Grover the Rover

A Look Inside the Engine

2010-07-16T16:53:00.013-05:00

Hello Everyone!

The front seal modification is finished.

Have a look.

The Blue stuff you see around the screw heads is Hylomar Universal Blue Sealant.

Perhaps I went a little overboard with the stuff but I'd rather have too much than not enough.

There is also a bead of the stuff under the mudshield.

Now I'm just waiting for the seal to arrive.

I thought I ordered it quit a while back but I guess I didn't. I ended up grabbing the wrong seal and ruined it.

As the good people at British Pacific said "Help is on the way." The new seal, plus a replacement for the ruined one, should be here next week.

I also opened up the engine in preparation of replacing the crankshaft rear oil seal.

My brother helped me flip the engine upside-down so it would be easier to remove the oil pan cover and the rear main bearing cap.

Now one would think that having sat for almost a year all the fluids would have drained out. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. As soon as we flipped it a lot of radiator fluid gushed out as well as the last of the oil. At least I had a lot of kitty litter!

There's the guts. Not too bad if I say so myself. Even my brother was surprised at how good the condition was.

We also checked for any slop in the connecting rod assemblies but found none.

The crank shaft next to the timing chain mechanism.

The section next to the the rear oil seal.

To the extreme left you can just see part of the rear main bearing cap.

Not sure what the numbers are for but I think they look to be '4 0 9'.

And here's the oil pump. This doesn't look too bad either and there wasn't anything stuck in the wire mesh.

Well, that's about it for now.

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

Bob IS my Uncle

2010-07-09T20:12:00.014-05:00

Hello Everyone!

Well, as the title states - Bob IS my Uncle!!

In other words - today has been a great day!

Let's get to the Land Rover part of the day - I finished the front seal modification.

WOOWHO!!!!

How about some pictures...

The first few were taken a few days ago.

This is the inside of the timing chain cover showing where the outside mud shield is riveted to the cover.

The tail ends of the rivets are drilled off.

Outside view of the mud shield and rivets almost all the way off.

Just another view of the rivets before I pulled them out.

Note how grungy the shield and cover are.

Now I can start the clean-up process and get ready for the 'modification'.

The rest of the pictures are from today.

Nice and pretty ain't it.

It took about an hour and a half to clean the gunk off but it was worth it.

I was a bit surprised the mud shield turned out so well.

The cover is so clean you can just about make out the numbers stamped in it. I don't think the stamp was hammered hard enough to leave a clean stamp though. I wanted to get a picture but it just wouldn't show up.

The first screw is in and the second tap is underway.

Before I forget; for the record I'm using a 6-32 NC tap.

And there you have it - all the screws are in and they work great.

I really don't know what I was worried about in regard to tapping the rivet holes. I had heard that the taps can bind and break off and I'd heard that you can screw the tap up by not getting it straight, but none of this happened.

It turned out that this was one of the easiest tasks I've done so far! I was expecting to use a lot of elbow grease with a few grunts thrown in but it wasn't necessary. It was fast and easy with very little effort. Each whole took less than 45 seconds to tap - I timed it!!

Man I can't believe I was sweating this project.

Now all I have to do is reassemble the sucker.

Hopefully Bob will be my uncle then as well.

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

Finally - an Update

2010-07-03T14:59:00.027-05:00

Hello Everyone!

Yes - believe it or - here is an update!

Even though the house scraping and painting MUST come first, I've been able to do a few small projects in regard to Grover.

First item up isn't really a part of Grover but something for Grover.

For about as long as I've owned my Rover I've wanted a vintage Auto Association badge for the front grill. They always seem to go higher than I'd like to bid though.

Fortunately, a few weeks ago I found one that went cheap. It went cheap due to it's condition.

Not in the best shape is it?

The years for this one are from 1966-1967 so I'd still like to get one for 1963. I just found out they're readily available on eBay UK - perhaps I'll have to get one of my UK friends to bid on one for me.

Here I'm prepping it for restoration.

It wasn't all that hard to do. The worst part was waiting for the paint to dry due to the high humidity.

And here's the finished product.

Not too bad if I say so myself.

Okay, on to Grover.

Since the most I've been able to do is piddle with Grover I decided to start cleaning up a few nuts and bolts as well as a few small parts.

Here are a few pieces sitting in a vinegar bath.

I had never heard of using vinegar to clean off the rust, but several on the LRO mailing list swear by it so I tried it.

Here are the results.

The parts soaked for about three days and when finished I gave them a once over with steel wool. I was really surprised how well they cleaned up.

This is the next batch to soak.

This time, instead of using vinegar I used a commercial product called Evapo-Rust.

This stuff seemed rather interesting as well.

Here they are soaking.

This batch had to sit and soak a lot longer than expected. I injured some of the fingers on my left hand and didn't want to chance getting the chemical on cuts and abrasions.

Here are the parts after sitting for three days in the Evapo-Rust.

They are a bit darker than those soaked in vinegar but then again I didn't scrub them with steel wool either.

I had another Rover suggest a Molasses & water bath to remove rust; I'll try this method next.

Moving on to bigger items.

The next thing I wanted to tackle was replacing the front main oil seal. This required the removal of the timing chain cover on the front of the engine.

BTW - the next few photos were actually taken a couple weeks ago.

This isn't the best picture, but it's the only one I have showing how I secured the crankshaft flange (the one the flywheel attaches to) so I could remove the starter dog.

All I did was screw in two large bolts to catch on the engine mount.

I've had people tell me I'd need either an impact driver or large break-over bar with a large socket.

With the large socket and break-over bar I set off to remove the starter dog.

SWMBO, as well as my father, followed me out to the garage to watch while expressing their beliefs that I wouldn't be able to remove it.

With the break-over bar in hand and my feet braced I gave a massive yank; with that I about fell over backwards!!! The starter dog was not on near as tight as expected. I could probably of removed it with just a large socket wrench.

Anyway, here is the started dog and it's washer.

Now with the starter dog gone the next step would be removing the pulley behind it.

This wouldn't be as easy as the started dog either.

The only pulley pullers I had at the time were not big enough. In fact, one of them even bent under the pressure. This meant I'd have to buy a heftier pulley puller before I could continue.

Last Thursday I went out and bought an 8", 3-arm, 1 ton pulley puller.

With a few turns of the ratchet wrench the pulley popped out lickity split and Bob was my uncle.

Unfortunately I found a groove worn into the shaft. I knew it was a possibility that this would happen, due to a failed oil seal, but I was hoping it wouldn't be there.

So now I need to make a decision - repair the groove, use a speedi-sleeve to cover the area, or replace the pulley.

On the bright side I was happy to see that the timing chain innards appear to be in great shape.

See, not bad looking at all, at least to my untrained eye anyway.

Just another view.

Before I replace the cover I do want to make sure that nothing is broken or needs to be replaced. I'd also like to make sure it's in proper working order. This work I will NOT attempt to do myself; I'll enlist the help of someone who actually knows what they are doing.

The next step I'm planning on doing is a front seal modification as suggested by Alan Richer.

This is the the outward facing side of the timing chain cover.

The round, metal, doughnut thing is what will be modified.

Here is the inside of the cover with a better view of the round section to be modified.

Basically, those little rivets need to be drilled out. Once they're gone the holes need to be tapped from the front side. Doing this will enable the mud shield, that holds the oil seal in place, to be held in place by screws. This will make it easier to replace the oil seal in the future. In other words, I will not have to remove the cover from the engine, exposing the timing chain system, to replace an oil seal. Now why didn't they do this from the inception?!

I'm throwing this last picture in for the fun of it.

What I'm wanting you to see is just how thick the crud build up inside the water system is. First thing I thought of was the build up of plaque in blood arteries.

I would like to figure out how to clean this stuff out of the areas I can't reach.

Well, that's about it for now, time to go the my parents' house for our 4th of July get together.

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

Through The Looking Glasses - London to Singapore Overland 2010

2010-03-22T08:31:00.003-05:00

Just heard from a couple of those involved in the London to Singapore Overland 2010 trip - Michael & Rhian.

The group of intrepid travelers have created a blog, called
'Through The Looking Glasses' so we can follow their progress.

Lets wish them luck!!

Cheers!
Larry

Water Pump & Sender Unit

2010-01-04T12:10:00.008-06:00

Hello Everyone!

Guess it's time for an actual update on Grover's condition.

If you recall, the last update post ended with a look at the engine part of the water pump.

The engine part of the pump is clean and the replacement pump was purchased from British Pacific. Once all the Christmas crap gets put away I hope to install the new water pump and then have the old one refurbished.

This picture isn't the best but you can see that the metal is shiny now.

Just another view.

Before installing the new pump the facing will get a good cleaning as will the bolt holes.

Way back in June of '09 the fuel sender unit was removed from the gas tank. Since owning Grover the unit has never worked and I've been left on the roadside more than once without gas because of it. Funny - this always seemed to happen when the jerry cans needed to be left home for some reason.

Anyway, if you don't remember this you can see it here.

When the sender unit came out I also removed the draw tube.

Here's the draw tube somewhat cleaned up.

The wire mesh that covered the bottom of the tube (the part that would be inside the tank) is missing. It deteriorated and parts of it were found in the gas tank. A replacement will get attached before it goes back.

I now understand why there is so much crud and rust in the fuel filter - there was no primary filter on the draw tube!

Here's the tube next to the sender unit.

I think they both cleaned up nicely.

Part of the float arm is heavily rusted but not to the point it'll break; but I'd like to do something with it to keep it from rusting further.

Speaking of the float arm...

Unfortunately the float arm had seized up and would not move. Upon consulting the Land Rover Owner's Group it was determined that a good, long soaking of the pivot point with 3-n-1 oil might loosen it up. The tricky part was keeping the oil of the electrical coil on the inside of the sender.

Since the sender was out anyway I figured the housing could use some cleaning.

Doesn't look too bad at all if you consider what it looked like when it first came out!

You can even read all the numbers and letters now.

A couple curious things I found stamped on the housing were the letters 'T' & 'W'. You can barely see the furthest tips of these letters on the housing in the picture. The 'T' is on the left, above the brass tab. The 'W' is right across from it on the right side. I have no idea what they stand for but am going to try and find out.

Just another view.

The old gasket is in place but will be replaced before it's installed.

Now, remember when I said the float arm had seized up and wouldn't budge?

well, the 3-n-1 oil, and some gentle manipulation, did the trick. The float arm is now as loose and floppy as a wet noodle!

The video quality isn't the best (you try holding the camera and floppy the thing at the same time) but you can see how well it moves now.

Now all I need to do is test the unit to see if it works electrically. If it does I should have a working fuel gauge once it's installed!!

Well, I guess that's enough for now. I need to go start dealing with the Christmas junk - OY!

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry

London to Singapore Overland 2010

2010-01-03T17:38:00.011-06:00

As all of you know one of my biggest dreams is to ship Grover to Africa and go on a nice long trek.

Late in 1955 a group of 6 undergraduates from Oxford and Cambridge Universities did something similar but far more spectacular - they drove 32,000 miles from the UK to Singapore overland.

This was the first time something like this had ever been accomplished.

Now, 55 years later, another intrepid team of explorers have decided to follow those same tire tracks.

In their own words:

Our aim is to re-trace the original route to Singapore, in two original Land Rover series 1 Station Wagons, faithfully prepared as replicas of the original vehicles.

We propose to film and produce a series for the BBC of our epic trip, just as the 1955 team did for Sir David Attenborough and show it in contrast to the original, still watched by thousands today, thanks to Graeme Aldous, of Teeafit Sound & Vision who edited the original footage onto DVD.

In 1950’s style we intend to camp by the roadside and prepare all our own meals on petrol stoves, using locally sourced produce.

To learn more pay a visit to the London to Singapore Overland 2010 site.

This is the original team and their SI Land Rovers.

These are the recreated SI Land Rovers that are going on the trip.

Original rout from 1955

If you go to the 2010 Overland site you will find a detailed 'out bound rout' there.

The original Rovers hard at work...

...and the recreated Rovers on the trail.

The Rovers to be used are SI Rovers that were meticulously restored to recreate the original Rovers that went the distance.

Here's wishing them the best of luck!!

I wish I were going with you.

Thanks Tom R. for telling me about this!

