1955 Land Rover with V8 - a long time purchasing

[lukeharding]

I bought this 1955 Land Rover at the weekend, I've seen it go through a few auctions in the past 9 months and always wanted it, just because of what it is and because of the noise. Only driven a short distance since bringing it home and discovered that it needs a little work (the brakes are truly terrible, the clutch isn't great and the steering is slightly off to start), but it made me grin ridiculous amounts. Seatbelts (lap belts) are high on the list too as I can quite see myself falling out of the 'door' if I hit a bump on a corner.

[West4x4]

There's been a lot said about "that" Landrover. It's been chopped about a bit but as something fun on a sunny day there's not a lot that can beat it. I hope you leave it just as it is and have some muddy fun with it

[lukeharding]

West4x4 said:

There's been a lot said about "that" Landrover. It's been chopped about a bit but as something fun on a sunny day there's not a lot that can beat it. I hope you leave it just as it is and have some muddy fun with it

Has there?

Its certainly fun from what I've seen so far and I don't plan to change it but I am going to make it drive a little better than it does at the moment.

[maxc]

That looks fun, though I recommend you sort the seat bets ASAP - this is my 1951 V8 that I was thrown out of recently when the steering rely arm sheared! No real injuries, but it certainly got my attention! As for the steering, it had been a trialler so had a hard life including the arm seemingly being bent and straightened at some point. All rebuildable, though with belts this time!

[lukeharding]

maxc said:

That looks fun, though I recommend you sort the seat bets ASAP - this is my 1951 V8 that I was thrown out of recently when the steering rely arm sheared! No real injuries, but it certainly got my attention! As for the steering, it had been a trialler so had a hard life including the arm seemingly being bent and straightened at some point. All rebuildable, though with belts this time!

Yours is awesome, love the folding screen. Seat belts will be at the top of the list, can just imagine falling out and it driving off without me.

[West4x4]

lukeharding said:

Has there?

Its certainly fun from what I've seen so far and I don't plan to change it but I am going to make it drive a little better than it does at the moment.

Yeah mainly rivet counters outraged that it's not been rebuilt to factory spec and kept on a barn never to see light of day except 2 shows a year to park it up in an identical line up. Some comments on price it started off very expensive but every time it was relisted it dropped a large amount.

I love it it's a bit different and great fun especially when the sun shines

[lukeharding]

West4x4 said:

Yeah mainly rivet counters outraged that it's not been rebuilt to factory spec and kept on a barn never to see light of day except 2 shows a year to park it up in an identical line up. Some comments on price it started off very expensive but every time it was relisted it dropped a large amount.

I love it it's a bit different and great fun especially when the sun shines

Ah ok I can understand why people would be unhappy about that. I love it as is and I bought it fairly cheap at auction and I also saw it go through for a much higher price last year. It'll be used for fun by me and others - definitely none of this garage queen stuff, they're built to be used and often better for it.

[jhonn]

lukeharding said:

.. but I am going to make it drive a little better than it does at the moment.

Nice! I had one myself many years ago - great fun. Changing the tyres may have a beneficial effect - these G90 tyres do not have a good reputation for grip, wet or dry, and wear quickly too.

Is it the 3.5l Rover engine?

[InitialDave]

West4x4 said:

Yeah mainly rivet counters outraged that it's not been rebuilt to factory spec and kept on a barn never to see light of day except 2 shows a year to park it up in an identical line up. Some comments on price it started off very expensive but every time it was relisted it dropped a large amount.

I love it it's a bit different and great fun especially when the sun shines

I think given the choice, I'd prefer a standard/restored one, but really, it's been modified years ago, and all that stuff is part of the history of something like that. Besides, if a future owner wants to put it back to factory standard later, there's no such thing as too far gone with one of these.

My dad's Austin 7 has a lot of things on it that aren't quite "right", seemingly attributable to a student owner in the sixties, but when you can turn up to a car show and your "wrong" bits are older than half the classic cars there, you have to ask whether it really matters all that much.

For the brakes, switching to twin leading shoe 11" drums up front will probably sort you out. Sure, you could do a disc conversion, but having drums in decent nick is perfectly fine on my 109 which has to weigh at least 50% more, and it's a very cheap and easy modification in comparison.

[lukeharding]

InitialDave said:

West4x4 said:

Yeah mainly rivet counters outraged that it's not been rebuilt to factory spec and kept on a barn never to see light of day except 2 shows a year to park it up in an identical line up. Some comments on price it started off very expensive but every time it was relisted it dropped a large amount.

I love it it's a bit different and great fun especially when the sun shines

I think given the choice, I'd prefer a standard/restored one, but really, it's been modified years ago, and all that stuff is part of the history of something like that. Besides, if a future owner wants to put it back to factory standard later, there's no such thing as too far gone with one of these.

My dad's Austin 7 has a lot of things on it that aren't quite "right", seemingly attributable to a student owner in the sixties, but when you can turn up to a car show and your "wrong" bits are older than half the classic cars there, you have to ask whether it really matters all that much.

