Howdy Y'all!

[Idaho]

Just a quick howdy to y'all! I've really enjoyed the forum and have already learned a lot from you -- I'm in the US, in Texas but originally from Idaho in the NW US and thus the log in name, and I think there is more expertise here than any other LR forums I've seen. I've just purchased a 1973 series III SWB, 35K miles, from original owner (have owner and shop manuals, purchasing paperwork, receipts for parts replaced, etc). Rig has not been started for 9 years so I am not sure what all I'll be facing but it is rust-free below in spite of its intense Texas sunburn above! Trailered the rig home on Xmas eve. Excited about getting started on this project and am sure that I'll be back on the forum with my questions! Thx in advance and Happy New Year to all!

[THE BOOGER]

Hi and welcome looks good but the steering wheel is on the wrong side:D

[Disco44]

G'Day and welcome to the forum.
John ( disco 44 )

[Grumbles]

G'day Idaho living in Texas. I hope you enjoy the site. Lots of good helpfull people here. Hmmm...I went looking for a Yellow Rose emoticon to add here but couldn't find one.....

[Philip Regan]

G'day Idaho,

Looks like you go yourself a good basis for a project. I have been looking in here since I picked up my LWB 6 months ago and I have gotten some really good help and good ideas for my restoration. Not far to go for me now and I'll be looking to get a Historical registration when it's finalized.

Hope to see your progress shots soon... spent some time in Texas and really loved the place....

All the best,

Phil

[slug_burner]

Welcome Idaho,

Looks like a good basis for a project. New battery fresh fuel and you should have a goer. You might want to look at the brakes.

[Idaho]

Thanks for the warm welcome! Very much want to get started on this project ASAP but will be working in Ethiopia all of January. More Toyota Land Cruisers there than Land Rovers but do run across some older ones every once in a while. Maybe I'll try to snag some snaps to post -- if only those vehicles could talk!

[cucinadio]

Nice Job mate!!....welcome and be careful "IVA"....

Cheers

[Idaho]

Back from HOT Ethiopia -- 45+ degrees C along the border with Sudan! Ran across a LWB ute in the city of Gondar (site of big WWII battle that ended the Italian occupation of Ethiopia). No engine but body is in fair shape even as it is covered by the doors from a minibus. Told the mechanic that I would buy it from him next year and he just laughed. Never did settle on a price...

Have gotten next to nothing done on my new rig since my return but did think that folks would enjoy this find: its equipment list, still in its original location under the trays of the front seats. 2nd image shows how much of it I was able to recover -- still pretty complete after only 37 years of sitting there!

Now the fun begins!

[Idaho]

Only fits and starts here but we're finally out of the chute. Drained the fuel tank. Goods news: it was nearly full with 10 gallons of gas; bad news: the gas sat in there for 9 years. Lots of sludge in the tank and the fuel lines. Has anyone had any luck cleaning a tank with muriatic acid followed by the POR 15 tank treatment? This rig also has the PCV system and nearly all of the elbows along this long and winding line are split and broken and will have to be replaced.

Also pulled the other filters and cleaned out the oil bath air cleaner. System seems to have worked nicely because the oil was dirty including a few bugs but I also found a little friend, a scorpion, who had somehow made it down into the oil bath! I always do my best to avoid these guys on the ground but now I find them IN the LR, ha ha!

I'm sure there will be lots of other surprises!

[ashhhhh]

Ahh sludge...

I havent used the POR15 tank treatment but have used Kreem before.
It worked well but takes a a bit of time and is fairly expensive. (probably cheaper for you because is it made in the US)

[Idaho]

Well, good thing I don't charge for my time but wanted to update that I did in the end manage to clean my sludge-filled fuel tank. It took lots of chemical and mechanical cleaning using long handled scrapers made from 3/16" diameter wire with hammered flattened tips made into small blades -- I could easily bend these to the angle I needed to get at nearly all spots in the tank. I was able to look inside the filler neck and sender hole with a small mirror and flashlight to follow and plan the progress. Would have been faster to just buy a new tank but this one is made of very heavy stock and I mostly wanted to see if it could in fact be cleaned, and once you're into it, well, as everyone on this forum knows, you're into it! I used the POR 15 tank treatment for the final cleaning, etching, and sealing, and am happy with the result -- the fuel tank will now outlast me, ha ha! As others have noted, reinstalling the tank is a bit tricky to do single handedly -- I used two cambuckle straps and a board to cinch it up into place and hold it so I could bolt it down.

