should do ya fine.
6.Hmm, can you still buy a vacum advance unit? I think so...might be cheaper just to swap that bit out...
7.Wow, you got 20mpg and you're thinking of rebuilding the carb?! Leave that thing alone, it's doing just fine. There's no easy way to tell if you have an unleaded head without documentation, unless it's a Turner head...they might have stamped something somewhere. As far as compression ratio, if the head was shaved, that'll go up anyway, but an original 8:1 head has a boss on one side of it (can't recall if it's the dizzy or intake side...I think dizzy) and there should be an "8" stamped on that boss...
8.Paint? Repainting one of these things properly is an undertaking. If you're down to the bare birmabright, you'll need a self etching primer. I used Sherwin-Williams 988. I also painted the truck while it was in pieces, cost me $193 for paint and a few cases of beer to borrow a friend's turbine system...great results, certainly good enough for a Land Rover.

Bogatyr

 

[tatty]

series 2a questions

hello,i just thought i would let you know about a company in the uk that ships worldwide called paddocks,specialising in series parts.have a look at the price of parabolics here,i think you will be suprised,i have them fitted on my 2a and i cant fault them. hope this helps :wave: http://www.paddockspares.com/shop/system/index.html

 

[onslow]

re 3

You do know that 1st and 2nd are dog gears and have no syncromesh so you have to double declutch.

 

[onslow]

beware paddocks

Do understand if ordering from here they never seem to get it right so treble check your order,make sure they have the bits in stock I live in the same country and can wait for weeks for "parts to follow" they have cost me weeks when carrying out work.BEWARE

hello,i just thought i would let you know about a company in the uk that ships worldwide called paddocks,specialising in series parts.have a look at the price of parabolics here,i think you will be suprised,i have them fitted on my 2a and i cant fault them. hope this helps :wave: http://www.paddockspares.com/shop/system/index.html

 

[Greg S]

To answer a few of your questions. Most important first! WHY would anyone consider putting on stock springs now that parabolics are available???? Look up www.wiseowlparts.com They make and sell the "Rocky Mountain Parabolic Springs" a package deal complete with every little thing you need and easy to install. The IMPROVEMENT is amazing. I changed from 1 1/2 year old standard springs to the parabolics and was really pleased. In the first hundred yards we noticed an improved ride, quieter and the windows had quit rattling. More was noticed after a longer ride and off-road performance improvements are phenominal. Going from old flat springs with dodgy shocks will be like a rebirth.

Series 3 speedo cable clips onto the back of the speedo, the older ones have a collar that scews onto the back of the speedo. If it jerks around it could be lack of lubrication of the cable and/or too tight of a bend. Do not get lube into the speedo head and wipe excess off the last bit of the head end of the cable. It sould be a grease not oil.

Some heads (all factory 8:1's) have a raised boss on the manifold side half way along, raised to the hight of the valve cover seat, that will have a 7 or 8 stamped on it. The 8 is huge, it looks more like two zeros stamped beside eachother than it does an eight. If the head has been planed you can only tell by measuring the hieght and having someone who knows tell you what you started with and what the original measurement would have been. If it is made to run on unleaded you would have to have a history of it to tell you. Failing that, remove the head and take it down to an automotive machine shop for them to check to see if the valve seats are made of stelite or not. It is the type of metal that the valve seats are made of that determines if it is for unleaded gas or not.

Your fueling problem is simply a blocked vent line from the top of the tank to the top of the filler tube. Look behind the seat back and you should be able to see it and get to it to replace it.

First and second gear are NON Syncro. You have to double clutch up and down. Too hard to explain right now. Go talk to a trucker for an explanation. They used to have to do that in most gears.

A distributor, well there is the 45D, the 25D, the DM2 the Ducellier, the-----oh hell. Try--- www.wiseowlparts.com ----(no, he doesn't pay me. He also isn't my only supplier but he does deal almost exclusivley in Series Rover parts and ships extensively across the US and world wide.) (Gee, maybe I should ask him to pay me!)

 

[Jared]

Thanks!

Thank you guys for the great responses- I really appreciate your first hand knowledge. A couple of things:

Fuel tank- I'll start by rechecking to assure all breather lines are clear- then move on to draining and checking sending unit.

Speedo- I'll assure seating into back of head in correct- and correct route cable takes.

Shifting- I'll bleeding the clutch and adjust the slave. My SIIA is a late model 1971- I have been told that I have an all syncro tranny. The shifting problem doesn't feel like the tranny is having problems shifting into gear- more like the shift selector rods are hanging up- I got the parts to reup the shift selectors- we'll see how that goes. FYI- the concept of double clutching does not elude me- it just doesn't help the problem at all.

Doors- Try additional adjustments.

Springs- someone asked why I would even be asking the question- the reason: I have spoken to many LR owners and sellers- and have heard either huge praise for para's or intense dislike. I want to make the right choice. I do a fair amount of off-roading- at the same time, I am trying to equip to series for a Colorado to Panama trip in the springs- she will she quite a bit of road driving.

Dist- Everyone seems to say- fix it if you can, otherwise just replace it with whatever the parts houses to me to. If I go new, are there no opinions on which dist. is best?

Eng- I have the green bible- I am sorry, but I cannot find the section where is crosses eng # to some other information. I can track the chassis number just fine. Any thoughts (other than the initial thought that I am an idiot).

Again- thanks for your time and help.

Jared