Thread: Orkney 90's Series 2A Project

One of the weaknesses of these engines is the exhaust valves can burn resulting in low compression and poor performance. Assuming that it is in good condition at the moment, I would adjust the exhaust valve clearences as soon as you get it. It's not a hard job, but requires the exhaust manifold to be removed to do it properly for access - which is one of the reasons this job didn't get done as regularly as it should in Civilian life. Remove the side plate below the exhaust manifold and you'll see the tappets there - they are as simple to adjust as any other engine then, just a flat blade screwdriver, 1/2" ring spanner and some feeler gauges.

If it hasn't been removed in a while, you may break some of the studs that connect the manifold to the exhaust - fitting new ones from your local exhaust shop will make your life easier in the future anyway. The bolts/studs on the head should be fine. Reassemble with copper coat as you'll have this off a couple of times a year if you're doing things properly.

A new side plate gasket wouldn't go astray as I bet the old one is hard. Things like this and filters can be easily obtained from your local Indy LR specialist parts supplier - not sure who is up your way, I use British Car Components in Melbourne. Maybe someone else can help out here and let you know some people up your way that are good to deal with.

I'd also remove the plugs and crank the engine until you have oil pressure before trying to start it. You may also need a squirt of oil down the dash pot on top of the carby too - unscrew the black know in the middle of the top of the carby and squirt some engine oil or trans fluid on there - a couple of squirts will do the trick. Check to make sure all the throttle linkages are free and give them a good squirt of CRC to make sure everything is operating smoothly. Check you points, dizzy cap and leads to make sure they're still serviceable. To make it easier to start, and to reduce maintenance, maybe think about putting an electronic ignition in (very cheap and easy) or even a whole new dizzy like we're doing - even that's not an expensive excersize. Brand new distributors for these are available from old blighty for about 100 quid IIRC.

Most of all, have fun with it. . Be sure to let us all know how it runs once you've been over it.

Cheers - Gav.

Would anybody know whether there is a mechanic in the Sydney area (preferably western Sydney, but anywhere else in Sydney is good) who knows and understands Series Land Rovers? This will be for those bits where I am well out of my depth and for the eventual blue-slip and registration process. I would rather give my hard-earned to someone one who knows what they're talking about...

Call Land Vehicle Spares in Silverdale - I think they do mechanical work as well as selling spares.

John

Once again, many thanks John.

Just having a look at the Land Vehicle Spares website and indeed they have a workshop for mechanical work including blue-slips. And the bonus is that they are located relatively close. And spare parts. Yay!

Well, finally my new project has arrived!

All I have done so far is clean a lot of the crud off, both inside and out. Now I can better assess what needs doing...

The firewall seems to be in remarkable original condition. there doesn't seem to be any rust anywhere, excepting a bit of surface rust under the brake cylinder.

The chassis also appears to be rust free, the front dumb-irons are excellent! However, as can be seen in the photos, the off-side rear forward spring hanger has broken at the welds, which is what caused that "wrongful-look" on the previous photos. The car has a lean to the off-side because of this, and the rear axle looks out of place as well. The forward cross member has also seen better days.

The clutch doesn't seem to be working as the clutch pedal drops to the floor with virtually no resistance. (But does come back up again).

I have not yet managed to start the engine as I would like to change all the fluids and hoses before I do so. The main radiator hose has an ominous crunching sound from its internals when squeezed, so I would like to do a full coolant flush after replacing the hoses.

Also quite amazingly, the door tops seem to be very rust free as well...

Anyway, here are some photos as it currently stands...

And some more...

And these...

Very nice aquisition. Looks very original. Great buy. Im jealous.

Cheers Rod

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