Aaron's 90 rebuild (Round 2)

Far from dumb mate , you need to list your skills shown in doing this and your gearboxes.


The ability to adapt and use your hands is underrated and its askill that cant be taught, its a gift mate and you have it.

Aaron, you remind me of a friend of mine. He used to say he was thick and put himself down but like you he was good with cars, more so on the electrical side. He could retrofit things manufacturers said couldn't be done. He also struggled with work and I kept telling him to work for himself and claim anything he could while his wages were low. He's doing really well now and even has dealers on his books that want work doing.

Why not service/work on defenders as a self employed mechanic? Looking at your work I'd use you without a second thought and I'm sure there's plenty of people who'd prefer to pay someone else to do stuff.

Have you done any engine replacements???

If I were you I'd go with the job. Fully agree with greyhair, it's easier to get a job when you already have a job. A future employer will consider you a far better risk if someone else is already employing you. I regularly interview people at work and look for skill/ability to to the job and communication skills. Ability to do the job involved is obvious, but communication skills are a very important element. You need someone who can add to the team, not upset others, help others, set an example, be positive, inspire others, be genuine etc etc.

As lofty69 said, you put yourself down. You're the opposite to being an arrogant pain in the neck. You find it difficult to talk about your skills and acknowledge your talent and ability. You're very, very modest. This may stem from your lack of confidence in talking about yourself or in communicating generally.
There have been some adverts on the TV recently which may be of use to you. LifeSkills... Clear communication - YouTube
They're linked to this website https://www.barclayslifeskills.com/
Confidence is a weird thing because you lack it in communicating yet you are overloaded with it when it comes to engines/gearboxes, painting, engineering, etc. You take on jobs that frighten the life out of most of us on here, even though we are half decent mechanics. You present them on here and make it look easy. That's why everyone on here admires what you do, can't wait to see what you are going to do next and why you have a massive following. After you finished the last rebuild I bet, like me, everyone was gutted it was over. When you announced you were putting the Cummins engine in it :amen: there is a god after all. We have another Aaron master class to follow. That's a massive achievement for anyone, but for someone your age. It's awesome.
Sorry, I've waffled on a bit. I think you should keep the job going, while looking for an opportunity to get your foot in the door of something you love. Or start something yourself, while still working, then develop your own business. Just my thoughts, mate.

IamRobbie said:

I worked away for 5 years Aaron from leaving school and yes it sucked but at the end of the day we only go to work for one reason, pennies.

Your a talented lad mate stop putting yourself down, I would take the work, grin and bear it earn the money i needed to so i could keep myself a float and then look online for another job..

Like others have said, Tesco for example, around the corner and stacking shelves, nice and easy and decent money, home every night, no being laid off, same old bollox of any other job and no need for qualifications..

Keep your head up high mate and you'll be rate!

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Cheers mate, Yeah it's probably the way to go. Being out of work for about 6 months has hurt the pocket a lot Especially with having a project.

greyhair said:

I have always found it is easier to find another job whilst you are in work
as others have said do the working away until you get something else
alathough as I have said and others on the site
you have a talent at fixing defender so stick to that, stick an add on ebay gearboxes etc rebuilt repaired services etc
you will get something mate

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I've never had to look for a job while in work, But everyone tells me the same thing.
Just know I don't want to be out of work 18 months + like last time

lynall said:

Get yourself a hgv mechs job, they are getting pretty rare and the monies getting better as all the oldies retire and the current crop of youngsters are just plain stupid! and I mean proper stupid.
Down side, stuff is heavy/dirty and eventually your knees go, from all the crawling around, plus also need **** loads of tools, can manage on basic stuff, but the more you have the easier it is
Upside money is good and you can almost walk from one job to another, sign up to one of them job agencies, non stop phone calls and emails for interviews etc

Had to have plumber come and fix central heating on our other house the other day, 1x pump, 1x stat sensor and 8 hours chasing down a pipe blockage 489 quid!!
Another guy at work his immersion has died, local plumbers want between 80 and 100 call out with first 1/2 labour free!
So plumbing is another avenue, again you dont need to be a genius, especially as most work will be minor leaks and moving radiators around etc

