Just a word of precaution: None of the vehicles you describe will allow you to sleep inside... Plus the 90 will bounce like a slinky off a fliht of stairs. If you really want that Land Rover, go for a second hand 110, utility back, pre-electronic age (300tdi), which will allow you to sleep inside and hae a slightly smoother ride. MPG would be the same I'd say. Also, a secondhand from a reputable dealer will not scream 'Rich people' from miles away. You'll have a much quieter day out away from the vehicle when you are doing some sightseeing. Whatever you do, have fun!!!
My current project, breathing some new life into a crusty '85 90. The frame was in great shape aside from the crossmember, so I welded a new unit on and had the entire chassis powdercoated. Ditched the old powertrain for a 300tdi and R380. She's coming together.
The old series II I bought needs a frame. I can get a galvi one from Rovers North for 2600. Is there any other options out there, preferably cheaper! As a reminder this is the rig its going under.
Try all the other vendors. British Pacific, Dap-Inc, Roverparts etc. Then ask them if it's made by Marsland or Richards. e.g. http://www.roverparts.com/Parts/SD1.cfm Did a '67 88" restoration on a new Marsland Chassis in the late 90's (time flies!). A Marsland Chassis was $1400 back then, from British Bulldog (long out of business I think). Shipping was around $250 so I'd factor that in if you live close to any of the vendors and can pick it up yourself. One other thing to look for is whether it has the additional outrigger that makes adding a second gas tank easy. The one in the RoverParts link above does, but the one pictured below (not mine, google search) does not: Fun project, good luck. Cheers Phil
Doing a frame over is a bunch of work and to be quite blunt that is not a very valuable Land Rover to restore. It is a year/model that is not very common, but its also not a very sought after one either. Plain bonnet, not a safari top, 15 inch wheels, 88". I did it on my 1959 88" SII Station Wagon back in 1990. It was both hard work and fun. Atlantic British used to do a 5 year discount on parts when you bought a frame, but I doubt they still do that. The brakes are the biggest pain to do. Get all new springs, hydraulics, hoses and pipes, everything. Have fun and ask questions over on Land Rover Owner Mailing list.
The 1971 is a fairly desirable year model to the Land Rover enthusiasts - not real valuable but its generally regarded as the second best Series IIA to own (after the 1967 models with the headlights in the breakfast). Its the last year of the metal dash and wire grille as well as the non-synchro 1st and 2nd gears which some enthusiasts think is stronger than the Series III all synchro box. Its got the best heater of the Series IIA's (if the duct box isn't completely rusted out). It is a bit of work to swap frames but if you have some mildly mechanically minded friends it can be a fun group project if you provide pizza and beer. A few years ago one of my friends had a similar vehicle and he invited a couple of guys over and the three of us stripped the entire body off the frame in one evening. Another evening with a group of four guys was enough to swap all of the mechanical bits to a good secondhand rolling chassis he'd acquired from another club member. I think it took Dave about a month to do the whole job working occasional weeknights and a couple of Saturdays. It'll never be worth big bucks but it'll be a lot of fun.
I've always thought the rather oddball 1960s-70s forward control 110 looked interesting. But then I had a thing about the Austin Champ when I was 18!
Wow, where to start. the picture is a Series IIB forward control. 109" if I recall correctly. The 101 Forward Control started production in the early 1970's or sometime before 1975. The IIB was mid to late 1960's Off-roading in a FC is a whole new experience as you go down hill knowing that all of that chasis is behind you.
The reg plate on this one means it was registered between sept '73 to sept '74 Oh and, I fitted new rear callipers to this Disco Van today. It's absolutely rotten :eek1
Wow I never knew but just found out that the IIB did grow to 110 with the addition of the ENV axles. Sorry for the earlier post. Changing brakes in the mud what fun. Is that Discovery a 3 door? There were 2, 3 door discovery's in boulder back in 99. They were brought up from Mexico and I never knew where they ended up. The only 3 door disco's I have ever seen.
I love old british iron. I'd love get my hands on a series 2a. But then there are these.... a Landy 6x6
I ran across this in the parking lot at Graceland a few years ago: You can view more photos of it at http://www.fototime.com/inv/A880F9C510D5B01
This is my daily driver: She's a 1974, series III, LHD, petrol, with OD and lock out front hubs. Very little hasn't been worked on over the years by myself and a series of previous owners. She wears a galvy chassis, dual tanks, parabolic springs, and most recently IPF H4 E code headlights (uber bright). Other than needing a good understanding of electricity (particularly finding/making gound connections), these are not too hard to live with, once they are made right. Nothing on them can break and not be fixed. All parts are available, but sometimes expensively. Some simple mods let you use more AutoZone available parts like a Ford Explorer master brake cylinder and GM alternator. Mine cruises at 60mph quite happily, but only gets 12-15mpg. Aerodynamics aren't a strong suit.
A bit of advice from a been there, done that (well no new frame truck was originally sold in Arizona and spent it's life there before me so no rust issues) guy. Know what you want the end product to be and budget / plan for that, you're gonna see a lot of really cool "I gotta get that" "Boy that's Cool" and "What a Great Idea" stuff on the WWW. Fortunately for me I was single when I did the Frame Off so parabolic springs, OME shocks, rebuilt motor, all new LR Brakes, obligatory 16" Rover AT tires, Roof Rack, Spot Light, etc. etc. etc. wasn't an issue. I had really good success with Rovers Down South, forget that ole boy's name, but he had the Original Old Stock odds and ends when I needed them. Have fun with it! The old girl:
I think that truck was featured in LROI or another publication some 10+ years ago, shouldn't have included my stash with the SER III or I could thumb through them all.....
Broke my heart but I sold ours. Gas is going up this week to $1.47/liter (around $6/gallon) and we're spending more on gas in the rover per month than our mortgage and cottage payments combined.
I've already hustled and traded for almost every part I need and Initial investment was cheap so I'm ahead of the game. As for a frame off build this is not my first time with this sort of endeavor so I'm not worried in the least, but it is easy to get way upside down financially in a project like this. As for end result I know what I want and it won't be nearly as clean as what youv'e got there, just a quick and dirty beater. Thank you for the encouragement.
I know this is a little out of place in a thread like this but doesn't this sum the big negative with these vehicles which were designed back in the time when oil was at $3/barrrel? Charming as they no doubt are, the term gas guzzlers springs to mind. The episode of Top Gear driving an Aston in Scotland musing on the demise of 'motoring' as we've come to expect it, comes to mind. Might I suggest that you consider leaving the aged patina unaltered?