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

A Gift from DeWalt

2010-01-03T12:56:00.012-06:00

Hello Everyone!

First off - sorry about not posting for such a long time. I’ve been extremely busy around the house finishing up the kitchen and getting ready for the holidays. On top of this I was sick for 3 weeks. The Doc wasn't sure what it was but it hit unexpectedly, without warning, and had me down for the count within three hours. The first night I had uncontrollable chills as well as a fever. SWMBO said it was like having a vibrating heat blanket!

The Doc had me tested for N1H1 (that wasn't pleasant in itself) and it turned out to be negative. But I do have most of the symptoms for the flu and common cold.

Okay - let's get to the meat of this post.

A couple months ago an e-mail arrived in my mail box from a guy named Andrew. Without posting the whole message here the gist of what it said:

"I am contacting you on behalf of DEWALT about its new line of IMPACT READY™ Accessories... I am just wondering if you will be able to help us spread the word about this new line of accessories. You can do this by informing your readers about the tools and writing a blurb or article about the accessories."

My first thought was "Yeah...right".

You see, I get all sorts of e-mails from people/companies wanting me to 'feature' their product or service on my house blog and most have nothing to do with house restoration. Some have been down right pornographic!! Why would I want to advertise the 'little blue pill' on my house blog?

However, Andrew and I did pass a few e-mails back and forth and he turned out to be legit (yes - I check on things before I associate them with this this site). So I told him I'd be happy to help them out.

Unfortunately, somewhere between e-mails he and I dropped the ball and I eventually forgot all about it. Then, a few weeks ago I was reading a post by another house restoration blogger named Benny over at DC Rowhouse. It appears she had been made a similar offer. From the looks of it she was offered more than the IMPACT READY™ Accessories.

This jiggled the gray mush between my ears and I hunted down the e-mails Andrew had sent me and thought I'd see if they were still wanting me to participate.

Honestly, after seeing Benny's post I figured they had already sent out all the test items they intended to and I'd be SOL. Like I said - I'm not the luckiest person out there.

'Lo and behold' I got a response from Andrew! He apologized for not following up with me which was not necessary - I really think 'I' dropped the ball somehow.

Anyway, here is the important part that came in the e-mail:

"We’re interested in sending you the impact driver along with the impact accessories. We’d like to have you review the accessories as the focus of the article, but you can talk about the driver too. Also, we are running a different campaign focused on the compact battery (that comes with the impact driver) and its comparison to the original (heavier) NiCad battery. We’d like to send you out the extra battery to compare it to the newer Compact battery and review the Compact battery’s performance."

I jumped all over it!!!

I sent him the info he requested and sat back expecting a long wait - at least two weeks anyway - before it arrived.

In appreciation for getting to try out these tools I told Andrew I would be doing several 'reviews' of the products (just like I do with the Fein Multimaster - wish they would send some toys) and would also post this to my Land Rover blog. I also told him I would give just about every detail I could about these items.

Boy was I surprised! Less than 4 days later the toys arrived for me to try out!!!

SWMBO checked the mail Saturday the 5th and the package was at the post office. Yes - I've had these all this time but, honestly, this is the first chance I've had to post about it!!

SWMBO did grumbled about the weight though...

It was like Christmas came early when I opened the box.

You could smell that 'new tool' smell - man I love it (insert simian, manly "grunt" here)!!!

Thankfully everything seemed to arrive safely with no dents or dings.

First thing I wanted to do was go have coffee with my parents and the in-laws - I just HAD to share!! SWMBO said no - they would be by later that day.

So, I went ahead and unpacked all the treasures.

WOW!! What a treasure.

Look at all those new toys!!

Just think of the possibilities!!

Now, as I promised Andrew, here is the first of several reviews of the DeWALT Impact Ready items he sent me. I will be supplying my thoughts throughout but I'm also going to post 'Specs & Features' for each item.

Before we get to the tools themselves, you might also want to go here and check out the info DeWALT has put out about the Impact Ready Accessories - it's worth the time!

First up is the DeWALT DCK265L 18V Compact Li-Ion Drill/Impact Combo Kit.

I really like this kit. It comes in a durable case with metal latches to keep it closed. There is even a place so you can add a lock. Each item that comes in the kit has it's own little cubby hole inside that it fits in.

Beside the aspect of getting an impact driver and drill with this set you also get a charger station and 2 - yes TWO - batteries. Each battery even has a cover for the business end - those are the two little red things in the picture.

The tools feel great in the hand and the batteries charge quickly. A major plus is that the charger allows you to leave the batter in it even after it's been charged without damaging the batter or charger.

There are so many features on both of the tools for me to talk about. The manual that came with them appear to do a good job describing them. As I learn to use them better I will report back on them.

Following is some of the official info on this kit.

DeWALT DCK265L 18V Compact Li-Ion Drill/Impact Combo Kit

Includes:

DCD760 compact 1/2" 18V drill/driver
DCF826 18V impact driver
DC9310 7.2V-18V NiCd/NiMH/Li-Ion 1 Hour Charger
(2) 18V compact li-ion batteries
Kit Box

Features:

DCD760 18V 1/2" compact drill/driver delivers 350 unit watts out of maximum power
DCF826 18V Impact Driver delivers 1,330 in-lbs of torque and 0-2,400 rpms offering power and speed to perform a wide range of fastening applications at faster speeds
Compact li-ion batteries (DC9181) charge in 30 minutes and are compatible with the existing system of DEWALT 18V power tools produced since 1996

Next we have the DeWALT DC9096 XRP 18-Volt 2.4 Amp Hour NiCad Pod Style Battery

I have yet to use this puppy so haven't even charged it.

I do have a specific project I plan to use this battery with though. Be expecting a post on 'Battery Comparison' within the near future.

Here's the official info for you though.

DeWalt DC9096 XRP 18-Volt 2.4 Amp Hour NiCad Pod Style Battery

High-capacity 2.4 Amp hour battery delivers 40% more run time than XR Pack® batteries. Powers entire line of Dewalt 18 Volt tools and can run multiple tools off the same battery pack.

Highlights:

Fits all 18 volts DeWALT tools except univolt
High-capacity battery with 40 percent more run-time than standard batteries
Rugged plastic casing
Dimensions: 7" x 3.5" x 7"; 2.5 lbs
Replaces the DW9095 and DW9096 series
Full charge in 1 hour or less

I've always been leery of using cordless tools due to the drop in power and consistency in power, so I'm really looking forward to this!

Not many of you out there know this, but I'm pretty 'Old School' when it comes to power tools and cordless has never really been there for me. I do have one cordless drill I've used periodically, but haven't been happy with the battery.

With these DeWALT tools I plan to wreck these puppies and see how the batteries hold up!!!

Let's get to the DeWALT DW2169 38 Pc. Impact Ready Special Accessory Set.

I really like this little set!

There are actually two little containers within this one. One container holds all the little bits and accessories and the other one holds the Drive Deep Sockets with room for more to be added. Both containers also lock so the pieces don't fall out.

They are also small enough to fit well in my tool box.

Another nice touch is the system that holds the bits in. The little tabs are pliable and appear to stand up to the bits being pulled out and placed back it. They also look like they wont snap off after a few weeks of doing this.

Here are the specs:

DeWALT DW2169 38 Pc. Impact Ready Special Accessory Set

The set comes in a plastic case and all the kit’s bits are rated up to 2,000 in/lbs of torque – perfect for use with impact drivers.

Kit Includes:

(8) #2 Phillips 1" Insert Bits
(8) #2 Phillips Drywall Insert Bits
(5) #2 Phillips 2" Power Bits
(8) #2 Phillips 1" Double Ended Insert Bits
(2) Nutdrivers: 1/4", 5/16", (1)3/8" Socket Adapter
(1) Pivot Holder (bends to simplify driving screws in tight spaces)
(1) Magnetic Bit Holder. Rated up to 2000 in-lbs of torque
(4) 3/8" Drive Deep Sockets: 3/8", 7/16", 1/2", 9/16"

Qualified for Cordless Impact Drivers

The following picture is so you can better see the best part of the above set.

The Pivot Holder!

Cool isn't it?!

This little device will really make getting in small, tight, areas easy (at least I hope it does).

As the spec say 'bends to simplify driving screws in tight spaces', we'll see how well it works.

There is one thing I want to try with this and I have to wonder if DeWALT has tried it. As you all know, there have been several times I've needed to get to tight spaces to removes screws and such, but the same goes with drilling holes. I wonder if the drill bits would fit on this (they look like they would)? If so, I wonder if a person could drill a hole in a tight place using this. It should... I'll test it out sometime and let you all know.

Let's mosey over and have a look at the DeWALT DD5057 7 Piece Impact Ready Drilling Set.

I really like the design of these drill bits. I have even used some of them already and they work great!

The only drawback I've seen, if you can call it a drawback, is the lack of a small case to hold them. Like I said 'if' you call it a drawback; I can see why they wouldn't make one for these since you'll probably add more to it anyway, but, getting the little cases for the others spoiled me!

Here are the specs:

DeWALT DD5057 7 Piece Impact Ready Drilling Set

Specifications:

Ground from solid one piece design is up to 5 times more durable than the current 2 piece conventional product.
Patented web taper increases the rigidity of the bit to decrease the potential for bit breakage.
Patented Pilot Point® tip (3/16” -1/2”) allows users to drill holes faster than the conventional split point product and offers clean burr free holes with reduced bit walking.

Kit Includes:

(2) 1/8 Drill Bits
(1) 5/32 Drill Bit
(1) 3/16 Drill Bit
(1) 7/32 Drill Bit
(1) ¼ Drill Bit
(1) 5/16 Drill Bit

Qualified for Cordless Impact Drivers

I found this picture and thought it gave a good visual for the drill bits with some of the highlights.

Next we have the DeWALT Impact Rated Bi-Metal Hole Saw.

I know these things don't look all that special, but take a closer look - I'll wait....

Did you notice it? It is hard to see, but follow along the drill bit down to the cutter.

Do you see it now?

IT'S A SPRING!!!!!

WOOWHOO!!!!

You might be asking why I would be so excited about a spring. Simple, it makes it a HELL of a lot easier to remove the wood plug from the hole saw!!!

There are so many companies that leave this little luxury off. DeWALT has done a major service, IMHO, by adding these.

These will come in handy for so many projects!!

Well, let me climb down from cloud 9 for a minute and give you the specs. NOTE - they don't mention the SPRINGS!!! Andrew - if you see this you might want to suggest to DeWALT to add this to the spec/features.

DeWALT Impact Rated Bi-Metal Hole Saw have a double tooth design which strengthens each and every tooth. Great for those entrance holes into junction boxes and through drilling for pipe and conduit.

Highlights:

Optimized tooth design allows for quick cuts and long tooth life
Improved tooth geometry cuts through material faster
Hardened backing plate prevents stripping
Cuts twice the amount of material in one pass
Highest high-speed-steel height in the industry improves durability
Designed with Commercial Contractors in mind

Included:

(1) ¾” (19.1mm) Hole Saw
(1) 7/8” (22.2mm) Hole Saw
(1) 1” (25.4mm) Hole Saw
(1) 1-1/8” (28.6mm) Hole Saw
(1) 1-¼” (31.7mm) Hole Saw
(1) 1-3/8” (34.9mm) Hole Saw
(1) 1-½” (38.1mm) Hole Saw

All with ¼” (6.4mm) shank

This picture is just like the drill bit one; it gives a good look, and over view of the hole saws.

This time the spring is mentioned!!!!

Again...

WOOWHOO!!!!!

Moving on.

With a project in mind I plugged in the DC9310 battery charger and charged up one of the DC9181 batteries that came with the main set.

Like I said, this was just a little Christmas repair, but, if your interested you can see it on my house blog here. It is the last part of the post.

I'm hoping that soon there’ll be a chance to test these toys out on Grover.

Till next time…

Cheers!
Larry ~

Engine & Tranny Work

2009-10-29T12:41:00.026-05:00

Hey Everyone -

Before we get to the engine and transmission work I thought I'd share a 'Rover Sighting' with you.

Way back when the search for a Land Rover began there was a guy in a small town close to me that had two SIII 88s. One was Pastel Green with a Sandstone top and the other was Orange with a Sandstone top. I tried to contact him to talk about the Rovers and possibly have a look at them.

