SWIMBO's Ser 2 Tdi... The Beginning!

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Well, here begins a project for the wife. It actually started 6 months ago in the Barossa Valley South Australia, but I recently found this forum so thought you all might like to see it too! Ok SWIMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) has wanted a Series Landy for a while. The original request was for a Ser 1 until I showed her a mates and she saw how small thy are.... So a Series 2 was settled upon. The spec was to include (in her words) "fast but not silly, rag top, shorty, good brakes and steering, roll cage and must look like an old Land Rover"! Yup, she knows what she wants. Soooo, an ex Australian Army Series 2 was found missing an engine and box for he right money and the project was born!
 

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"fast but not silly" and "good brakes" aren't the usual words found in the same sentence along with 'Land Rover'! You're off to a good start if your other half has 'rubber stamped' the project to go ahead. Have fun and share some photo's along the way! :)
 
It was at this point that the project halted for a while. I ended up working in the mines for a bit, we got married, and our social life here is just flat out. In the middle of this I'd become heavily involved with the local State funded Volunteer Fire Service here in SA called the CFS. When the pager dropped one day 'CFS RES Road Crash Rescue-Vehicle Roll-No Entrapments' I responded. Being one of the appliance drivers, we get there fairly quickly!! First on scene and we find a Disco on its roof 50ft from the road with its owner stood beside it looking a little 'p-eed' off having just swerved to avoid a roo! Long story short.. Engine found!! :D
 

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A few weeks later, the Tdi was collected, and it came with one 3.54:1 diff, a bent rear prop, rad, intercooler fuel filter housing and a few other odd bits. I turned the gearbox down as I knew I'd need the short LT77. That appeared about 3 months ago via Ebay.. $900 later and it arrived along with a 1.222:1 Disco transfer box and an Adwest 4 bolt PAS box. Sweet!
 

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It was at this point that the project halted again. The 130's camp body build got in the way! Recently got back into it a the onset of another 101 has made the wife realise that if that arrives nothing will get done! So, time to sit the Tdi in and see what 'will' and what 'won't'. Surprisingly enough, the only thing that won't is the cast Disco down pipe!
 

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Next was to remove the gearbox x member and bell housing x member and loosely fit the gearbox and transfer box. A weekend later and both rear mounts were fabricated and the original gearbox x member re located and refitted.
 

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As said on here, the rear prop is small.... made worse by this vehicle... The Aussie Army shorty's have the extended spring hangers like the UK LWB's so the rear prop angle is 'borderline'! Hoping with a bit of weight, ROPS and rear mounted spare will bring the arse down a bit....
 

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Thanks Thor1950, yeah, welder boilermaker by trade... That's what managed to get us permanent res here down under! Front prop next.... Half the original rear prop and half of the bent Disco rear cut to suit! Well, looks like it'll work. I've only had one home made prop fail..... and that was in my old 101 with 6 litres of Japan's finest diesel up its arse at 80 mph!!
 

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Next to come is the exhaust... Easier to do it now rather than with a body on top! $200 saw me with a length of 2.5" pipe, several mandrel bends, a Redback Muffler with minimal muffling, and a few well placed bends in the length of pipe. Another weekend and a $50 pressure Pak can of heat resistant black saw the exhaust done!
 

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It all gets a bit close to the chassis and box but there is 15mm clearance at the closest point. I have managed to use all the original mounting points and remake the rubber hangers using some ex mine conveyor belt! Also have the outlet running out to the RHS as it would have done. Just a little larger than the original pea shooter!! Next to come is the PAS... More to follow... And no looking on the Aussie forum!
 

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As said on here, the rear prop is small.... made worse by this vehicle... The Aussie Army shorty's have the extended spring hangers like the UK LWB's so the rear prop angle is 'borderline'! Hoping with a bit of weight, ROPS and rear mounted spare will bring the arse down a bit....
get yourself a series front half shaft and hut and fabricate yourself a wide angle propshaft using the series front shaft (has a 45' yoke) if you cut it square on the short wheel end and use about an inch of the diff side it will slide nicely inside your prop tube so all you have to do is weld it up and use half a yoke from the original prop so you have the mounting bolts to the diff
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series front half shaft
 
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Yeah, it's an original chassis... As said, no salt! It does help being able to undo stuff! After tacking a support in, the front cross member has been removed, and the PAS box tried in place. I managed to find a straight arm at the local LR Garage, with taper hole to accept the ball joint from below.... Looks like it will work a treat as it accepts the original track rod!
 

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