Hi guys, I'm about to start looking for my first land Rover :D. I am looking at buying a series 2 or 2a Land Rover. When i go to look at the vehicles, what sort of things do i need to look out for on the vehicle?
Thanks in advance, Phil
I don't know as I own a Defender but the following lot might be able to help;
Rot. Rear cross member, front dumb irons, all the outriggers, top of the bulkhead, bottom of the bulkhead, footwells. If you don't find any rot, look again! It's there somewhere, unless it has a new / galvanised chassis.
Engine - if it starts that's a bonus! Could be anything from completely shagged to almost new. If it runs, moves, stops and doesn't produce too much smoke then you are doing OK.
Everything else could be buggered, but won't cost much to put right if you are doing the work yourself.
Do you want a project or a concours classic?
youd be better off going for a 90 if you can raise the cash and arent specifically after a series 2 .
some things to check on a series 2 are :::
make sure its fitted with a heater , the round one in passenger footwell , they didnt all come with heaters , i bought one without and found out the hard way .
check radiator hasnt got a leak .
rear crossmember and outriggers all need close inspection .
check fuel tank for leaks , especially when its over half full .
check that speedo and ignition switch works and that starter button is ok and working .
ideally you want it with 6j rims and 7.50x16 tyres, easy way to tell rims are the wider ones is that they have about a 2" wide "band" of metal around edge of rim as opposed to 1" wide band of metal on the smaller rims .
nice to have addition of freewheeling [front] hubs these are easily identified as are usually aluminium and have caps you can rotate in order to switch in or out the hubs, saves fuel and gives better steering etc if you have them .
nice to find one with a fairey overdrive unit, this will be identified by it having an extra gear lever fitted near the handbrake lever location , gives better fuel economy and top speed or cruising speed.
bear in mind a std series 2 landy will be fairly slow and wont go much above 55mph on the flat .
a v6 or v8 converted landy is a different story , were talking off end of speedo easily .
canvas tilts make for a quieter drive and actually are more waterproof than hardtops due to fact you dont suffer with condensation probs so much with canvas tilt .
a ford V6 conversion is actually much better on MPG than std petrol landrover , ie 20mpg with the v6 as opposed to 16mpg with std 2 1/4 petrol 4 cyl .
if buying modifed landrover id advise going for a rover v8 converted one soley due to fact you can insure as a V8 [std ] landrover and dont need engineers report etc in order to obtain insurance cover .
because landrover produced a v8 landrover then you already have the insurance group to insure it to .
a ford v6 [or make other than landrover] engined landy will need engineers report , although this isnt as technical as it appears, is just a letter from a recognised MOT garage that states they inpsected it and consider it safe to drive on the road and that it is modified properly .
std drum brakes are a little on weak side if you dont have a brake servo fitted, some people fitted a remote servo to improve series 2 brakes and some fitted series 3 master cylinder and servo units but std sreies 2 brakes arent too clever at speed , best to find one with servo fitted .
bodywork probs tend to be in the front bulkhead and footwell , inner wheelarch and doortops . doortops are cheap and easy to fit .
a series 2 or 3 landy will bounce all over the place when driving it on roads, but a 90 with the coil spring suspension is a totally better ride alltogether .
you need to think seriously about what you want to buy and why you want it .
a series hybrid , ie series body with shortened range rover chassis and v8 is a nice vehicle to have for off roading and on road use .
also the year that the vehicle is said to be means nothing in many respects because if the vehicle has had new chassis and body panels then its not the same as an original vehicle still retaining the original chassis and numbers .
you can view many a landrover which has ended up with a chassis/engine from another vehicle and a body from something else other than the original vehicle as detailed on the log book . its not necessarily something to worry about when looking for a series landrover but bear in mind what you are looking at and what you actually want .
ie, if you want one thats ORIGINAL make sure it is such .
the landrover world is youre oyster so to speak .
Ditto - get a big screwdriver, get underneath and poke away at all of the joints - petrol tank outriggers, end sections of the chassis, the bottom of the door pillars - all of the box section parts! A new chassis isn't that expensive - but fitting it is a pain in the a**e!
But get one - great fun, as long as you aren't driving long distances......
Sorry about the major snippage, but that was a very informative post, everyone should read this before buyinjg a landie!
Nige
-- Subaru WRX (Annabel)
Landrover 110 County Station Wagon (Tyson)
'"Say hello to my little friend"
Heater Schmeater, my series 3 supposedly has one, but I can't say I have noticed
And wow 16 mpg on a 2 1/4 petrol, I would be pleased with that.....
Figure on finding rust in the bulkheads eventually cos the previos owner will have tried to disguise it. Thing is it doesn't matter that much cos you can see to it at your leisure, it is not fatal.
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