Update from Mr. Wolf: “I have been driving the truck today and it has been great. One little gremlin came up (the fuel cut-off cable came loose, easy fix), but I feel like we are in the home stretch here. The odometer is going to roll over 1,000km today!” I had to ask about the “fuel cut-off cable.”

Because diesels don’t need any electricity to run, turning the key off doesn’t stop the engine, so you pull a little knob next to the key to manually cut fuel flow to the engine. It’s pretty neat.

I won’t share the full list but here are the kinds of things he’s been finding and fixing.

• R&R left rear hub seal and change gear oil
• Reassemble rear brakes, bleed system, lube all zirc fittings, adjust brakes
• Reinstalling and modifying filler neck
• Front spring shackles installed properly, problematic Britpart steering damper removed
• Disassemble rear suspension, grease all shackles and bolts, reassemble.
• Replace incorrect hardware holding the grill on
• Final adjustment on brakes
• Replace & rewire glow plugs (one failed out of the box, replacement ordered)
• Re-adjust idle speed and all throttle linkage
• Re-wrap passenger side wiring harness with 3M friction tape

This is the attention to detail someone gives their own truck.

One of my favorite features of older Land Rovers is the storage compartment under the driver’s seat. (Prior to Series III, I think this is where they put the battery but I’m not sure about that). The space is about 18 inches square and maybe 8 inches deep at the midpoint. No idea what I’ll use it for, perhaps a small bottle jack and some hand tools? I rarely go anywhere without my MacBook and frequently leave it in the car so I might stow the laptop here. There’s a small hasp for a padlock.

Someone (original?) had installed a divider at one point but I had Mr. Wolf remove that. He’ll brush on some paint but leave a couple of spots showing the original green color of the truck.

Looking at the photos above, I’m reminded these seats are for the Defender model. Not the original Series seats, which easily folded up to give access to this compartment. If that is no longer the case, I’ll wind up storing stuff I don’t often need.

When they started the restoration of my Land Rover it was with the intention of putting a soft top on it since the prospective owner lived in southern California. Near the end of the restoration I asked about putting a hard-top on the truck and they found one. (During the warm summer months, I’ll switch to a soft top)

Following a recent power-wash, Mr. Wolf noticed more water the cab than he thought should be there and concluded it was coming from a mystery patch over the passenger side of the cab.

Fix A would involve some hours and additional expense. Fix B is putting some “grey goop” on the patch and worry about it later if water is still getting in. This “escape hatch” is part of the main roof and not in the “safari top” so it’s unlikely water would ever be pouring in.

If I understood Mr. Wolf correctly, the three doors on my truck can all be locked from the outside, but not from the inside. Which means I can stop worrying about locking myself inside the truck. On the down side, car jackers won’t have to come up with elaborate ruses to get me to unlock the doors. They just yank it open and drag me out.

Now that the truck is getting some kilometers on it, Mr. Wolf decided to give the truck a bath. It looked so nice he brought out the drone for a little fly around. Nice.

We’re finally entering the farkle phase of the Land Rover project. According to the Urban Dictionary “The word is generally accepted to mean a combination of “function” and “sparkle”, hence, farkle. Motorcycle enthusiasts may install accessories, called farkles (also spelled farkel), to customize their machine.” Today Mr. Wolf added a grill muff to my truck.

From the Rovers North website: “Dramatic increase in your heater’s output, quicker warm-up, reduced engine stress. In the snow-belt, this simple accessory will make a big difference in a Land Rover’s winter performance. By controlling the airflow through the radiator in freezing weather, the engine can run at its optimum operating temperature. This means reduced engine wear and increased heater output. We have developed this radiator muff exclusively for our customers and we believe it is the finest one you will find. Made of heavy Cordura® Nylon with sturdy fasteners for a secure fit and long life.”

