Bobsticle
De Villes Advocaat
- Posts
- 27,632
- Location
- Manchester
I love series land rovers. In particular twooz. So when the opportunity of a project 2a loomed over a murky horizon I tentatively dipped a toe............. no I didn’t. I did what every bloke would and got all giddy, left mi brain at home and went to just have a look with the cash in my back pocket and a head full of dreams.
Just coming off the back of a nasty redundancy and a year out of work things had become tight but being a confirmed miser I spent my last wedge on a heap of 49 year old barely running scrap iron in the full knowledge that it wouldn’t cost much to get on the road and even less to maintain
. I’ve had the flash cars, I’ve cruised the strip in spanking new German engineering but something I found 30 years ago never left me and I had come home happy as a sand boy with my little truck.
Still with my rose tinted welding goggles in full glare I spent the next few weeks readying my daily for his, yes its definitely a he, his MOT. Brakes sorted, wiring sorted, the odd bargain off the web and hey presto he passed with flying colours along with a chuckle at the advisory of an oil leak. I suppose all the oil leaks could be construed as one by the time they hit the tarmac and create a single puddle, even if it is six foot by ten.
By this time I had managed to spend just short of a thousand pounds. Not necessarily on parts but on things I needed. Everyone needs a new compressor. Oh and a welder even if it is only second hand bargain. I could have spent a lot more but tightness prevailed and now my new career was in full swing time became short, summer was coming to an end and overtime beckoned.
So now the renovation and customization work can begin. Its going to be a long road. I get precious little time but what I have will be squosed onto my new hobby.
Now I am one for tradition. I like nothing more than a 100% totally original concourse condition 2a. Alas I fear this one is about 30 years too late and ten grand short of such a dream so I am setting out my stall to create what looks vaguely like an original in passing, all being at 40mph, but with the creature comforts of a modern van. Over the years a whole lot of it has been messed with. At some point a past owner has tried to modernize it into a series 3 look alike and a few of the parts are definitely military. Luckily the engine seems to be a good one and the running gear maintainable so while I turn him back into a 2a on the outside I have lots of plans for the inside.
I wont skimp on quality but most thing will be made by myself. As an ex woodbutcher crafting upgrades for the interior shouldn’t be a problem, even now I am waiting for glue to dry on an overhead console I am fashioning, so if only to get on the nerves of the rivet counters I'll try and get some pictures up now and then and let you all in on my little money saving secrets. I wont be repeating all the other threads on how I welded this and that or replaced stock items. Although invaluable, especially to me, Ill spare you my botching and concentrate on attempted upgrades for your incomparable ridicule.
All this will be attempted whilst still on the road and without the aid of a safety net. Do not try to emulate any of what you are about to see at home as mutilation is guaranteed.
Iain.
Just coming off the back of a nasty redundancy and a year out of work things had become tight but being a confirmed miser I spent my last wedge on a heap of 49 year old barely running scrap iron in the full knowledge that it wouldn’t cost much to get on the road and even less to maintain
. I’ve had the flash cars, I’ve cruised the strip in spanking new German engineering but something I found 30 years ago never left me and I had come home happy as a sand boy with my little truck. Still with my rose tinted welding goggles in full glare I spent the next few weeks readying my daily for his, yes its definitely a he, his MOT. Brakes sorted, wiring sorted, the odd bargain off the web and hey presto he passed with flying colours along with a chuckle at the advisory of an oil leak. I suppose all the oil leaks could be construed as one by the time they hit the tarmac and create a single puddle, even if it is six foot by ten.
By this time I had managed to spend just short of a thousand pounds. Not necessarily on parts but on things I needed. Everyone needs a new compressor. Oh and a welder even if it is only second hand bargain. I could have spent a lot more but tightness prevailed and now my new career was in full swing time became short, summer was coming to an end and overtime beckoned.
So now the renovation and customization work can begin. Its going to be a long road. I get precious little time but what I have will be squosed onto my new hobby.
Now I am one for tradition. I like nothing more than a 100% totally original concourse condition 2a. Alas I fear this one is about 30 years too late and ten grand short of such a dream so I am setting out my stall to create what looks vaguely like an original in passing, all being at 40mph, but with the creature comforts of a modern van. Over the years a whole lot of it has been messed with. At some point a past owner has tried to modernize it into a series 3 look alike and a few of the parts are definitely military. Luckily the engine seems to be a good one and the running gear maintainable so while I turn him back into a 2a on the outside I have lots of plans for the inside.
I wont skimp on quality but most thing will be made by myself. As an ex woodbutcher crafting upgrades for the interior shouldn’t be a problem, even now I am waiting for glue to dry on an overhead console I am fashioning, so if only to get on the nerves of the rivet counters I'll try and get some pictures up now and then and let you all in on my little money saving secrets. I wont be repeating all the other threads on how I welded this and that or replaced stock items. Although invaluable, especially to me, Ill spare you my botching and concentrate on attempted upgrades for your incomparable ridicule.
All this will be attempted whilst still on the road and without the aid of a safety net. Do not try to emulate any of what you are about to see at home as mutilation is guaranteed.
Iain.
