110 Project

I started out with a quest to find a 90 with a 200TDI or 300TDI with a rotten chassis and bulkhead. The kind of thing that was ripe for a galvanised replacement.

After kicking a few tyres I ended up with an 1987 E reg 110 fitted with a Izizu 2.8l turbo. Initial thoughts are the chassis might be worth continuing with, and the bulkhead has only minor patches and looks worth saving. Last MoT was 4 years ago and its been dry stored since then.

So there you go...hold the "ideal" lightly and something else comes along.

With a day or so of work I reckon it would pass an MOT. But thats not the route its taking...its heading into the workshop for a proper strip back to the chassis and a total inspect and repair as necessary - full overhaul - of everything.

In 2.5 years its 40 years old and qualifies as tax exempt and this date is the target. We shall see.



Its had 4 paint jobs - colour changes recorded by DVLA. Original could be that nice blue colour (bulkhead) or not...




Its all there and running/working.

Some funky previous owner changes that will carry over...somewhere a pub landlord has a pool table two balls short of a full rack.


Even the stereo works! Dashboard Buddah will carry on criusing too.

I will see if I can keep this blog up to date and share the highs and lows...plus pick into the collective knowledge that persists here.

Daunting? Yes...but I was trained by the MoD to maintain/repair/overhaul everything from a motorbike to a Challenger MBT, so the technical stuff is fine. Its the duration and sheer amount of work involved. But if I am being honest, its the process and joy of seeing stuff come back to life that is the real pleasure here.

Looks good, love the rear door.... freaky gear stick knobs , afraid it will never legally be tax exempt. To be registered as heritage it needs to be original, the engine swap will be in breach of that.


Although re-reading that I may be talking utter bollox as it looks like its just the MOT bypass which requires no major changes so you could well be ok.

ER1C said:

Looks good, love the rear door.... freaky gear stick knobs , afraid it will never legally be tax exempt. To be registered as heritage it needs to be original, the engine swap will be in breach of that.

Historic (classic) vehicles: MOT and vehicle tax

Vehicle tax exemptions and MOT exemptions for vehicles built or first registered before 1984.

www.gov.uk

Click to expand...

Ah...bugger...righty ho...thus the value of posting stuff...I do not feel inclined to seek out a 2.5NAD anytime soon so will cough up/get the tester's opinion sorted.

Nahh it looks fine, you will still need an MOT but the tax will be free... Be interested to see how you get on. I have a J reg (92) in similar condition which is awaiting restoration....still umming and ahhing over full chassis swap or fix it as is... I suspect nobody would ever know or care btw about the registration.....

Looks like a great project. If you swap the chassis for a nice shiny galvy one, you know it’ll be good for a long time to come. And it looks like the great basis for an overland truck.

Let us know how you get on.

I can't quite make out the serial number of the gearbox, but at some point its been fitted with an R380 gearbox, and the transfer case has a serial number that indicates it started life in a Range Rover or Discovery 1. The rear axle is also not stock as it has discs, not drums, and 87 would be too early for these?

In my other life I run a company that teaches folks how to record and preserve the world around us using something called photogrammetry. So the first job was to record it in glorious 3D:




Photogrammetry struggles with A class car body surfaces - too perfect and no texture - and glass. Thankfully the A class surfaces are in short supply here.

You can see the model here:
3D Model of the 110

Its scaled, so measurements should be close to the real world. This has an applicaiton in reverse engineering, something I used to make a new flywheel cover (now graded unobtainum) for a Yam TY250:

Reverse engineering Yamaha spares

Its a bit early for thinking what might be needed. But I will create a little 3D model of every stage of dissassembly, if only to look at later when trying to remember how it all came apart.

The approach angle of the drive meant there was an interference fit between roof and garage door.

I wonder if this is a bad omen? Does the landy really want to be restored? And if not will it fight me every step?


Letting the rear tyres down solved this one and the landy slid into the garage.


With a little bit of shuffling there is room to work in the dry.

The only downside? Diesel fumes filled the kitchen and the missus was not pleased...but the landy is now in the workshop.