Knowing your car - Land Rover

At the time of writing this post, I have owned Leif for a little over two weeks and, as with UGU, I am keen to find out as much information as I can about her.  There is lots of information out there but it is not as easy to find as with Mercedes-Benz, so I am piecing the bits together as I collect them from both on-line sources and from local and interstate fellow enthusiasts.

So, here is what I know so far.

Leif is a 1969 Series 2A, 109" (long wheelbase) Station Wagon. I am the lucky fourth owner;  her namesake who I bought her from, bought her from his friend, who had bought it from his dad, who bought her new.

Leif & Leif at Farr's Transport Yard before her trip to Perth

Leif is what is known as a "CKD Kit" which stands for "completely knocked down".  This means that all of her components were produced and painted in the Land Rover factory, Solihull, England and shipped to Australia in pieces, ready to be assembled by a local agent.

This was done in countries all over the world and is still a common practise in the automotive industry today. According to website http://www.range-rover-classic.com, Land Rovers and Range Rovers were being built in "23 countries abroad of UK in 1980".

Land Rover Assembly locations, 1980

 1972, African Land Rover CKD Assembly

Image via "range-rover-classic.com"

2003, Land Rover CKD Assembly

Image via "range-rover-classic.com"

Despite this being a common practise it was news to me, and the only thing that raised a query with me was the plaque attached to the firewall showing that she was produced by the "Pressed Metal Corp Ltd."

Leif may have been conceived in England but she is true blue Aussie

If this plate was not evidence enough, Leif's chassis number is also a vital source of information. The first three digits "352" refer to her origins as "Export, RHStg, 109 Station Wagon", and by the rest of the numbers I assume she was the 128th built.

(Chassis number Information from the Land Rover Series 11 & 11A Repair Operation Manual AKM8159, generously gifted to me by my family in the UK)

Leif's Identification plate found on the firewall

Present from my family, and hopefully instrumental to Leif's restoration.

Also check out Leif's outdoor water tap connected to a large tank in the back!  I am yet to decide if I wish to keep it or not.

I found all this information very exciting, but it didn't stop there, one detail I had spotted in Leif's photographs before I bought her was the badge on the grille with the word "six".  I had never seen this before, nor the particular grille that she sports.

Starting with the badge.

More forward power needs more stopping power

I had no idea that Land Rovers were even available in anything other than a four cylinder 2 1/4 petrol, or diesel engine, but they were also available as a 2.6litre, six cylinder!  So that little badge corresponds with the chassis number "352" confirming she is a 2.6 litre six.

This increased power brought with it some additional stopping power, so Leif has larger brake drums than the 4 cylinder variants and also has a servo assisted braking system.

Unfortunately Leif's original motor has long since been removed and she now sports a 3.3 litre Holden blue straight six.  I am a bit disappointed about this, but do have to appreciate that in a country as big as Australia, the best motor, is the most available motor.  On the plus side I am lead to believe that this particular motor is very simple to work with and the previous owner also informs me that the original gearbox has been replaced with that from a series three so she has a synchromesh.  

I know the purists out there will be disgusted by this bastardisation, but for me, I don't really care, it is all part of Leif's history so the motor will stay.

The Holden Blue Motor was available from 1980 - 1985 in both a 3.3 & 2.85 Variants eventually superseded by the black motor. The block casting confirms this is a 3.3 Litre 

Click here for more information on Holden Engines

Back to that grille...the information I have on it, from a fellow enthusiast in Australia's Northern Territory is that it is a rare grille only produced for Australian Built station wagons.

The more common Series 2A Grille

Having looked at many photos recently, I am not sure if Leif has the correct bonnet.  It might be a series 3 bonnet, noting the thickness to the edge rather than the flat type seen in this picture. Image via homer-simpson on Flicker

It is incredible how one photo has so much information; above we have discussed the "six badge" and the grille, but there is still one more subtle difference between this Australian CKD and a UK imported vehicle, the Land Rover badge itself.

If you look closely you will see that the sub heading says "Rover Australia Pty Ltd", a UK built vehicle wouldn't have this.

Leif's Aussie badge

UK model, Grille badge

So there you have it, only two weeks in and I have learnt a little more about my new acquisition. I am really excited to see what else I will discover through my journey to get Leif registered and back on the road.

Leif waiting to get out of my back yard and on or off road again