The first job to do is get the electrical system to a point where I can start work on the engine. Since it’s mid winter at the moment I don’t want to spend too much time poking around under the bonnet, so working on the missing dash and belling out all the cables is a good way to make some progress without freezing to death.

As I’ve mentioned before, The Duke runs on 24v, not the usual 12v. This means that some components differ from the civilian Land Rovers of the same era and makes the Haynes Manual pretty useless when it comes to electrics. Military Land Rovers are also fitted with special equipment like convoy lights and infrared headlights. The IR lights and any radio equipment are removed when the vehicle is demobbed, but the switches and relays remain.

I found this very useful website which has circuit diagrams for the most common 24v variants. They’re scanned from the original military handbook and are pretty poor quality so I think I’ll spend some time reproducing them in a more readable format. Then spend a few hours with a willing volunteer testing that The Duke’s electrics match up with the drawings.

testing and fault finding article.

Problems which I know of already obviously include the missing dashboard, distributor, coil and so on. The indicator stalk is pretty badly ceased too. The radio panel has been removed, but most of the important relays and whatnot seem to be present. Also, because the vehicle was supplied without keys, I need a new ignition switch.

I got a new dashboard off eBay a couple of days ago, but obviously it’s a civilian version, so all the gauges are 12v and the wiring may be slightly different.

Lots to do!