Noob to Rover/Oldie to British

[slowmo]

I just rescued a 1971 Series IIa 88 for an abusive home (no maintenance in years). I'm replacing all tires, wheel bearings, brakes, wheel cylinders, the cracked exhaust manifold, generator, water pump, all hoses, flushing the radiator and heater core, pan gasket, valve cover gasket, new points, distributor cap, rotor, wires, plugs, and other stuff.

I'll drain all cases, fill all zerks, change oil, etc.

I'll re-torque the head bolts, adjust the valves (compression is good), start it up, time it, and adjust the carb (Weber or so it appears - must be verified). Once I get it running sufficiently I'll see what else it needs. I intend to keep it as a survivor since it has no rust. Maybe later a frame off, but right now I'll just get the kinks worked out.

Am I missing something specific to Series Rovers? I've rebuilt several British sports cars (the last one a 1959 TR3) so I do know so in's and out's of British engineering. But I don't want to miss something important!!

Thanks in advance.
David

[bensdad]

Oil drip pan for the garage or driveway
Very nice old truck BTW best of luck with it !!

[stomper]

Clean the grounds, but since you know Lucas, you already knew this.

[SafeAirOne]

Hmm...I'm trying to remember...I seem to recall reading on one of these forums, accounts of failures of rover diffs due to movement of the ring gear. I can't remember what the root cause of the movement was--replacement ring gears of incorrect thickness maybe?? I don't really remember, but this movement caused failures of the bolts due to the excessive shear loads put on them by the floppy ring gear during starts and during transitions from power loading to engine braking (deceleration during coasting).

Based on the evidence you've found, I would strongly recommend pulling the diff (if it's a rover-type diff) or removing the rear cover (Salisbury diff) and making sure all the bolts are present and correctly torqued (and locked) before you drive farther away from your house than your care to walk back.

[slowmo]

My wife is well conditioned to the Exxon Valdez aspect of British cars, thank goodness. I think the oil leaking may be why the truck has no rust. The underside is well lubricated. Drip pan. Check.

Concerning Lucas, I will try to keep the smoke inside the wires instead of freeing it.

I've got the Green book on order, but so far I haven't found instructions for the Weber carb and I know nothing about it, though I figure we will be acquainted soon. Anyone have a tune up manual PDF for the carb?

[o2batsea]

The manuals for the truck and the carb are widely available from several online locations. You need to spend about 15 seconds with google and it can all be yours free for download.
There is not very much NOS for these anymore. If you need parts you'll have to appeal to the hoarders, surf eBay, buy parts trucks or make it yourself. There is however a crap ton of counterfeit and reproduction parts varying in quality from marginally useful to patent garbage. Caveat emptor.
Personally I wouldn't touch the head bolts unless it is to replace a gasket.

[slowmo]

Personally I wouldn't touch the head bolts unless it is to replace a gasket.

Why? I generally would think of making sure they were torqued properly before gapping the valves. This is the kind of info I am looking for!

[SafeAirOne]

The only other thing I could imagine it being is a broken third member stud that a PO had pounded out of its hole in the diff housing, but failed to retrieve before reinstalling the third member.

Having said that, the head doesn't really look like the head of the studs shown in the book--It's much thicker...

[stomper]

If there is a copper head gasket in there, you need to re torque the head, or you will blow the head gasket. If it is a composite gasket you are fine. Since you aren't sure, torque them.

As far as parts availability, we all keep our trucks on the road with re manufactured parts for the most part. Some parts are better than others, but don't be scared for off. There are work arounds and parts available to fix everything you will ever need aside from a few things.

[slowmo]

Thanks for the info. Compared to getting parts for a 1959 TR3 I am finding Series IIa parts a piece of cake...and...cough, cough actually quite reasonable. I shouldn't have said that. Of course I have not been buying heavy metal yet.

I just started exploring the forum so some of my questions are being answered with a little research. For example I'll see which carb I have when I get home and find tuning instructions on line (or scream for help again if not).

I will say, in my one week of ownership and tearing off parts, this truck is so easy to work on. Working on a British sports car is a character builder (or destroyer depending on which frozen bolt you are trying to remove). Everything on the Series is right there and ready to remove. Love it...so far.