1959 Land-Rover Series 2. Seating, and distractions…

Have you got a picture of the pipe holiding/bending pilers for really tight curves and the result you get?  Pretty interested in that!  Thanks Glen!

If you want a cheap & easy pipe straightener, just get a 4" bit of wood (or several thinner bits clamped/glued together and drill the correct size hole through it.
Pull the pipe through a few times and its straight.

Hello and welcome Mr. B. I hope I can keep you entertained. I’d been expecting a comment from darrenh so I’d better tag him in case he’s missed it too.

So. Bit of a slow start today. Our dog has been a bit poorly, so calls to the vet, telephone consultations, and a trip to collect some meds took up most of the morning. Then lunch, then a couple of chores. Still, I did get a bit done.

First job was to transfer the reversing light switch from the old gearbox to the new, and wire it in. This is actually a Rover P4 part, as they’re way more robust than the Land-Rover one.



Then I reconnected and adjusted the handbrake.



With that done, I filled up the gearbox, transfer box and overdrive with some EP80w90, and fired it up again. I found a small diesel weep from one injector line, soon sorted, and a minor oil drip from the filter, again easily addressed. I let the engine warm up to temperature, and topped up the cooling system as the trapped air worked its way out.

Satisfied that all was well, I started to refit the exhaust, which is where today’s challenge began. It’s a really tight route, following that of the factory setup, but in significantly larger pipework than standard, so it’s even more awkward to get in. My issue today was that I simply couldn’t get it past the turbo oil drain pipe. This was a brand new item, that I’d had quite a bit of difficulty fitting in the first place. Pattern part. Say no more. In the end I took it off and swapped it for a good used one from my stores. This required crafting a special spanner in order to undo and retighten the top fitting. A rumble through my dad’s old toolbox turned up a ring spanner the right size that had already had the other end quite significantly modified for some long forgotten task, so that was duly introduced to the angry grinder.



It’s job was to get this off.



With the offending hose swapped, the header pipe went straight on. It drops down from here.



Goes under the flywheel crossmember, and back up.



Over the gearbox crossmember, and back down a bit, then joins with the bit I have to repair that goes through the next crossmember, up and over the rear axle, through the gap between the spring and the chassis, and out the back.



This is why I’m reluctant to get another the same. It’s a generic LWB fitment, and not only does it have a convoluted route, it also misses a couple of the hanger mounts, as these changed a few times through production. Early vehicles like mine would have had a more exposed/vulnerable system that just ran straight under the chassis. As I don’t do loads of off-road work (I don’t really do any) then I’d prefer something like that.

Anyway. Exhausted from that, I moved back round to the front. Everything in the engine bay is now reconnected, so it’s time to refit the wing. There’s an issue though, because the new master cylinder sits where previously there was just thin air. On later Land-Rovers, that had this setup as an option post ‘69 ish, the factory made some revisions to the shape of the inner wing and the bolt on mudshield. As my Landy predates those changes by a decade, I need to do some adjusting. I could fit a hybrid wing, with a later inner panel and top, and early front and outer, but at the moment that would mean a load of additional work, and cutting up two good panels from my stores to make one, so I decided to trim the existing one as needed. Here’s a picture of my current wing next to a later one so you can see what I mean.



There’s no need to cut that much away though, so I offered the panel up and had a rough mark out with a pen.



Several trips back and forth, offering it up, trimming and trying again saw enough removed to fit comfortably around the new cylinder, with hopefully the space to wiggle it out if it needs replacing without having to take the wing off. However, by that time the light was fading and you’ll have to wait until tomorrow for a picture. By close of play the wing was refitted loosely, and I’ll be tightening all the bolts in the morning.

Cheers all.

Posted by Glen on Apr8, 2020:

"Another tip for you. If you’re ever fitting a Landy pedalbox alone, you need arms like an orangutan, or you need to take the door off. The gaskets’ holes are too small for the bolts to pass through easily, and it’s a real struggle getting them started. So poke the bolts through the gasket first, which hold them in place and also give you something to rest/locate the assembly on and stop it sliding down the footwell. Then put all the bolts for both boxes in loosely, to make sure everything is aligned, before final tightening up."

Hello Glen,
I am a retired industrial machine repairman and thought I might clue you in to a tip I have found to be of tremendous help. When I fastened two pieces together that had the pass through screws, I would take a long screw of the same thread and cut the head off leaving a threaded 'stud'; saw a slot in the top and insert several of these into the base machine (in your case, engine) then put the gasket onto the support studs, the hang the second fixture on the studs and press home, remove the studs one at a time replacing with the standard fasteners.

Hope I was clear in my explanation! By the way, was surprised to see your shadow in a few picts that show you are actually wearing that CD/AirRaid Warden helmet!!!

Great show!
John, USA

🤣

I like that tip from John/Jagwinn. And I like that drilled/slit bolt you made for the Bowden cable. Cunning over youth, etc.

John

She looks all innocent there.
Belies the furious heart within....

Thanks for that - missed it. A great read first thing on a Sunday.

Jolly good show there, Glen.