Future Project

#1
Looks like I will be getting a new project this week.
A buddy in my old home town saw this rig and sent me a picture of it.

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Immediately I developed a drool and other funny feelings.
I ask him if it is for sale. He didnt know and said it was real close to another friend of mine. I contact him and he hasnt seen it, which surprised me since he is always back and forth with me about all kinds of rigs. Well he goes over and snaps more pictures and talks to the owners wife.
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She did not know much about it except her husband brought it home from the hunting lease. She thought he might sell it.

Fast forward to today and my buddy texts me to call him. I give him a shout and he said he talked to the husband. Well the rig is for sale. I asked the price and he gives it to me, and it is something i have to jump on. I do not know the year, but it has to be earlier than 68 because the headlights are in the grill. It is imported because it is right hand driver. It does have a title. Not sure if it is petrol or diesel. If it is diesel i will probably keep the motor, Petrol and i may have other ideas of more modern engines. It supposidly ran until the starter quit and he just didnt use it. He has owned it since 2004. There is a top and doors for it and looking at the bulkhead, i believe it is a halfcab setup :) :)

Tomorrow i wire my buddy funds, and right now i am trying to figure out how to get it home. Doing the math it looks like it will be cheaper to have it shipped to me..

I had a 1968 Series IIa and i really kick myself for selling it. It was an actual North American rig that was left hand drive. I had to jump on this cause they do not come up that often.

So I have a project coming up. Bad thing is I may sell off the Flatfender to fund this. But i can get another flatty, they are a bit easier to find than Rover

The old Rover
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#3
It is official. I own another Land Rover.
This is a 1954 Series 1.
Still not sure of the motor in it, i think there was not a diesel option in 54, it came a little later.
It is an import, funny thing is my buddy who made the deal for it said his brother knows the guy who imported them here. I guess they got a shipping container or two and loaded up 6 of them. This one is the last of them and they guy who purchased it took it to his hunt lease. So such a small world at times. The guy had alot of documentation for the vehicle, and manuals and such. The doors were at his house and net weekend my friend is going to go get the top for it. I am glad that is available. It looks like it is gonna be a touch hard to find parts for this rig since the series 1 is pretty rare in this country. I am wondering what has been changed on it already. Now to get it shipped here.
 
#4
Well some more pictures my friend sent me as a tease.

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Look at that gas pedal setup
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the doors and other pieces... or in british speak Bits
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It is also a 86 inch wheelbase and it has a petrol motor
 
#6
Yes, i am going to use him. i talked to him last week, and had a good conversation with him. I texted him my exact address andthe address in florida. just waiting for him to give me a price. His earlier quote was just a guesstimate and it was middle of the road of what i had going on, but actually talking to him i feel better about him doing the haul. Thanks!
 
#9
It looks like it has an upgraded Series 3 transmission and transfer case in it. Which is interesting as the Series 1 trucks were Permanent 4WD like the current model ones. So installing the series 3 transmission and transfer case makes it a part time system. Either way, the front axle has CVs in it. That is the original 2.0L gasser and it has the original axles.

These, in stock form, are demanding a pretty penny these days. I guess you need to get buddy buddy with Ike Goss. He has a ton of stuff.

Also lately I've been buying parts from England. With the decline of the pound, its friggen cheap. LRDirect is THE SHIZZLE for any order over $50.

Good luck. It looks like it needs a lot of work, but hopefully the frame and bulkhead will clean up, but that frame looks pretty bad. I'd be checking it with a hammer once you got there. If the frame is shot, the price drops A LOT.

Just to give you a ballpark, unrestored, but in good condition series 1s seem to be hovering around the $10-15k range. Restored...well...then it becomes silly money. Series trucks are becoming garage queens these days (I can't really speak as mine lives in my garage, but I do get it out and on the trails as well). I was just at Uwharrie Safari...exactly TWO series trucks were in attendance. Everyone has gone to LR3s and D2s. I get it, but still an interesting shift in the crowd.

Looks like someone bolted modern Defender mirrors to the doors. Tragic to destroy the doors, but those mirrors are about 45984598347403756x better than stock.

For engines, I know the Iron Duke engine is a popular swap. Robert Davis makes a conversion kit. Or you could go with a 200TDI. Either way, with the Series 3 transmission, you have options.

There is a guy in Columbia with one of these. I think his has a Rover 3.5L V8 in it.

I've always wanted a series 1...but one series truck is enough of a pain. Would be cool to mess around town in. I used to visit a property in the swamps of SC, they had what was left of a Madator down there. That would have been cool but it was probably far too gone.
 
#10
Yeah I won't know the total conditions of the frame until I get it. Looking online it looks like I have to order everything online from england. At first I want to just keep it as is, but if I can't get parts for it I am tempted to repower it . And there is the hard part, I am realizing it is a realy rare rig here and i did not want to ruin value. First thing I will have to clean it up and go from there.
 
#12
Yeah those rifle mounts hold a 4D Mag Lite pretty much perfectly.

Good luck I hope it isn't a total rust bucket. Tragic to see these things end up like that. But I get it.
 
#13
My buddy was able to retrieve the top for the Rover today. So it is a full top rig, not the half cab. My kids will be happy since they will be able to be in it now :)

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The inside is clean, but it looks like the seam has split on the right side, i will have to have it welded it up..

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It has been sitting for a while, it has a bot of a moss/mold problem. Thank goodness it is aluminum.

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It fits perfect in the back of my friends truck :)

Now to figure out a date to get it hauled back up to South Carolina :)
 
#14
My friend towed it back to his place now :)

more pics

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Him towing and his girlfriend steering the beast :)
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Shoveling out about 3 inches of leaves in the tub. Good thing it is aluminum
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Dang I am getting excited
 
#15
Very cool. This is the most exciting stage of a project: anticipating how awesome it's going to be. You're not troubleshooting wiring or finding new rust pockets or checking your bank balance before clicking the "Buy" button. You can just look at the vehicle and purely appreciate the potential.

I'm excited for you, just from looking at the pictures
 
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