cooper1203:
jessejazza:
Peter Smythe:
I have a couple of classics. 1935 Riley and 1991 Mulsanne S. Both cost me just over £100 fully comp.Pete
1935 Riley. Imp, Kestrel, Falcon ? - whichever very nice… good old days of double de-clutching.
Real motoring
Mulsanne? What… oh you mean a BENTLEY! That’s a woman’s car with ‘bells & whistles’.Should ask where’s the classic truck - good for shows and advertising.
The firm I’ve just joined have one old unit in mint condition just inside reception and they have several others in a warehouse.When I said classic cars I meant everyday classics; 2 x Triumph Heralds, 2 x Reliant Regal 2s (aluminium bodied v.rare with the lovely side valve engine), 2 x Rickman Rangers (kit cars) and 2 x Series Landrovers. Only the SWB landrover on the road at present so hardly ‘everyday classics’. I didn’t intend to have a pair of everything though - it just happened that way. The two landrovers will definitely go (when I’ve found the time to get another on the road - having worked on cars for 30 years I’ve found landrovers just about the most poorly designed motor ever… just crap not even fun to drive… may be able to go at 50 mph if one’s ears can stand it. Only thing decent is the arctic heater I put in.
Whats wrong with the landies assuming they are series 1 or 2 they were built for agricultural use not bombing along motorways and a roads fixing in the middle of the field etc etc.
I have a rover p6 3500s for my sins now that is a car that is a pig to work on because its full of futuristic design ideas that never really took off oh and if you want to take the engine out you have to cut out the front slam panel.
I love the 60’s and 70’s cars though sooo many people either had them or remember them from their childhood. Just yesterday I mentioned I have a p6 and the guy immediately said what the one with the spare on the boot we spent the next hour or so chatting about all the cars of the time
What’s right with them !
I have a LWB S2 which was always going to be a long term resto. The SWB is a S3. It’s not much of a drive for the road and crap for towing. I was offered it for a fair price and took it. At the time I had two dogs and thus the LWB was to be dog transport. The SWB brakes are poor. It’s not being drums that is the problem - the shoes only have one adjuster on the leading shoe pivoting on a pin at the bottom. That means the shoes do not wear evenly across the surface of the shoe - so when new shoes fitted one has to do some mileage to bed the shoes in with 20% braking to start with and slowly increasing to perhaps 60-70% after a 1000 or so miles. Yet they got the idea right on the handbrake - the cone adjuster at the bottom and so whole surface of shoes in contact. S2 rear brakes the same until the S2a which then reverted to a snail adjuster idea (backward step) but did at least consider two adjusters. You can fit discs but the adapter kit makes it more that the motor is worth.
I certainly wouldn’t want to do a 2-3 hour drive in one. For towing I will get my 2L Rickman kitcar sorted out. A Reliant Scimitar was the best tow car I’ve known - 3L lots of torque and no rear overhang. Thing is with landrovers there is proper parts and sh*tpart… whilst parts availability is plentiful alot of it is crap and not worth bothering with. Landrovers not really for me I guess.
P6 always liked those but haven’t looked at one for ‘ease of maintenance’ potential. There must be an easier way of getting the engine out without cutting panel. Bonnet and side panels may have to come off but only by undoing bolts (perhaps utterly rusted and thus drilled/pad sawed out). As the engine bay was originally for a 2.2L (I think without checking) it may be tight but in the factory they had a method of getting them in without cutting panel. Perhaps gearbox has to be separated and then the engine can be lifted/angled/twisted with a hoist above the engine bay. It may be one raises the front, drops the suspension and then raises/lowers the V8 engine off the floor - not as bad as it sounds.
Taking a gearbox out of a landrover is not easy - seat box and passenger door removed, engine crane put through passenger door aperture and juggled with to support the gearbox as it is moved backwards. Think I will have to do a clutch shortly so I am not looking forward to it.