Half-centennial Agri-scat

[I.K.Brunel]

When a local Land Rover enthusiast put one of his SWB LR's up for sale (in a half-arsed, 'appease the wife', bit of paper with felt-tip details in the window kind of thing), my interest was piqued.
Those in the know will be aware that I have 'previous' with Solihull's finest, having previously owned a Series II (crap), Series IIA (not crap) and Series III (very crap).
This local example was being offered at what seemed a very attractive price, and the vehicle was discussed with The Keeper of The Purse. However, I procrastinated and the 'for sale' signs disappeared out of the window. I thought no more about it really until last sunday when the signs reappeared with a revised price that was just too tempting. I went to have a chat with the chap and a deal was struck.

So here it is... 50 years old and it shows!






There was a reason why the price had been dropped so significantly, the rear crank seal on the elderly engine appears to have given up on it's primary task of sealing oil in, prefering instead to widdle it onto the highway. In addition the engine sounds quite poorly. I would hypothesise that these two things are linked.
Also has all the other "charming character traits" these things are blessed with, i.e. dreadful wandery steering, appalling ride, and a cramped cabin.
It did come with a spare engine though so that is a bonus, of sorts. But I am not very good at actually putting engines INTO cars.

I'm not really sure what to do with it if I'm honest. Although it came with nearly a whole years' MoT and is tax exempt, it needs quite a bit to get it up to an acceptable standard of driveability / useability to make it viable as a long-term tat-hauler. It would be very useful for that though, just today slinging a set of wheels, engine crane tools and whatever in it to trundle down to the lock up was so EASY compared to the usual palarver of putting stuff in the car in such a way as to not damage the vehicle. I think I would also prefer to convert to a truck cab + canvas tilt, as it's a bit more flexible...

It really was too damn cheap to be ignored.,. you never see them this cheap any more... so watch this space I suppose.
It might stay, it might go. Undecided. Something's gotta give though as I got FAR too many cars now.

[Leonard Hatred]

I like that, it looks 'not crap'. How much did it cost you and how difficult is it to replace the crank seal?

[Vulgalour]

That's what a Landie should look like, what you might call 'careworn'.

[Seth]

I agree with them. That looks just-so.

I'd even be inclined to sack off the brown OSF for as much as you can and spend the proceeds on sorting this one out mechanically (using any left over for checkerplate). A nice old Landy like this can only appreciate with any work carried out on it.

[Jon]

I bet you must be a happy camper having picked that up below 'Ebay tax' altered price, I expect. One car I've lusted after for years for localised pottering has been a Moke, though I've no idea why this is. Understandably there's no chance I'd ever be able to afford/justify one but I reckon an old Land Rover with all the doors removed and the 'screen folded forwards would offer similar results. Plus all the bits could be put back on and it'd then be far more watertight* and practical* than a Moke. My cousin's talking of bringing over his Lightweight that he left in Arbroath, so perhaps I could test out the theory gratis at some point.

Anyway, much as yours looks the bees knees, I must admit that the paint work is a little too good for such an old LR and the clash of body coloured rear doors and white hardtops has always irked me a tad. I reckon the canvas roof would solve all this though, so recommend you prioritise this over any boring mechanical repairs.....

[I.K.Brunel]

@Seth - now that is a plan that had very much crossed my mind.
I mean both the brown car and this truck are only going to go up in value with time spent on them, but yeah, this one has the added perk of being parkable, mobile (for now) and generally a lot less work to do.
Downsides for the LR are that (1) it's too tall to fit in the garage, which means having to allow driveway space or leave it on the road and incur the wrath of the neighbours and (b) the prospect of swapping an engine is a real headache at the minute due to insufficient time. I think engineficating the grey bavarian ought to come first (so I can get it mobile, MoT'd and most likely sold). Just need more hours in the day, and probably some local friends/assistance who could actually help rather than hinder...

[garethj]

That looks very nice. What state are the chassis and bulkhead?

How long can an engine swap really take, given the help of some intelligent* and knowledgeable* assistants? If it runs and has a year's ticket you could move it on for a profit. You know, the kind of thing that other people do

[Amazo]

it's too tall to fit in the garage

Theres an easy way to sort that.*

[tone_depear]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/aluminium-chequer-plate-sheet-500-x-500-x-3-mm-/300422008612

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ONE-LIFE-LIVE-IT-CAR-REAR-WINDOW-WINDSCREEN-VINYL-STICKER-DECALS-GRAPHICS-3-/180935061486

[I.K.Brunel]

@Amazo & Tonedepear... NO and NO!!

@GarethJ... well, the engine transplant in my 318iS has only taken 16 months thus far, so.. well... yeah.
Rust-wise the truck is OK. There's been plates a plenty underneath but it's solid enough, and the bulkhead is as good as it can be for 50 years...