Out of the above two if I could do it again it would be plumbing as you can go it alone and not have to spend thousands on specialist tools and the new trucks are so complicated its unreal.
Google Euro6 Daf Cummins to see whats involved

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I agree a lot of todays youths are useless and just aren't interested.
HGV mech isn't for me, Well I'm far from a mechanic.
As for the plumbing, A few people have said that in the past.
And as you say no where near as many tools.
But previous neighbour was one and said he struggled to get work.
Maybe he was ****, Didn't put his business out their properly or just the area. Who knows.

Oh and euro 6 cummins, This? (Not my pic, stole it)
But yes everything is getting more complicated.

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top drive said:

Far from dumb mate , you need to list your skills shown in doing this and your gearboxes.

The ability to adapt and use your hands is underrated and its askill that cant be taught, its a gift mate and you have it.

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True But that can only take me so far. Other skills are needed and, Well I don't really have any.

lofty69 said:

Aaron, you remind me of a friend of mine. He used to say he was thick and put himself down but like you he was good with cars, more so on the electrical side. He could retrofit things manufacturers said couldn't be done. He also struggled with work and I kept telling him to work for himself and claim anything he could while his wages were low. He's doing really well now and even has dealers on his books that want work doing.

Why not service/work on defenders as a self employed mechanic? Looking at your work I'd use you without a second thought and I'm sure there's plenty of people who'd prefer to pay someone else to do stuff.

Have you done any engine replacements???

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Main concern with self employed is getting enough work.
Ideally would need to do it around work for a while until you build enough up.
To be honest I think I'd enjoy working for myself, I'm sick of trying to please people who quite frankly will never be happy with what you've done.

Al2O3 said:

If I were you I'd go with the job. Fully agree with greyhair, it's easier to get a job when you already have a job. A future employer will consider you a far better risk if someone else is already employing you.

Yes, I think I need to go, If only for a few months, I know full well I won't get another job very easily.

I regularly interview people at work and look for skill/ability to to the job and communication skills. Ability to do the job involved is obvious, but communication skills are a very important element. You need someone who can add to the team, not upset others, help others, set an example, be positive, inspire others, be genuine etc etc.

Well that's me out then, My communication skills are terrible.
Not sure why, I just don't like bothering people and feel very awkward.
Hell I don't even like ordering food at the chip shop or the like

As lofty69 said, you put yourself down. You're the opposite to being an arrogant pain in the neck. You find it difficult to talk about your skills and acknowledge your talent and ability. You're very, very modest. This may stem from your lack of confidence in talking about yourself or in communicating generally.

All of that is very true and sounds like it came from the horses mouth it's self.
Yes, I have always struggled with confidence, Although I seem to be getting worse the older I get

There have been some adverts on the TV recently which may be of use to you. LifeSkills... Clear communication - YouTube
They're linked to this website https://www.barclayslifeskills.com/

Cheers, Have signed up to that site and will have a proper look later

Confidence is a weird thing because you lack it in communicating yet you are overloaded with it when it comes to engines/gearboxes, painting, engineering, etc. You take on jobs that frighten the life out of most of us on here, even though we are half decent mechanics. You present them on here and make it look easy. That's why everyone on here admires what you do, can't wait to see what you are going to do next and why you have a massive following. After you finished the last rebuild I bet, like me, everyone was gutted it was over. When you announced you were putting the Cummins engine in it :amen: there is a god after all. We have another Aaron master class to follow. That's a massive achievement for anyone, but for someone your age. It's awesome.

Cheers dude To be fair I'm not full of confidence when I start some jobs.
But I love learning new things and generally the only way for me is to just give it a bash.
If I fail then fair enough I know not to do it again.
If I succeed it's something I can put to use in the future and help others with if needed.

