Popular Post HKM400 Posted September 4, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted September 4, 2015 Beginning to feel like that guy with a few projects all of which are unfinished, but there is no way in hell any of them are ending up on trademe. I have mentioned my landy a few times on my other thread and now it's about to get a rebuild it deserves considering it's 10 years of service. I bought the car with my father 10 years ago, and as a 12 year old it was pretty much the coolest thing in the world. Needless to say my lifetime of saving coins and doing odd jobs paid off in the end. This car has been my daily driver since I got my restricted up until the beginning of this year, when I realised the joys of a radio and a heater that wasn't like an asthmatic blowing at you through a drinking straw. Needless to say It's a lovely old thing and well deserving of a full rebuild. I bought it from a man in Timaru however the car spent most of it's life in Central Otago- and guess what that means oldschool lovers? No rust in this one praise the lord. It still has the original running gear, the standard bulletproof massive lump of iron 2286cc petrol- while I have got to the point where it is reliable and hasn't let me down for the last 6 or so years it is getting a bit tired. Improvements I've made over the years include a high ratio transfer box for better road speed and fuel economy (HA). I've also got a full canvas roof for it, it has parabolic springs front and rear, plus the new 15x8 wheels. Numerous fixes have been done to the engine over the years. The rear diff is making some pretty terrible noises and I suspect that the crownwheel has seen better days. At this point I feel that fixing just the diff isn't an economical decision and I have an opportunity to take the car off the road for a few months I may as well do a proper job. So the plan is to do a repower... with a Rover V8 I bought last weekend. Conversion kits come out of the UK for this however I doubt it'll be a bolt in job. Will possibly investigate higher ratio diffs from a rangerover or similar. The new engine This is what it has been used for the most- carting around the lotus 7 throughout that build. I will probably take the body off... considering doing a galv chassis for future proofing. I wouldn't call it a resortation but more a rebuild. I won't bother doing any bodywork, it's as straight as a landy should be and any knocks all add to the character. It will still afterall be a workhorse. Worth saying I'm not going for stupid power otherwise it'll just break axles. It will be more for the torque and towing ability... and who doesn't love a Rover V8. It will drink gas, but probably not as bad as the original unit... it's thirsty as. Discussion or comments are welcome... no doubt someone on oldschool will have done one before. I'll set up discussion on next post so link is available. Cheers 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HKM400 Posted September 4, 2015 Author Share Posted September 4, 2015 Discussion link as promised: //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/49972-hkm400s-1976-land-rover-series-3/ Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post HKM400 Posted February 7, 2016 Author Popular Post Share Posted February 7, 2016 Been awhile... last year. Oops. Had thought I had knackered the drive line before Christmas while transporting a baby grand piano... went in for WOF when I came back for holiday and it's only universal joints. Winning right there. Still have the V8 and that plan is potentially still on the cards. Issue is these things are actually starting to get rare... I dare say probably worth more in original spec than being hacked up all for a bit more power... and grin factor... very much on the fence at this stage. Currently running in totally awesome surf mode. That's all for now... 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post HKM400 Posted September 8, 2018 Author Popular Post Share Posted September 8, 2018 It is somewhat amusing looking back at the ambitious plans of my former self, it has been a long time, having to use the search function to find this thread, as opposed to scrolling through a few pages to locate it. My former self also failed to mention the whole reason why I seem to have developed this sick sick affliction with Land Rovers. As a kid (sub 8 years old ) my family used to go to Queenstown and stay in a house, which happened to come equipped with a Series 2a Land Rover available for use. I still remember sitting in the back bench seats, no seat belts, car backfiring terribly and spitting out of third gear down Fernhill with my dad driving. I was shit scared of the thing. And for some reason I was hooked. I still have it, I don't think I could ever part with it. With my other project going on, the Land Rover continued to be a useful tool for moving house, taking away garden rubbish, and rescuing the other stupid green thing when I ran out of both oil, and electricity. Recently it was decided that the car needed a birthday. The V8 plan was set aside, mostly due to complexity and my abilities, another factor however is that I feel the car is better left original. Modifications are for my daily driver- I could foresee a V8 fixing one problem, but in turn creating others that would then need solving. Anyway, I have rambled enough- short story is that the original engine has been rebuilt. And it is amazing. Have also spent the day trying to resurrect the tired paint with some polish, a cloth, and an arm. Also switched the hard top to a canvas one I bought a few years ago. Shit photo but can address that next update perhaps. Thinking I may get the wheels powder coated black to match the black canvas top. Right side is before, left side is after. Hopefully they are distinguishable. Thoughts or comments are welcomed. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HKM400 Posted December 6, 2018 Author Share Posted December 6, 2018 Recently, my work decided to sell off some fixed assets, so I decided to buy two of these contraptions. They were designed to lift a small portable building (there were 4 of them for this purpose) in order for a transporter trailer to be wheeled in underneath and then lower the building down onto the trailer deck. I thought one might make a good addition to the Landy- and the price was too good to refuse. So I bought a pair of them, and now own two Superwinch Terra 25's. They are probably better suited to lighter vehicles or ATV's but they still have impressive pulling power- around 1200kg. Will make up a mounting plate- have to remove the cover as below so it will sit closer to the grill. Maybe inset a fairlead in the exisiting front bar. Should look pretty cool regardless. Am also thinking about powder coating the 15x8's black to match the canvas roof. Have been driving the car to work recently and it is such good fun. Still getting used to the fact that it doesn't want to die at intersections. Idle is so smooth and quiet. Thoughts or comments welcomed- also if anyone wants the other winch let me know, no known use for it at this point.