While trying to find out who this guy was, and how to contact him, I learned that he was quit the eccentric artist that would just as soon shoot you than look at you. He had a strange idea of what art is, but it was interesting to look at. It's kind of like a train wreck, you just can't turn away.

I finally got his contact info but was warned that he was a nut case. I called anyway. When I asked about the Rovers he hung-up on me.

Eventually I noticed the Rovers were no longer at his house and then found out he got rid of them.

Well, the other day we happened to go through the town and drove by his house (he lives on the outskirts of the town in the boonies) to see what new, weird and twisted art he had in his yard. Low-and-behold the Pastel Green one was back!!

This time the Rover seemed to be part of his art.

Following are two pictures of it. I took them with my cell phone camera, that's why they are fuzzy. Keep in mind, the guy would just as soon shoot a person than look at them. So, while trying to get the pics SWMBO kept asking me if this was a 'good idea'.

Do you see the nifty brush bar ornament? Ain't it cool?!

If you look in the upper left corner you can see some of his 'art'. It's an old jaw bone painted red.

Here's a closer view.

I would love to have one of those skulls. I wonder where he got it?

Maybe I should call him and ask!!

Oh - I ment to get a picture of a sign in his yard he painted years ago. It says "Send more tourists - the last ones were tasty".

Well, on to more important things.

My big brother Randy and I made a lot of headway on Grover last Wednesday. The gaskets and seals I ordered hadn't arrived by then so it was mainly a ‘clean and inspect’ session but it was a lot of ‘cleaning and inspecting’.

We started with an inspection of the flywheel and clutch plate. He said they were both in great shape but the flywheel needed to be cleaned. It had a lot of rust dust from sitting for a long time unused. He did note that the plate itself hardly had any signs of ware on it and still looked new.

I can’t exactly remember what made him figure it out but he did say the plate was not engaging properly. Sure wish I was experienced enough to determine this just by looking.

We then went over to the transmission to have a look. He played with the mainshaft and it moved smoothly and easily. He also noted that everything was clean and tight. However, there was a little play in the mainshaft and when I asked about it he said it was normal. I hope he is right.

I took off all the inspection covers so we could take a look. The gears are in such great condition it had us wondering if they had been replaced by a previous owner.

Using a penlight we rotated all the gears so we could see them. We found no wear and tear worth noting. Everything looked pristine.

He then concentrated on the front output shaft going through the 4WD section. He said there seemed to be a lot of play there and wasn’t sure why. When looking in the manual we didn’t see anything that might cause this.

So, off came the 4WD output housing.

We very carefully removed the housing and inspected the gears. Again, these were in immaculate condition. The only wear we could find was on the selector shaft, for the 4WD, where it connects with the locking dog. It turns out that the ‘play‘ is coming from where the large gear cog on the end of the front output shaft fits into the locking dog.

Here is a picture of the flange for the output shaft (on the left) and the 4WD selector shaft.

Right now they are soaking in diesel and will be cleaned tomorrow.

This is the front face of the transfer box. The remains of the blue gasket outlines where the 4WD housing attaches to it.

You can also see the selector shaft assembly - the thing with the big spring attached.

Below that is the output shaft.

The main thing in this picture is the item at the bottom.

This is the front output shaft assembly.

The rectangular thing in the middle of it is called an 'oil thrower'. I guess it's there to throw oil around!! ;)

The big cog on the end (right side) has the locking dog on it. This is the section that connects to the output shaft in the previous picture.

Here is the large cog on the front output shaft as well as the locking dog (in big brothers left hand).

The pictures don't do these parts justice. They look rusty but really aren't. I guess they are discolored by the gear oil and crud that gets in there.

And here we have the front of the front output housing.

You can see the bearing for the output shaft as well as the oil gasket. This bearing has some rust on it so it'll get replaced.

This is the part the output shaft flange attaches to.

Here's a look inside the transfer case.

Kind of cool isn't it?!

After working on the gear boxes for a bit we wandered over to the engine.

First thing we did was remove the valve cover so we could have a look. He was really surprised by how nice the rocker shaft fittings were.

He said he was expecting a ton of carbon build-up and lots of crud. There was not much carbon at all. The one that sits closest to the water pump - tappet #1 - was the only one with any carbon to speak of. There was this pale orangish build up that was flaking off and Randy (my brother) said it was normal but I did clean up what was flaking off.

The most important think to point out is that tappet #4 was the ONLY tappet to be even close to the .010 clearance. Following the instructions in the book he proceeded to show me how to adjust the settings. What’s interesting is that I could just about turn the fan belt driving pulley by hand to make the valves fully open or close. Instead, I used the crank handle with the starter dog to turn it. Once all of the tappets had been adjusted the pulley COULD NOT be turned by hand.

And here's the rocker shaft from the spark plug side.

And now from the manifold side.

You can see the carbon on tappet #1 (the one on the far left).

If you look under the rocker shaft you can also see the orangish crud.

This is big brother showing me how to adjust the tappets (the little hammer thingies on top of the springs.

Those springs are what determines the amount of gas and exhaust that goes in and out of the engine.

If there is too much clearance between the tappets and the springs too much gas and exhaust comes in and goes out. If there is not enough clearance then there is not enough going in and out.

I guess if the tappets are all different clearances than the whole thing runs out of whack.

These are some of the middle tappets.

These are the tappets at the rear of the engine. I know the one on the right is #8 and I think the one next to it is #7.

And here are the front two tappets. The one on the left is #1 an the other is #2 (I think).

After scraping off more oil and crud the engine block number was readable - #25140728C.

I think I should be writing these numbers down somewhere for future reference.

We also checked out the water pump and big brother said he could feel a drag and hear a scraping sound. He had me work with it so I could feel it, and hear it, myself.

So we removed the pump and the back side of the impeller was in really bad shape and it was wobbly - like a bearing was out or something.

Big brother suggested I go ahead and replace the water pump. I'm going to go ahead and do this, but as a friend on the Land Rover Owner's group suggest I'm going to keep the old pump housing and have it refurbished. By doing this, and purchasing the innards, I'll have a back-up pump. Thanks for the tip Paul!

You are seeing the backside of the water pump housing - the area that is formed as part of the engine block.

You can see how rusty it is. I'll need to clean this up and prep it.

Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the pump. I'll get one Friday and throw it in the next post.

Well, there is a bit more I could go into, but it will have to wait till the next post.

Right now I'm tired and going to bed.

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

Specks of Honor

2009-10-27T21:36:00.020-05:00

Hey Everyone!

I'll get to the title later, however, as of tonight - 7:35 PM - Grover's chassis has been PORed. To me this is a big step. After a top coat of paint is applied (to protect the POR-15 from UV rays) things will start to be put back on the chassis.

While finishing up the prepping I realized the rubber axle stops hadn't been removed. Three of the stops are intact and one missing and all four plates are rusty.

Here's the three stops that are intact as well as the plate of the missing one.

Here are the backs - the part that seats up against the chassis.

The axle stop at top center came from under the battery tray. It is extremely corroded to the point I knew there must be a hole in the chassis that it covered - fortunately there wasn't.

The axle stops might need replacing. I'll take a closer look at them to see if it's warranted.

This is me hard at it.

SWMBO was off work today and said she would help me. Instead, she fell asleep in the sun while laying in a trailer next to the chassis.

So, when she woke up she decided to 'help' me by taking pictures using here cell phone camera - that's why they are fuzzy.

Just another one of the same.

And another...

And there it is - Grover's chassis with the 1st coat of POR-15.

Not sure why this picture is fuzzy; I'm using a digital camera. However, I am trying to balance on the tire of the trailer next to the chassis - that could be the reason.

Here's a picture that's a little better.

The chassis doesn't look too bad does it?

The engine area.

The gray colored POR-15 had the consistency of watery milk and smelled like gas. I'm not sure if that was normal or not.

Luckily I didn't get too much on me. The stuff does not come off!! According to the instructions nothing will remove it; you have to wait for your natural body oils, and dead skin, to get rid off it. Supposedly it will be gone in about 3-5 days. We'll see.

Here's the tub area.

You will notice that the parts holding the springs on have not been painted. I've decided to wait till the parabolic springs can be installed to do this. Hopefully that'll be this Winter or early Spring.

At the same time I will finish PORing the parts of the axles that didn't get done this time around.

And there it is with the 2nd coat of POR-15.

This coat is a semi-gloss. That, and that fact that it's still wet, is the reason it's so shinny. The camera flash really makes it shimmer!

As you can tell it is a bit darker in the garage. The sun has set by this time and the shop doesn't have the best lights.

Here is the last picture for the post.

For some reason the black POR-15 didn't seem to cover as much area as the gray one did. Also, the black was a bit thicker than the gray one was. It also seemed to have more air bubbles than the gray. I did stir the stuff, but not vigorously. I'm wondering if the tackiness of the gray coat had something to do with it. The bristles on the brush seemed to want to stick to the gray stuff.

According to the instructions you apply the second coat when the 1st is still tacky, but doesn't stick to the skin. I waited almost 4 hours and tested it. The gray coat was still tacky but didn't stick to my skin. It did make it harder for the brush to glide though. I imagine this is the real reason the black POR-15 didn't cover as much; the tackiness prevented it from flowing freely.

Anyway, as you can see, I wasn't able to get all the rear cross member covered with the black coat.

Thanks to the picture I noticed a couple more spots that didn't get covered. Can you tell where they are?

POR-15 isn't cheap so I'll pass on opening the second can of black to cover these spots. I'll wait till the springs get replaced.

Okay...now to the title. While on my creeper, applying the black coat to the underside, I sneezed. When this happened my painting arm shook causing several tiny, tiny drops of the black coat to land on my face. So here I sit now with black freckles.

I mentioned this to the members of the Land Rover Owner's Group and one of them suggested I consider them 'Specks of Honor'. So I've decided to look at them this way and use it as the title.

Thanks DJ!!

Now let's just see how long I have them!

Up next I'll be cleaning the engine, transmission and drive shafts. My brother is coming over tomorrow to give a good look over the engine and transmission. We should also be able to start replacing seals and gaskets tomorrow as well.

I'm hoping that by Friday I will be able to have the inside of the chassis taken care of.

Well, it's getting late and I'm tired so I'll leave you all alone for now.

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

Chassis Up-Date

2009-10-20T20:51:00.021-05:00

DANG!!! Has it really been this long since I've posted?

Guess the house has taken more time than it seems.

As some of you know, I took a hiatus from working on Grover to try and finish the kitchen before the holidays. Typically we have weather in the mid 60s during October and into November. Go figure, this year we have had freakishly weird weather and I was getting worried that I wouldn't have the last of October and November to work on Grover. We have been dropping close to freezing and the shop gets cold!! I might have to break out the big heaters.

Yesterday and today we temps in the mid 70s. So, I dropped everything to drag Grover out of the shop and clean the crud off the chassis in order to paint it.

I've been using TSP and Purple Power to get rid of the grease and oil. To be honest, I've had better results with the Purple Power stuff. One thing that did surprise me was the amount of wax on the chassis. It appears to have been put there when Grover was new. When I'd remove a chunk of it the chassis was perfect under it.

There were also traces of stuff that looked like Rhino Liner. Fortunately that stuff came off easily - the wax on the other hand...OY!!

Here are some pictures of the chassis after I cleaned it.

This is the spot where the hamster wheel goes.

I don't think it looks too bad at all now. The shiny stuff on the outside ribbing of the front differential isn't grease or oil - it's water. Guess I should have taken the picture after it dried.

Just another view of the front differential.

I was able to get a lot of the rust off the flange area.

And another view...

Can you tell I'm please with how well it cleaned up? There was so much grease, oil and crud around this area I was wondering if the framing would fall apart when it was gone.

It doesn't show to well in the picture, but look towards the top and you can see the battery platform. This area is the spot that has the worst rust problem. Some day it will be completely replaced; right now I'll place an inner pan inside it.

Here's a view of the transmission cross member and the other one. These had about an 1/8 of an inch of crud on them.

Now this is where it gets kind of cool...at least for me anyway.

After a lot of scrubbing and washing I found some additional serial numbers!!!

Here's the one on the rear axle. Sorry, I forgot to get the one on the front axle.

