Land Rover Series II 2.5
Discussion
So my Mini is dead, for a while anyway. A tow from my dad's Volvo 850 finally destroyed the front subframe and the head is cracked.
Dead Mini:
I've got a subframe to go on and will be getting a decent head for it, but haven't yet had the time to do the work. Which means I need another car.
Step in Land Rover.
This is my dad's Series II on loan to me while I sort the Mini out. In the mad world of insurance, I can insure this for £70 more than my Mini but couldn't insure a MkII 1.0l Polo.
It's a 1964 with the (much later) 2.5l petrol engine from a Defender and a twin choke Webber. It still has the non-overdrive four speed gearbox with syncro on third and fourth, tiny drum brakes all round with no assistance and the heaviest steering I've ever used, thanks to a smaller steering wheel than standard attached to massive knobbly tyres. And because it isn't rack and pinion, the steering is frighteningly vague and drifty.
Yet it's bloody great fun; it really doesn't go that badly and there's something really enjoyable about driving it. On a sunny day with the roof down it would be almost as fun as the Mini was, in a completely different way.
As the muck suggests, in its ordinary life it's used mainly off road and is amazingly good; with a good driver, one of these can go further than almost anything else.
It does get stuck sometimes, though.
This being a Land Rover that has been modified, it isn't without problems: the fuel pump - an electric one mounted under the passenger seat - has decided to stop twice in the last couple of days. It also has a really odd home-made throttle cable/pedal combination; until yesterday, the cable was so slack that it was impossible to get full throttle.
With dents in every panel it certainly isn't perfect and it seems a bit inappropriate for commuting through Manchester, but I'd choose it over a 1.0l Polo any day.
Well... Maybe.
Dead Mini:
I've got a subframe to go on and will be getting a decent head for it, but haven't yet had the time to do the work. Which means I need another car.
Step in Land Rover.
This is my dad's Series II on loan to me while I sort the Mini out. In the mad world of insurance, I can insure this for £70 more than my Mini but couldn't insure a MkII 1.0l Polo.
It's a 1964 with the (much later) 2.5l petrol engine from a Defender and a twin choke Webber. It still has the non-overdrive four speed gearbox with syncro on third and fourth, tiny drum brakes all round with no assistance and the heaviest steering I've ever used, thanks to a smaller steering wheel than standard attached to massive knobbly tyres. And because it isn't rack and pinion, the steering is frighteningly vague and drifty.
Yet it's bloody great fun; it really doesn't go that badly and there's something really enjoyable about driving it. On a sunny day with the roof down it would be almost as fun as the Mini was, in a completely different way.
As the muck suggests, in its ordinary life it's used mainly off road and is amazingly good; with a good driver, one of these can go further than almost anything else.
It does get stuck sometimes, though.
This being a Land Rover that has been modified, it isn't without problems: the fuel pump - an electric one mounted under the passenger seat - has decided to stop twice in the last couple of days. It also has a really odd home-made throttle cable/pedal combination; until yesterday, the cable was so slack that it was impossible to get full throttle.
With dents in every panel it certainly isn't perfect and it seems a bit inappropriate for commuting through Manchester, but I'd choose it over a 1.0l Polo any day.
Well... Maybe.
TVR Sagaris said:
And because it isn't rack and pinion, the steering is frighteningly vague and drifty.
Most of the time the steering on these is vague and drifty and very heavy for other reasons:1) Tyres are too big.
2) Steering wheel is too small.
3) Steering box on the bulkhead needs topping up with EP90 and the slack adjusting out with the nut on the underside.
4) Steering relay embedded in front crossmember is partially seized - undo small nut on the top and dribble some 3in1 oil in.
5) Swivels need a rebuild.
With all that fixed the steering is remarkably decent on Series motors!
Caulkhead said:
Most of the time the steering on these is vague and drifty and very heavy for other reasons:
1) Tyres are too big.
2) Steering wheel is too small.
3) Steering box on the bulkhead needs topping up with EP90 and the slack adjusting out with the nut on the underside.
4) Steering relay embedded in front crossmember is partially seized - undo small nut on the top and dribble some 3in1 oil in.
5) Swivels need a rebuild.
With all that fixed the steering is remarkably decent on Series motors!
6) TADS1) Tyres are too big.
2) Steering wheel is too small.
3) Steering box on the bulkhead needs topping up with EP90 and the slack adjusting out with the nut on the underside.
4) Steering relay embedded in front crossmember is partially seized - undo small nut on the top and dribble some 3in1 oil in.
5) Swivels need a rebuild.
With all that fixed the steering is remarkably decent on Series motors!
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