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"Doris" - 1964

Series 2a (2)

As there was (at the time) no desperate rush to complete the project, I opted to wait for the chassis to arrive before I commenced disassembly.  I used the time to examine as best I could the work that was required.  I purchased both a Haynes manual and the Land Rover manual (on dvd), the latter proved invaluable during the rebuild, as when I needed parts I was able to go armed with part numbers ensuring I (nearly) always got the right bits!

 

When the chassis arrived, It was placed in the garage on axle stands, and Doris was parked on the drive in front of the doors.  I started by cleaning all the holes and edges of the chassis as the galvanising had closed in many of them and made some of the edges sharp.

 

I decided to start the rebuild with the axles and suspension, they were removed, stripped, cleaned, overhauled, painted and rebuilt on to the new chassis.  Doing this first made the chassis easy to manouver when needed.

 

The next step was to transfer the engine and transmission.  The gearbox and transfer box were removed first, this is easily done once the floor has been removed.  A good clean and replacement of transfer box output oil seal was all that was required before refitting.

 

Before refitting the engine, it was decided to give a it thorough inspection.  The cylinder head was removed, and given the once over.  The valves and guides were in good order, so it was de-coked and new seals were fitted.  The cylinders and piston crowns were in good order, there was only 1 thou wear in the bores so the pistons and rings were left undisturbed.  The front and rear crankshaft oil seals were replaced and the engine was re-assembled.  A new clutch friction plate and spigot bearing were fitted before the engine was installed.

 

The smaller ancillary parts were cleaned, painted and fitted next, such as the handbake and linkage, propshafts, fuel tank, and a new exhaust was fitted.

 

Once all of the mechanical parts were in place, it was time to start transfering the various body parts over.  The starting point had to be the bulkhead as all of the other panels line up to this.  Thankfully the bulkhead was in good condition for 40+ years old, a few minor repairs were needed though.  The repairs were carried out once the bulkhead was in place on the new chassis.  After the bulkhead was repaired and painted, new brake lines and fuel lines were fitted.  

 

The steering gear was fitted, along with a new steering relay, as the original was rusted solid into the chassis.  Re-fitting the body was quite time consuming as it is very difficult to get everything to line up.  The method I used was to fit the tub, hard top and doors and adjust for best fit.  Next the seat box and sills went in, followed by the transmission tunnel and floor plates.  Once all was aligned, the hard topand doors were removed again for painting, along with the wings, bonnet, and front panel.  The tub was painted in-situ.

 

A new floor had to be fabricated for the tub before fitting, all the other panels just needed stripping and re-painting, very little filler was needed.  Once all the panels had been painted, they were re-fitted and new seals were fitted all round.  A2 stainless fasteners were used throughout.