Other progress is coming along as the day job permits. Have rebuilt its original Zenith carb (it came with a Weber attached) and have some questions on this linkage and the PCV system that I will post later.

[Idaho]

After some months of doing general clean up and letting penetrating oil sit in the cylinders, fuel tank sealing, Zenith carb lapping and rebuild, new fuel lines, fuel pump, spark plugs, distributor cap and wires, rotor, points, condenser, filters and fluids all around, etc., and more etc., I dropped in a battery yesterday. Electrical system seemed to be ok (all lights worked) and so I turned the switch and after a bit of choke action the engine started right up! It had not been started in 9 years. Adjusted the carb settings and the engine sounds great! Still lots to do but the engine appears to be there. For now...:D

[banjo]

Hey sounds good & looks good.. So can you come & clean my engine aswell . :D:D . . .;)

[Idaho]

Sure -- would love to see the down under!

[Idaho]

The original Smiths heater in my 1973 SWB was rusted through, its fan motor frozen, and so I decided to rebuild and replace the bad parts. From what I've seen in this forum, this situation is pretty common on vehicles of this vintage, and the rebuild is the basic stuff that we all do. What I have not seen anywhere is a list of reasonably priced replacement parts and where to find them. I looked high and low for a replacement fan motor and squirrel cage and finally found them, with a total cost of about $65 versus nearly $200 for complete assemblies (although I do not know what it would cost to get the parts to Australia). I've detailed the rebuild and parts and post as an attached pdf file -- in this way the post will not take up a lot of room and then whoever is interested can download it. I hope it will save others the time involved in locating the replacement parts and save some money, too!

EDIT: corrected a figure citation in the attached pdf

[drifter]

Excellent and thanks for including the step-by-step pdf. You do good work!

[slug_burner]

Welcome Idaho,

Good job on the clean up, they look so much better with a clean and some paint.

The heater restoration is worthy of a thread in the projects section. One thing about the states, it is big enough that you are likely to find someone that makes just about anything. It would be interesting if we would find someone who would sell you the bits you obtained.

[TJWA]

The original Smiths heater in my 1973 SWB was rusted through, its fan motor frozen, and so I decided to rebuild and replace the bad parts. From what I've seen in this forum, this situation is pretty common on vehicles of this vintage, and the rebuild is the basic stuff that we all do. What I have not seen anywhere is a list of reasonably priced replacement parts and where to find them. I looked high and low for a replacement fan motor and squirrel cage and finally found them, with a total cost of about $65 versus nearly $200 for complete assemblies (although I do not know what it would cost to get the parts to Australia). I've detailed the rebuild and parts and post as an attached pdf file -- in this way the post will not take up a lot of room and then whoever is interested can download it. I hope it will save others the time involved in locating the replacement parts and save some money, too!

EDIT: corrected a figure citation in the attached pdf

Thank you for your time and effort!

[Idaho]

Just a quick update on this project: quiet summer for the LR with me mostly out of town. I went for awhile trying to decide whether to stay with my 15" wheels or go to 16". In the end I decided to clean up the original set of 6" x 15" wheels. I had them sand blasted and powder coated for $40/wheel (see attached). The LR body colors don't seem to translate exactly code-wise to the powder coat colors. The inside of the wheel was still rust-free enough that we could make a close match between the original limestone and the color Oyster White, from the company Spraylat. It was creamier/more off-white than their pure white. It might be just a tad whiter than limestone but it is pretty close and I don't think any difference will be apparent once it starts to get dirty. I ordered a set of rebuilt tires from Tread Wright, 235/75R15 ATG (C), with the build and ship date advertised as 2-3 weeks out but that seems to be a moving target so I might end up buying new tires if they can't deliver within a reasonable timeframe. Still have the brakes to rebuild and while the wheels are off will probably do the axle seals too. As all on the forum know, there is still a lot to do but the slope seems less steep now that it is running!