Anyway, it's #24125638A. To the right you can see the axle breather. This will probably be upgraded and integrated into a breather system.

Here is the set of numbers on the rear differential cover.

The first one is #4289. The last one is #63T1. Keep this last number in mind.

Again - the wet looking areas have water on them - not grease or oil.

This is the last set of numbers.

The first one is #4173 and the last one is #1T63 (that T could be a 7).

Remember the number I said to remember? Well, isn't it interesting that it appears to be the same as the last set on the front differential cover but the '1T' is switched? Wonder if there is a significance to this?

Just curious.

Okay, the next two pictures take a little explanation. I need to spray the inside of the chassis with a rust inhibitor followed by homemade Waxoyl. In order to get the stuff in there I will need to go through holes in the chassis using a spay-wand.

This hole is on the right side, and there's a same type hole on the left side.

Unfortunately I might have to enlarge these holes to get the spray-wand in there easier.

If you look real close you can see some of the dirt, sand and bits of rust in the hole. As of now it's all cleaned out; well as best as I could get it anyway.

This is a hole that rusted out in the front right horn. This is the ONLY spot that has rusted out.

I'm thinking of cleaning this hole up a bit and going through it to get the rust inhibitor and homemade Waxoyl in. It might be easier to get it in the front of the chassis going through here.

The left horn doesn't have a rusted out spot so I'd have to make one.

This last picture is just one of the 'Hmmm...' type pictures. You can see two pieces of rubber here, one in the slot on the bracket and one setting on the chassis. The one on the chassis broke off the top of the other one.

I have no idea what this was here for. It kind of looks like just a blob of silicon.

Well...that's enough for tonight. Tomorrow I will take a rotary brush to the chassis to try and remove some of the paint I couldn't scrape off. I'll have to check, but I'm not sure if the Por-15 will adhere to the old paint. I'm also hoping to paint the chassis tomorrow as well. We'll see, I still have kitchen stuff to finish up.

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

The Chassis Chemicals Arive

2009-08-06T14:04:00.004-05:00

About the only thing that has happen on the Grover front is that the Chemicals arrived yesterday.

I have been spending the past several days working on the half bath in our house as well as waiting for the contractor who was to install our new sewer line. Since Grover is at my parent's place it is hard to be there and then have to run home to deal with any problems the contractor might have.

Whenever we get a package from UPS, or FedEx, the driver stops at the front of the property and deposits the box at the front door. They use to deliver to the backdoor, but they haven't done this for a year, if not longer. Also, when they do deliver it is usually between 1 & 3 PM.

Yesterday the contractor showed up and got started on the sewer. Once they started I continued working on the half bath.

About 10:30 AM I started to walk out of the house carrying a bundle of old lath, with nails, about as big as me. I was being particularly careful carrying the lath through the house so as not to hit, or scrape, anything on the way out. While opening the back door I was paying close attention to it because I had just repainted it a few days before.

Right before I took the first step out the door I noticed something out the corner of my eye that wasn't 'normal'. I checked myself just in time and craned my neck to look over the bundle and see what was there.

Go figure...this time the UPS guy delivered to the back steps AND early!!

If I hadn't noticed something, and went ahead and stepped out, I would have tripped over these boxes. The picture isn't the best, but the back steps are steep. If I'd have fallen I'd have hit the cement steps first and then the bundle of nail filled lath!!

Oh well, at least the chemicals arrived. I wanted to get started again on Grover this Friday, but it's been raining off-n-on all day and the contractor didn't show. I should have worked on Grover today, but yesterday wiped me out.

Chances are they will finish with the sewer line early tomorrow (if they show). Maybe I'll get to work on him after that.

Till next time....

Cheers!
Larry ~

Quick Up-Date

2009-08-02T14:46:00.005-05:00

Hello Everyone -

I thought I'd give you a quick up-date.

The rust-preventive coating for the chassis and axles have been ordered as well as the rust converter for the inside of it.

The fine folks on the Land Rover Owners Mailing List were extremely helpful in this matter and I'm sure they are getting tired of all my questions!!

For the rust converter I went with Gempler’s Rust Converter.

I've been told this stuff works great and can even be applied using my pump spray (more on this later).

For the rust-preventive coating just about everyone suggested POR-15.

So, I placed an order for the POR-15 4 Quart Special. They are sending me two quarts in gray and two quarts in semi-gloss black. Per the gang on the LROML it's easier to insure proper coverage if you use a different color for the first coat.

The other chemical item to be used is a homemade version of Waxoyl. This stuff is a corrosion preventative that goes on the inside of the chassis as well. In fact, you don't have to use a rust converter first, like I am, but others do and it's just extra insurance.

Actual Waxoyl is very pricey and a few years ago I found out that there are various recipes for a homemade version. The recipe I plan to use is this one:

2 1/2 quarts turpentine
12 oz. beeswax / candle wax
1 quart light machine oil

With a cheese shredder, cut the wax into the turpentine, stir until the wax has dissolved, (takes a long time; you can use very low heat (a warm room) to aid but be careful) and thin with the machine oil to a brushable / sprayable consistency. Apply liberally. You can use a hand spray bottle to get into closed-off sections if you have a small access hole.

Please be sensible when you make this stuff; don't go breathing the fumes or applying heat and burning down your house. If you have any doubts about it, err on the side of caution and just buy a commercially available product.

I found this recipe here.

There are several more versions out there but they are basically the same.

This will also be applied using a pump sprayer. I've purchased all the material to make the sprayer and application wand but haven't done it yet. I'll be sure to get pictures of it when I make it.

The chemicals should be here by this coming Wednesday so hopefully I'll be able to get going on the chassis and axles soon.

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry

The transmission is out!

2009-07-23T17:14:00.030-05:00

Progress has been made. The exhaust system has been removed, the complete transmission brake system is out and the transmission is out.

Now I can start taking care of the rust on the chassis.

First step this time around was the removal of the drive shafts, known as propeller shafts in the UK.

The one at the top is the front shaft.

This one might need some work. As you can see, the boot on it is trashed.

Both of these will be getting new U-joints and boots.

Here's the front differential.

I'm showing a closeup of the driving flange on the differential so you can see all the rust.

Go figure, the differential and drive shaft were heavily coated in grease and oil but water still got in here.

After the drive shafts were gone the transmission brake was next.

Yet again the bolts were not on all that tight so it wasn't all that hard to remove.

Once the break drum was removed I ran into something I wasn't expecting - a trashed brake!!

There was nothing inside it but what's left of the expander unit assembly and adjuster unit assembly.

The expander unit assembly and adjuster unit assembly look like someone went to work on them with a hammer. The whole thing is heavily covered in oil and gunk and from what I can tell there are no washers at all to keep the oil out.

Since day 1 of owning Grover I heard the faint sound of what heard like a bell ringing from under the seat box. Everyone thought I was nuts. When I removed the brake drum a chunk of the adjuster unit fell out as well as a clip (for retaining tappets?). That explains the ringing I would hear once in a while!

I have no clue where the clip bounced off too, but you can see the chunk of metal in the lower part of the picture. It is from the adjuster unit assembly. You can see the rest of the assembly in the little porthole type thing right above it.

At this point I'm wondering if it would be easier to buy a replacement transmission break kit. I thought I saw them for sale somewhere, I just need to find it. If all else fails I'm sure one of the parts houses would build a kit for me.

According to the parts catalog there is also suppose to be a damper attached to the end of the break housing. I've seen no sign of a damper and have no idea what the function of this part is.

Now, on to the transmission...

Before taking the thing out I snapped a quick picture of the two air breathers I found.

The air breathers are the two tiny holes you can see in the picture. The first one is located in the lower right hand corner of the square plate (this one is clogged). The second one is located at the 9 o'clock position on the round plate.

There is another one there somewhere. TeriAnn, from the Land Rover Owners Mailing List, said it was a slot going up the back of the gearbox. For the life of me I can't find it.

And here it is - the transmission.

This thing came out easily and didn't weigh as much as I thought it would. Right now it is actually sitting on two plastic buckets until it gets moved.

Here's the rear of the transmission.

To the lower right is where the transmission break goes and the rear drive shaft connects. To the upper left is the housing assembly for the rear main shaft. This is part of the two speed transfer box.

Now that all of this stuff has been removed, Grover looks like a boned fish.

Here are a few pics of the carcass.

Back to front.

Engine and transmission areas.

Here's a better view of where the engine sits.

You can still see all the components of the tie rods. I'm not going to remove these until I absolutely have to. Leaving them in place will not stop me from dealing with the rust on the chassis.

And here is where the tub sits.

Next on the agenda is whipping up some homemade Waxoyl and getting some Por-15 ordered. This weekend I'll start getting rid of the rust!

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry

The Engine is Out!!!

2009-07-20T13:04:00.017-05:00

It's been a while since I've posted about actual work done on Grover.

Unfortunately several other things have gotten in the way during the past few weeks. I have worked some on Grover but not as much as planned and not all that much to write about.

However, this past Friday I got to work several hours on Grover as well as a couple of hours on Saturday.

As the title states: The Engine is Out!!!

Here are a few pics for your amusement.

Here is the right side of the engine. At the time of this pic it was still on the chassis.

From left to right you can see the opening where the fuel pump was attached with the side cover still in place. Next, the pinkish triangular, is the housing for the distributor & driving gear. Directly below the distributor housing is the oil filter housing port. The last opening you can see is for the oil filler tube.

Since I mentioned the fuel pump let me throw this picture in. It's a better view of the rusty sediment in the bottom of the filter bowl.

Here's a closer look at the distributor & driving gear housing. You can see the drive shaft coupling and vertical drive gear assembly.

The pink stuff is what's left of the gasket.

This is a cool picture. you can see some of the gears in the engine through some of the openings. In case you are wondering what the rag is there for I placed it in the distributor & driving gear housing opening so nothing falls in there and gets lost.

This is the left side of the engine.

There are a couple of interesting items (at least to me) on this side. If you look towards the center of the picture you will see a brass item that looks somewhat like a water spigot; it's a drain tap for water.

There other item is located towards the top right hand side of the picture. It's a cylindrical item on top of the cylinder head and has a little handle on top of it. That's another water spigot/tap but this time for the original heater that use to be in Grover. BTW - the heater came with Grover but in pieces in a beer box.

The next couple of pictures are of some of the manifold ports. You can see some of the gears inside as well as the carbon/coke buildup. At this point I'm not planning on tearing apart the innards of the engine, but we'll see.

You'll notice that I've left the gasket in place. I have a plan for this thing and will fill you in later.

Here's the opening where the starter goes in to connect with the flywheel.

It was disappointing to see the rust but I've been told this happens when an engine just sits without use. Still, I have a nagging feeling that water is getting in there somehow.

Now comes the interesting part - the removal of the engine. I have never done this before. The closest I came to doing this was when I was 16 back in 1982. I had a '73 Chevy Camero that needed an engine rebuild. I was allowed to take off everything I could, but my brother and one of my dad's mechanics took the engine out. Even though I was allowed to take the engine apart I wasn't allowed to help put it back together. All they let me do was watch them put it back together. In fact, there have been many skeptics who have said I can't do this - especially by myself. A few have even suggested that the engine, let alone Grover, will never get put back together. My dad just walks out to the shop, looks around, and shakes his head.

Anyway, here is the engine all trussed up and ready to go, just one hitch, the transmission is still attached.

So, with a large rubber mallet, a putty knife, screw driver and pry bar the transmission came off. I whacked the thing with the mallet all the way around to break the connection. Then, starting with the putty knife, I slowly pried the bell housing away. After several 'whacks', a few pries, and some backward rolling of the chassis, the engine and transmission separated.

And there it is - in all it's glory - the 4 cylinder, 2.25 litre petrol engine.

One of the main mechanical concerns with Grover over the past year has been the clutch, it just hasn't been working right at all. It was grinding terribly and becoming more and more difficult to shift out of one gear and into another. So, with the engine out my attention turned to the clutch.

At this point the pressure plate doesn't look too bad at all.

The clutch disk doesn't look too bad either, but there is some rust on it. Not sure how this rust would effect the clutch, perhaps it doesn't.

The next two pictures are of the flywheel and the flywheel housing.

The straight on shot makes the flywheel look pretty good, but there is more rust on the face of it.

