Restoration Details………..The Little Stuff

Restoration of some parts that usually get “spray bombed” with Rustoleum, or completely ignored, on the average EBAY “frame off, ultra rare, original low mileage, one owner, always stored in climate controlled garage” Series Land Rover.

This is the parking brake relay….it was in about the same condition as the shift levers pictured above. This part is mounted on the inside of the frame rail and takes a fair amount of abuse………..and you will see them left in place and painted over time and again, and undoubtedly stuck in place. If this part doesn’t pivot correctly on the shaft (notice that bronze bearing in the pivot), you’re parking brake will be virtually impossible to adjust correctly.

Restored correctly, bronze sleeve polished, new bronze bushing & clip, and primed with SEM self-etch…………ready for some shiny black paint and will work for another few decades.

Main gear lever, previously broken off and poorly repaired…….a very common occurrence in Series trucks. This will get scrapped in favor of an NOS part from Pangolin 4×4.

4-Wheel Drive Selector rod……same story, bent in multiple places, will be replaced.

Lever assembly that links 4WD selector rod to transfer case……..the pressed in bronze bushing is nearly always worn out and NLA (and guaranteed to be ignored by the EBAY restorers). This is the typical wear, the bushing wears to an elliptical shape, often wearing through the bushing and ruining the entire lever. The result in slop and vibration in the 4WD selector rod. This assembly was in good shape, nice and straight, it just needs a new bushing, easy enough on the South Bend.

The borer needs to be 5/16″ to properly fit the shouldered bolt the bushing will ride on.

Turn down to a press-fit outer diameter.

One new bronze bushing.

New VS old, easy to see the amount of wear here.

Pressed in with the shouldered bolt inserted.

Both parts repaired and ready for paint…….lots of time invested, and a good example of a couple of small parts that usually get ignored, and will have an adverse effect on the performance of a couple of major systems on your “restored” truck if not done correctly.