Another old Land Rover thread today...
 

Today is the day...1st drive since 1999!

I've done everything I can think of to the '58 SII 88" to make it road worthy, and it's only taken 10 years. The rusty bits on the frame have been replaced or repaired, all new suspension and brakes, new bumper, new head, new tranny, sorted electricals, and way too many other things to mention.

It looks pretty much the same as when I bought it, i.e. old, ridden hard, and put away wet. The high school shop grade body and paint work looks a little better (but not much) thanks to some polisher work and the paint being a perfect match to Rust-Oleum Sand. The Rust-Oleum Ivory wheels and top definitely look better.

This has been, alternately, the most satisfying and frustrating project I've done to date. It was supposed to be so simple. The PO overrev'ed the motor, sucked a valve, and bent a pushrod due the carb return spring being hooked up wrong and binding at WOT. After that, it sat parked in his front yard for 7 years. That head also had at least 4 cracks. After pulling the motor and checking under the pan for more damage, I replaced the head and somehow got the valves and timing adjusted really close. On the 3rd fuel pump it fired right up and runs great. The insides of the 1st 2 transmissions were filled with gear teeth. The 3rd one seems to be fine with the exception of a major oil leak at the output shaft...that's a project for next winter. And WTF is up with taking a piece off this thing, putting on the work bench, and having it not fit back into the exact same place? This happened more than twice. Needless to say, like others before me, I have dubbed it The Antichrist.

Some pics
Before - Day 1
https://photos.smugmug.com/Trucks/19...DSC01885-L.jpg

During
https://photos.smugmug.com/Trucks/19...IMG_1348-L.jpg

After
https://photos.smugmug.com/Trucks/19...78/L/LRA-L.jpg


Well, I'm off...wish me luck.

Awesome, Rich - very well done. Are you going to take it on our drive tomorrow, or did you find the funny noise in the 911? :D

I might have to run up there next week with Ed so we can check it out. What's Bob think of it? Does he get to ride in it?

Your work is impeccable...beautiful!

Nice truck!

Ok. That is so cool I am off to Craigslist for a search...

Beautiful, very inspiring work.

Excellent work! Now go create some action pics!

That's a beautiful 88. I drove a '69 and a '65 88 when I was a teenager.
My 109 is the only one I've ever driven. And that was probably 1985 or so.

I hope to draw upon your extensive knowledge and experience on theses trucks.
Dig the nickname, looking forward to seeing what mine shows me so I can name it. Ha!

Thanks Jeff, no drive tomorrow. I found a funny noise when I put it on the lift. Since I put the quiet muffler on I thought I'd been hearing something going on in the front end. The right front Bilstein inside ring nut, the one that holds the insert into the strut, was about a 1/4 turn from coming completely off. No idea how that happened and no front end clunk anymore. I haven't been able to reproduce the whining noise...maybe they're related. You and Ed need to come over next week, pick a nice day.

-ish, one is an Epiphone and one is home made.

Careful what you wish for.

I am at your disposal.

Just saw one of these with a diesel in CO cruising up a hill at about 25-30MPH with a lot of black smoke pouring out the exhaust. We pasted him like he was standing still in our 85 Mercedes 300TD diesel wagon, so you know he was going slow! Turned to the wife and said, see we could have driven the Unimog cross country instead!

Okay, trip report.

This is the first time I've driven this thing on the road! I made a run around the lake over to my friend Bob's, then downtown to the Lake Stevens Brewery, then to Sahara pizza, back to Bob's, and home. It ran great the whole time. The steering is loose, reminiscent of a battered CJ-5 I used to have. The parabolic springs and new shocks make for a very nice ride as opposed to the 11 leaf rusted solid stock springs that came with it. Brakes need some forethought. The inside noise level is not as bad as I expected, but I never got over about 40mph. We did fix one annoying rattle, the arm that holds the rear window up when it's open was banging around in the bracket...couple of tape wraps and no more rattle. Need to work on my shifting as there are no syncros in 1st and 2nd gear. I got pretty good at upshifting, but my 3rd to 2nd double clutching needs improvement.

Overall, it's an old school rattle bucket truck that I took completely apart and somehow got back together. It's perfect! This thing is a smile and wave generator too, it just seems to make people happy. It was a very good day.

Antichrist at Bob's house
https://photos.smugmug.com/Trucks/19...t%20Bobs-L.jpg

In front of Sahara pizza (note open front vents...I love those things)
https://photos.smugmug.com/Trucks/19...%20pizza-L.jpg

Excellent review. I used to drive my 65 with the rear window locked in the upper position. It was all low-speed hamburger-lane-cruising when I was a teenager. It was more parking than actual driving. I knew better than to risk CO poisoning. Plus, I had a wicked Alipne cassette head unit and speakers mounted to the overhead. Had to share Def Leppard, AC/DC and .38 Special, right?

Btw, do I spy the "cruise control" feature?

Diggin' that garage. Pool table, easy chairs. Do you have a TV and fridge too?

Fridge, no TV

Super cool truck Rich. Great job on it, everything you do is first class!

Yes...haven't used it yet as such though. It's handy to up the idle a little when the choke is out.

Looking cool Rich! Let's go climb a mountain or somethin...

Brian, almost ready for something more than driving around the lake.

Today's project was to add a tach. A friend gave me a vintage Sun Super Tach II and it works! No idea what redline is supposed to be. Also cleaned up the gauge light switch contacts and all the gauges are brighter. I can see the tach light too!

Although it would look more at home in a '67 Chevelle...it's got a nice vintage vibe.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Trucks/19...5/L/Tach-L.jpg