"Barn Find" locked frozen wheels

[artpeck]

New to the board and new to series ownership so thanks in advance for your help.
I am acquiring a 73 Series III '88 for restoration. One owner, 31k miles. Very solid on every dimension but has not been started or moved since 1996. First order of business is to get it flat bed towed to my garage and first problem is that it won't easily roll, at least one wheel is frozen and resists being pushed. Engine needs TLC before I to start it as well so I am stuck with pushing and winching to move the vehicle.

The owner set about to replace the brake reservoir so the brakes have no fluid and he thinks this is applying then brakes Unless I am missing something no brake fluid would mean no brakes and I am presuming one of many other things including shoes corroded to drums, parking brake stuck etc. I have however also already learned to never assume with a landie (have a '95 NAS defender also).
This weekend I am going to try to free things up and get this project going. I searched the forum and found a few things but I also wanted to ask if
anyone had any tips or thoughts on getting the truck moving. I am assuming some elbow grease, wd-40, a mallet etc and hopefully things will free up.

Thanks in advance. I am sure I will be back here many times as this project unfolds. And happy to share progress if anyone is interested. All help appreciated.

[amcordo]

Hey Art!

Welcome to the board! I can't help you with your issue, but I'm sure someone will come along with an opinion to share.

In the meantime post some pics and yes, please do keep us posted on your progress!

New to the board and new to series ownership so thanks in advance for your help.
I am acquiring a 73 Series III '88 for restoration. One owner, 31k miles. Very solid on every dimension but has not been started or moved since 1996. First order of business is to get it flat bed towed to my garage and first problem is that it won't easily roll, at least one wheel is frozen and resists being pushed. Engine needs TLC before I to start it as well so I am stuck with pushing and winching to move the vehicle.

The owner set about to replace the brake reservoir so the brakes have no fluid and he thinks this is applying then brakes Unless I am missing something no brake fluid would mean no brakes and I am presuming one of many other things including shoes corroded to drums, parking brake stuck etc. I have however also already learned to never assume with a landie (have a '95 NAS defender also).
This weekend I am going to try to free things up and get this project going. I searched the forum and found a few things but I also wanted to ask if
anyone had any tips or thoughts on getting the truck moving. I am assuming some elbow grease, wd-40, a mallet etc and hopefully things will free up.

Thanks in advance. I am sure I will be back here many times as this project unfolds. And happy to share progress if anyone is interested. All help appreciated.

[LR Max]

First make sure you aren't in gear/parking brake on or something simple like that.

Could be frozen brakes or frozen wheel cylinder. If its just frozen brakes, you can temporarily remove the drum (since brakes aren't working anyway). For drum removal, first there is a large screw on the drum face. Remove this. Then apply LOTS of hammer to get drum off (that is, if simply pulling on it doesn't work).

If its the drum, then you are done! Bolt the wheel back on. If the wheel bearings are seized, you'll need to dig a little further in. I'd recommend procurement of of a Haynes manual or green bible.

Basically, you'll have to disassemble the entire hub and probably remove the spindle. Once that is done, if the bearings won't come out then you'll have to take it to a machine shop to have it all pressed out. FYI, the NAPA "distribution center" in larger cities have a machine shop. Basically, you need a press.

[lrdukdog]

Get the "Green Bible" you will need it!!! Like this http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Land-...sQ5fLiterature

or this
http://cgi.ebay.com/Land-Rover-Serie...item4aa42e4dee

or this

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1971-...sQ5fLiterature

You will need them,
Jim Wolf

[gambrinus]

Is it in gear? Try to get the xfer case into N see if you can rock it back and forth. If the tranny / engine is locked up, you can just drop the drive shafts and it should roll free.

Good Luck

[rwollschlager]

once you get the brakes sorted, pull all of the spark plugs and put some Marvel Mystery Oil sit in each of the cylinders. After a week or two you should be able to turn the engine over with the crank or with the starter. Just make sure you get all the oil out before you put the plugs back in.

-Rob

[artpeck]

Thanks for all the thoughts and ideas. Keep them coming.

A few more facts. The truck is 70 miles away so I inspected it once but will know more when I see it again later this week. At the moment I am going on the description of the owner. I did hand crank the engine and it turned smoothly. He has maintained the fluids for the most part over the period it sat.
Appreciate the advice on the brakes. Fornall I know it could be in gear or the parking brake or must stiff. My intent is to try rolling it myself after confirming it is in neutral etc and see what happens. Jack and test each wheel and assess the extent of the problem. Fortunately while it has been stored outside it is a fairly dry climate in northern California. Stay tuned, more to come. Any other thoughts also appreciated.

[LR Max]

I will say, CHECK THE BULKHEAD AND FRAME. I don't care where it has been, if these items are toasted then there are problems.

Best thing to do is jack the crap out of the frame and bulkhead with a hammer. If its rotten, you'll know it real quick.

Bring a little air compressor/tire filling device. Helps when the tires have air in them, I am sure you understand this concept.

PB Blaster, brings some...I recommend you just go ahead and buy 4 cases of the darn stuff since you are doing a restoration.

Brake cleaner = bestest way to clean anything metal with oil/dirt/nasty on it. Like PB blaster, comes in a handy can. Procure lots of this unless you have a parts washer (if you have a parts washer, go ahead and procure some, its multipurpose awesomeness).

Wheel lugs are 1 1/16" or 27mm. Bring your breaker bar and a cheater bar. Makes things go a lot easier for teardown.

The wheel bearing nuts are 2-1/16". Go ahead and buy a 2-1/16" socket. Northern tool has em and the price is cheap. Mind you, it is probably going to be for 3/4" drive, so unless you have that, be prepared to buy a converter to make it work with 1/2" drive stuff. Also this socket is cheaper than the rover specific one, beefier AND you can put a torque wrench on it. For wheel bearings, I use the same specs as a Dana 60. Easier than trying to gauge end float and it works just as well.

Jack and a piece of wood for it to sit on. Jacks will sink into the ground. A good hydro bottle jack is solid. Jackstands are too.

Oh, one thing I did on a Ford 9" once with bad brakes (brake shoes were engaged and couldn't get the drum off). I took a torch and heated up the drum. After a couple of minutes with the torch I was able to break it loose and knock it off the hub. So yeah, a torch would be a good thing to bring and a good thing to generally have for your restoration. Just a simple handheld propane/benzene or whatever the cool kids are using these days will work.

[crankin]

I get a little sick every time I hear about checking the frame a bulkhead.

I never want to go through that mess again. Please, for my health, check the bulkhead and frame for rot. Please, I can't read any more about frame off resto and bulkhead repair. I have nightmares of my own restoration enough...I don't want to dream about yours, too.

And don’t listen to amcordo…all he thinks about is women and making his land rover into a Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome vehicle.

[artpeck]

Frame and bulkhead already thoroughly checked. Solid but thanks for the call out. And appreciate all the ideas and suggestions. I am hoping for something simple on the lockup but planning for the worst.