Philippe has started putting in the new engine. No idea how long that might take but it’s great to see some progress. Any progress. This project has been plagued with problems — large and small — so I won’t celebrate until my ass in the seat.
If there’s going to be another “issue,” it’s likely to be the transmission. Will it work with the new engine? But as they say at the poker table, I’m all in.
It was one year ago today I decided to find and purchase a Land Rover. I knew absolutely nothing about them, just thought they looked cool and I wanted one. It has taken twice as long as I expected and cost — just guessing here — about 30% more.
I’ve made some new long-distance friends on this journey and watched hundreds of hours of YouTube videos of people restoring and repairing Land Rovers. Some spend years working on these old trucks.
The guys down at the coffee shop have stopped asking when the truck arrives and I try not to bring it up. But one day soon I’ll come thundering down the street and park out front and maybe take the boys for a ride in a real vintage Land Rover. That will be fun.
There are probably smarter ways to get your hands on one of these but none to which I had access. And I really haven’t been all that frustrated by the delays and unanticipated costs.
I’ve sold the MINI, sort of. I’ve turned it over to a friend who will sell it. It started having electrical problems that were only going to get worse and I don’t have the skills or the patience to deal with. Which means I’m without wheels until the Land Rover arrives so I’m renting.
As this project dragged on, I created a little map to keep things straight.
I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve said we’re nearing the end but I think we’re nearing the end. The new engine will be in San Francisco by the end of the week and — again, I’m just guessing here — maybe a week or two for Philippe to pull the current engine and drop the new one in. Still planning to fly out and meet the mysterious Mr. Wolf and break a bottle of bubbly on the Land Rover’s bumper. Or something. Watch this space.
Looks like the new engine will be crated and shipped by the end of the day. Here’s a gallery of all the photos from Zombie Motors.
“Just about there. I still need to adjust valves (tool was at shop to do so this PM) and get exhaust manifold back from exhaust man. Should be able to get it all tomorrow (Thursday).”
The biggest difference between the original 2.25 liter diesel and this rebuilt 300Tdi 2.5 liter is — according to Zak at Zombie Motors — direct injection diesel (vs. indirect injection). This will make cold starts easy. Won’t have to use glow plugs until it is well below freezing. More like a modern truck: jump in, turn the key, and drive away.
We opted not to get this engine with the turbocharger because — as I understand it — that would have required a different transmission. But even “naturally aspirated,” this engine will provide a lot more torque than the old one and won’t be as smokey/noisy. 
“I’ll have this finished as much as I do with them on the stand later today. Tomorrow I can have it off the stand and wrapped up to ship, I just need to get my forklift brought over here to the house to be able to shrink wrap. Will have it brought over today or tomorrow. Thank you again and I hope the photos look good. The piece de resistance is the custom right hand side motor mount that allows this to be bolted in instead of having to do any cutting/ welding.” — Zak, Zombie Motors
“New oil pump gears installed and timing cover on; new pistons in and fitted; con rods torqued; waiting for paint to dry on oil pan.” — Zombie Motors
It’s been just over a month since my last update on the Land Rover. Speciality mechanic Philippe was giving it a final check-up before sending it my way. (“Houston, we have a problem.”) Without going into detail (at this time), there were serious problems with the engine. Rather than deal with those down the road — without the services of Philippe and Mr. Wolf — we decided to put in a new/rebuilt engine.
Mr. Wolf found what we needed at Zombie Motors. A 300Tdi 2.5 liter diesel engine that will be a major upgrade from what’s presently in the truck (specs below) and you can read about 300Tdi engines here. Zak at Zombie Motors sent a couple of photos of the block, just back from the machine shop.
The engine will be assembled next week (at Zombie Motors) and shipped back to SF where Philippe will do the swap. Then Mr. Wolf picks it up to put some more check-up miles on the new engine. Once he puts his stamp of approval on it, I fly out for a little celebration and we ship the truck back to Missouri.
Zombie Motors – engine update (PDF)
Zombie Motors – Tdi engine conversion (PDF)
Philippe (the “specialty mechanic”) has had my truck for a couple of weeks, giving it the final inspection. He drove it a bit and put it on the lift, running down Mr. Wolf’s punch list. Mostly small stuff. He’ll probably put in a new ignition switch; check the play in the steering; and see if he can fix some small thing in the turn signal that Mr. Wolf found annoying.
The only big item seems to be adjusting the timing and Mr. Wolf says that’s not all that big a deal. The video below (not my truck) shows a chap inspecting the timing chain on his Land Rover.
Depending on Philippe’s work load, my truck might be done by the end of the week. Nothing left to do but fly out to San Mateo to celebrate and play with the truck for a couple of days before shipping it to Missouri.
Everybody hates those badges car dealers bolt on to new cars. But nobody removes them. Except me and Mr. Wolf.
The folks that did the initial restoration on my truck stuck a couple of these on and I would have left them if they hadn’t been so sloppy with the restoration. I can’t, in good conscience, promote these guys. Mr. Wolf, on the other hand, has been my salvation so I had a little custom badge made. You can see the one we’re replacing in this photo.
Mr. Wolf clearly knows his way around vintage vehicles but his buddy, Philippe, is apparently something of an expert on Land Rovers. Based on the photo (above) it looks like Philippe has a garage rather than a dealership. That’s where the truck is this week, getting final tweaks.
I told him to start with a valve adjustment, reset cam timing and injection pump timing, set timing chain tension, replace the thermostat, and see if he can find a way to adjust the free play in the steering relay box.
Regular readers will remember last week’s Mystery Patch, which leaked.
Good news from the drive up in the rain: the Mystery Patch in the roof does not leak! The bad news: everything else does leak. A bit more grey goop and we’ll be watertight.
And a bit less drafty…
Looking at a Series 2 Santana at Philippe’s, I realized that your truck is missing seals on the slider windows front and rear. I’ll track them down, that’ll make the cabin much less drafty.
Once Philippe is done, the truck is done. Everything has been checked and fixed. Sometimes twice. I’ll fly out to meet Mr. Wolf, play with the truck and celebrate, then it’s time to ship the truck to Jefferson City.
Here’s a bit of background on Phillippe from the Euroland website:
Originally from the beautiful South of France, The Provence, was originally a Rolls Royce, Bentley technician. He added Land Rover to his knowledge and specialty and is very fortunate to be one of the technicians to be certified at Land Rover in Solihull, England.
This project has taken twice as long as expected and cost a lot more, but I’m probably going to get close to the “better than the day it rolled off the assembly line” promise.