1971 IIA 88" Get back on the road project

[roverjohn]

After not owning a Rover for almost two years, I found this one up the road in Aspen, CO in a trailer park. The original owner died and I bought it from his nephew who was the executor of the estate. It was used pretty hard and it has a few dents here and there. There is no rust on this truck but it does have some frame damage in which I need some advice.

The DS frame sleeve that has the shackle mount, has cracked and broken and is free floating in the frame. It's busted on both sides of the frame. Anyone ever seen this?

The Rover runs but I don't dare drive it like this and have only driven it on and off a trailer.

A welder buddy of mine and I are going to tackle this in the couple of weeks or so and I'm looking for some hints and/or suggestions on how to repair this. I'd prefer to cut out the damaged section and replace with a new piece and make it look original rather than just weld a plate over it.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

[SafeAirOne]

To me, it looks as if that chassis has rotted from the inside out, as they tend to do. I'd investigate further before I decided on a course of action.

[roverjohn]

To me, it looks as if that chassis has rotted from the inside out, as they tend to do. I'd investigate further before I decided on a course of action.

I've gone over it and there is no rust on this truck aside from a little surface rust here and there. I don't think it is from rot. I don't know how it happened and unfortunately, the original owner is not around to ask. The nephew told me it was used pretty hard on a nasty 4WD road to build a cabin on a mining claim outside of Aspen.

[RPGreg2600]

Doesn't look rusty to me. I bet the guy at the factory who welded the sleeves in did a bad job.

Sweet truck! Don't paint it!

[SeanG]

Yes, from the image looks like a failed weld and damage from use after that. If it were rust from the inside out the damage would have been much worse.

My suggestion is to take a a frame shop as looks like they will need to fab up a replacement sleeve and attachment points.

[scott]

You should take it back to the land rover dealership and complain about that failed weld

[NSGINC]

http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/...g/BUSHDOM.html
They will do custom sizes also

[xplorUtah]

Doesn't look rusty to me. I bet the guy at the factory who welded the sleeves in did a bad job.

Sweet truck! Don't paint it!

John is not the type to paint it, but is the right guy to give it a new lease on life.. It is a sweet find, I have seen it first hand, just needs TLC.

[roverjohn]

John is not the type to paint it, but is the right guy to give it a new lease on life.. It is a sweet find, I have seen it first hand, just needs TLC.

Thanks Drew. Yeah, no plans on painting it. For now, the plan is to just fix the suspension, get the brakes working, and then put it on the road. It's had a long slumber and it's time for it to stretch its legs a little.

I was hoping to use the original frame sleeve but I'll have to get it out and determine if it can be reused. If not, I'll see about Ruffstuff making me a custom one. Thanks NSGINC for the info and the link.

It will be another couple of weeks before I can start in on it. So, stay tuned.

[roverjohn]

Life sure does fly by.....I figured I would update this thread as I am now working on the 88 again. Now that I have more time at home due to Covid19, I pulled the 88 out of storage to start working on it. A couple of years ago, a friend and I fixed the front suspension issue where the weld broke. It came out nice.

Also, my oldest daughter has expressed interest in the 88 and has claimed it as "her first car". She's a few years out from driving but I figured if I start now, then there is a slight chance that I can get it roadworthy by the time she starts driving!

After getting the 88 home, I took a good look over the truck and put together a list of parts that I will need to get it back on the road again. I am sure I missed something and will need a lot more as I dive into this thing.

I had more spring bushings around so I figured I would dive into that project. You know, just pull the band-aid off real quick.

The rear bushings were so shot that there wasn't much left of them. The bolts had worn down the bushes and into the metal of the outer sleeve. In a couple of the bushings, the wear had gone beyond the metal outer sleeve and started to wear the spring and/or the frame material; not bad though. The PO obviously neglected the bushings for quite some time and it's clear that this thing has seen some abuse. When I bought the truck from the PO's estate, the nephew told me that the PO used it in the construction of his cabin which was up a nasty 4wd road outside of Aspen, CO.

In my attempt to extract/install bushings into the rear shackle hangers, I have managed to bend/break them. Really f'd them up good. Pics attached. Both are tearing as evident in the cracks that are forming. I don't feel that I hit them that hard so maybe they were compromised to some extent?

I have found replacement weld on shackle hangers and can certainly go this route. However, my questions to you all is: is there a better solution? And, is now a good time to think of doing something different with the suspension; such as a different leaf spring setup with more common and easier to work on bushings?

In my research, I found where a guy used Jeep YJ springs along with Disco axles and it looks nice (post #39): https://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/land...s-ideas-2.html

I'm not looking to reinvent the wheel and don't intend to install Disco axles. As of now, I would like to get the thing on the road so we can enjoy it. The daughter will help with parts replacement work so she can be involved with it and take pride in the project.

However, I now have to break out the plasma cutter and welder again so am looking for ideas and suggestions on suspension. Or do I just weld on new brackets and call it good?

Thanks all.

[series guy]

I've been pretty tough on Frames during bushing changes before and haven't seen cracks like this. I'm no metallurgist but I think your frame might just be played out. There is no doubt that you can fix these issues but until you roll a new chassis under it I think you will be welding on this fairly often.

[Modifried]

I've been out of the loop and haven't posted in a looong time, but the COVID-19 apocalypse has had me lurking and working on my own Rover again.... this one coming back from the dead is awesome, love the patina and the history.

I think the chassis is salvageable, looks solid except for the cracks witch can be mitigated. Drill a small hole at both ends of each crack and weld it. Don't grind them and they should be good to go.

Take a look at the GM truck springs. I slung a set of 52" K-1500 springs under mine and just pushed the rear hanger back to compensate. You can cut off the current hangers and either fab new ones or buy replacements.

I ran the GM's in the rear and moved the Rover rears up front, rides like a Caddy now. You may even want to consider talking to Alcan Spring in Grand Junction, CO. They can custom make you a set for her.

Ryan-

[roverjohn]

I've been working on the 88 over the last few weeks but have run into a snag.

I pulled the heater control valve as it was leaking and ordered a new one. They appear to be very similar but my late IIA has a bracket on it that attaches to another bracket off of the thermostat housing. The one I ordered (supposedly for a late IIA and III) does not have this. It looks like the new one threads into an adapter which is LR part # 594622.

Has anyone made the old bracket work? Can an adapter be made from pipe fittings or is it British / Rover stuff? Or... do I just need to order the adapter?

Thanks in advance.

[loose gravel]

I'd say the bigger problem is the new one is threaded and the old one isn't. Not a big issue if the connection is a hose and clamp.

Can you drill out the spotwelds and rivet to the new one? Good problem to solve!

[series guy]

Order the adapter.