Sorry, I've waffled on a bit. I think you should keep the job going, while looking for an opportunity to get your foot in the door of something you love. Or start something yourself, while still working, then develop your own business. Just my thoughts, mate.

No worries about the waffling, I do the same.
Hopefully something else comes up before I give up, Something has to give as It'll break me eventually.
Something of my own to concentrate on would help maters though I think
Anyway I need my bed, Gotta be up at 5:30

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Thats just a euro 4 or 5 lump the euro6 is a whole new engine made in China, I **** you not!
The engine is pretty much just an engine, but the exhaust after treatment stuff is almost space age, thet are now just out there and nobody knows how to fix them yet!
Two SCR cats one DPF and an ammonia cat to get rid of the adblue residue.
On the bigger models the scr and dpf are 14k to replace, the costs are now getting proper silly.
You dont need to be a genius to be a hgv mech, I dont have any papers and never have had for the last 25 years, just turn up do the work be willing to learn and watch the money come in, the ones with papers oh deary me!

how old are you aaron ?

worth trying local companies in what you WANT to do and see if they will do you an apprenticeship with day release to local collage - if you want the paperwork.

Ive had friends who have left school with nothing and taken this approach in their 30s , there certainly used to be grants availible to the companies for taking on mature apprentices - and from the companies point of view - a mature apprentice is more likely to be dedicated to the job.

hell with what you have done here , if you could articulate that in an interview im confident you would get a job as a tool tech or even a trainee field engineer off shore - with the ability to see/do you would go far - too many ****s off shore now with paper and no experiance/skills/forward thought to back it up so when it deviates from the paper they dont know what to do.

Well that's me out then, My communication skills are terrible.

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No, it's not you out, that's the point. Realising that you have something to work on is most of the work done. Learn some communications skills, basic stuff will make you feel more confident, just enough to get your foot in the door. Then your engineering work, ability to adapt to problems and re-engineer to get stuff working, showing others how things can be done, inspiring them to try more complex stuff, adding to the team! then you'll be communicating in your way. There are different ways of communicating, you do it through your practical skill and results.

top drive has come up with some great suggestions there. Put a bit of graft and planning in to selling your skills and interests, then put yourself out there. Offshore engineering would be great. Interesting work and loads of money.

lynall said:

Thats just a euro 4 or 5 lump the euro6 is a whole new engine made in China, I **** you not!
The engine is pretty much just an engine, but the exhaust after treatment stuff is almost space age, thet are now just out there and nobody knows how to fix them yet!
Two SCR cats one DPF and an ammonia cat to get rid of the adblue residue.
On the bigger models the scr and dpf are 14k to replace, the costs are now getting proper silly.
You dont need to be a genius to be a hgv mech, I dont have any papers and never have had for the last 25 years, just turn up do the work be willing to learn and watch the money come in, the ones with papers oh deary me!

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Oh crikey, Bloody expensive then
You probably don't have to be a genius, I assume some stuff is harder than others as it is with cars, But having an understanding boss who knows your limitations is what's needed. At least until you find your feet.

top drive said:

how old are you aaron ?

25, Which is kind of why I'm thinking I need to sort my life out. I'm thinking it's only going to get harder the older I get

worth trying local companies in what you WANT to do and see if they will do you an apprenticeship with day release to local collage - if you want the paperwork.

That's the thing, I don't know what I want to do
When I was younger I just said I want to do "X" and just went for it.
Nowadays I think stuff through far to much, Every little thing, Things I can't control.
I wish I never but I can't help it
Anyway, What I was trying to say is I'm over thinking what I want to do because I'll have to do it for the next 40+ years.

Ive had friends who have left school with nothing and taken this approach in their 30s , there certainly used to be grants availible to the companies for taking on mature apprentices - and from the companies point of view - a mature apprentice is more likely to be dedicated to the job.

That's an interesting point and most probably true and I never thought of it like that

hell with what you have done here , if you could articulate that in an interview im confident you would get a job as a tool tech or even a trainee field engineer off shore - with the ability to see/do you would go far - too many ****s off shore now with paper and no experiance/skills/forward thought to back it up so when it deviates from the paper they dont know what to do.