I’ve seen these on big trucks and even recall seeing people attach a piece of cardboard in front of the radiator. So they must work (or Mr. Wolf wouldn’t have brought it up). Only $50 and the small (2.25 liter) diesel engine in my truck doesn’t like the cold. As for heating the cab of the truck… imagine a large dog breathing on your feet.

UPDATE: I’ve moved this post up from last week to use the new photo. The Spanish license plate adds a touch of Euro-exotica and the Santana badge proclaims my pride the in Spanish heritage of my truck. Olé!

When the topic of Series Land Rovers comes up (almost never) someone is sure to point out the trucks are a little hard to drive, they’re noisy, and they’re slow. Top speed around 55 mph.

Last night Mr. Wolf shared this photo of my truck’s speedometer cruising nicely at 50 mph. I’m hoping to hear more about how the car handled on the highway and I’ll update this post. One more thing almost everyone says about Series Land Rovers: They are fun to drive. Again, Mr. Wolf:

On two separate occasions someone slowed from 80 mph, moved all the way over from the fast lane to pull up next to me and give a very emphatic thumbs up. First one was a Porsche Cayenne Turbo, second one was a Tesla Model S P90D

This sounds like he was on the freeway — something I won’t be doing — but nice to know the truck can cruise at a decent speed.

The Rover gets its first real road test today when Mr. Wolf drives it down to San Jose (40 miles). Doubt he’ll be on the freeway but doubt traffic on secondary roads is much slower. Eagerly await his report. A brief summary of latest fixes:

• The front leaf spring shackles were assembled incorrectly, and without any grease. This was allowing the front springs to shift laterally, making the steering sloppy and causing an occasional clunk. Greased and reassembled.
• Britpart steering damper that came on the truck was faulty, at times not damping at all, at other times binding. The truck is driving great without it right now, but I should probably put a new one on there.
• The filler neck. (long story)
• The odometer rolled over 600 km yesterday, so I gave it an oil change. Note: it holds 9 quarts, not 7 like the manual says. I think it has an extra large filter housing.
• I think I finally solved all of the brake issues. The final piece of the puzzle was pulling the master cylinder and shortening the booster pushrod. It was adjusted much too long, not allowing fluid to come back into the master cylinder.

If you’ve been following this story you might be wondering about the quality of the restoration. And rightly so. I was warned from the beginning that a nuts-and-bolts, frame-off restoration isn’t the end of the process. There will be problems that just can’t be spotted until you put some kilometers on the truck. That said, Mr. Wolf has found a lot of careless mistakes. And he’s fixed them. He’s still fixing them.

Buying a restored vintage vehicle is risky business. Even more so if you have zero experience. My salvation has been having someone who can spot and fix the problems. By the time my truck is done I’m confident it will be as close to perfect as a 40 year old truck can be.

Would I do this again, knowing all that I know now? I would. If you are in a hurry and easily pissed off… this isn’t the route for you. And if my new/old Land Rover stops running a week after I get it, I’ll sit in it and drink beer in the back yard.

The first thousand miles after a frame-off restoration are important. This is when you find the inevitable small (and our case, large) things that need “sorting out,” as the Brits say. Mr. Wolf has finally been able to do this kind of diagnostic driving.

Drove the Rover a bit this weekend, and it was quite enjoyable. Next will be hooking the brake booster backup and fine tuning the brake shoe adjustments. Still waiting on the replacement filler neck hose. (The exhaust is) pretty darn good, I think we’re within the normal range now. A bit of smoking for 30 seconds or so after a cold start, then a regular amount for a healthy diesel in normal driving. Cold starts as still a little labored, but I want to get fresh glow plugs in it before I make a decision there. The “direct replacement” glow plugs I bought for it before didn’t fit, need to track down the right ones.

This process is critical and something most owners do themselves (I assume). Given what this truck cost, one might argue it should have been part of the restoration but that’s fluid through the crankcase. I’m fortunate to have Mr. Wolf to find and fix these things.