Series 2 1967 Series IIA...how to proceed

Hi there!

Quick background, but feel free to skip to below for the question. In 2015 I bought my father a 1967 Series IIA 88. I owe a lot to my father, not least of all a love for vehicles and all-things British (I grew up playing rugby) so when I caught onto his adoration of Land Rovers and finally had a bit of money in my pocket, I knew I had to track one down for him. I ended up finding one on eBay from a dealer which was, unfortunately, a bit of a lipstick-on-a-pig situation. Though we do love "Sunny" regardless.

Originally a soft top but with a correct hardtop installed. We flew a few hundred miles, picked it up, and road-tripped back with it. That initial trip resulted in a blown head gasket (trying to keep up with traffic through LA) but did not dampen our spirits. The car was taken to a well-known shop (West Coast British in Livermore, CA) and had extensive work done to it such as replacement of the firewall, new wiring, upgraded brakes, etc.

Shortly after it got back on the road, it developed a bad habit of popping out of second gear and, while still drivable, it's resulted in my dad spending as much time admiring it in the driveway as he does driving it.

The Question: I know this will make many people cringe, but as pulling the transmission is in the cards, we've contemplated swapping the engine/transmission for something which can more safely travel the roads here in the States. We've been doing as much armchair research as we can online, but I thought I'd pointedly ask: are there any swaps which might make sense for us? We're not looking for performance as much as we're looking for the ability to safely keep up with traffic. No sense in an engine that can do 120 with zero aerodynamic efficiency, dodgy brakes, and vague steering ;-)

The Land Rover (and father) in question, the day we picked it up:

DadsIIA said:

Hi there!

Quick background, but feel free to skip to below for the question. In 2015 I bought my father a 1967 Series IIA 88. I owe a lot to my father, not least of all a love for vehicles and all-things British (I grew up playing rugby) so when I caught onto his adoration of Land Rovers and finally had a bit of money in my pocket, I knew I had to track one down for him. I ended up finding one on eBay from a dealer which was, unfortunately, a bit of a lipstick-on-a-pig situation. Though we do love "Sunny" regardless.

Originally a soft top but with a correct hardtop installed. We flew a few hundred miles, picked it up, and road-tripped back with it. That initial trip resulted in a blown head gasket (trying to keep up with traffic through LA) but did not dampen our spirits. The car was taken to a well-known shop (West Coast British in Livermore, CA) and had extensive work done to it such as replacement of the firewall, new wiring, upgraded brakes, etc.

Shortly after it got back on the road, it developed a bad habit of popping out of second gear and, while still drivable, it's resulted in my dad spending as much time admiring it in the driveway as he does driving it.

The Question: I know this will make many people cringe, but as pulling the transmission is in the cards, we've contemplated swapping the engine/transmission for something which can more safely travel the roads here in the States. We've been doing as much armchair research as we can online, but I thought I'd pointedly ask: are there any swaps which might make sense for us? We're not looking for performance as much as we're looking for the ability to safely keep up with traffic. No sense in an engine that can do 120 with zero aerodynamic efficiency, dodgy brakes, and vague steering ;-)

The Land Rover (and father) in question, the day we picked it up:
View attachment 254181

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What have you got at the moment? Petrol or diesel?

And what are you expecting? If you want to cruise all day at 70mph on the open road, a standard Series isn't much good.

For local roads, the odd bit of off roading, it is pretty adequate, to me at least. It does help if your standard Series is in optimal tune. Petrol should be able to do 60-65 top end. Diesel maybe a bit less. They don't mind foot to the floorboard driving.

Simple ways to get a bit more performance would be to get a 2.5 petrol, if you can find one.
Or to add an overdrive, many are available, new and second hand. Should up your top speed a bit.
But you can't expect miracles, these are old vehicles now, and it is going to be old school motoring, unless you do so much that it isn't really an old Series any more.

DadsIIA said:

Hi there!

Quick background, but feel free to skip to below for the question. In 2015 I bought my father a 1967 Series IIA 88. I owe a lot to my father, not least of all a love for vehicles and all-things British (I grew up playing rugby) so when I caught onto his adoration of Land Rovers and finally had a bit of money in my pocket, I knew I had to track one down for him. I ended up finding one on eBay from a dealer which was, unfortunately, a bit of a lipstick-on-a-pig situation. Though we do love "Sunny" regardless.