An angled shot tells another story, the rust is very noticeable. I guess I need to figure out how to clean this thing before putting it back together.

The best part is is that there are no missing gear teeth or noticeable metal shavings found, so, all in all the clutch seems sound.

Before returning to the engine, here's a look inside the bell housing.

I figured it would be oily inside the thing, but it looks like there is some sort of sediment in the oil. Not sure if this is dirt or what, however, the gears look good.

Now, back to the engine.

Here's the inside of the flywheel housing. The is a lot of oil in it along with more of that sediment. It actually looks like soot or graphite powder. I'm wondering it it is fine metal shavings from the starter gears and the flywheel.

The main thing to be noticed in the photo is the stain that goes from dead center to the 6 o'clock position. This makes me think that the rear main oil seal is leaking. So, that seal will be replaced.

Once the flywheel housing was removed I had the chance to look at the O ring in the housing. It's there and intact, but it doesn't look as thick as it should. The O ring doesn't fill the gap that it sets in; it actually looks like it should be thicker by a third.

And here is the engine sans flywheel housing.

The crankshaft flange appears to be in great shape, but it looks like the rear main oil seal is going to be a bugger to remove and refit.

Surprisingly, the paint under the flywheel housing looks great! I wonder if the whole engine use to be that color? I thought Land Rover engine colors were pastel green, perhaps not.

Last but not least - here's this post's money shots - the engine on the stand!!

Putting this puppy on a stand turned out to be harder than I thought. The bolts that my brother supplied with the stand do not fit the engine block. The bolts needed to hold the engine are 3/8 x 24.

So, off to Lowe's I went Saturday morning to get some. They didn't have any in the length need. I then went to a specialty supply house. Luckily they had some - barely. When I told the guy what they were being used for he gave me a look like "boy, your nuts, engines don't have bolts like that". After explaining it to him, and showing him one of the actual bolts, you could see the light bulb come on. So then he started talking about the Whitworth standard and old British engines.

Anyway, I finally got home and put the engine on the stand.

And there you have it.

Once I'm done with the chassis and such I'll get started on the engine.

For now I'm going to cover it and place it in a corner.

Up next - the removal of the transmission, drive shafts and the exhaust system. This ought to be fun!!

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry

First Overland Part II

2009-07-17T22:37:00.003-05:00

Hey!! Remember my post discussing the book 'First Overland: London-Singapore by Land Rover'?

Well, guess what I found on YouTube?!?!

Can you believe it - video footage from the expedition!!!!

Enjoy!

Thank you roverhaul for sharing these!

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

The Gods Must Be Crazy

2009-07-16T17:25:00.009-05:00

I know, I know...this really isn't about Grover's rebuild, but hey, it IS Land Rover related.

About a couple weeks ago or so I mentioned to the gang on the Land Rover Owners Mailing List that I was thinking about hoisting Grover's frame up like the carcass of a deer. I figured if I did this it would be easier to clean and seal the interior of the chassis.

Well, one thing led to another and one of the members mentioned the movie "The Gods Must be Crazy". I had never seen it before but have been told it is an excellent movie for the Rover lover. So I hunted it down and watched it.

!!!WOW!!!

This movie is hilarious!!

If my brother had not of come up with the name "Grover" for my Rover I would have gone with "The Anti-Christ". I can so relate with every single person who had to deal with the Rover in this movie.

As some of you know, one of my biggest dreams is to go with SWMBO to Africa and take Grover with us. Having seen this movie - I now know how our trip would probably turn out. I still want to go though.

So, to pay homage to this excellent movie, and 'The Anti-Christ', I've embedded a couple clips off of YouTube for you to enjoy. They are also towards the bottom of the left side column.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did!!

However - I am still left with the nagging question...DO Rhinos stamp out fires?

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

This Just In...

2009-06-25T16:23:00.009-05:00

I had a fantastic surprise waiting for me at the post office this morning.

On June 15,2009 I placed an order for a used copy of the book 'First Overland: London-Singapore by Land Rover' from Amazon books. Today it arrived.

The first surprise was that the book came from a shop in the UK and got here that fast - I thought the seller was here in the USA!

The book I purchased was label as 'fair to good' - not bad for paying only $5 for it. The book turned out to be in mint condition!!

While going through the book I found two tickets to the 50th anniversary gala of the expedition at the Royal Geographic Society hosted by Sir David Attenborough. I figure these were the tickets used by the person who bought the book. On the back of ticket it states that copies would be available for sale at the end.

Here is the big surprise!!! The book has been signed by all the surviving expedition members that were at the event!!!!

Hers's the book and tickets.

And here is the money shot - the signatures!

From top to bottom: Tim Slessor, Patrick Murphy, Nigel Newbery, BB (Antony Barrington Brown) & Adrian Cowell.

And these are the guys at the time of the expedition (pic courtesy of Rukapedia).

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry

Power Wash 1

2009-06-25T08:58:00.015-05:00

Yesterday I finally got the chance to power wash Grover.

The amount of crud that came off didn't surprise me as much as the thickness of the crud. On the top of the rear differential the crud was 1/4 thick!

There was also a layer of some sort of waxy substance in various places. I'm assuming this was a form of Waxoyl. There was also a layer of plastic type stuff, about the thickness of a thick trash bag. This was covering most of the chassis. Some of this came off with the power washer but the rest will need scraping. I'm going back today to scrape as much of this stuff off and then power wash Grover again. I have a funny feeling that it is going to take about three washes to get all the crud off.

Well, lets get to the pics.

The first couple of pics are of the front tyres.

This is the front, passenger side, tyre.

For some reason it appears to be wearing funny. I'm not sure if it is suppose to wear like that or if it's a sign of needing aligned. The wear is just on the inside 2/3s of the tyres and is worse on the passenger side.

Here you can see both tyres and the angle of the wear on both.

These last few pics are just some shots taken before the power washing.

When SWMBO saw Grover last night she said he didn't even look like a vehicle. I told her he reminded me of the lunar buggy.

This last item is a small video showing the chassis and engine after the power wash. You can see that there is no rust rot anywhere - just surface rust that should come off with a rotary brush.

If you look close enough you will be able to see some of the black plastic type stuff but the wax didn't show up too well. Also, if you look quick, towards the end, you will see all the crud that has settled in the bottom of the settlement bowl. It looks to be rust flakes.

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry

Bare Bones

2009-06-18T14:29:00.045-05:00

Okay - other than the engine; transmission; exhaust system and axles the chassis is bare and Grover looks like a boned fish.

A lot has been done to get to this point and it has been a very interesting experience. To make this post a little easier to read I'm dividing it into sections and therefore the info, and photos, may not be in chronological order.

Anyway, here it goes.

Steering Column and Bulkhead

I thought that the removal of the steering wheel would be easy, not the column mind you, but the wheel it's self. I was wrong. There is this nut and bolt that goes through the steering column that holds the steering wheel in place. I removed it but the wheel would not come off!! So I pried the horn button/dust cover off just to make sure there wasn't a nut and lock washer holding it down. There wasn't.

From what I could tell the steering wheel was just stuck to the column. So, I doused the inner part with PB Blaster and left it over night.

The next day it still would not budge. So, I grabbed a rubber mallet and a block of wood and gently whacked it. It finally came off. Once off I was able to see what was keeping it so tightly attached. There is a hard rubber sleeve/shield, as well as a copper version of it, between the column and a dust cover.

Anyway, here are the pics.

Here is the dust cover attached to the bottom of the steering wheel.

Inside the dust cover.

You can clearly see the horn connections.

If you look close you will see the copper sleeve/shield and the hard rubber sleeve/shield under it.

I also ran across a couple items while removing the column that made me think "huh?".

The first item is on the brace that holds the steering column in place on the cabin side of the bulkhead.

Anyway, you can see an extra part that looks like a metal spacer but it's only on the one side. I have no idea what the part is for and if I need to get one for the other side or get rid of this one.

The next item is really two; they are these funky washers attached to the cover for the steering column seal.

Here is the cover, seal and the washers.

This is a better picture of the washers.

#1 - what are they there for; &

#2 - why are the bolt holes offset?

If anyone knows the answer to these mystries please let me know.

And here is the bulkhead - waiting to be stripped and painted.

The Engine and Transmission

Okay, there are many pics of the engine and tranny, so let me just throw them out there.

Passenger side.

Driver side.

When it's all done that generator will be replaced with an alternator.

Okay, I've thrown this picture in just because I think it's neat.

I'm not sure what the wire is for (the one tying the bolts together) but I seem to remember someone telling me - I just don't remember. So, I wonder if the wire is original and the engine has never been taken apart, or, if it has and the wire was replaced.

Engine and tranny.

Another view of the tranny.

Look real close and you can see the number - 25148664B.

This next picture is also one of those 'fun' ones.

Can you tell what that is in that engine depression? It's a muddober's nest.

I found a few more in the engine's nooks-n-crannies.

Chassis and Suspension

After wiping some of the crud off the chassis you can clearly see either the original paint or part of the protective coating added by a previous owner.

Even more than the chassis the suspension system really bothers me. It is old and getting worse and needs to be replaced. This is probably going to be the biggest expense.

This is a picture of the front passenger side leaf spring.

It is starting to separate and bulge out. The other three are not this bad, but are getting there.

Here is one of the bolts from the same leaf spring. Luckily it is the worse one of them all.

Brakes and Miscellaneous

At some point before I bought Grover the brake lines were replaced. As you know, I had trouble removing one of the lines from the 4-way brake line junction fitting.

Eventually they all came off without a hitch.

To help insure that the lines would not get messed up before reinstalling them I hung them on an old tool storage wall.

The tags you see attached are notes as to what line it is and where it goes.

Towards the center of the picture you can also see what's left of the rear brake line.

On the shelf below the lines you can see the air cleaner system as well as the clutch and brake assemblies and the the linkage parts for the carburetor.

Here you can see the rear 3-way junction fitting.

At some point someone did some work on it and rounded the nut off. It should be fun trying to get the old line off.

For grins-n-giggles check out this next picture.

Here's what's left of the electrical rat's nest that was in the dash and engine compartment. There's more of it still attached to the engine.

I've had several people ask me what I was doing with all the nuts, bolts, washers and other fiddly parts I've taken off Grover. Here's the answer:

I have bagged and tagged all of it!

Each bag contains the bit parts of specific areas such as 'Dash'; 'Passenger Side Floorboard'; 'Jump Seats'; etc.

On the shelf below these, and on the other side of the cabinet, are the various parts for the dash vents.

Speaking of parts...

I have no idea what these parts are for. I found them while cleaning up the other day.

They are made out of aluminum and look homemade. I believe they are shims for something. Any thoughts on what they might be for?

Bare Bones

As the title says - here are Grover's 'Bare Bones'.

Front...

...rear.

Well, that's about it for today. Hopefully I'll get to work on Grover a little bit tomorrow.

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry

The Nitty Gritty...

2009-06-10T09:24:00.016-05:00

So, now it's time to get down to the 'nitty gritty' of removing items from the engine and bulkhead so that the bulkhead can be removed.

As of now this has been the dirtiest part of the job and most tedious. Hopefully I'll be able to remove the bulkhead by Thursday.

For now - here are some pics for you.

First up is the fuel sender unit. The float arm is stuck, but with generous applications of 3-n-1 oil it's beginning to move.

Here's the top.

This is the back side of the sender.

The large pin, with the wire sticking in it, is the pivot arm/point and is the part that's stuck.

Once opened, I was surprised at how clean and intact the innards were. Now if only the pivot arm will start working again.

I have also managed to remove a few parts of the front end such as the breakfast and the radiator.

And here's the engine without a few of it's parts.

Passenger side...

Driver's side...

The plastic bag is there to keep junk from falling into the carb.

While removing the various stuff on the passenger side I ran into a slight problem.

There is a 4-way brake line junction fitting attached to the chassis. The three male ends that screw into it that lead to the brakes came off easily. The one that enters into the top (the line from the reservoir) was another story.

No matter how many times I turned the thing it just wouldn't come out even though it is unscrewed. At first I thought I might have sheared the threads or something, but it screws back in tightly.

Here's the nasty little bugger.

The only thing I could think of that would prevent it from coming out is if the flared end became too flared to come out.

