Mr. Wolf picked me up at the airport in a vintage Italian sports car and headed straight for Philippe’s garage (reaching speeds of 100 mph)
The engine is in and Philippe expects everything will be wrapped up — wait for it — by the end of next week.
Since arriving I have seen exotic vehicles worth millions (?) and met some really nice and interesting people. I’ll post a proper report and more photos upon my return.
Mr. Wolf stopped by to visit the Land Rover on Friday. There was a time when we thought the truck would be done by September 2017. What is that, nine months ago? Like everything else with this project, the engine swap has been plagued with problems. There’s a chance the work could be complete by the time I arrive in San Francisco next Friday but I wouldn’t bet the farm.
I’ve confided to friends that my enthusiasm for this project has… waned. We can only hope that returns when I get the truck. But it’s a nice, first-world kind of problem. On a more positive note, Mr. Wolf took his Mercedes Benz Unimog off-roading last week (Fordyce Creek in the Tahoe National Forest) and shares this exceptional video.
I gather this was only slightly more difficult than a heart-lung transplant and will cost about the same. Next comes wiring, redoing the exhaust system, and finding someplace to stick the radiator. Might be done by the end of the week. The real test will come when Mr. Wolf starts driving the truck again. Speaking of Mr. Wolf, he’s out of town the rest of this week at some kind of off-road event.
This video is pretty amazing and if off-roading is your thing, worth a watch. Mr. Wolf will be driving a Unimog.
After a week with no news on The Big Engine Swap, I called EuroLand 4×4 and left a message: “You guys are working on my truck and I’m calling for an update.” Ten minutes later I got a call back from the mysterious Philippe (whose accent is somewhere between Pepe Le Pew and Inspector Clouseau).
The old engine is out and Philippe’s concerns about its condition were confirmed. Unfortunately, the new engine from Zombie Motors isn’t going to be the plug-and-play fit we were told. Philippe had to contact the Land Rover folks in the UK for some instructions on how to make the new engine fit. Battery will have to be moved from the engine compartment to under the driver’s seat; instead of belt driven fan we’ll be using an electric fan for cooling (which is a better way to go I’m told); and some changes to the wiring and exhaust system. Translation: expensive.
Philippe sounded confident he could make it all work and might be finished in a week. I’ll believe it when I see it. O when Mr. Wolf sees/drives it. In three short weeks I’ll wing it out to San Francisco to finally meet Mr. Wolf and — with some luck — play with the truck before it gets shipped back to Missouri.
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.
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.
Last week Mr. Wolf added a steering stabilizer to the truck. I’m guessing the only way to know if you need a steering stabilizer — or that the one you have isn’t working — is by driving the truck.
“The steering stabilizer’s primary function is to dampen or stabilize the side to side movement of the wheels in much the same way shock absorbers limiting excessive suspension movement & oscillation. Steering stabilizers are a necessary component because it helps to absorb bump-steer and flighty steering issues.”
At last check Mr. Wolf had put 700+km on my truck (I’ve come to think of it as our truck) so he’s probably getting close to the targeted 1,000km. When restoring a 40-year-old truck, there’s just no way to find all the problems without driving it. More importantly, knowing what to look/listen/feel for while you’re driving it. This is where Mr. Wolf has earned his commission (and then some).