Originally a soft top but with a correct hardtop installed. We flew a few hundred miles, picked it up, and road-tripped back with it. That initial trip resulted in a blown head gasket (trying to keep up with traffic through LA) but did not dampen our spirits. The car was taken to a well-known shop (West Coast British in Livermore, CA) and had extensive work done to it such as replacement of the firewall, new wiring, upgraded brakes, etc.

Shortly after it got back on the road, it developed a bad habit of popping out of second gear and, while still drivable, it's resulted in my dad spending as much time admiring it in the driveway as he does driving it.

The Question: I know this will make many people cringe, but as pulling the transmission is in the cards, we've contemplated swapping the engine/transmission for something which can more safely travel the roads here in the States. We've been doing as much armchair research as we can online, but I thought I'd pointedly ask: are there any swaps which might make sense for us? We're not looking for performance as much as we're looking for the ability to safely keep up with traffic. No sense in an engine that can do 120 with zero aerodynamic efficiency, dodgy brakes, and vague steering ;-)

The Land Rover (and father) in question, the day we picked it up:
View attachment 254181

Click to expand...

If you can source one over in the states then a 200/300TDI Diesel out of a classic RR / disco 1 / defender is a good option as they are good solid engines, relatively reliable, lots of people have put them in series land rovers before and they come in auto and manual options

if money were no object i would ship mine to these guys. Land Rover Series IIA and Series III Pricing - North America Overland

Not sure if they will just offer engine/gearbox upgrades to five speed box and fuel injected engine

Thank you all for the great insights/advice.

We do indeed have overdrive and it seems to work, though we usually top out at about 55. I suspect the obnoxiously sized tires might have something to do with that.

Rovers North sells the 300 tdi engine, but it's about $15,000 USD...well out of our price range unfortunately. Since buying my dad the land rover I've had two kids so...a bit less money to put towards grown-up toys.

Owning a 1968 VW Bus, I'm well acquainted and comfortable with slow and steady. In that vein, I wonder if simply a transmission upgrade and proper tune-up of the engine might be a better route. Would going with the fully-synchro'd Series III transmission be a worthy upgrade? I believe I've read the IIA transmission is more robust, but I'm thinking the synchros might make for a more pleasant driving experience, even if it doesn't improve much from a speed perspective.

DadsIIA said:

Thank you all for the great insights/advice.

We do indeed have overdrive and it seems to work, though we usually top out at about 55. I suspect the obnoxiously sized tires might have something to do with that.

Rovers North sells the 300 tdi engine, but it's about $15,000 USD...well out of our price range unfortunately. Since buying my dad the land rover I've had two kids so...a bit less money to put towards grown-up toys.

Owning a 1968 VW Bus, I'm well acquainted and comfortable with slow and steady. In that vein, I wonder if simply a transmission upgrade and proper tune-up of the engine might be a better route. Would going with the fully-synchro'd Series III transmission be a worthy upgrade? I believe I've read the IIA transmission is more robust, but I'm thinking the synchros might make for a more pleasant driving experience, even if it doesn't improve much from a speed perspective.

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Oh wow, I knew 300tdis were expensive over the pond, didn’t know they were that much more! £500 here in the uk and you can get a relatively good one

Good luck with whatever you end up doing

DadsIIA said:

Thank you all for the great insights/advice.

We do indeed have overdrive and it seems to work, though we usually top out at about 55. I suspect the obnoxiously sized tires might have something to do with that.

Rovers North sells the 300 tdi engine, but it's about $15,000 USD...well out of our price range unfortunately. Since buying my dad the land rover I've had two kids so...a bit less money to put towards grown-up toys.

Owning a 1968 VW Bus, I'm well acquainted and comfortable with slow and steady. In that vein, I wonder if simply a transmission upgrade and proper tune-up of the engine might be a better route. Would going with the fully-synchro'd Series III transmission be a worthy upgrade? I believe I've read the IIA transmission is more robust, but I'm thinking the synchros might make for a more pleasant driving experience, even if it doesn't improve much from a speed perspective.

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55 is too slow for a petrol. Ours can do 65, no overdrive. That is with 7.50x16 tyres. If you get smaller tyres, it will have less top end.

The synchro box isn't better in any way other than being synchro. I don't find the 2a box is a problem. Double de-clutch can be learned, and if you don't use first very much, which is quite possible, it minimises the issue.

What tyres do you run?
Do you have good compression and is the carb in good order? Which carb is it?

kermit_rr said:

What tyres do you run?
Do you have good compression and is the carb in good order? Which carb is it?

