Stage One refurbishment in Germany
Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 6:21 pm
Hello, I want to introduce myself and my 1983 Stage One 109 County Station Wagon.
I’m driving Series Land Rovers for more than 20 years now and refurbished 4 vehicles during that time. SWB Diesel with canvas hood was my first Land Rover followed by a scrappy 1-ton. The 1-ton needed a complete rebuilt and it has show room condition since that time. 5 years ago I bought my current SWB HT and restored it. It has been used as a daily driver for five years now.
Last year I found my dream Land Rover in the south of Germany, a Stage One County Station Wagon in Massai red. It had just one owner from new and was very tidy. Just a few small holes in the chassis legs and bulkhead footwells. The gearbox was noisy and had to be rebuilt as well as the engine. It had a worn camshaft and even the carbs were beyond it’s best…
I decided to keep the vehicle in its old look, just a refurbishment under the body. I started with the dismantling, pulled engine and gearbox off the chassis. The welding work took a week as well as the work on the axles and brakes. I renewed the whole hydraulic system, the pipes and tubes included.
During the winter time I rebuilt the gearbox and changed the high transmission gears to Range Rover Classic. I don’t like overdrives and I think the longer gear is the better solution. In my opinion the engine is not powerful enough for the longer gear. I used a more powerful Rover V8 and made a full rebuilt to the engine. In spring time I assembled the Stage One and refurbished the interior.
The V8 is back on the road since June. It drives very good and is very powerful. The longer gear with the higher torque of the engine is a perfect choice, especially the fuel consumption is far better than before with the 3.5l. The ignition system is powered by a MSD box in conjunction with the original points distributor. The MSD box provides three sparks per ignition up to 3000 revs.
Regards
Udo
I’m driving Series Land Rovers for more than 20 years now and refurbished 4 vehicles during that time. SWB Diesel with canvas hood was my first Land Rover followed by a scrappy 1-ton. The 1-ton needed a complete rebuilt and it has show room condition since that time. 5 years ago I bought my current SWB HT and restored it. It has been used as a daily driver for five years now.
Last year I found my dream Land Rover in the south of Germany, a Stage One County Station Wagon in Massai red. It had just one owner from new and was very tidy. Just a few small holes in the chassis legs and bulkhead footwells. The gearbox was noisy and had to be rebuilt as well as the engine. It had a worn camshaft and even the carbs were beyond it’s best…
I decided to keep the vehicle in its old look, just a refurbishment under the body. I started with the dismantling, pulled engine and gearbox off the chassis. The welding work took a week as well as the work on the axles and brakes. I renewed the whole hydraulic system, the pipes and tubes included.
During the winter time I rebuilt the gearbox and changed the high transmission gears to Range Rover Classic. I don’t like overdrives and I think the longer gear is the better solution. In my opinion the engine is not powerful enough for the longer gear. I used a more powerful Rover V8 and made a full rebuilt to the engine. In spring time I assembled the Stage One and refurbished the interior.
The V8 is back on the road since June. It drives very good and is very powerful. The longer gear with the higher torque of the engine is a perfect choice, especially the fuel consumption is far better than before with the 3.5l. The ignition system is powered by a MSD box in conjunction with the original points distributor. The MSD box provides three sparks per ignition up to 3000 revs.
Regards
Udo