holy crap....

[O'Brien]

so i was finally poking around my rover tonight when i got home from work. i've got a decent sized box of spares that came with it. all the normal sort of stuff, bulbs, belts, light guards, etc. so i found my black manufacturers plate, and decided to see what i could dig up on the history of my rover based on it's VIN.

here's my VIN 34300002 A

so i'm poking around on lrfaq.org because i know they are a great resource for information. after slogging through their sometimes gnarly navigation, i found it. here's the link: http://www.lrfaq.org/Series/FAQ.S.chassis_numbering.343.html

now, if i'm reading this thing right, it seems i have the first NADA 6cyl actually sent to market because 34300001 was sent to Rover Quality Control.

i'm not sure what else to say at this point...

does this mean i sort of have an obligation to restore this thing perfectly now? i know i don't 'have to' do anything, but would i be stupid not to? is this a historical obligation i just purchased? thoughts?

[scott]

gosh! mine was the 112,598th! i guess i can just keep beat'n the heck out of it cuz by the time mine was built they must been like pros or something!

but now with a more serious tone...cool

[LH Drive]

check your frame horn to see if the serial number is a match.

[O'Brien]

ah, well the two front horns have been replaced!

i've got a huge folder full of old paper work on the rover, and im pretty sure it has some of the original registration paper work in it. I know it came from San Francisco through Peter Felton, so i'm pretty sure it's acurate. I don't know why i would have this beat up black plate otherwise. it's no reproduction plate, too aged for that.

[LWB109]

Nice scoop.Obviously you would have bought it anyway because of the condition but to end up with the first NADA in North America is certainly
a bonus!I'm sure it would add value to the truck but certainly not enough to justify a complete restoration unless you planned to do it anyway.

I wonder if #1 was cut up for scrap?

[O'Brien]

i'm no expert on how Rover Quality Control handled their rigs, but i don't know if they would have cut it up. looking at the data in the table, it seems the gap between the completion of #1 and mine was about three weeks. i would imagine they put #1 through it's paces and made any small modifications to the production process they needed to. i guess maybe they destoyed it eventually. but i don't know if that was their SOP.

Label
No. Vehicle
Serial # In Out Colour Dispatched To
1 34300001 24 Feb 1966 25 Feb 1966 Mid Grey Rover Quality Control
D2 34300002 01 Mar 1966 17 Mar 1966 Light Green Rover, San Francisco

[sayers]

Lets see a picture of this one of a kind :thumb-up:

[O'Brien]

well i think it's unique perhaps in number only. like a lot of other old rovers, she's going to need some work! thankfully the wife is cool with it:thumb-up:

here's a slideshow:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/95704142@N00/sets/72157602156358880/show/

[LWB109]

it seems i have the first NADA 6cyl actually sent to market

Historical note:

Not positive but I think that would make it the earliest surving production 6 cylinder 109 period (including home market etc)?

[sayers]

The nice thing about your rover is that it looks like it is all there on the outside, not modified in anyway and would be somewhat easy to bring it back to its original status, How does the interior look and does the engine run ? good luck :thumb-up:

[O'Brien]

well most everything is there, minus the sills on both sides. there has been some tinkering. as i mentioned in another thread, my rover was converted from the original LR 2.6 six to a chevy motor. in fact, it runs really well. i'm sure it's putting a lot of stress on the rear end and the tranny, but i should be ok for a while.

as for the interior, the front seats are totally shot. i'm kind of afraid to start peeling back the layers. looking at them from behind, somewhere in the layers of ripped cloth seat covers, i see the edge of a tarp! :eek:


there were no other seats with it when i bought it. i have since purchased two rear center facing benches, with the elephant hide in great shape. I was actually fitting them today. however, upon install, a bolt sheared inside of the RH rear seat rail. I don't have a rivet puller, so i'll just put that off for a while.

during the install, i was also in the LH rear wheel well, lossening a bolt. i noticed some flakey rust on the outrigger, and tapped it with my box wrench. presto hole!

you can see pics of the interior, bent bonnet, and frame hole at the link below. perhaps i'm looking at a nice slog here. thoughts on rolling chassis service?

http://flickr.com/photos/95704142@N00/sets/72157603232795273/show/

[jp-]

That would certainly be a unique NADA.

