'65 Rover Half Cab

[bob w]

There's a hint of fall in the air around here. That means the Rover project is back on the front burner. A while back I bought a 283 short block off of Craigslist for $50.00. Took it apart last night and it is as fresh as the seller said it was. The cam is too big for my daily driver purposes. Now, don't throw up, I'm gonna put 305 swirl port heads on it. Makes great torque down low and runs out of breath at about 4,500 rpm. That's fine for this cruiser with the 200R4 overdrive automatic.

 

[skull]

cool

glad to see the rover on the front burner[cl

Later[P

 

[falconvan]

Cool, glad to see you back at it, Bob.

 

[I-R-POPS]

Glad to see you're going to get back on this.
It's hard to believe winter is just around the corner.

 

[smallfoot]

Heck of a deal on that motor with the parts looking that good!

 

[bob w]

Before I threw the frame out under the trees in the spring I brush primed it and put a coat of Rustoleun satin black on it. I just brushed on a coat of Rustoleum gloss black. Brush primed some of the front suspension parts today (foregroind).
I ran a glaze breaker through the 283 block (right center in the pic) and cleaned it thoroughly. Got a new 283 power pack cam and lifters for it. Will finish assembling the short block tomorrow.

 

[Torchie]

"Move over Rover........"
Nice score on the 283. They seem to be the most reasonable SBC price wise and personally one of my Favs.
But a 64 283 into my daughters 60 Chevy. Stone stock engine. Made a great cruiser. Looks Great.
Torchie.

 

[forbigpicture]

glad to see it back on top of the list, can't wait to see progress

 

[bob w]

Frame is painted (brush) as is the front and rear suspension. All the suspension is installed except there is solid pieces in place of the springs to maintain ride height.
I intended to asemble the 283 short block using the rings, bearings, etc. that it had. However, there was one broken ring and half the compression rings were upside down. Fixed all that today.
I knew there was a problem with front wheel spacing. The full width Mustang II suspension is about 4" too wide. I didn't want to narrow it because I want power steering. Now, I'm hunting for some front wheel drive wheels that will fill the bill. I have a separate thread asking for help with this issue.

I got some S10 four wheel drive wheels that are 7" wide with 5 1/2" backspacing. They work in back. Front needs 6" wide with 4 1/2" to 4 3/4" backspacing. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[skull]

nice

looking better all the time[cl

Later

 

[bob w]

Thanks to klink for posting a wheel chart. I found a set of front wheel drive wheels of the needed width and backspacing. Got some used tires mounted today and the whole works fits just right. Here's how it looks with Moon discs.

Today, drilled and tapped holes along the frame rails for clips to hold the lines and wires that will be run.

 

[earthman]

Back to following happily along.

 

[BlueNorther]

If my rusty old brain remembers right the Chevy Citation had 15x6 wheels some years.

they might be the right back space you're looking for.

 

[Flipper_1938]

My daughter is wanting to claim a Toyota FJ40 that I have stuffed in my dad's barn. I'm thinking a 2wd conversion on it might be kinda neat (lower center for a "hey y'all watch this" kind of kid). ...either that or a gutless straight six in front of a granny low 4 speed.

 

[bob w]

I was determined to put power steering in the Rover. Using a short water pump and having the A-arms in the way it was a frustrating endeavor. I noticed the steering was really light with the power rack just sitting there, with no power. So, why have power steering? It only took a short time to get this manual set up installed and it turns just fine. A small clearance notch was required in the frame rail.
Now getting all the front tin (actually aluminum) fitting well, locating the radiator support and running front brake lines, etc.

I roughed out some dents in the front fender and the aluminum reacted well without annealing. It must be pretty soft stuff.

 

[05snopro440]

I roughed out some dents in the front fender and the aluminum reacted well without annealing. It must be pretty soft stuff.

You mean work hardening

Keep up the progress, I can't wait to see this finished!

 

[bob w]

Hey snopro, I meant annealing before beating on the fender. The aluminum is soft as it sits. If I beat on it too much it would no doubt work harden, then I'd have to anneal.

Loaded up some of the steel parts and took them to Jerry the Sandblaster today.

 

[billy]

i would dislocate sumpin in my rush to restore that thing.
one of my dream toys

 

[bob w]

A HUGE "thank you" to Terry & Lee, Tator here on RRR for welding up all the cracks in the aluminum fenders today. The poor old Rover was wrinkled on all four corners when I got it. Probably survived several Rhino attacks. I'm debating about how much work to put into the body. There's a certain charm in leaving it a bit rough. With my limited metal finishing ability that may be the best I can do. I'd have to skim coat it with Bondo and block it to get it straighter.

Billy, you along with any Rover restorers will not be favorable to all the modifications I've made to this thing. Keep in mind that if I hadn't rescued it from the junkyard it would have been crushed.

 

[Todd]

Looks cool. I wonder if a Suzuki samurai chassis swap would've been neat [S