Giles Warham's 1958 Land Rover Series I : Re-visited

The history of this Land Rover was covered in the Dec 2004 homepage, now in the archives section. This series 1 still retains much of its original equipment specification - the body, much of the drive train and chassis are original. Some of the outriggers and the rear cross-member have been replaced. The rest of the chassis is in good condition. There is no evidence of the Land Rover having undergone a ground-up rebuild in its past - there are usually tell-tale signs of this. It is not uncommon with older (pre 1965) Land Rovers.

Shortly after buying this Land Rover in 1997, Giles became aware that the vehicle had not originally been fired by petrol - a few things gave away its former 'heavy oil' diet - particularly the presence of a hand throttle, a low fuel level lamp, and a 3 position under-the-dash key switch for starting (and no cranking button as would normally be fitted to a petrol Land Rover).

So, now time has caught up with RSY and having passed MOT's quite happily for years it has now failed one this year. The reasons were not too serious and included:
1. a leak in the exhaust system
2. flexible brake hoses looking a bit worn
3. offside front spring too worn (actually broken!)
4. excess play in the offside front swivel (one too many potholes?)

The MOT failure has prompted Giles to activate his previously shelved plan "to strip it down and sort everything out properly, give everything a good clean - and so on". So not only is RSYnow in the queue for thorough maintenance (Giles has a collection of Series Land Rovers) but it's jumping the queue and getting priority treatment. Giles intends to record the details of the overhaul and publish them on his upgraded website.

So, if you are interested in maintenace of old vehicles and into self-sufficiency and recycling then Giles' Land Rover shed is the place to visit. Moreover, if you live within easy reach of Winkleigh in Devon (UK) and you like to do your own vehicle maintenance - or just have an interest in things mechanical, then contact him..............." We all help each other and no money changes hands".

Thanks Giles

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