Landrovers...

Subjects that don't have their own home
User avatar
jack
Thermionic Monk Status
Posts: 5493
Joined: Wed Dec 29, 2010 8:58 pm
Location: ɐılɐɹʇsnɐ oʇ ƃuıʌoɯ ƃuıɹǝpısuoɔ
Contact:

#46 Re: Landrovers...

Post by jack »

Starting in the bodywork. Rear corner capping first, as they are rusted...
Vivitur ingenio, caetera mortis erunt
User avatar
IslandPink
Amstrad Tower of Power
Posts: 10041
Joined: Tue May 29, 2007 7:01 pm
Location: Denbigh, N.Wales

#47 Re: Landrovers...

Post by IslandPink »

I have these dreams from time to time that I have two or three cars, usually one or more of them are in garages being repaired. Usually one of them is my old BMW 325iS that I have bought back, in really poor conditions.
Last night I dreamt that I had bought an old Landrover for some reason.
I woke up with the bedclothes in disarray. After getting up & having a pee, I went back to sleep and thankfully slept soundly.
"Once you find out ... the Circumstances ; then you can go out"
User avatar
Thermionic Idler
Old Hand
Posts: 1018
Joined: Sun Apr 22, 2012 8:22 pm
Location: Southsea

#48 Re: Landrovers...

Post by Thermionic Idler »

When I see episodes of Bangers and Cash I have a hankering for an old classic like a P6 - could I deal with the reality? Don't know really. We have a middle-aged Lexus hybrid saloon that fulfils our needs better than any car I've had in the past - 50mpg leather-clad silent waft-tastic luxo-barge that, unlike two BMW's of similar vintage that I've owned, doesn't cost me an arm and a leg to keep on the road because it never goes wrong.
Deck: Garrard 301 - Audio Origami PU7 - NW Analogue DH3S
Phono: Pete Millett LR, Lundahl SUT, AMB σ22 PSU
Linestage: Bruno Putzeys Balanced Pre + Hans Polak relay mod, LCDuino control
Power amps: 300B PP 'Symmetric Reichert'
Speakers: FF225WK Big Mets
User avatar
jack
Thermionic Monk Status
Posts: 5493
Joined: Wed Dec 29, 2010 8:58 pm
Location: ɐılɐɹʇsnɐ oʇ ƃuıʌoɯ ƃuıɹǝpısuoɔ
Contact:

#49 Re: Landrovers...

Post by jack »

Yep. But try driving the Lexus 1/2 mile down a steep, narrow, deeply rutted and very very muddy track and then across a couple of ploughed fields whilst transporting a load of 45cmx45cm wooden boxes full of angry bees or a few 100kg of logs.

I have a love/hate relationship with the Landy. On one hand it is quite agricultural, which is insulting to modern agricultural stuff as that is incredibly sophisticated.

On the other hand, it has off road capabilities that I genuinely need and which no electric or hybrid vehicle I have seen gets anywhere near.

Plus it has that intangible quality which only one (possibly two) of my previous cars has had: Character. Buckets of it

Then again, maybe it's just like a sick puppy that you feel sorry for and want to make better?
Vivitur ingenio, caetera mortis erunt
User avatar
pre65
Amstrad Tower of Power
Posts: 21373
Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2007 11:13 pm
Location: North Essex/Suffolk border.

#50 Re: Landrovers...

Post by pre65 »

Thermionic Idler wrote: Sat May 27, 2023 1:06 am When I see episodes of Bangers and Cash I have a hankering for an old classic like a P6 - could I deal with the reality?
The Rover P6 is a good choice, BUT,do not underestimate how bad some classic cars can be under a seemingly good paint job. :shock:

If you want to see classic car rust repairs see Yorkshire Car Restorations on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@yorkshirecarrestoration
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

Edmund Burke

G-Popz THE easy listening connoisseur. (Philip)
User avatar
IslandPink
Amstrad Tower of Power
Posts: 10041
Joined: Tue May 29, 2007 7:01 pm
Location: Denbigh, N.Wales

#51 Re: Landrovers...

Post by IslandPink »

Your case for the Landrover is persuasive and well-presented, Jack. It was the bees that swung it.
"Once you find out ... the Circumstances ; then you can go out"
User avatar
Paul Barker
Social Sevices have been notified
Posts: 8867
Joined: Mon May 21, 2007 9:42 pm

#52 Re: Landrovers...

