My 1968 IIa Shorty V8

[russV82a]

I thought it was about time I put some photos up of my IIa shorty now that it is looking nice and shiny!
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/03/844.jpg
It is a 1968 SWB which started life in the service of the Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works (MMWB) before being bought by my father in the early 1970's. He used it as daily driver and on many trips with the Victorian Land Rover Club. The vehicle received a heart transplant in about 1978 with professional conversion to a Range Rover 3.5 V8. My Dad continued to make various improvements to it including the addition of a x-army 6,000lb Bamford PTO winch, higher ratio diffs and a jack McNamarra rear diff lock and strengthened rear axle.
The vehicle served our family of five for many years including a big trip in 1988 up through central Australia and to the top of Cape York and down the East coast. A memorable trip with 5 of us and all the camping gear (no trailer) squashed into the shorty!
No long after the trip it was realised that larger vehicle would be required (surprise, surprise) and it was sold and replaced by a county.
The vehicle had three different owners after Dad sold it, however each owner was known to us through various connections. One of these owners had the vehicle used by paramount pictures in the filming of a Mission Impossible TV episode! I managed to find the episode on you tube - see the link below:

It features at 6:09 and then at 18:49
MI88 The Sands of Seth.mp4 - YouTube
I would suggest fast forwarding to these parts - it was a pretty average TV production!

In 2000, I bought the vehicle as my first car. It was in a fairly sorry state having been in a head on bingle (wrote off the other car) and being left in a paddock for a few years. I then slowly overhauled the vehicle during uni holidays and have since used it on quite a few 4wd trips and recently been treated to some panel straightening and a respray. Its come up pretty well I think!

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/03/845.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/03/846.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/03/847.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/03/848.jpg

On Dad's stand at the Victorian 4WD show the other week
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/03/849.jpg

When I bought it
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/03/850.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/03/851.jpg

During the overhaul
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/03/852.jpg

The chassis had to be repaired due to the crash
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/03/853.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/03/854.jpg

Having fun
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/03/855.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/03/856.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/03/857.jpg

[Johnno1969]

What a beautiful Land Rover! Thanks very much for posting the story and all those lovely photos.

I will write more when I can stop ogling those pictures....

Cheers,

John

[wpalmo]

Great story and a really nice looking Series II. What rims and tyres are you running?

Regards Warrick.

[will d8r]

Great story great history neat looking LR. Have the galvanised cappings been painted or regalvanised or still original .The wide wheels set it of.
Cheers Will

[garrywlh]

What a fantastic story and a gorgeous Landy! You have inspired me. Thanks!

[russV82a]

Thanks all!
The rims are a standard 16 inch LR rims that has been widened to 8 inches. I'm not sure where they were done, Dad got them done back in the 80s sometime.
The tyres are Silvestone (BFG mud terrain copy) 265/70/16.

The galvanised cappings haven't been touched. They are original and holding up well!

[Slunnie]

What did you do for a fan?

[stevep]

hey - the car looks great & nice storey.
I like the action photo - creek crossing - looks good.

regards
Steve

[Cobber]

Great story, great car :BigThumb:

[Bearman]

Terrific job you have done there, it looks great! Reminds me of the 1965 2A shorty I had back in the late '60's.

[russV82a]

What did you do for a fan?

Hi Slunnie,
I assume you mean engine cooling fan. It just has the standard Rover belt driven viscous hub fan on the front of the motor.

[mick88]

A very fine example of a well loved Series vehicle.
You have reason to be very proud of it, a job well done.
Is it heavy to steer with the 8" rims and the V8 motor?
Did the V8 conversion retain the series gearbox and if so has it stood up well to the power?



Cheers, Mick.

[russV82a]

A very fine example of a well loved Series vehicle.
You have reason to be very proud of it, a job well done.
Is it heavy to steer with the 8" rims and the V8 motor?
Did the V8 conversion retain the series gearbox and if so has it stood up well to the power?



Cheers, Mick.