So, I contacted the Rover gurus on the Land Rover Owners Mailing List to see what they thought. They said the same thing.

Speaking of the Land Rover Owners Mailing List, they also helped me with the fuel sender unit and how to attempt to get it working. Thank you all!!

Well, that's about it for now; hopefully I'll get to work on Grover today.

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry

Going Topless

2009-06-07T19:42:00.027-05:00

Hello again everyone!

More progress has been made in the past few days. All the body parts are off the chassis with the exception of the main bulkhead. The engine and the the tranny are also still attached. Right now I'm not sure if I'll remove these or not, same goes with the axles. My father is getting a bit worried that Grover will never get put back together again!

Anyway, the following pictures have been taken over the course of the past few days. Right now I'm only working on Grover for a couple of hours, or so, per day. When I come across something that is really frustrating I walk away for the day and think about it.

So, without any further delay, here are the pics.

For the first time since owning Grover here he is with the top off. I think it will stay off for a while.

SWMBO's uncle thinks he looks great without a top!

Just another view without his top.

And now he has no tub.

I was surprised at just how few bolts hold this thing on the chassis. I was also surprised at how light it was.

So here the main body parts sit.

Hopefully it won't be too long before the tub is back on and the top on a winch.

Okay, the next few pictures are just general ones of Grover's carcass. If you have questions, please ask and I'll do what I can to answer.

On closer look you can still see some black paint on the chassis.

You can see a good swath og the paint in the center of the pic.

Here is a closer look at the paint.

I haven't gotten a picture of it yet, but there is also a black substance, that looks like an undercoating, that's peeling off the underside of the wings and tub.

And here is the bulkhead sans windscreen.

Now, size wise, I was surprised that the windscreen weighed as much as it does compared to the tub.

The next few pictures are going to be of the fuel tank. As you can see it is still attached, but I plan to remove it Monday.

So here it is..the gas tank.

It is completely covered in dirt, mud, and grime. I'm also beginning to figure out if it might have a slight leak based on the 'oily' look of some of the dirt. Not sure how to find out if it's leaking, but somehow I will.

I took this picture so everyone could see what the return tube and the fuel sender looks like.

I need to figure out how the sender works. I have a feeling it pivots and the pivot point is frozen.

This last picture was taken for 'grins-n-giggles'. I didn't expect anything to come of it, but if you look, there is a piece of what looks to be brass chain in there!

Guess the tank will have to be cleaned out as well. I wonder what else is in there.

Well, that's enough for now. I'll try and remember to get more pictures tomorrow.

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry

Progress Has Been Made

2009-06-03T20:14:00.027-05:00

Sorry for the delay, but some progress has been made.

What you will see here was actually done on Friday and Saturday. I've just been so busy posting to the blog has had to wait.

Anyway...here are some pics for you.

This one is to just give you a general idea of where all this work is taking place.

The following are just so you can see what the back looks like without the jump seats. I might leave them out.

Here's the headliner.

I'm thinking of replacing it with some duck cloth or some such.

Now that the tires are off I can get a better look at the axles and such.

All the oil you see is the gear oil that has been getting flung out of the rear diff where it meets the prop shaft.

So, it's obvious that seal needs to be replaced.

Same area - different view.

However - you can clearly see that the canvas strap is still there!!

Okay - now for some engine shots.

Passenger side.

Driver's side.

I can't wait to start cleaning this thing. I might even paint the engine.

Here's a close up of the pedal housings.

As you can see they are covered in dirt and sand.

Once these are cleaned up I hope to install a shroud of some sorts to prevent this.

Well, this pic slipped past me when I was talking about the axles above.

This is the rear driver's side. It is covered in just about the same amount of dirt as the other side, but there is no ways near as much gear oil. Also, the canvase strap on this side is still intact.

I got more done last Tuesday, with pictures to prove it, but they'll get posted tomorrow.

Anyway, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

It's Been A While

2009-05-28T21:09:00.014-05:00

As the title states: "It's been a while".

The good news though is my father has finally relented and given me a spot in his old equipment shop. So, Grover is now up on blocks and is getting prepped for a lot of TLC.

I have been driving Grover as a daily driver, but the clutch just seems to be getting worse. The fluid leaks are also getting worse, so the time has come to do some major work.

That being said, lets get to the pics.

As you can see, Grover is up on blocks and the bonnet is gone.

Once all the tires were off it was time to drain the fluids. The only thing not drained has been the radiator and gas tank. In case your wondering...those are little black buckets collecting the fluids.

Just a general view of the engine.

I know it doesn't look to whoopee now, but it'll get better.

The carb has also been acting up. Grover is no longer wanting to idle very well and he's running rich - at least I think he is.

What got my attention the other day was the dark spot you can see where the hose meets the main carb body. At first I thought it was spilt oil, but this stuff is extremely sticky and thick and looks like it dripped down from the hose. If anyone has an idea what it might be let me know.

Speaking of spilt oil...if you look in the spot next to the thermostat housing you will see some pooled oil. Not sure where it came from but I know my valve cover gasket is shot.

Here's the last shot for the day.

The rear passenger side tire is gone and now you can REALLY see how bad the leak from the diff pinion seal was. With a leak like this - who needs Waxoyl?!?!?

Anyway, that's it for now. Tomorrow I'll start removing the wings, floor boards and a few other items.

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry

The Little Things

2008-12-03T17:10:00.010-06:00

Sometimes it's the little things that can make a person happy. This is one of those times.

Last Summer a cyber friend (also a Land Rover nut) stopped by 'Simpson's Folly' with his wife on their way to the UK.

We had a chance to talk and give Grover a good going over.

At this time he notice that Grover was missing his interior door handles and that the red & black dash plugs were broken.

After their return to the US I got an e-mail from him. He offered me a set of handles and plugs! Now how AWESOME is that?! Land Rover people are good people.

Anyway, the handles went on immediately but I procrastinated on the plugs. Grover's electrical system is in bad shape and when I touch it it seems to get worse. So I decided to hold off until the wiring harness is replaced.

After talking to a few of the members of the Land Rover Owners Mailing List as well as thinking about 'Shipfitter's Disease' I decided to take the plunge and replace the plugs.

Here are some photos of the new additions.

Here's the handle on the passenger side.

It's hard to believe just how easy something so simple, as this handle, can make life easier.

These are the screws I used.

Not sure where they came from but I like them. They have a rubber grommet attached to a slightly concave washer. Not sure what they are used for but after removing the washer they did the trick.

These are the dash plugs that needed replacing.

They are very fragile and over a year ago I tried to clean the paint off of them and they crumbled. This is one of the few parts that aren't really hard to replace, just pricey.

Here you can see why I didn't want to mess with installing them.

I call this mess the 'Rat's Nest'. If you look close you can see how I have labels attached to everything. I had to do this because each time I open the dash up something comes un-plugged. The labels make it easier to re-attach.

Funny thing is...now that the wires are labeled they are not coming un-plugged.

Here are the new plugs.

I hadn't noticed until inspected of my handiwork but the plastic rings of the new plugs are thinner than the originals. I wonder if these are from a SIII or something? I'll have to ask George (the guy I got them from).

Here's another view of the plugs.

This time you can get an idea of how tall they are.

BTW - I guess I should tell you; these plugs were used in the same manner that a cigarette lighter plug is used for auxiliary items that need to be plug-in.

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

Why I got an old Series Land Rover

2008-12-02T10:55:00.002-06:00

Currently there is an interesting thread going on over on the Land Rover Owners Mailing List called "What keeps you in Rovers". It deals with why a person got into Series Land Rovers in the first place. I thought I would share some of my response here as well.

“I don't consider myself an old-timer, but I ‘found’ Rovers while watching Hatari / Daktari as a young sprout”. For me it was ‘The Wild Kingdom’ and various safari themed type shows. Let’s not forget the mystic that oozes from them either.

Living here in one of the US’s armpits I don’t see many Series Rovers. Make that nil unless you count the odd one at Pendy Import being fixed and two on blocks at a town about 10 miles away. What everyone around here drives are the Discos and the odd Range Rover. Of these I have seen one of each that looked like they were taken off-road. For the most part they are status symbol vehicles you see in the hoity toity strip malls and private school parking lots.

To me, and the rest of the extended family, Grover is family. Many, many times I feel like I’m doing a disservice to Grover though. TeriAnn alluded to it when she gave reasons for a person to loose interest - “…likely breaks something from lack of maintenance…”. In my case I just don’t seem to have the technical knack an savvy to do all the cool thing you all have accomplished with yours. Heck, I have a hard time just keeping Grover maintained.

I can not fathom being without Grover. The ultimate goal is to get Grover to the point I could make some of those trips and expeditions I hear you all talk about and read about on the net. Also, I’ve joked about being buried with Grover, but in reality I know what will happen with Grover when I’m gone. We are willing... ...and Grover to the youngest one. Kelsey (the youngest one) loves Grover as much as I do. Kelsey is working towards being a country vet and I can’t think of a better vehicle for a country vet than a Series Land Rover!

Oh, one last thing… I enjoy driving in city traffic with Grover. I learn all sorts of new hand gestures from other drivers!

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

The Hippie Wagon

2008-12-01T21:20:00.011-06:00

Hello Everyone!

Well, as of this morning a long time dream has come true. I finally got a trailer to go with Grover!!

It isn't the prettiest trailer but the bones are good. With research and planning it should make an excellent expedition trailer.

I bought it yesterday from a friend of the family who is moving and can't take it with him. He sold it to me dirt! He bought it last spring at an auction with the though of making it a transport trailer for his woodworking shop and never did anything with it.

Since our car doesn't have a hitch I went and picked it up with Grover this morning. This was a bugger in itself. We have had tons of rain this year and Bill has a very low spot at the back of his property - the trailer was on the other side. I am having trouble with one of my locking-hubs going in and out of 'lock' so I couldn't put Grover in 4wheel drive. The ground was real wet, with spots of standing water, but we didn't think it would be too bad - WRONG!! That spot of ground had become a bog. Grover started sinking right away. Luckily it wasn't too bad and I got Grover out of there, but we had to manhandle the trailer over the bog to a spot I could get to.

Anyway, like I said, the trailer isn't the prettiest, but the bones are good. There is a lot of surface rust, but no rot. The guy who owned it before Bill did put linoleum in the bed of it. Even with a topper (which I will be getting rid of) rain still got in and got trapped between the bed and the linoleum. So, there is a chance the bed good be bad but if it is I have yet to find it. I will probably put a new bed in it anyway - just to play it safe.

I am also looking at switching the current axle with a heavier one for larger tires - I don't like those little ones.

Also, I have no idea who made it, what type of trailer it is, or when it was made (I'm thinking the 60s or 70s). If anyone has any info on this I'd appreciate hearing about it.

Anyway, here are some pics. You should be able to figure out why we call it the 'Hippie Wagon'.

I won't be doing too much work on the trailer yet though because I have a lot that still needs to be done on Grover.

So, if any of you have thoughts or ideas let me know.

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

Animal Attraction

2007-06-05T10:01:00.006-05:00

Have you ever noticed how animals just seem to be natural drawn to Land Rovers? Or could it be the other way around?

Whichever the case may be, I thought some of you might enjoy these pics. The first three are a little fuzzy because I used my camera phone.

The 'Pride' - actually the wife's cats.

If the Rover is outside then there will inevitably be a cat on it or in it.

This is Shalimar's favorite spot.

~ In Memoriam ~

Last, but not least, is a picture of Piper and Lacey. We lost Piper 2 weeks before Christmas of '05 due to an accident. Lacey died of Liver Cancer about 3 weeks after this picture was taken (about two and a half weeks after the car show). The two dogs loved Grover!! They liked being in the Rover even if it was just parked in the drive way.

I first knew they were 'Rover Dogs' the day Grover was parked next to the wife's car in front of the garage. I needed to run a quick errand so I asked the dogs if they wanted to go. They both bounded past the car and sat next to the Rover's driver side door waiting for me to put them in.

We miss them both a lot. However, we now have a new little puppy that is turning out to be a 'Rover Dog' as well. She is a Papillon, as Piper and Lacey were, and is the spitting image of Lacey.

This is Piper. She joined our family when her previous owner's decided they just could not take care of her.