For the brakes, switching to twin leading shoe 11" drums up front will probably sort you out. Sure, you could do a disc conversion, but having drums in decent nick is perfectly fine on my 109 which has to weigh at least 50% more, and it's a very cheap and easy modification in comparison.

Thanks for the tips. I'm going to go over the car and get the condition of everything before sorting anything so I know exactly what needs doing and when. It'll never be a 'safe' car though I wouldn't want it to be - but I do want it to be in good condition mechanically.

I completely agree with your view on originality, I'm a big fan of a completely stock car whether restored or not, though in this case I don't mind at all, I love the car completely. The car has a lot of character because of what it is and that isn't worth sacrificing to me when there are already so many beautiful original examples out there.

Also, I love Austin Sevens, definitely on my list to have one day!

[lukeharding]

jhonn said:

lukeharding said:

.. but I am going to make it drive a little better than it does at the moment.

Nice! I had one myself many years ago - great fun. Changing the tyres may have a beneficial effect - these G90 tyres do not have a good reputation for grip, wet or dry, and wear quickly too.

Is it the 3.5l Rover engine?

Yes the tyres will be one of the first things to change. They're worn, very old and just generally crappy, so I'll be looking for some new ones if anyone has any good suggestions.

I haven't really looked at the engine apart from trying to get people to lift the bonnet because it's ridiculously heavy (with wheel etc) and bringing some entertainment for myself. I would hazard a guess from all the stickers around the car that it has a Buick V8. I'll have a check when I've got a moment this weekend and post a photo or two.

[InitialDave]

I use Michelin XZLs, and by using late Defender steel wheels, I can run them tubeless, it really did make a big difference to ride comfort coming from ancient tubed tyres (most traditional Land Rover steel wheels don't have a bead retaining lip, so shouldn't be used without tubes, even though they'll probably hold air - but late Defender ones do, and unlike aftermarket or Wolf wheels, look "right" on the old stuff).

[lukeharding]

InitialDave said:

I use Michelin XZLs, and by using late Defender steel wheels, I can run them tubeless, it really did make a big difference to ride comfort coming from ancient tubed tyres (most traditional Land Rover steel wheels don't have a bead retaining lip, so shouldn't be used without tubes, even though they'll probably hold air - but late Defender ones do, and unlike aftermarket or Wolf wheels, look "right" on the old stuff).

Awesome thanks I'll look into it

[CAPP0]

lukeharding said:

I would hazard a guess from all the stickers around the car that it has a Buick V8.

Rover V8 = Buick V8

[lukeharding]

CAPP0 said:

Rover V8 = Buick V8

ah. thanks

[lukeharding]

I thought I would update the thread about Mavis after quite a long time with some photos.

I haven't ended up adding seatbelts to her or making any other modifications really. I did use her to commute for a couple of weeks in the summer last year and all I can say is that I had a grin on my face and every other car on the road appeared grey in comparison. I'm hoping to manage to drag her out of storage if it does snow in the coming weeks - I know its a ridiculous idea and I'll be freezing but it would be fun to go out a little bit near me.

Other than that I plan to get her inspected in a few months time and see what happens, though I'm sure there will likely be a few niggles to sort at that point.









(Edit to comply with posting rules)

Edited by Scrump on Friday 18th January 18:34

[Ranger 6]

Excellent!!

I used to 'navigate' in this - a friends V8 of a similar era and have bought a much younger V8 CSW.

[lukeharding]

Ranger 6 said:

Excellent!!

I used to 'navigate' in this - a friends V8 of a similar era and have bought a much younger V8 CSW.

Excellent photo!! I hope it ended well? Any photos of yours?

[lukeharding]

Another of my threads that I'd abandoned for too long! Well, since we're still in lockdown I've been trying to get around to all those cars and items that I'd forgotten about, or gotten bored of and left. Mavis had been struggling to start since around the time I last posted on this thread, and has been in storage since then really, just being moved from place to place. A couple of people have walked past it and tried to start it but have gotten bored. The tiny battery never did a great job but even with a jump pack it has refused to start for well over a year.

By this point we've actually managed to get around to seeing what the problem was. It had spark coming from the coil but it seems that the distributor cap was kaput, so a new one was ordered from Rimmer Bros and arrived today. After this point I really need to get the car up on a ramp and get it inspect. I know that the tyres are ancient, that there are a few worn bushes and there is most likely some form of steering fault, but we'll find out in the next week or two exactly what that is.

[CAPP0]

A point to note on the distributor cap - the Rover V8s are very sensitive to dodgy caps. I recall there is a difference between the black ones and the blue ones but can;t remember what - someone else will confirm I'm sure! If that one you have is Britpart, and the Landie starts, fine but I think you'll need to replace again in the foreseeable. I've read things about genuine Lucas only, and then only the ones made in Italy, etc etc etc, but your best bet if you have further problems is to google simonbbc and go to his website and buy from there as his parts should all be worthwhile, he's something of a guru on the electrics of these things.