Hi Mick,
Thanks for your kind comments.
Yes, you do notice a bit of a difference at low speed (parking, etc) but no real difference at speed. The V8 engine (being an alloy block) is actually about 30kg or so lighter than the cast iron 2.25L 4 cylinder engine, so the V8 has not made the steering any heavier.
The V8 conversion did retain the original gearbox and transfer case which has never had a failure (that I know of) in its 35 years of life with the V8. The gearbox has been rebuilt at least once over this time however. I think the longevity of the drive-train can be more attributed to the way it has been driven, than its shear strength. A bit of mechanical empathy goes a long way! On the other hand, its not as if its had an "easy" life. Most of its use when Dad owned it, was carting a family of five and all their gear all over the victorian high country! As anyone who has been through the high country would know, there's not many "easy" tracks in that part of the world.

Cheers,

[jdobson]

That looks absolutely fantastic, I hope mine comes out as well as that. What did you use to repaint it? I'm currently sanding mine back ready for a respray and want to get it right.

[Ozdunc]

Looks awesome - esp inside.

Am I missing something, is it running without a filter?

[Series3 GT]

Great looking Landy no doubt about it! I like the idea of the 3.5 V8 in a standard series, would love to do it when my 2.25 lets go (its now got the death rattle from the big ends its not registered just a farm Ute though) The whole trick with the original gearbox is to treat it like a Series box no matter what engine and not dump the clutch and floor it on bitumen ( should be right on dirt and mud though). Hows the V8 fit with the bulkhead and what kind of conversion plate? Keep us posted on how it's going and whats new.

[garrywlh]

You say that the wheel rims were widened sometime back in the 1980s. They look great. Do you, or does anyone here know where I might be able to get that done in the 2010s?

Many thanks for any advice, and congrats once again on your great IIa.

Garry

[goingbush]

Russ, I know that car, I remember lying under it with the sump off, about 24 years ago when Michelle owned it (She bought it from your Dad) - We replaced the bottom end bearings from memory. ( Ive got some pics of it from back then in storage, but wont be getting near them for 12 months or so)





You say that the wheel rims were widened sometime back in the 1980s. They look great. Do you, or does anyone here know where I might be able to get that done in the 2010s?

Many thanks for any advice, and congrats once again on your great IIa.

Garry

Garry, Eastern wheel works in Lilydale will do it for you, Ive had them do a few sets for me, from memory back then it had Alliance tyres on it, (made in Israel) in the day when you could only get Roadtrack majors and Bar Treads they were real head turners.

[harry]

that is a nice car with a fab history for you.
i love it.

now, how do i get my disco v8 into my little series without her indoors noticing?

[russV82a]

Looks awesome - esp inside.

Am I missing something, is it running without a filter?

The air filter is the black thing siting behind the carbies. It's just the standard Rover V8 air filter of that era.

I neglected in my original post to say a huge thanks to my Dad for all his help on this vehicle. He's spent as much time as I have on the vehicle (and more time lately). I suspect he doesn't mind one bit though, as I have to prise the keys out of his hands each time he gives it back!

[russV82a]

Russ, I know that car, I remember lying under it with the sump off, about 24 years ago when Michelle owned it (She bought it from your Dad) - We replaced the bottom end bearings from memory. ( Ive got some pics of it from back then in storage, but wont be getting near them for 12 months or so)






Garry, Eastern wheel works in Lilydale will do it for you, Ive had them do a few sets for me, from memory back then it had Alliance tyres on it, (made in Israel) in the day when you could only get Roadtrack majors and Bar Treads they were real head turners.

Hi goingbush,
Your memory is impeccable! Yes, it did used to run Alliance tyres and they looked great!

I think I remember admiring your vehicle when I was a kid (if its the same vehicle I think it is in your avatar photo). There were very few Ninetys in Australia back in the 1980's! I remember it featuring fairly regularly on the LROCV Review cover.

P.S. The bottom end is still going strong!

Cheers,
Russ

[rover-56]

Great to see that Series back in trim. Always admired it on LROC trips back in the '70s.
Say hi to your dad for me:)

Cheers,
Terry