Thread: anyone want to identify this ??

Originally Posted by NiteMare

hmm that's all pretty interesting and more or less defines the build date nice and solidly for me (allows me "historic vehicle" status with no Vehicle Excise Duty to pay )

you mention there the RAAF took more of them towards the end of the 2a production period than the army, would you have any links i could search thru ?

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The RAAF were still getting 88" Land Rovers in the late SIIa period while almost all the Army vehicles were 109" by that time.

Essentially the RAAF vehicles were the same configuration and olive drab colour scheme as the Army vehicles so the The Registry of Ex Military Land Rovers. Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere. site is a great resource. However there are very few of the wide headlamp models with cut mudguards that I can find just now. Although given a few days I can get some photos of a couple of examples as they stand now.

It seems that many of the RAAF 88" were used by the RAAF service police for airfield security purposes so were frequently FFR models and interestingly they had military data plates that indicated they were 109" Fitted For Radio but had the correct 88" chassis number slamped in.

You could modify the current mudguards to present the "cut". They were basically rolled edges, but on the wide headlamp models the fronts were longer starting at the bottom of the pressed recess around the 3 lamps.

WileE should have some good photos.

Diana

There are photos of my Late 2A 88" on REMLR.
NiteMare's Land Rover is very similar to mine in many respects and I would tend to think it is from the same batch of vehicles. The chassis number on mine is +500 later than this one.
Apart from the obvious changes that have been made to Nitemares Land Rover, there a couple of minor differences between the two;
The rear cross member on mine has no hole in it, NiteMare's has the small hole in common with all Aust Army Series 2A's
Mine is fitted with a a single gauge in the blackout light switch panel, an electronic oil pressure gauge.
The engine fitted in mine (which appears to be original) has a 2415####A number which is apparantly a high(er) compression version of the standard 2.25L petrol motor.
Mine was the only one that we knew about until this one has turned up and it's very surprising that it's in the UK.
Good find.
Ian

Originally Posted by WileE

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Mine was the only one that we knew about until this one has turned up and it's very surprising that it's in the UK.
Good find.
Ian

Didn't Black Bill also have one untill he was "T" boned at an intersection writing the chassis off?

BTW if you want to find WileE's shed it is at: http://remlr.com/sheds/ipshedmore.html

ok i'm bumping this thread back up as it looks like i'll be starting in on getting this motor roadworthy and registered (finally ), i've been in touch with our V.R.O. and he's given me the go-ahead to start work

i'll not be knocking out any dings/dents/bruises just doing the essentials to it to get it legally on the road which means, cutting/grinding/welding, brakes and steering, lights and general electrics (this'll probably be the first bit as i've not heard the engine run yet)

but one of the first things i'd like if someone could help me is some high definition photos of the missing military plates that were at one time in the cab (i can give my email address in pm if it helps), obviously your plates would have your chassis number etc' on them but i might be able to get the plate replicated and stamped with my own chassis number via the Series2 Club V.R.O. (Vehicle Registrations Officer) which even if it didn't have any "contract" details on it would help with it's authenticity as and when i eventually/maybe restore it (i already have sticks and tilt, easy bits to sort ) and one or two fuel tanks laying about that hopefully will hold fuel/petrol

progress WILL be slow as we're short on daylight hours at present plus i now have full-time employment so HAVE to get up in the mornings but here's to actually beginning

You really should look at WileE's shed. ( http://remlr.com/sheds/ipshedmore.html )



You also need the servicing/lubrication plate. (this one is a 109")


These are usually fitted on the firewall (bulkhead to you'se Brits) in front of the passenger, or on the side of the seat box next to the passenger.

This is the Australian Compliance Plate. Not usually painted over, but if yours is 500 earlier it may not have a compliance plate which only started in 1972.


The other plates on the firewall in front of the gearstick are the same as the regular SIIa 88" plates fitted to every other civilian and military Land Rover.

You can see the usual layout here:


For your vehicle the ID plates should state:
Nomenclature: TRUCK, UTILITY, 1/4 TON, G.S.
(2nd line) . LAND-ROVER SERIES 2A 88 INCH WB
Census No.: 6005

that was me being stupid and forgetful, i have now looked at WileEs pictures and remember most of them from when i initially started this thread

Thanks Diana

You may be able to acquire the servicing and lubrication plate second hand from ebay or by a wanted ad here on AULRO or over at REMLR. There is also the tyre wear plate that runs across the top of the dash that you'll want.

ok then a little update

since buying this motor it's done very little but sit around collecting algae although i have taken it to two shows on a trailer, the first was the Landrover Max show at Stoneleigh not long after i first bought him and the second was the recent Classic Car show at the NEC, he was then spotted on the Series2 Club stand by a few people who have given me encouragement (along with me finally managing to get a regular job to finance my life) to get on with him

so, a couple of weeks ago i went out to where he was parked, pulled the old long dead battery off and dropped a not quite so dead battery on, cleaned the points and checked the oil level, stuck a screwdriver in the ignition and turned it (no smoke escaped) then turned it to get the starter churning, a few seconds later and the oil light went out (no fuel supply attached) so it was out with the EasyStart and a couple of gentle shots were squirted down the carb, twist the screwdriver again and the engine just churned away, no cough no bang nothing

so had another little look at the electrics and decided to do a temporary ignition wire-up, another little squirt of EasyStart twist the screwdriver and we immediately had a cough and splutter tried that a couple more times until we had it run for 2 or 3 seconds on EasyStart and then grabbed a fuel can with half a gallon of fuel in it, pulled the fuel feed pipe up and stuffed it in the can, a few twitches of the lever on the fuel pump, one squirt of EasyStart and he fired straight up

ran him for maybe a minute or two and then switched off (no coolant) the oil pressure was a little low for my liking at 25psi according to the guage with no real hint it was going to get much/any better (who cares, it runs lol)

so this weekend i got a little more time to get out there, i've taken the floor plates and tunnel out, fitted a replacement gearstick and dug out the gearbox number 25504782 F, i'm positive this is the original gearbox and i suspect it "might" be one of the "rare" all-synchro boxes, it selects all gears without the engine running so that might be a good sign

i've also removed both pedal boxes and the clutch slave to replace all cylinders, the top of the footwell still has a few more years in it but it'll need a small patching at the lower inner edge as it's rotted under the dipswitch cabling

i also removed the offside wheel and took the drum off (big copper mallet to remove) and i reckon the drum is salvageable, rather than refit the dinky 6.00x16 i have temporarily fitted the correct size (worn thin) wheel and tyre, it looks so much better with 7.50 tyres

anyway here's my first "spanners" photo of this motor taken as i was packing up just before dark