Post by Paul Barker »

I had a series II long wheel base. Oh my what a mahoosive turning circle(need an empty car park to turn it round), what a bumpy ride, how completely un-drive-able if you werent on deep mud or snow to use FWD, snatch grab bumpety bump.
But started every time got me to work in all weathers.

Boss gave me his Suberu estate air ride fwd that worked on normal road, never let me down. Landy got rid of. Of course the Landy would have been worth much more today. Who would have known that in 1985.
"Two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I am not yet completely sure about the universe." – Albert Einstein
User avatar
jack
Thermionic Monk Status
Posts: 5493
Joined: Wed Dec 29, 2010 8:58 pm
Location: ɐılɐɹʇsnɐ oʇ ƃuıʌoɯ ƃuıɹǝpısuoɔ
Contact:

#53 Re: Landrovers...

Post by jack »

So much more going on with this. Sorting out the electrics. Nest of vipers/horror upon horror...

Photos anon...
Vivitur ingenio, caetera mortis erunt
User avatar
jack
Thermionic Monk Status
Posts: 5493
Joined: Wed Dec 29, 2010 8:58 pm
Location: ɐılɐɹʇsnɐ oʇ ƃuıʌoɯ ƃuıɹǝpısuoɔ
Contact:

#54 Re: Landrovers...

Post by jack »

In the last few days I've done the following:

• Rear corner cappings replaced with new galvanised ones, blind rivetted
• New headlights (old bowls & lights heavily corroded) – Wipac Crystal & Osram Nightbreaker Laser bulbs - LED headlights would look silly on this truck.
• New LED rear reversing light
• New LED rear fog light
• New LED indicators & side lights plus new LED-capable flasher relay
• New rear door wiper, heater & brake light cabled (harness is LR016243)
• New handbrake engaged switch (EEP191L)
• Much sorting out of many botches to wiring over the years. Huge amount of cabling checked & cleaned.
• New fuel sender (STC1139)
• Relay and fuse panel tidied and repaired
• Some exposed bullet connectors replaced with weatherproof TE/AMP Econoseal versions
• All bullet connectors removed, cleaned, checked and replaced if needed. All joints treated with DeoxIT D5.
• All earth straps removed, cleaned, checked and replaced if needed. Treated with DexoIT D5 and ACF50.
• Battery box overhaul – drain plugs, grommets, vent pipe etc
• New feedthrough grommets for front-to-rear wiring harness (also adding non-existent ones that should have been there)
• New bulbs for all warning lights on dash and warning light panel refurbished. These are still 1.2W T5 incandescents (18 of them), not LED, as the whole warning light setup on older Defenders is a bit of a nasty, using a flexible PCB which is very prone to failure and made from unobtainium. I now have things that light up that I never knew I had on the car. Tempted to do a flexi PCB design at PCBway and sell new ones to folk. Instrument illumination is all LED now though...
• Replaced front door striker plates with anti-snag versions that don't destroy your jeans (rip the belt loops off).

All LED replacement stuff looks identical to original incandescent fittings but are just much brighter and more reliable - the old fittings were a terrible design: dim, prone to corrosion and failure. I can now see & be seen at night. The LED instrument illumination is a revelation - you can see the dials at night now.

One annoyance with replacing the old incandescent fittings with LEDs is the the original fittings have two wires to the fitting - ground and power. The ground wire was connected to the chassis at each end, i.e. the ground wire at the fitting was also connected to the bodywork by one of the fitting mounting screws - assuming the earth straps to the bodywork and chassis elsewhere were good! The LED fittings have no such "belt-and-braces" as they are plastic and insulated from the chassis, so rely solely on the grounding at the supply end. This exposed a whole load of grounding issues in the wiring that had just been hidden over the last 30 years of this vehicle's life. Pain to track all that down and fix them.

Still to do this week.
• Dismantle and check dash wiring
• Adjust indicator stalk cancelling (left vs. right is not equal)
• Fix ghastly holes for speakers done years ago - looks like they were cut with a tin opener & cold chisel - lethal edges
• Fabricate new battery tray & clamps (the battery just flies around at the moment!)
• Replace blind rivets in some of the rear panels
• Replace broken heater controls (tricky job)
• Service windscreen wiper motor and drive
• Replace both near and offside seatbox side panels - both are heavily rotten where bolted to floorplate/chassis. I have an 8'x4' sheet of 1.5mm aluminium to use for that and other repairs.
• Service the Land Rover (easy job)
• Drain, flush & refill coolant system (never been done in 30 years I suspect)
...and lots more

Bodywork still has more "patina" than flat surfaces. Little things like the front wheel-arch inners need replacing too as they have holes in places I know for sure that they're not supposed to...