And here is Lacey. She moved in with us about 10 years ago when her owner's decided they just didn't want her any more.

And this, of course, is Izzy. She already loves to ride in the Rover and thinks she should be allowed to drive!

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

Collecting Rover Items

2007-06-05T08:13:00.003-05:00

Once I purchased Grover, I was surprised to see just how many Land Rover type things popped up in various places. So naturally, collecting Rover items has become a side hobby to the restoration of Grover.

Aside from hats and T-shirts, I thought I would share some pics of some of my collection. There isn't much to it right now - so if you have anything you want to part with let me know!

Land Rover mud / snow boots. I have never seen anything like this before so I HAD to have them. Besides, they are in my size!

I didn't think $3.00 was too much for a pair of boots.

A Rover sign and various toy Rovers.

The smallest one I had when I was 9 or 10 years old. For some reason I painted it white.

Here's a close up of the D90.

This one is my favorite. It is actually a tin shaped like a 109". It contains about 12 wooden African animals.

I found it at the Sedgwick County Zoo last year.

I was hoping to get a couple more Rover type things a couple weeks ago when we went, but there wasn't a single Rover anything! They were all Jeeps or Land Cruisers.

Here's a close up of the tin.

Other than Grover himself, this is by far THE crown jewel of my collection so far.

It is an original packet of instructional literature from 1962 (part #4487 English Version). So it is contemporary to Grover.

The cool part about this set is that it wasn't an item that went with every new Land Rover. The ONLY way you could get one was by visiting the main show room / factory in the U.K.

If you purchased your Rover at that location they would give you one of these.

Here's the packet.

Series IIA Owner's Manual and a guide book to all the distributors and dealers around the world at that time.

Service Guide and Warranty. The guide part is a general overview. The green book is a more detailed version of the white service guide. Each page contains three cards detailing what needs to be serviced and when. I would assume that when the maintenance was finished one of the 'cards' is ripped out and filed away at the shop. Not sure what was done with the second one. The third one is more like a check register stub where the date, time, location, and signatures are stored.

Only one of the pages is missing. The first one (it was for a free 'check-up'). The date, time, location and signatures were not jotted down though. I figure non of the other pages are missing because the owner figured out how easy it was to maintain the Rover!

Here is a detailed look at one of the pages.

An application and benefits booklet to the R.A.C. ("Britain's premier motoring organisation" as the booklet states). The self-addressed envelop is even included!

Here is a way cool Dial-Map. The instructions are on the back. Just goes to show that no matter where you are in the world it is always "Rover Time"!!

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry !

The Nifty 50s & Psychedelic 60s Car Show

2007-06-04T17:24:00.002-05:00

As I mentioned in my last post, about this time last year I attended a new car show that was being started by the Kansas Oil Museum in El Dorado Kansas. It is called the "Nifty 50s & Psychedelic 60s Car Show". When they found out I had a '63 Land Rover they just had to have it in the show - so I got invited.

There were over 40 vehicles present along with several that were from the '10s, '20s, '30s, & '40s. They were there because the event organizers were afraid not enough cars would show up.

Anyway, that day would mark the first time I'd take on a longer than normal trip. It ended up being around 120+ miles round trip. My wife, Annette, followed me in her car just in case I had a breakdown or something and so we could also go to lunch later.

We were both impressed with how well Grover did. At one point I decided to see if Grover could keep up with the rest of the traffic. Couldn't believe it - we were able to do it! I cruised along at about 65 MPH for a few minutes and then took him back down to a reasonable speed. We were amazed that the temp stayed right at around 168!

As soon as we arrived at the show site I pulled up to my assigned spot and started to dust Grover down. When I got to the back side it looked like someone had taken a spray bottle filled with oil and sprayed the back end. From the X-member to the sun shield - not a spot was without the oily spray.

Great, Grover had sprung a leak. So, I crawled underneath and saw that the rear differential oil seal had blown. Oh well, there was nothing that could be done about it at the moment, so the wife and I decided to enjoy the show.

Grover had someone looking at him all the time. It was very difficult to get any pictures with just the Rover and the cars around him. Within the first hour several guys ask me about the oil spray. We talked about it and came up with an easy solution - extra heavy weight gear oil! So, during our lunch break we went to the nearby O'Reilly's and bought the oil.

After the show, I drove Grover next door to the park, found a safe place, and replaced the gear oil. Needless to say, Grover & I went home a lot slower than we did to get there. I guess pushing the envelope at 65 MPH caused the seal to blow. It was probably Grover's way of telling me to take it easy too!

All-in-all, it was a great day and the Rover was a HUGE hit. I received my invitation to this year's show last Friday, but I doubt we'll be going - I still have a house to paint!

Anyway, following are some pics of the show - enjoy!

Annette with my father at the motorcycle tent.

My mother even turned out!

Ain't he handsome.

The Corvette won 'Best of Show'.

However, the best story involves the black car on the other side. There was kind of a 'hush' over the crowd as it pulled in. It was completely shrouded in a black, gauzy, material to protect it from dirt & dust while it was being driven. The part covering the windows was a weird, clear gauze. When they pulled up and parked, an elderly couple (yes - I said elderly - in their 70s at least) got out and removed the covering.

I had never seen anything like it.

And here we are - Grover & I.

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

Grover Gets Gussied Up

2007-06-04T15:35:00.004-05:00

About this time last year I was invited to attend a new car show that was being started by the Kansas Oil Museum in El Dorado Kansas (http://www.kansasoilmuseum.org/index.cfm). It is called the "Nifty 50s & Psychedelic 60s Car Show". When they found out I had a '63 Land Rover they just had to have it in the show - so I got invited.

Well, to get Grover ready, I decided to get him "gussied up" a bit. Following are some photos I took a couple of days before the event.

Quasi new paint job - actually just a coat of primer.

New indicator lights as well. Not original (those are in storage for now), but they look better than what was on Grover when he arrived.

Added an horse shoe - he needs all the luck he can get!

This is as close to the "Wild Kingdom" I can get right now.

Decals have been added - I like decals!

Ready for the big show!

Here you can see some of the 'extras' I have added.

The large wooden trunk is ex-military. I keep tools, spare parts, cover-alls and other such sundries in here. There are also two, European style military jerry cans. The dark line on top of the trunk is my Hi-Lift jack.

As you can see, there is even an old First-Aid Kit.

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

The Carb and Differential

2007-06-01T10:46:00.011-05:00

WOW! It has been quite a while since I have posted to this blog. You know how it is though - things, like life, get in the way. It doesn't help that the wife and I are also in the process of restoring an historic home!

Anyway, I promise that I will do better at posting......

I last left off with removing the knackered parts of the rear half shaft. I purchased the replacement parts from Atlantic British. While waiting for the parts to arrive, I decided it would be a good time to dismantle and inspect the differential and rear axle. Here are some pics.

The differential housing.

The only problem encountered was that the bolt at the very top, and at the 5 O'clock position, broke and had to be replace. You can see the new bolts here. It was interesting getting the broken ones out! Other than the bolts, the only hard part was getting the diff in and out.

Here are some close-ups of the differential. As you can see, it doesn't look too bad for being 44 years old.

As some of you may know, Grover was having a hard time starting and staying running. For the life of me I couldn't figure out why this was happening. My brother (the engine Guru); father; and father-n-law couldn't figure out what was causing the engine to die most of the time either. All we knew was that it had to do with the carb.

My brother, Randy, likes carbs. He likes them to the point that tearing apart and re-building them is a hobby. So, he has taken apart, cleaned, refurbished and rebuilt Grover's carb three times! Each time it would work perfectly for about a week or so and then it would start sputtering and dying just like before.

Grover's engine is the original 2.25L that was put in back in '63. As far as I know the original carburetor would have been a Solex. After 1967, the Zenith 36IV would become the 'stock' carb for Land Rovers. So, it is assumed that sometime around '67, the Solex was replaced by the Zenith model.

Unfortunately, the Zenith carbs had a flaw that would come to be known as "Zenith Warp". Here is a description of the problem written by the talented Alan Richer.

"As we all know, the poor heat treatment and insecure design of Zenith carburetors often causes the body halves to warp and twist - leading to air leaks, poor mileage and even worse running characteristics.

The classic symptom of the warped-body problem is an inability to adjust a rich idle mixture using the mixture adjust screw on the side of the carburetor base. If the engine won't stall with the screw wound all the way in, likely it's siphoning fuel past a bad gasket and seal between the halves."

Throughout the entire carburetor ordeal the members of the Land Rover Owners Mailing List, walked me through it. Two of the members who virtually held my hand through this mess were TeriAnn Wakeman, and Alan Richer - THANKS you two! They supplied me with lots of information and tech help. If it wasn't for TeriAnn I would never of known about the "...redundant vacuum port, blocked on the top housing side, that opens when the warp occurs".

Here are some pics.

At this time I also started the process of replacing some of the other seals and gaskets such as the oil pan gasket, hub seal gaskets on the rear axle and the front & rear output seals/gaskets.

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

Give Me A Break!

2006-04-18T16:42:00.003-05:00

Well, in the words of Roseanne Rosannadanna "if it isn't one thing it's another".

Grover's carb problem got fixed on Easter Sunday. I will come back to this post and add commentary about this later.

Anyway, I got to enjoy driving Grover for a few hours Monday morning, then, all of a sudden - PING!

I pulled out from a stop sign and Grover lost his forward momentum. He wouldn't move.... I had to coast to the side of the road. No matter what I tried nothing happened. For once the engine was purring beautifully, but the 'ol boy just wasn't moving. Luckily I was only a couple of blocks from home so I walked.

A few minutes later I was back at the scene to make sure I hadn't had another 'numbnut' moment. The red knob was in the proper position. Then I tried 4WD HI and 4WD LOW - nothing happened (later I find out it was indeed a 'numbnut' moment). Got out, told Grover it would be okay and walked home.

Oh, BTW, did I mention I forgot to lock the free wheeling hubs! See I told you there was at least one 'numbnut' moment! DOHH!

About an hour latter my father helped me tow him back to the garage.

After a few hours of diagnostic bantering with the gang on the Land Rover Owners Mailing List, it was decided that the rear half shafts where knackered.

Before I continue, let me tell you about another one of my "numbnut" moments during this whole ordeal. One of the gents on the LRO mailing list suggested I open the inspection ports and make sure everything looked normal and was working in the gear boxes. Well, while looking down into the transfer case, I slipped Grover into 1st gear and gave him some gas. Next thing I knew, I had a face full of gear oil! DOHH!!

Anyway, as you can see from the pictures, they were right!

As I tackle the swap out I will take better pictures to replace these.

I just removed the remains of the half shaft. Took about 5 minutes, a depth gauge for a skill saw and a 10# hammer. They came out in three pieces, a big one and two little ones as you can see.

Now I need to start cleaning the diff!

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

Swivel Ball Seal Replacement

2006-04-08T16:22:00.004-05:00

Another item that got fixed, before the carburetor problem got resolved, was the leaking swivel ball seals.

Not long after being able to legally drive my Landy I noticed tiny puddles of oil next to the tires as well as on the sides. These were under the vehicle and not on the outside. I wasn't sure where they were coming from; all I could tell is that it was coming from the area where the hub assembly was. So, I hit the shop manuals and determined that the leak was coming from either the hub seals or the swivel ball seals.

Once again, with the help of the Land Rover Owners Mailing List it was determined that the oil had to be coming from the swivel ball seals.

There are only two of these suckers; one on each front hub.

Thanks to TeriAnn Wakeman I was shown how to replace these seals
without having to take the hub assembly apart.

Once the seal repair kits arrived I started work. Unfortunately, when I went to cut the replacement seals I noticed a tiny spring that went all the way around the inside lip of each one. Since I am not that good of a mechanic, and had never done this before, I decided not to cut the seals. Instead I replaced them the hard way.

I was actually surprised at how easily the assemblies came apart and went back together. The real luck was in the swivel balls themselves. From what I have read, and been told, a lot of the older swivel balls are corroded and/or pitted. Those on Grover were virtually perfect. I only found about three pin head sized pits.

I repaired the pits and then reassembled the hubs.

The repair appears to have worked, but I have noticed that the leaks are starting up again, just not as bad.

