HOW I MADE MY OLD LAND ROVER RELIABLE! (1957 Series 1 Land Rover) 

Electronic ignition is a must; I fitted a new distributor to my 1949 series one 1600cc and the difference is astonishing. I also drained the tank and cleared out 70 years of grit which helped no end. There is what I call a "hidden" fuel filter inside the banjo joint holding the fuel line to the carb; the little perforated brass tube within was clogged up on mine. Those few efforts have even changed the sound of the engine; quite a sporty little rip off it now.

Electronic distributor is a game changer. You won’t regret it. I threw one on mine and it transformed it. Also I’ve timed it properly and used a colour tune to adjust the mixture. I also converted my two and a quarter to an SU carb. Amazing 😊

Parabolic springs are the way to go, genuinely the best thing you can do on a series Landy

Try painting oil on the sides of the springs and it may lube them up and get them to move and work better. It worked on my 2a that had been standing for a few years.

Parabolics on my station wagon made it a lovely ride but definitely lifted the back and front up by a couple of inches

When I first got my 1966 Series 2a, I had trouble starting it for return trips after sitting a short time. Full choke? Half choke? No choke? I found myself guessing and making several failed attempts risking draining the battery. Cold starts in cold temps were a no brainer--full choke! As I got more familiar with it I found pressing on the accelerator just enough while hitting the start button to get ignition worked! These old Series trucks have their own personalities and quirks and the more you drive them the more you get familiar with them!

Not a Land Rover, but one of my older cars was a nightmare with keeping the points distibutor adjusted. Fitted an original second hand electronic ignition from a later model and it as like a new car. Keep up the good work.

I swapped to a high torque Powerlite starter motor on my 2.25 petrol 2A and have been really impressed. Direct replacement and simple to fit. Not one for the purist but starts like a modern car, even in the cold. Easy to swap back in the future (not that I would)

The over fueling would be the fuel float is not set correctly. You will need the manual for the correct procedure for that carb.

You would have to be Superman to do that😊

Hi, Electronic ignition can make a big improvement compared to a worn distributor. 1. It sounds like it is running too rich all the time, the mixture should be adjusted as it will cause premature wear to the cylinder bores. 2. New HT Leads can eliminate issues with spark but the leads should be the correct length. 3. Ignition timing should be adjusted with the electronic distributor in place, the engines will still run when ignition timing is quite far off but to get it idling and running smoothly the timing should be adjusted and the advance/retard checked. 4. Springs should be cleaned up with a wire brush and grease injected between the leaves, it will make a huge improvement. I have two sets of parabolics under my bench but went back to original semi elliptic springs after cleaning them up & greasing them in between each leaf. Fronts may be slightly splayed, rears look ok from what I can see. Jones Springs are the ones to buy if keeping suspension standard.

Great video - a fuel regulator will help solve the over fuelling problem. I put a fuel regulator and a fuel pressure gauge on my Alfa twin carbs and you can set the pressure coming into the carbs - I run between 1-2 psi and problem solved

I had one of these ten years back. Always cutting out due to the points gap distributor - sorted it by changing to an electronic unit - which should not have been necessary, but unlike the original fibre unit, the new red nylon ones get floppy when they are hot. Had other problems too - didn't work out what the reason was until I'd sold the old girl - a previous owner had taken out the dynamo and put an alternator in - nothing wrong with having an alternator, but this one wasn't regulating the voltage properly, and burning out coils, bulbs etc once the battery was fully charged

i would change all suspention and shocks. easy to do and not to expensive

Lucky start that one

Hi yes the Red ht leads don’t look right. Judging by the way it started with the initial hesitation before it fired up sounds like the ignition is out Get ignition timing checked possibly with a strobe light. Pulling distributor and plonking it back in is a bit hit and miss. As for the leaf springs they just need wire brushing both sides of each spring and oiling with a light oil do this periodically it’ll help spring leafs to slip against each other more freely. That’s what I do with mine on my 109 s3. Also the leaf spring bushes could be seized in chassis or eyes on either end of the spring. Can check these out with knuckle bar and spanner. Penetrating oil for this as well. Spray around spring fixings.

Use motorcycle chan lube on the springs, it comes in an Aerosol so easy to apply, it should make a fair differnce to the springs

If too much fuel is getting to the carb and you think it is flooding, assuming the needle valve is good you need to check the float level.

I would get the wire brush over that chassis and then treat with something like dinitrol, I converted my 11A to electronic, definitely better but I still have an intermittent loss of power sometimes.

Some people rate parabolic springs.

Hi. I know the problem with it over fueling. What u need is a fuel pressure regulator. There’s a company called RPI. Engineering who sell them. I’ve fitted one to mine and it solves the problem. There adjustable and come with a gauge. Set it to about 4.5 psi. Problem solved. Only been doing this for 50 years myself. Hopefully this helps. Bob. The Garage. Brentwood

Hi, landy is looking good.. have seen AC Dodd you tube!.. if not check him out as he's a wizard on mini engines & what he doesn't know if anything won't be worth knowing lol.. He goes through electric car distributors like no one.. Watch his back catalogue of vids 👍😊

Hello Marcus, I am keen to know what fuel pump you used as I have fuel starvation issues on my series 2a, By the way I have changed it to a L77 5 speed, fitted disk brakes on the front and power steering as its my wifes car, and to fit the brakes the wheels needed to be changed, the bigger wheels made it nearly impossible for her to drive. The fuel starvation is the only issue now.

looks like the choke lever is pulled on

I think to preserve it and protect it from disintegrating you definitely need to treat the chassis to give it longevity as it looked pretty bad underneath, other than that what you have done makes it more reliable. 👍

Plumbing pipes normal.

Your leads are too long. You may of improved things in changing them however they are now hanging over the exhaust

Who cares what the purists think. As long as you have reliability, that's all that matters.

Just clickbait......why??? because Landrover enthusiasts never call the Landrover a car.....it's a bit like the spivs that buy them clean them up and try to sell them on for a buck or two extra....they call it a car!! clickbait.