Last of the Leafers

by Willy Carson

The Vintage Scene subscriber, Terry Connelly, talks about his 1984 Series III Land-Rover, one of the last of the leaf spring legends

“Perfection is the child of time,” wrote the 17th century moralist and philosopher, Bishop Joseph Hall. Had he lived during the latter half of the 20th century he could well have been referring to the development the LandRover, a process of many small changes over several decades.

When it was revealed to the motoring press at the Amsterdam Motor show in April 1948, this revolutionary utility vehicle was about to set new standards for ruggedness, versatility and durability. It was initially perceived by Rover as a stop-gap product in the immediate post war years to occupy vacant production facilities, and staff, until the market for the company’s traditionally upmarket cars returned. As such, simplicity in design and construction were more important than matters of style and comfort.

The Land-Rover soon found satisfied customers in markets, both at home and around the world, and buoyed by initial success, the first of many improvements began to appear. In 1951, the engine capacity rose from 1595cc to 1997cc; the 1954 model featured a longer wheelbase, stretched from the original 80in to 86in. Soon, a diesel engine was introduced to the model range and the wheelbase was extended further to 88in. In 1958, the Series II was launched with the characteristic body style which would become so familiar over the next sixty years. In 1971, the Series III was launched; the last Land-Rover with leaf spring suspension, but it did feature many changes designed to improve driveability and comfort, including a fully synchromesh gearbox, ‘better’ cabin heating and ventilation and modern instrumentation and controls in a padded dash. By the mid-1980s, the new coil sprung Land Rover 90 was on its way, but before the Series III was replaced there was one final round of upgrades for the Solihull icon.

About eight years ago, Terry Connelly and his son, Keith, were offered a 1984 Series III as a restoration project,

“It was in rough shape, but I took a battery, connected it up, turned the key and it started. We stripped it completely and, as we suspected, we found that the chassis and the bulkhead were completely rotten. We started with a new chassis and fitted the suspension and then bought a secondhand bulkhead which needed a repair in one corner. John Fleming, a retired diesel fitter and fellow member of the Cloughmills Vintage Club, put an oil pressure gauge on the engine and told us that it was in good condition. He went on to explain what he would do to me if I even thought about stripping it down!”

Terry’s 1984 Series III was built just before the arrival of the new Land Rover 90 (note the disappearance of the hyphen in the new model name) with a build spec which included the five bearing crankshaft, a stepping stone toward the increased output of the 2.5L engine in the later series. Terry set about giving the upgraded powerplant a proper service, including a refurb for the injectors, fitment of a new timing chain and resetting the tappets. Since this entailed removing the sump, he inspected the crank bearings and decided that they were showing signs of wear and so replaced them.

The gearbox, fully synchromesh by this stage in LandRover’s ever evolving development, needed a rebuild with a replacement needle bearing for the nose of the output shaft and a new set of synchro rings and seals. Terry and Keith fitted a rebuilt Fairy Overdrive gearbox (a period option) to the already complex drivetrain of these versatile machines to reduce engine revs at normal road speeds and improve fuel economy. A new clutch and pressure plate were fitted before the engine and transmission were bolted together. The axles were stripped and rebuilt, and the prop shafts inspected. Terry believes that his Land-Rover had been used to launch boats into the sea so he wasn’t surprised to find that the Atlantic Ocean had not helped to preserve the sliding joints, necessitating some patient work to make the parts move freely again. To reduce transmission losses, and add a few more miles per gallon, they went looking for a set of freewheeling hubs for the front axle. Since the late Series IIIs were fitted with the front axle from the long wheelbase model with their more powerful brakes, a hub set with the correct spline pattern was required, but eventually the correct parts were sourced and fitted. The steering box was rebuilt and refitted with a new steering relay in the chassis and new track rod ends. Terry then made new copper brake lines, and fitted them to new master and wheel cylinders and to the factory fitted servo. Problems appeared when the safety valve in the braking system wouldn’t illuminate the dash tell-tale. A closer look revealed that somebody had dismantled the part in the past, but had been careless in reassembling it; just another problem for Terry to solve.

Not everybody is happy to tackle issues with a vehicle’s wiring system, but Terry wasn’t going to be put off by the black snake with brass teeth and many coloured tongues. “I bought a multimeter and then taught myself how to use it, and how the different circuits worked.” He stretched the loom out over an old wooden door, marking all the connections as they were laid out on the LandRover itself and then he checked each circuit methodically, adding provision for a reversing light at the same time.

Progress was good; they had a rolling chassis with the engine and transmission in place, but there were dark clouds gathering. The body panels had been stored in a remote shed which caught fire one night, destroying the building and melting the aluminium panels. Along with reproduction doors, secondhand replacements were found for the damaged wings, front panel, roof, side panels and bonnet and the rebuild continued with a vented tropical roof substituted for the original. Further problems appeared when aligning the bulkhead with the cab roof, close inspection revealing that somebody had bodged a repair on the bulkhead mountings; so that had to be sorted first. With that wee problem out of the way, the other panels were fitted and Keith gave it a respray. It was starting to look like a Land-Rover again as the build continued, “We galvanised the original bumper and all the trim cappings to finish off the outside, and then had the dash rails retrimmed to tidy up the interior. It was cheaper to buy replacement seats than to recover the old ones, so we went with a new set.” Eventually the last job was completed, and this beautifully restored Land-Rover was ready for the road once again.

Since it first appeared in 1948, the Land-Rover has had more updates than a teenager’s iPhone. Terry’s late model Series III played an important part in the development of the Defender, which remained in production until 2015 proving that perfection is indeed the child of time.