I have #387, and the frame off #304.

[daveb]

I once did a diesel to petrol swap in the first RHD home market SIII 109 Station Wagon. That truck ended up selling to a guy in Charlottesville, VA.

For whatever that is worth...

Anyway, does this rare NADA 109 have any of the unique features like the limited slip rear?

[jp-]

Dave,

I've got a Rover LSD sitting in my garage. One of the spider gears is broken though.

[O'Brien]

i don't know if it has a limited slip. how would i be able to tell the difference? that's something i had not considered thinking about. tips?

[highmile]

I have #329 and currently not running, but I also have a spare 6 cylinder engine. Is there a way to tell from the engine number which # truck the engine originally came from?

[jp-]

I have #329 and currently not running, but I also have a spare 6 cylinder engine. Is there a way to tell from the engine number which # truck the engine originally came from?

No not really. The engine number should be close, but very few (if any)were fitted with all numbers matching. It just didn't matter to them. If engine number 315 was ready at the time #329 needed an engine, it got that engine.

My engine, trans, differentials, etc., are all different. They do all start with 343. For instance, I think my front diff, is numbered 34300351.

The only two true matching numbers were supposed to be the VIN and frame number.

[LaneRover]

I like the top wing mounted lights, I believe that was done to allow you to carry fuel cans on the front bumper. Maybe your Rover has seen a bit of expedition work which might help explain the bent hood.

If that bit of rust is the only rust hole then that is definitely repairable. EIther by patching that section or buying a new outrigger and replacing the whole piece.

I noticed that it looks like there is a 'join' on the top of the right wing, is that typical of the NADA's?.

Brent

[O'Brien]

yeah, my guess on the wing mounted indicators is the same as yours. I would imagine it was a fuel can mount on the bumper at some point. My front bumper seems to be quite a bit further from the front end than other rigs i have seen. perhaps the winch that was there once upon a time was a monstrous beast.

i'm not sure if the join you mention is normal, but both of my wings are consistent with one another. three pieces in total, side, top and front. I thought all of the were that way...

on the frame, im probably going to be patching and replacing as much as i can. there aren't any new NADA six pot frames available, so i'll have to work with what i have. I'm not interested in having to do all the work it would take to copy my frame, and then do all of the fabricating work on a new galvy 4cyl frame at this point in my life. going to take a welding class. luckily a recently passed relative on my wife's side of the family was a master fabricator, and the double shop full of tools is sitting unused. I should be able to acquire anything i need once i learn how to weld. (this will probably be a project started in the summer)

[highmile]

My NADA has the same "join" or joint at the top front edge of the wings. I wonder if our wings are longer than the typical Series IIA?

[highmile]

I'm looking at other pictures of Series IIA Rovers and they all have the joint.

[carl k]

Attached is an image of a Rover LSD with some broken parts. Externally they look the same (maybe the casting numbers are different).

Carl K.

[carl k]

Here's another view with the carrier fit back together. If anyone has a pair of cross-shafts for one of these beasts, I'm looking for some.

Carl K.

[jp-]

Yep,

I think that's what mine is. I have full access to a machine shop and could probably get a new cross shaft made out of 4140 or A2 and have it heat treated. Have you considered just having a new one made?

[Rand Smith]

Anyone looking for a reman NADA head, a correct reman NADA Carby, Linkage, air filter set up?

I had a euro 6 cyl and was going to convert but sold the truck before I got to the convert.
$800 takes it all.

508/901-0002 or meroasters@hotmail.com

[Dashface]

I've spoken to O'Brien a bit about his truck, so I thought I'd chime in! Here's a pic of my NADA, number 536:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a210/Hobbie_42/LeTruck.jpg

It's got the same Chevy six swap, too - although my engine was apparently out of a Studebaker :)

[LWB109]

Nice looking truck dash.
I had #756 with a 4 cylinder LR transplant.
A running Weslake 2.6 is as rare as rustfree,original chassis I guess.