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Another thought that occurs is are they running on crappy ethanol fuel, and has the timing been reset to cope with that.

The USA has been using E10 since 1990. Nothing new there! E15 is also widely used. Where my brother lives in the mid West E85(85% ethanol) is also sold. Storm in a teacup over here, not sure why

nathanglasgow said:

The USA has been using E10 since 1990. Nothing new there! E15 is also widely used. Where my brother lives in the mid West E85(85% ethanol) is also sold. Storm in a teacup over here, not sure why

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Because it isn't much good in old vehicles. You need to use additive, and probably adjust the timing as well.
It won't run so well straight away, and may well do damage in the longer term. Solex carburettors are thought to be especially at risk.
You also need to drain the fuel on vehicles that will be left standing for more than about 3 months.

All my landrovers have been eating E10 since it arrived at the pumps. Not noticed any loss of performance or leaking seals. Never used any additives since the demise of leaded petrol and haven't experienced any valve seat recession yet. It may be because I drive conservatively tho. Millions of classic cars in the US and Europe where E10 has been in use for years run fine on it with no issues. Storm in a

nathanglasgow said:

All my landrovers have been eating E10 since it arrived at the pumps. Not noticed any loss of performance or leaking seals. Never used any additives since the demise of leaded petrol and haven't experienced any valve seat recession yet. It may be because I drive conservatively tho

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It could be, or maybe they don't do a lot of mileage.
We had to adjust the timing quite a bit on our 2a, there is provision for this, as they were designed to run on a wide variety of fuels.
Some carbs don't seem to be badly affected, Zenith and Weber being examples.
And most makers of aftermarket parts will have made some provision for the modern fuels, but there are still issues with old stock.

As you commented in your earlier post, I believe that in the US, they have gone further down the ethanol route than over here, OP might be running E65 for all we know.
I am not an opponent of alternative fuels, in fact, I am currently using some HVO in my boat, but I do think it pays to be careful with old stuff in the early days of introduction.

Cheers, all!
Having to drive a tractor around fairly regularly and dealing with the transmission on my VW, double-clutching is not an issue so if that really is the only benefit from the Series III, it doesn't seem worthwhile.
The tires that are on it are monstrosities. I will need to confirm the exact size, but they appear to be something better suited to a modern truck than a 50+ year old vehicle. I know that the diameter could, theoretically, be helping top speed here, but the width and weight of these tires has got to be something to contend with for the little engine. I know on an old Jeep I had, the tires were 33" and when I went down to 31" the engine was much happier.
I will also confirm info on the carb. I believe it and the engine were tuned up (timing, etc.) when it was at West Coast British but that was a while ago...and it does sit for unfortunately extended periods so the gas most certainly is old.

DadsIIA said:

Cheers, all!
The tires that are on it are monstrosities. I will need to confirm the exact size, but they appear to be something better suited to a modern truck than a 50+ year old vehicle. I know that the diameter could, theoretically, be helping top speed here, but the width and weight of these tires has got to be something to contend with for the little engine. I know on an old Jeep I had, the tires were 33" and when I went down to 31" the engine was much happier.
I will also confirm info on the carb. I believe it and the engine were tuned up (timing, etc.) when it was at West Coast British but that was a while ago...and it does sit for unfortunately extended periods so the gas most certainly is old.

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We use Goodyear G90 7.50x16 on our Series, they are not a bad compromise. Originals would have been 6.00x16, but that is going to knock the top speed down.
With an overdrive, you might find the 6.00x16 are quite good.

Timing, as well as the adjustment on the distributor, there is a pointer which points at the line on the crankshaft. It should mark TDC, 3 degrees, and 6 degrees. You can use this to alter the timing of the camshaft itself, to allow for different qualities of fuels. You need to remove the cam chain to do this, but a new chain and tensioner never does any harm on an old engine either.

It does sound like its not right. A petrol should do 65 with overdrive no problem. Could be over or under geared. 235/85 16 or 7.50R-16. Engine may be a bit tiered or need a tune up. In the US I would not swap the engine out, your petrol is quite cheap so economy is not such an issue as it is in the UK. The petrol's are nice engines and far nicer to drive than the diesel conversion like the TDI. Over here it was trendy to put 300TDI in Series but they are noisy compared to the petrol and now diesel is falling out of favour I expect a lot to get pulled out but there are not a lot of decent Series petrol engines around anymore.