Amazingly, this has cost very little - probably around £100, plus a lot of time. The headlights were s/h - they had been fitted to a Defender by our local garage and after a week the owner decided they wanted LEDs, so had them replaced. I got them at £40 the pair, including bulbs in as-new condition, so about 30% off if you include delivery charges. The LED indicators, brake & side lights were about £40 from AliExpress (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003449111038.html) - a fraction of the cost in the UK and seem pretty decent to me (so far). The remaining £20 is mostly on the boring things like grommets, switches and bulbs...
Vivitur ingenio, caetera mortis erunt
User avatar
jack
Thermionic Monk Status
Posts: 5493
Joined: Wed Dec 29, 2010 8:58 pm
Location: ɐılɐɹʇsnɐ oʇ ƃuıʌoɯ ƃuıɹǝpısuoɔ
Contact:

#55 Re: Landrovers...

Post by jack »

Current battle is with the handbrake - the reason the warning light never came on is ... there was no wiring connecting it to the handbrake... and for that matter, no switch on the handbrake... and for that matter, no place to put the switch...

It seems that I have one of the last 90s with the old-style handbrake but I do have the newer panel wiring & warning lights (that never & can't light up).

Working out if I can swap the old handbrake for a new style one with the switch as I have a nasty habit of not releasing the handbrake fully before driving off, and a BIG RED LIGHT may well stop me doing this. Might stop the smell of burning too...
Vivitur ingenio, caetera mortis erunt
User avatar
Mike H
Amstrad Tower of Power
Posts: 20157
Joined: Sat Oct 04, 2008 5:38 pm
Location: The Fens
Contact:

#56 Re: Landrovers...

Post by Mike H »

:lol:
 
"No matter how fast light travels it finds that the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it."
User avatar
Greg
Social outcast
Posts: 3198
Joined: Wed May 23, 2007 11:14 am
Location: Bristol, UK

#57 Re: Landrovers...

Post by Greg »

jack wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2023 12:07 pm Working out if I can swap the old handbrake for a new style one with the switch as I have a nasty habit of not releasing the handbrake fully before driving off, and a BIG RED LIGHT may well stop me doing this. Might stop the smell of burning too...
I thought the Landrover handbrake was a dif-lock. Certainly was on the one I used to drive.
Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?
Douglas Adams (HHGTTG)
User avatar
jack
Thermionic Monk Status
Posts: 5493
Joined: Wed Dec 29, 2010 8:58 pm
Location: ɐılɐɹʇsnɐ oʇ ƃuıʌoɯ ƃuıɹǝpısuoɔ
Contact:

#58 Re: Landrovers...

Post by jack »

Greg wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2023 2:30 pm
jack wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2023 12:07 pm Working out if I can swap the old handbrake for a new style one with the switch as I have a nasty habit of not releasing the handbrake fully before driving off, and a BIG RED LIGHT may well stop me doing this. Might stop the smell of burning too...
I thought the Landrover handbrake was a dif-lock. Certainly was on the one I used to drive.
Nah. On the LT77/LT230s it's a drum brake on the back of the transfer box where the rear prop shaft is connected, so the car tends to rock a bit after application as the various joints & gears take up slack...

More correctly, it's also referred to as the "transmission brake".
Vivitur ingenio, caetera mortis erunt
User avatar
pre65
Amstrad Tower of Power
Posts: 21373
Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2007 11:13 pm
Location: North Essex/Suffolk border.

#59 Re: Landrovers...

Post by pre65 »

I was of the opinion that most Land rovers had a drum brake behind the transfer box, certainly up as far as Defenders and Discovery 2, and maybe some Range Rovers as well.

I don't remember diff locks being standard equipment either.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

Edmund Burke

G-Popz THE easy listening connoisseur. (Philip)
User avatar
Greg
Social outcast
Posts: 3198
Joined: Wed May 23, 2007 11:14 am
Location: Bristol, UK

#60 Re: Landrovers...

Post by Greg »

I may have been misinformed. Back in the day when being authorised to drive Landrovers for work, it was emphasised never to set the handbrake when the vehicle was still moving, even ever so slightly as damage could be caused to the differential. I understood it to be a mechanical lock rather than friction. I could easily have been wrong.
Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?
Douglas Adams (HHGTTG)
Post Reply