[Dashface]

It's strange to me that everyone running a NADA rover seems to have a Chevy engine swap, but I just can't seem to find a rad that will fit mine... Maybe I'm totally crazy, I dunno. My wish is that someday someone will tell me what will fit!! :D

[jp-]

Nice looking truck dash.
I had #756 with a 4 cylinder LR transplant.
A running Weslake 2.6 is as rare as rustfree,original chassis I guess.

I am running my original NADA 6, and my truck still runs on its original rust-free chassis. What do I win?


Dash,

At one point, my engine was also swapped for chevy six (I converted back to the original engine). The radiator is a custom 4 core deal. Someone used a 2 core radiator and had it converted to 4 by a radiator shop. I don't know what the original radiator came out of, but it was as tall as the rover radiator, a little narrower, and about 1" thinner. The shape of it leads me to believe that it would have come out of a 60's model pickup truck. Just go down to your local junkyard (take some rough measurements of what you need) and go digging. You aren't going to find an exact match, no matter what you will have to do some custom work.

[Dashface]

I'm assuming that the original six gets better gas mileage than the chevy, though? ;) I haven't managed to get it to drive yet, but I'm assuming 8-10 mpg :D

[LWB109]

I am running my original NADA 6, and my truck still runs on its original rust-free chassis. What do I win?

A chance to meet Sharon Stone?

[LaneRover]

Earlier in this thread i mentioned the 'join' in the wing. I am not talking about the join at the front top corner which all series and defenders have but the 'join' on the left front wing near the back of the wing, on top that looks like there are some rivets by it. Possibly a door/hatch that is there to give access to the clutch or brake master cylinders.

Just wondering if that is a normal for NADA 6's or even that year of Rovers.

Brent

[swingkeel]

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n64/67NADA/LandRover%201967%20109%20NADA/IMG_0470.jpg (http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n64/67NADA/LandRover%201967%20109%20NADA/IMG_0470.jpg)


Number 380 now has a 3 liter 4 cylinder GM engine. Other than that and the series 3 power brakes it's stock.

Michael

[O'Brien]

michael -

what's the text on your outer wing there?

[swingkeel]

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n64/67NADA/LandRover%201967%20109%20NADA/MScamerapictures072.jpg

rear quarter shot

[swingkeel]

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n64/67NADA/LandRover%201967%20109%20NADA/rodentcondo.jpg


http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n64/67NADA/LandRover%201967%20109%20NADA/MScamerapictures084.jpg

O.B,

Ha, I knew someone would pick up on that. Dealer installed options are not a new idea. This truck was delivered new by the dealer with:

"Safari" fender scripts
chrome Lucas fender mirrors
Lucas driving/fog lights
bumper mounted manual winch
dash glovebox and speaker
AM radio
winshield washers

In this sense, I guess that this thing was never "stock". Do you recognize what make or model car the scripts are from?

Michael

[siiirhd88]

Pontiac station wagons carried the Safari nameplates.

Bob
'96 Disco SE7
'80 SIII 109
'75 SIII 88 V8
'68 SIIA 109 V8
'6? SIIA 109

[4flattires]

...what siiirhd88 said. They began using the script in 1959.

Jeff

[Donnie]

Nice looking truck dash.
I had #756 with a 4 cylinder LR transplant.
A running Weslake 2.6 is as rare as rustfree,original chassis I guess.
I'm a bit lost here on the terminology: What exactly is a Weslake engine?

[giorgio]

Harry Weslake was a noted designer of heads for British race cars. He designed the head for the Rover 2.6L engine, used in a Rover car, which was later tapped for use in the NADA (North American Dollar Area) Series IIA 109's.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weslake

[giorgio]

Weslake Head ( am trying to attach a picture, I hope that it works)