1971 Land Rover Series IIa Military Ambulance
- Owner: John Gumina
When John showed me his ambulance and told me
how he wanted to respray it Land Rover British racing green with
a white top and wheels to use for his production company truck,
I was completely into it. I love these old Land Rovers. I've never
owned one or even worked on one, but their long time production
(since 1948) with relatively few changes impressed me. I have visions
of Africa in my head whenever I see one. John purchased a rebuilt
engine and transmission from Rovers
Down South. They were shipped to me and I spent a considerable
amount of time doing the swap. John wanted me to freshen up the
engine compartment including removing superflous wiring and giving
it a low buck respray. The interesting part of this job is how much
you have to take the vehicle apart to perform it. The engine must
come out seperately from the transmission. The transmission comes
out by completely gutting the interior floor pans and seat base
and then reaching in with an engine hoist and pulling it out through
the door.
John opted for a "hot rodded" engine
that consists of a slightly larger displacement, a wilder cam, and
a side draft SU carb. That places horsepower in the 114 range up
from 70. The later model gearbox is a syncromesh unit eliminating
the perils of driving a crashbox in Los Angeles traffic.
I'd say the hardest part of this job was dealing
with the odd assortment of hardware on it. You'd look at a bolt
head and when reaching for a wrench you'd be guessing whether you
needed an American, metric or British standard one. Ugh! No wonder
they needed our help to win the war. Ha!
