Thread: '75 2 Door just acquired! Couple of questions for the brains trust

These were a five seater, plenty of width on the rear seat. My 2nd 1975 had no rear seat belts only front.
Roof should be alloy attached with screws to the side, front and rear body frames. have seen big sunroof conversion with fiberglass over the top of alloy.
Don't assume its the steering box straight away, check for loose pitman arm nut as these can work there way loose. Also ball joints, swivel hubs and panhard rod bushes all make a big difference. Steering shaft uni joints can wear. Get under the vehicle with a torch with the wheels on the ground an have an assistant turn the steering wheel 40mm either side of straight ahead.

Originally Posted by Mister_white_keys

Hi all,

Firstly, it has a fibreglass roof, was this factory? I've had a read through a few bits of history regarding the Range Rover but can't recall any mention of a fibreglass roof. At first glance I thought the bonnet might be glass as well but after some inspection with a magnet it seems it is actually steel with some bog in the corners.

Steve

Hi Steve,

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on the Range Rover.

The roof in the two doors should be all aluminium (maybe if you used a magnet you thought it was fibreglass).
Someone else will be able to tell you about the bonnet. From memory some are steel, some were aluminium on a steel frame.

Bob

Cheers Bundy, I thought that rear seat belts became compulsory in the early 70's? Given that there is mounts on the sides for belts there must be some mounts for a lap belt in the centre as well. I'll keep looking.

The roof is definitely fibreglass and it looks like it's bonded to the gutters, also it has no sunroof. Is it possible that the alloy roof has been replaced with a fibreglass roof at some point in it's chequered history?

In regards to the steering, I've had a good look underneath with someone rocking the steering wheel. The movement definitely seems to be in the steering box, all the steering joints seem to be in good nick.

Cheers,
Steve

the box is adjustable but only to eliminate up and down movement on the output shaft. there is a scew and locknut on top for this. if you over adjust this the steering will be very heavy. centre rear seat belt is a lap belt that mounts on the two bolts holding the stalks for the outer belts (on the floor behind the rear seat)

Welcome mate the centre lap belt on my 78 bolt into the same holes as the clips for the outer belts but the there is spacers in between so they have a minimal amount of movement when bolts are tight. With the outer belts the have three points of contact one from the rear column then a small section of belt drops down off the main length and joins to the thing that holds the upper part of the seat in place. Then there should be a hole somewhere on the wheel arch for the bottom of the belt. Q 2 my bonnet is steel and quite heavy

Pm me if you are interested in a arb winch bar, arb rear step or some fibreglass tiger wheel arch flares as I'm doing a resto on mine and have no use for them