Work in Progress: 1958 Series II
Having saved for years for his dream car, 14-year-old Monty Prior is now busy restoring it to its former glory
Tell us a bit about your Land Rover It has the chassis, body and gearbox of a 1958 Series II that was exported to Cyprus. Later someone changed the radiator, front wing panels and fitted Series lll headlights. It was probably around the same time they put in the 1965 2.25-litre petrol engine.
Why do you love classic cars? My mum and dad both love old cars and they participated in the 1997 Peking to Paris rally in a 1936 Railton (which they still have) and in the 2000 London to Peking rally. After that my dad purchased a 1985 One Ten which we named Gladys. For as long as I can remember I have wanted to own my own Series Land Rover and have been saving pocket, birthday and Christmas money for the past few years.
When did you buy it? September last year. I had looked around for a long time and found that it was too complicated and expensive to import one myself. I found an Emirati gentleman who lives out in the desert; he literally has hundreds of Series Land Rovers, which he has found around the Gulf and the world. I visited him on a number of occasions but didn’t have enough money. Finally he took pity on me and I was able to purchase what I wanted at a really good price.
Is it in working order? I have not had the engine running yet, but I have had the head off and the cylinders look in very good condition. I’m hoping that new rings, seals and gaskets might be enough to get it going. Best of all it does not have any rust and has not done too many miles.
What are your plans with it? Hopefully I'll have it ready for when I am 17 and able to take my driving test.
What have you done so far? I've stripped it down completely, labelling all the parts. I have cleaned, welded and primed the chassis. I’m currently stripping down the axles and diffs. It all seems in very good shape.
What next? I'll paint the chassis and strip the axles, clean up the springs, put in new bushes and end up with a rolling chassis.
When will it be finished? I don’t have much spare time once schoolwork is done, so I expect a couple of years at least.
Who is helping you with the project? My dad has been giving me lots of advice and has helped out where necessary. My friend Ben helped me a lot when I was stripping the car down – you always need someone holding the nut in that hard-to-reach place! And Khalifa, a local gentleman, has also been very helpful with parts and advice.
Anything to add? Each month my newsagent saves me a copy of Land Rover Monthly. I’ve found plenty of useful articles in it to help with the restoration.