Current pics of a Series IIa Land Rover project.

"Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull" (RamblinRover)
10/28/2013 at 23:29 • Filed to: None

Ladies and Gents, this is "Busted", a '64 short wheelbase currently growing from a new galvanized chassis, depicted here courtesy my new potato. Busted has a pair of cleaned up and gone through axles, and an engine and B-version trans ready to go... probably. On the left is the rear bucket, which has had an outer fender panel replaced (or as I like to call it, a buttcheek), ready for the aluminum welder.

That hood, actually, is not the one slated for use, but is out because it needs something welded on it. The actual hood to be used (a "deluxe" as opposed to the standard you see, but also with tire mount), is visible over the top of it - just the edge. Different in having a rolled front edge and a recess for the tire. Also visible - a rear transmission PTO unit, a part of Operation "This Land Rover can run a generator for no reason, fnarr fnarr"

This is the aluminum seat box, also waiting for the welder. The driver's side has a steel box that rivets in place underneath, and it is a prime location for corrosion. I replaced the left-hand outer panel wholesale, as it was too corroded to save - it needs welds along the front edge. Some other damage also needs welds - I only caused some of that damage myself in the rabid disassemble frenzy.

Here are Busted's lower doors. They've had some new steel welded into the lower part of their frames, and have been stripped. The scorch marks are due to them being sooted intentionally with a torch, the first step in annealing the metal for fixing dents. Aluminum is in some respects much trickier than steel...

I didn't set fire to the bondo/paint on the doors, unlike the hood. Perhaps I should have, but by that point I'd already stripped them. Booo.

This picture contains the tailgate (some straightening, welding needed), but more relevantly contains the badly corroded aluminum plate from the seat - now removed, as I used it as a template. Had some shitty paint ling around that wasn't any good for the car, but Banksy-stenciling new parts out of scrap aluminum - perfect.

As a look forward, this pic has the primered upper door halves and the firewall - among the parts that will join what I've shown worked on when the first round of parts goes to paint. That firewall got a lot of work done earlier and has been standing by until more progress is made. The door halves came in from the UK a couple of weeks back. Which is good, because the old ones were pending a nightmare of rust and new piece making to fix.

Thanks for reading. Here's another whole-project view, other updates will come as time permits.

DISCUSSION (16)

505Turbeaux > Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull
10/29/2013 at 09:13

sweet, you aren't messing around on that one. Gonna be a good rover. Sticking with the 2.25 gas in it?

CalzoneGolem > Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull
10/29/2013 at 09:13

Bravo man. Looks you've done a lot of work and have quite a lot more in front of you.

FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 > Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull
10/29/2013 at 09:18

Awesome project looks like LOTS of work!

I've always wondered with the spares mounted on Land Rover hoods (sorry bonnets) is there any reinforcement on the back side or does the tire have enough surface area to prevent the hood from denting.

I ask because I have toyed with the Idea of mounting a shovel and pick ax on the hood of my land cruiser but am afraid the mount points would become distorted with the weight.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > FJ80WaitinForaLSV8
10/29/2013 at 09:26

There's a steel ladder frame in all the hoods, and the tire itself mounts to a cone that rises off the hood to support most of the weight. The inset for the tire on the deluxe ones also has a good bit of extra stiffness in the skin.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > 505Turbeaux
10/29/2013 at 09:27

Yeah, since a running engine was about all that didn't need attention, just sticking it back in, at least for now. On the short-wheelbase, it's not really lacking in power.

505Turbeaux > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
10/29/2013 at 09:28

yeah for sure. Funny how close the diesels are in performance if they are running right too

FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
10/29/2013 at 09:35

Good to know. Sounds like ill need to fab something up for underneath if I want to go this route.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > CalzoneGolem
10/29/2013 at 09:37

The idea here is that since this one has some funding, to do it as close to perfectly as we can. Some of the other ones may end up a tad more "rugged", but we're shooting for a clean build - which is interesting because this one was among the most corroded.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > FJ80WaitinForaLSV8
10/29/2013 at 09:39

I should remark that shovels and pickaxes don't weigh much, but at the same time, you probably *do* need to anchor to the hood frame somehow.

CalzoneGolem > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
10/29/2013 at 09:39

Any thing worth doing is worth doing right.

FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
10/29/2013 at 10:12

I've never taken the insulation off the back side of the hood. Maybe I'll do that this weekend. The clear coat is de-laminating at an alarming rate on the hood so it needs a repaint anyway.

I just noticed the hole in the frame cross-member for your PTO. Thanks pretty damn cool.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > FJ80WaitinForaLSV8
10/29/2013 at 10:27

Yep - hole to crank-start the engine or operate a PTO (from engine) capstan winch. They come with a hole in the back crossmember as well.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull
10/29/2013 at 21:01

Awesome read, having worked with my dad on restoring his 109 IIA from the chassis up this brings back fond memories of my child hood.

Question though: have you considered using disco 1 axles? It's not to hard to modify them to fit leafs and let me tell you, a IIA with disks all round stops on a dime.

Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts.
10/29/2013 at 21:16

Funny story, I actually have the axles from a RRC hanging about, minus the third member in the rear. They would not be that horribly difficult to modify, but it's more likely we'll just bolt the front third member and a rear one into cases for the 109 Station wagon we're fitting with a Benz diesel (they fit) so it has a little taller gearing. Thus, we have a full set of RRC spindles and hubs, so it's possible. Not really convinced the 109 needs that much more brake, but we might consider it.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull
10/29/2013 at 21:45

Our 109 also has disks but that they're fabricated to fit the salisbury axles he has in it.

With the disco axles we just cit every thing off and welded on new spring perches ext... If you need the angles I'll asks my dad as I don't know them off the top of my head.

Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts.
10/29/2013 at 21:52

A couple of meaningful things changed from the Series to the RRC, but the third member bolt-up pattern is the same. A change did take place with the swivel ball bolt pattern and swivel housing design, but the spindle design is such that even if the RRC spindles don't fit a Series case, they could likely have that bolt pattern added to the spindle and backing plate setup with no strength risk. I.e. one would make a hybrid Rangie/Series pair of axles, and as long as the spider gears/axle splines in use are matched, it should all work. The axle format is the same, and late Series spline matches most Rangies as early Rangies match earlier Series.