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post HKM400 Posted August 24, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted August 24, 2019 Been distracting myself with some work on this. My Subaru was stolen on Monday sadly, and it has been a very eye opening experience in terms of the police, insurance companies and the shitty side of the world in general. While not an OS car, as some have mentioned- a classic regardless. Mine was a really tidy and original example, and I had some great restoration plans ahead. I am still hopeful I will get it back. Anyway, I decided to paint a few bits this week including the front bumper and the door tops- which are mostly made of rust now it seems. Surprisingly, Supercheap could mix me two cans of Spanish Olive without evening knowing the paint code. The lady commented on what an, "Interesting colour," it is. As you can see, my abilities to paint and retain a natural patina are astounding, and nothing to do with the fact that I am actually shit at painting... Finished bumper Sanded, then primed, then new colour Colour match is good, rest of the car is quite faded despite a polish earlier in the year. I think it will benefit from the wheels being powder coated black. Imagine it will be getting more attention now, and the Lotus isn't holding my attention much. Maybe things will change. I am going to daily this for awhile and see what happens. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HKM400 Posted August 28, 2019 Author Share Posted August 28, 2019 This happened today, and I bloody missed it happening. Don’t imagine it’s the first time around the block though being a 5 digit odometer. *next update in 99,996k 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post HKM400 Posted September 8, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted September 8, 2019 Driving home the other day, and my shifter become incredibly remote. Very odd sensation. Also annoying that it broke off in neutral so I had no drive. Thankfully the underseat storage box contained the ideal assortment of rusty tools, along with a singular used bush, one set of brake shoes, a single u bolt and an owners manual missing multiple pages. Took the high range lever cover off and pushed the selector into second and drove home, chucked it in low range to get up the hill. New one is coming from Australia. Had to take the floor panels out to remove the selector. Currently in flintstone mode. Exploded shifter, the circlip was under a fair bit of tension, didn't expect the spring to be quite that large 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post HKM400 Posted October 21, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted October 21, 2019 Got things back together. The gear stick is slightly closer to the driver now which is both helpful but I have also now lost all my reference points Left a car park entrance with a fair bit of speed on, and the drivers door flew open. Not the first time this has occurred so also adjusted the latches, they are pretty well worn however. Slam locks always draw attention as members of the public probably think I'm furious about something. In reality I just want to go home without falling out. Tried to go and find some puddles or things to drive over at the Waimak but access is pretty well blocked off. Found some old photos anyway Moments before this occurred, I believe the driver said, "Watch this!" Which resulted in trying tow the range rover out, which went well... My car did back out of that, but a man with a snatch rope had to come and rescue the range rover. There are computers under the drivers seat for things like the airbag suspension etc. Which were under water... This was a few years ago and I believe it's all fixed now. Keen to try and find some spots around Christchurch for more of the above, Waimak and also Mcleans Island seem like a no go anymore though... 11 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post HKM400 Posted January 3 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 3 Dredge… decided now I have a garage to put the soft top back on. Repainted the hood sticks over the Christmas break. I’ve ordered a seatbelt bar for it as well so I can take the whole roof off and retain the 3 point retractable seat belts. Currently only bolted through the front hood support until the bar arrives. Had a set of bench seats for it as well so put those back in. Black wheels this year I think. Mostly did this so we can take our new little mate to the beach, off to the dag thread with me 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post HKM400 Posted February 25 Author Popular Post Share Posted February 25 Seat belt bar arrived so fitted it a few weeks ago with a bit of ratchet strap persuasion Been using it to grab fencing supplies the last few weeks, can fit a 2.4 post in the back, less dodgy when weighed down by a few bags of premix Next job is to replace the gear selector detent springs, sometimes it doesn’t want to deselect gears or it’ll jam in gear, hopefully this fixes it. 14 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post HKM400 Posted yesterday at 03:48 Author Popular Post Share Posted yesterday at 03:48 Pulled the floor and tunnel panels off to change the detent springs last weekend. Didn’t know what to expect or if the old ones would be in bits/not even there. But they were all present but a bit more compressed than the new set. Turns out I didn’t need 3 seals, the top one had a recess in the nut: Tightened the gear selector grub screw as it had backed out slightly. It’s no short shift kit but it’s certainly better. Scored a genuine Land Rover tow ball with hitch pin on the tard for 80 bucks. Old one may have become compromised using it to pull tree stumps out a few years ago… Saw a neat trick on Instagram to keep the soft top sides tidy when rolled up. 3 wooden broom handles slipped into the hem of the soft top. 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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