Project: Wilks

[01001010]

Hey Guys!

Some of you may have seen my WANTED thread some time ago. I was looking for a Series truck. Well, I finally got one back in Jan.

Its a prestine (relatively speaking) 1965 Series IIa 109 Five Door. Its a RHD and runs a 2.25 Dsl.



I was a sight-unseen purchase based on bad photos. It was a steal at the price the owner was asking so I rolled the dice and went for it. I was amazed to find the truck in excellent condition. All perches, outriggers, cross members and the rest of the frame is intact with minor surface rust or..Patina..lol









The Bulkhead is nearly perfect. The interior still has areas where the original paint is in like-new condition...





The engine does turn over but I havent really tried to get it to start yet since there has been A LOT to clean up...





So far, the roof is off, the floor panels and hardware holding the tub down has been getting the PB Blaster treatment. I hope to have the tub off soon and get the frame up on stands so I can begin to disassemble the suspension | drivetrain components.

I plan to finish disassembly with a bare frame that will be cleaned, prepped and ready for the galvanizer.

I'm mainly over at the LRO boards but I will definitely keep this thread updated with all the work I do since there is an abundance of Series knowledge flowing through this board.

Back to work now...

[01001010]

One of the neat things about the truck is that on the windscreen, you can still find the sticker that was placed by the shipping company back in the UK before it was brought over...

[01001010]

My goal for the truck is to make it a DD-capable, overlander. And the inspiration is none other than Mr. Colby Morris' VERY fine truck...

[Linus Tremaine]

ha!

I imported a 68 IIA in 2005. When it arrived, it had that same sticker in the window. Now its stuck on the cover of my green bible.

[Momo]

Good for you. Look forward to seeing your progress here. Resurrecting a Land Rover is probably far easier than most cars because of the way they're built but it is still a love-hate, knuckle-busting affair. In the end they are a far more usable classic than others and will give you many fine years of service.

[Tim Smith]

Congratulations! That is a fine find. Do let us know how you progress with the project.

[01001010]

Will do! Today I was finally able to remove the headliner and remove the side panels with the glass from the rest of the roof. Now the other bay is available again..lol.

Since I havent found a local galvanizer that'll do the job, I've been a little slow on the disassembly. I hope to have a bare frame REAL soon. I wont say I time because I always seem to curse myself.

Here it is with the roof off, right before I removed the floors...



Pardon the mess.

[LaneRover]

Pardon the mess.

What Mess? If you can see floor it isn't too messy!

[01001010]

On Tuesday, I started working on disassembly of the rear drivetrain. I took the driveshaft off and proceeded to remove axles and diff. I was VERY happy to find #1)minor leaks in the rear hubs (meaning everything is well preserved) and #2) PLENTY of gear oil within the axle housing! Everything looked as new as my Disco's diffs did! Managed to remove the shock absorbers withouth twisting or breaking the top mounting bolt. Chances are I'll still replace it with a new one.

I spent quite some time trying to manually remove the bolts holding the leafs onto the hangers but I'll have to wait until I get my new grinder. Those badboys are ON there!

Also, thanks to my brother in law, we discovered clues to the truck's history!

While I was working on the suspension, he had just arrived from work and was entering through the garage and stopped to admire the organized mess..lol. He was looking at the tub and discovered that underneath the thick layer of paint, there seemed to be vynil decals! Holding a light up to it and reading it from above we discovered that the letters read...
To the left of the cargo door "Complete Security" and to the right of the Cargo door "Site Services"

So there it is! This truck, although it has every bit of the interior, was a fleet truck at some point! I'm doing as much research as I can now! If you know anything about "Complete Security Site Services" please let me know. Thanks!

Here are two pictures from the last batch I uploaded...

[01001010]

So another fellow enthusiast - a very knowledgable one, at that - has pointed out that my frame MAY be from a 109' 3-door with the body of a SW. The Gas tank on the 109's should have been at the rear and the cross members are a little different. I was also trying to look for identification numbers on the frame itself and could not find any at the front horns.

Also, how do I identify if this engine is a 5-bearing or not? Here's a shot of the numbers on the block...

[sven]

Also, how do I identify if this engine is a 5-bearing or not? Here's a shot of the numbers on the block...

A 5 bearing engine will have extra webbing cast into the block just above the oil pan.

Like this: http://www.roversnorth.com/store/p-5...ol-series.aspx

[01001010]

Thank you sven!

Do those two different variations even apply to the Diesels?


Tonight, I took the rear brakes and hubs off WITHOUT braking any bolts! Eureka!! Soon that rear axle will be off. Actually, I think I may have to remove the engine/trans/TC first since I'm afraid that all the frontal weight will make the frame pivot foward right off the stands...lol

I really think I'm going to go with a Sals rear now (after all the reading and comparing I've done).

After I get the bulkhead off, I should have a bare frame soon.

[01001010]

Ok, so before I begin to prepare the engine for removal (draining fluids. loosening) I would like to get it to start and run ONCE. I started to bleed by the filter, and moved my way over to the Distributor pump. I loosened the bleed screw on the pump body and the moved to the one on te control cover. Once loosened, I began to pump using the level and nothing came out. So I then loosened one of the injector fittingsand discovered that nothing came out when I pumped.
Has anyone discovered problems with the distributor pump at the control cover area? Any common problems in this area?

[01001010]

Well,
I got all the bleeding points to bleed and still no engine start. I took all the injector pipes off to make sure none of them were clogged. Earlier I did not think about having to turn the engine over to see any fuel squirt from the injector pipes...so a quick browse through the forums led me to the procedure.

Still no engine start and I'm stumped... Its got fuel and the battery has juice to crank. Then I thought...Air...

I put my hand on the intake manifold while my brother in law cranked the ignition. I didnt feel any pull! I was boggled. How could this be?...

After removing the valve cover, I found my answer...






So after a quick look through the "Spare" parts provided, I found a single set of these...



Go figure! I had to drain all of the excess diesel that flooded in the engine. Luckily, there's a bleed valve for this process too! I LOVE this engine!

[SafeAirOne]

Glad to see you've got the engine issue worked out...Just a "heads-up" for you: A 109 with a 2.25 diesel will probably go as fast WITHOUT those push rods as it will WITH them.

I've got a 109 with a 2.5 NA diesel fitted and it's difficult to overtake the street sweeper WHILE HE'S SWEEPING THE STREETS! I don't imagine that the 2.25 diesel will do any better.

The thing these engines DO have going for them is their extreme simplicity and phenominal reliability. I've put on at least 1500 off-road miles in the remote corners of the Anza-Borrego Desert with my 109 and never had to walk home.

These diesels will not take you anywhere fast, but they will take you anywhere!

Keep up the good work on that 109