1969 Land Rover Restomod

1969 Land Rover Restomod

A customer from Boston came to us with a very specific vision: A Land Rover Series IIA, fully restored with subtle upgrades and modern amenities throughout. His color choice is Marine Blue and it must look as stock / original as possible to retain all the vintage Rover charm.

Since we were starting with an idea; we had the opportunity to locate a nearly rust-free 1969 Series IIA 88″ in Virginia. It’s always best to start with a good body and chassis. Automotion Classics can locate a suitable vehicle to use as a starting point for any restoration.

Power now comes from a Chevrolet Vortec 4.3 Liter V6 backed by a Jeep NV3550 5-speed mated to a stock Series transfer case. This fuel-injected engine produces almost three times the horsepower of the original engine and has great reliability. The 5-speed manual transmission provides smooth, easy shifting and a nice overdrive for highway cruising. Exhaust exits through a set of ceramic coated headers into a custom fabricated “Y” pipe and Borla Stainless Cat-back designed for a Defender.

We have installed rebuilt Land Rover Discovery axles with 3.54:1 ratios and disc brakes; coil-spring front suspension from a D90 gives excellent ride & handling. The rear axle has been mounted using custom fabricated spring perches and soft-riding parabolic leaf springs with Defender shocks. Power steering has been added from a late-model P38 Range Rover.

 

The body was removed from the frame, stripped of all its riveted-on trim and carefully refinished. During the reassembly process all the body rivets were installed again: a painstaking  process and a requirement for a high-quality finish. The original trim was sent out to be re-galvanized before being installed.

A sand colored canvas top made from modern materials was chosen for the summers, and the original hard top with tropical roof will be installed for the fall. The interior is finished with heated leather seats, refurbished gauges and subtle upgrades like a voltage gauge / usb charging port combo.

The troublesome lucas wiring has been banished from this Rover in favor of modern wiring custom installed in-house. Most lights have been re-used but the headlights have been brought into the 21st century with 3500 lumen LED bulbs in H4 lamps. This is over double the output of stock headlights; a welcome upgrade for nighttime driving.

 

Please contact us if you are interested in having your own vehicle built to your specifications.

www.automotionclassics.com

518-852-2858