This is the story about a 1968 Land Rover Series 2A LWB extra long. I completely rebuilt the vehicle, turning a lemon into the ultimate Land Rover camper. The goal was to have a dedicated overland camper. I had previously rebuilt 2 Series 2 SWB Land Rovers but this build tested my patience, commitment endurance and ingenuity. It’s a miracle that the end result turned out like it did. It provided me with an incredibly comfortable and reliable overland vehicle that took me on many adventures.
The story of how this Landy got its name is really interesting. I will share that not so sour story with you a bit later. But lets see if you can guess as I share this build with you.
Ex SANDF Army Vehicle
The chassis number shows that the basic 109 export knocked-down vehicle, assembled in South Africa around 1968, features a 2.6L 6-cylinder engine. The original vehicle was a SANDF Series 2A LWB that was slightly longer than normal. We purchased the vehicle at an Army tender in 1991. It was complete except for the roof but it turned out the that the condition was not great.
Due to study commitments the vehicle lay idle until the end of 1993 when I started to rebuild. Having done two previous rebuilds already, the standard procedure was to remove only those parts which required repair or replacement. Little did I know that this rebuild would be laden with pitfalls.
Engine and gearbox woes
Firstly the engine (2.6l) refused to turn, so out came the engine. With the engine out I considered the option of putting in a replacement because the 2.6l was not exactly the most user friendly engine around. It so happened that at the same time some almost new 2.5l TD engines were going for a song, so I got one and that solved that problem. (I discovered later that the only reason the 2.6l engine didn’t turn was because the sump was dented and stopped the crankshaft from turning, the engine was actually in perfect order.)
Then I looked at replacing the S II gearbox with a S lll unit which had been lying in the garden unused for a couple of years. The S lll box needed to be overhauled, me being a novice in the gearbox department, I was a little apprehensive. With the assistance and advice of a gearbox guru in the form of Frank Dandridge, I set about the task anyway. After we had completely reconditioned, and I had partly reassembled the gearbox.
I noticed that the matching cover was cracked and unusable. Since each casing and top cover are matching and unique to each other, I had to find a matching pair. Do I promptly disassembled the box again. I then reassembled it using the new casing. Everything went well until I had to fit the reverse gear, the whole system was completely misaligned. A few phone calls to some experts revealed that S ll and S lll casings are the same except for the reverse gear position! So then I took a deep breath, and let fly with a few @#$%# words, and then took the whole thing apart again. After two weeks of phone calls I located a complete S lll casing from Hennie Botha in the Eastern Transvaal. Finally I got the gearbox together again, and it all seemed to work for a time being.
Replacing the Chassis
Next, I tackled the firewall, which displayed problematic cracks and required replacement. The easy solution, I bought a good second-hand one. At this point, I fully exposed the chassis, uncovering more and more botched army-style repair jobs.
Every time I walked past the chassis I noticed another piece of checker plate, or another crack in the chassis. That evening at a braai I mentioned the chassis problem to Darrly Beck, who said that he had a near perfect replacement for me. So after a bit of wheeling and dealing I had a replacement chassis, which I cleaned up and had galvanised.
The rear axle which was the standard Rover axle, I replaced with a more robust ENV axle. After all this engine swapping and diff swapping, the original propshafts were nowhere near the right size, so they were remade to fit. Due to the engine swap I had to make modifications to the engine, battery and radiator mountings. It was also necessary to re-manufacture the cowling, front grill and make brackets for the intercooler and oil cooler. The basic ideas for these modifications were borrowed from my brother Brian.
The Rolling Chassis and First Drive
Then after a tedious and complete re-wiring job, it was finally time to start her up. After a couple of turns of the engine and a huge puff of smoke she started up and ran like a dream. The first test drive was the highlight of this build.
With a self propelled rolling chassis I was starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and believe that there was life after a rebuild. Having completed 90% of the mechanics I set about preparing the various body parts for repainting. The golden rule with paint preparation is the longer you spend the better the end result. Since this vehicle was destined for “thornbushville”, I wasn’t spending too much time on preparation. The spray painting was done by my mom, who did an excellent job, with the only blemish being Brian’s fingerprint.
How it got the name Lemon
The colour which I had chosen was safari/cream/desert sand type colour, but once applied appeared a bit yellower than I had expected. With the choice of name undecided and the U2 song Lemon playing on the radio, suddenly the name Lemon seemed quite obvious. It described the colour of the vehicle fairly accurately, and just sounded good. The name summed up the type of vehicle which I had purchased, it was a real Lemon. And so the name came to have two meanings, with the original having nothing to do with the problems which I had encountered up till now.
With the lower body fitted I started work on the top, which involved a bit of construction. Since my vehicle was a 109″ extra long, which is approximately 30 cm longer than a standard 109″, a standard roof would not fit, so I constructed one by joining two standard second hand roofs. The side tops are also lengthened with extra windows fitted. Once all this was complete, it was assembled and the vehicle was finally ready for the roadworthy, which it passed with flying colours.
Building the Ultimate Land Rover Camper
Work then started on the interior, the cab area was carpeted and soundproofed, an exercise which I find improves the comfort levels considerably. A small stowage cupboard was build into the front roof section, where the radio and CD were installed.
The next major task was to design the rear interior and fit it out as the ultimate Land Rover camper. The design is such that it incorporates a portta-potti, double gas stove, fridge, basin with running water, shower, kitchenette, storage space for provisions and clothing and a double bed. I constructed the bed structure using aluminium and hardboard, designing it to serve as either a single bed or unfold into a double bed. The kitchenette is plywood, incorporating several custom-sized cupboards where I store all food provisions and eating utensils. I installed the stove and basin into the countertop, which also contains a rubbish bin. An electric pump delivers water to the basin from the onboard water tank. I fitted the 65L water tank under the passenger side seat.
The electric pump also supplies water to the externally fitted shower.
Two 90 Ah deep cell cycle batteries, separate from the vehicle battery, supply power to all the electrics (except engine functions). Two Siemens solar panels, mounted on the roof rack, charge these batteries. A Minus 40 compressor-driven fridge operates off 12 V.
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Celebrating and Enjoying the Success
This sweet & sour tale of agony & ecstasy finally came to a very sweet end. In the winter 1996 edition of Landroving, Lemon – Part 1 appeared. Then Lemon went international with an article published in the 1997 Summer edition of Land Rover International. Now almost a year later Lemon has done 5000 km without any problems. Let me pick-up we I left off last time.
The entire project took me three years to complete.
At the end of the project I had a vehicle which I had custom designed to my specific needs, and which I know inside out. This self sufficient vehicle is intended for trips to out of the way places throughout Africa, and possibly overseas.
A word of advice to anyone doing a rebuild, don’t give up ! Oh, and good luck!!
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