Now for the funny part. Remember, I had finished putting in the new break fluid reservoir and lines in a couple of days before the seal replacement. At this point the tires and wings were still off.

Well, my father helped me put the hub assemblies back together. As I started to replace the driver's side tire my father noticed the new reservoir and lines. He asked if the breaks were working better and I said yes. Keep in mind, the passenger side drum and tire have not been put on yet. Only the driver side had the drum on and I was putting the tire on at that moment.

The next thing I knew there was a fountain of break fluid spewing from the passenger side hub! My father had stuck his head in the cab and started pumping the breaks to see how tight they were. Before I could yell at him to stop he said "these breaks are still spongy - you need to re-check them"!

AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!

If it isn't my father-n-law it's my father! Each time one of them 'helps' me, SOMETHING like this happens. At least they supply interesting stories.

So, I went over to have a look. The seals of the break cylinder had blown - if only I would have put the drum back on! Actually, the picture at the top is me looking at the blown cylinder, I can't find the photos of the seal replacement.

Anyway, I got the cylinder fixed and re-did the break fluid. Oh well...now I have breaks.

While we were at it we also replaced the tie rod ends; all the radiator hoses; and the fan belt.

My brother was really concerned the possibility of the radiator over heating so we decided to install an el cheapo temp gauge and, just to play it safe, replace the thermostat. When we took the top housing for the thermostat off there was nothing there!! NO THERMOSTAT at all - not even the remains of one!

So, I ordered the appropriate thermostat from Rovers North. When it arrived I tried to install it - it wouldn't fit.

No matter what I did it-just-would-not-fit!!! So I called up the tech guys at Rovers North and asked for help. They walked me through it and, thanks to them, we found out that the top housing was the wrong one for my engine. I was then told they are no longer made. However, they asked if I could give them a little bit of time to find me one. The next day I get a call from them - the found one! So they offered it to me at a very fair rate and express shipped it to at no additional cost!

Rovers North guys - if you read this - THANKS!

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

Clutch and Brakes Part Deux

2006-04-07T17:48:00.013-05:00

Here are two views of the shinny, clean bell housing and gear box. The housing plug has already been installed.

Here is big brother and I breaking apart the housing.

There it is!!

We are discussing how we are going to separate the two parts.

Will it ever end?!?!

Trouble with a dowel.....

Dad offering advice...

After it was all put back together I could tell a major difference in shifting. Big brother said that there would be a break-in period, but to let him know if anything unusual happened.

Well, for some reason it started getting harder and harder to shift again. We were beginning to think we had done something wrong. So, we crawled back under and started to go over everything again.

Turns out it was the cross shaft connecting tube. The original had become so warped and warn that it just wouldn't work with a new clutch. Rover's North saved the day and rushed me a new connecting tube. Went on easily and now shifting is a breeze!

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

Clutch and Brakes

2006-04-06T16:19:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I have never driven a Land Rover until Grover came along. I had been told that shifting can be difficult, especially in the earlier models (since only 3rd and 4th are synchronized). However, I was use to driving a '73 Porsche along with older vehicles that has stick shifts. But Grover just kept grinding worse and worse. No mater what I did it wouldn't get any better.

So, after many e-mails with the good folks on the Land Rover Owners Mailing List, and a lot of discussion with my brother, it was decided that I needed a new clutch assembly including the master cylinder and fluid reservoir.

I sat down with my brother to make out a list of the items I would need. Rovers North and British Pacific became my best buds that week!

Here is a quick list of what I got:

9" clutch disk & cover;
clutch bushing;
flywheel dowels;
clutch pedal return spring;
bell housing plug for shaft (this was missing);
pedal assembly bushings (so warn they might as well of been missing);
clutch alignment tool;
clutch master cylinder;
hardline to clutch master cylinder;
rubber engine mounts (again, so warn they might as well of been missing);
anti rattle spring (missing).

There were a few extra items as well. Since we were going to replace the fluid reservoir and hardline to clutch, we decided to replace the brake hardline as well.

With all the orders placed I set to taking the wings off and getting ready to replace all those parts. It still amazes me at how many small sea shells, snail shells and pine needles I found in the engine. Once the wings were off the engine got power washed. I was afraid I might cause more damage by doing this, but everyone suggested I should. One even said "It's a Land Rover! If it can go through water it can handle a power wash."

The bell housing and gear box was so covered with grease and crud that it took my best friend and I several hours to get the stuff off.

Following are some of the pics.

The power washer did remove the paint off the bottom part of the oil bath housing.

Also, you can see the battery tray. This is the spot with the worst rust. I will have to come up with some way to replace it.

Here you can see the new fluid reservoir and hard lines. You can also see the new coil.

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

Exterior Additions

2006-04-05T17:30:00.002-05:00

Here are a couple of pictures showing a few changes I made to the outside.

I added fixed wing mirrors along with a rear-view mirror from D.A.P.Enterprises.

The old bumper with the towing assembly has been replaced with a new one that has overrides. These I also purchased from D.A.P.

The spare has been added and the paint has been removed from 80% of the galvanized cappings.

More to come.....

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

The Great Explosion

2006-04-05T15:30:00.003-05:00

As promised, here is the story of the "Great Explosion of '04".

It was the 4th of July. My family, along with my Wife's, was spending the day at our house.

My father-n-law's brother was also visiting for the day. He owns a Honda dealership and repair shop.

Well, Grover was having a timing problem and back-fire problem. A friend of mine said Grover had the farts.

Anyway, my father-n-law and his brother are both great mechanics, but had never worked on a British vehicle. Together, the three of us started working on the timing problem. It didn't seem to be going well and I tried to get them to read the shop manual. That didn't go over well at all. Basically, they shot me the "evil eye" and said they didn't need no stinking manual. They had been working on engines longer than I had been alive.

I just sat there and knew it was going to get worse...

Each time they dickered with it they had me get in and start Grover. He would back-fire, they would grumble, curse the British, curse me for getting such a vehicle, and get back to it.

Right about noon they said they had it finished and told me to start ol' Grover up.

I got in and started him up.

KaBOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!

Oh - did I forget to tell you we were in my tiny, two car garage?

It was so loud! I lost my hearing for a few minutes due to ringing ears. I also checked my pants - no surprises.

My father-n-law and his brother were sitting on the car-port with stunned looks on their faces as the whole family came running! Even the neighbors came to check it out.

After everyone checked out as being okay, I shooed them away and told them to go eat.

I then looked under Grover to see what happened. Well, there it was, the gaping hole of destruction.

After that I walked up to Grover's attackers and gave them the manual. All I said was "now will you read it?".

About an hour latter they sheepishly told me that they had reversed the down stroke.

So, I now have the muffler hanging in the garage and a new stainless steel one hanging on Grover. When ever my father-n-law wants to work on Grover I point to the muffler and ask him if he wants the manual.

I ended up replacing the muffler with a Stainless Steel one from Atlantic British.

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

The Rat's Nest

2006-04-05T15:24:00.002-05:00

Well, here is my electrical system. Also known as the "Rat's Nest".

As you can see, it is a mess!

__________________________________________

This is part of what's left of the head-light pig-tails.

___________________________________________

This is the part of the rat's nest under the bonnet.

Let me know if you have any questions!
____________________________________________

Hey! Since I am on the electrical system right now, let me ask. I'm missing the little handle and screw for the right hand wiper motor. Anyone out there have a spare or know where to get one?

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

Grover's Interior and Exterior

2006-03-29T20:26:00.002-06:00

Hello Everyone!

Here are some more pics of Grover's exterior.

If you look close you can see the funky tow hitch that's attached to the front bumper.

At some point it will be switched out with a new one.

You can see some slight dents, but nothing that detracts from Grover.

Lacey had to check Grover out. She seemed to like it.

You can also see the front tow hitch better in this picture.

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Here are some interior pictures.

I think it looks nice and clean - especially for being 45 years old.

The doors are in good condition but need some work.

Seats are in good condition.

Jump seats need re-stuffing a bit.

They also need securing straps to hold them in place when they're folded up.

The back is nice and clean as well.

You can see how bad the seals are though.

The head-liner isn't bad either, but it is home to some wasps. They've got to go.

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

More Engine Pics

2006-03-29T08:54:00.004-06:00

Here are some additional pics of the engine.

Oil bath air filter, distributor, voltage regulator and rat's nest.

Coil and rat's nest.

Zenith carb, coil, brake/clutch fluid reservoir and the original breather type caps.

In this last pic you can see the extra fuel filter that we added.

Anyway, the engine is a '63, 2.25 petrol. With the exception of the points/plugs/wires and carb it is 100% original.

Please keep in mind while reading this that I am NOT a mechanic, so the way I describe something might be a bit dodgy. My brother (a real mechanic) about fell over when he looked at the engine. The large bolts, located under the spark plugs (I believe they attach the head to the block), still have the factory installed wire connecting them together and it is fully intact! It appears that the engine has never been dismantled. It runs great; purrs like a kitten; does not burn oil; stays at a constant temp of +/- 160F; no grey or black smoke and gets between
15 & 20 MPG.

The zenith carb was installed in the late 60's. I am having problems with it, yet it has been cleaned and rebuilt three times in the last year. It just won't stay adjusted. It will run great anywhere from an hour to a week or two and then stop working. From discussing the various problems with several other people, my brother and I had a check list to work with. We checked for, and fixed, a problem known as "Zenith Warp", along with a redundant hole. Still the problem persists. We still have a few other items to check but are now looking at replacing the old Zenith with a rebuilt Zenith.

You might find it interesting to know that when I first started cleaning the engine, numerous sea shells were found in all the nooks-n-crannies; not to mention all the mud dobber nests!

We have also replaced the starter and the solenoid.

About two months ago we replaced the entire clutch system including the fly-wheel. If I can find those photos I will upload them.

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

Grover's Engine

2006-03-29T08:41:00.001-06:00

Here are some pictures of the engine. I will try to get better ones tomorrow.

He has a 2.25 Petrol with a Zenith 36IV carb.

BTW - Grover is alive again! I finally got the carb put back in and it is running great. I will drive it around for the next few days and see what happens.

It's not the best picture, but you can see the Zenith carb, gas filter, and the air breather caps.

This is a better picture of the same items.

Another decent pic.

The gas filter we installed. You can also see the little breather slot on the oil cap.

Oil bath air filter.

At the top of the picture you can also see the fuse box (it came without a cover).

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

Initial Inspection

2006-03-29T08:40:00.001-06:00

Here are some pics of my father-n-law and I giving Grover the "once-over" before I drive him up to the house.

The Amber Bock box contained extra parts Ike sent. A few bottles would have been nice though!

Just checking out the two hitch added to the bumper.

I think this is when we first really noticed that Grover lists to the right.

My father-n-law waxing poetic about the beauty of simple engines.

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

Grover Arrives!!!

2006-03-28T20:44:00.001-06:00

At last, on a warm Summer's day in June of '04, Grover arrives!

My wife and I, along with her parents, sat on the porch, drinking coffee, and waited. We watched for any sign of the transport. It would be arriving any time...any time now...

Then, suddenly, we saw it! A big ol' transport came down the road and pulled up in front of the house!

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There he was, Grover the Rover!

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I couldn't wait to get behind the wheel, but it wasn't to be, at least for a bit longer anyway.

The transport driver said he could not turn the Landy over to me until he had parked it in our driveway.

It was kind of scary watching him unload the Rover. The Landy was so narrow that it looked like it would run off the ramps at any time!

After he had driven the Landy into the drive and parked it we got to talking. Turns out that he was the one who transported Grover from his home in Florida to Ike's location in Indiana. He said that when he first transported Grover it didn't run. He had to winch the Landy onto the transport.

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YES!!!

Finally, after wanting a Land Rover for as long as I can remember, I have one! For those of you who might be wondering, the short, chubby guy next to Grover is me. As you can tell, we both could use an extreme makeover.

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

Here are some pictures of Grover before he was shipped

2006-03-28T14:18:00.004-06:00

Here are some pictures of Grover before he was shipped to me.

I purchased Grover from a great guy named Ike, who owns Pangolin 4x4, in May of '04.

Hopefully, within the next few days, I will post more pictures of the day he arrived and tell you more about our adventures.

The door looks a little warped in this picture but it isn't, the door isn't shut all the way.

I can't wait till he gets here!

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~