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Cheers I do think I have some ok skills, But putting that into words/writing to someone else is very difficult for me to do.
Not quite sure what an off shore field engineer is but sounds interesting.
Oh and yes I agree with the deviating from the paper, But I think it's much the same in a lot of jobs now.
Not quite sure why, Are they getting the proper training or is it that a lot of today's youngsters aren't actually interest.
I'd say the latter from what I've seen.

Al2O3 said:

No, it's not you out, that's the point. Realising that you have something to work on is most of the work done. Learn some communications skills, basic stuff will make you feel more confident, just enough to get your foot in the door. Then your engineering work, ability to adapt to problems and re-engineer to get stuff working, showing others how things can be done, inspiring them to try more complex stuff, adding to the team! then you'll be communicating in your way. There are different ways of communicating, you do it through your practical skill and results.

Ah, See you lot put things much better than I ever could and makes me realize maybe I'm not as bad as I think

top drive has come up with some great suggestions there. Put a bit of graft and planning in to selling your skills and interests, then put yourself out there. Offshore engineering would be great. Interesting work and loads of money.

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Yes he has and I do need to do something before it's too late.
This is something I've thought about more and more over the last few months as current job is nothing more than that and is taking me nowhere.
He tries to guilt trip me into staying, But the truth is when he retires in a couple of years I'll be gone and he wont give a **** and I'll be in this position again but older.
So that's kind of my dilemma, Leave now and re-train or take money while I can and re-train in a couple of years.

Have to say very few hgvs mechs are classed as clever, but are good at their job, which like all jobs can be repetitive, the shift I work on we do lots of servicing and that can be real boring, but on the other hand its bloody good money, Ive always told the apprentices over the years, being a hgv mech means you dont pay anyone to do anything for you on your cars/house etc.
Boiler breaks fix it, new partition wall make one, want a solar panel and new hot water tank fit one, new doors for house get on with it, basically you can be jack of all trades maybe not a master but you can get by and quite literally save a fortune, people boast of their new 10k kitchen and you think bloody hell I can do that myself for 2.5k! so they may earn more than you, but to pay for that 10k kitchen they have had to earn 12/13k before taxes etc

This is why in the main normal joes doing normal joe jobs run little cars as anything interesting costs to much to fix, whereas as a mech is only paying for parts as labour is free, so can run some weird and wonderful stuff, like cummins land rovers!
You must have noticed that most of the population run small boring cars?

Hourly rate for hgv mechs down south is anywhere between 12 and 15ph on early/late shifts, nights pay approx 20 percent more and the closer you get to london the higher the rates are, not unusual at all to hear of hgv mechs earning 37/40k for std 40hr week and breakdown blokes kissing 50k.

Ah, See you lot put things much better than I ever could and makes me realize maybe I'm not as bad as I think

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Can't for the life of me work out what you think you are bad at! As for putting things better than you, the way you analyse comments on here, highlight them in quotes and respond to each part is very impressive. What you say is thoughful and honest.

A young lad I play football with, I think he will be 25 by now too, had few qualifications when he left school. He started his own business doing gardens, developed that in to landscaping gardens and now he has his own 'Ground Works' business. He's got 3 Transit flatbed trucks, 2 vans, an Isuzu pick up and a lot of machines (JCB type diggers, dumpers etc) He's got a limited set of skills (certainly not English), but he focusses on what he is good at, grafts hard and backs himself.

There is a tax exempt (over here on the Isle of Man) 1983 defender hi cap, and a 6bt on eBay at the moment, both in Cornwall. Really have a terrible urge to go on a road trip with a car trailer.

lynall said:

Have to say very few hgvs mechs are classed as clever, but are good at their job, which like all jobs can be repetitive, the shift I work on we do lots of servicing and that can be real boring, but on the other hand its bloody good money, Ive always told the apprentices over the years, being a hgv mech means you dont pay anyone to do anything for you on your cars/house etc.
Boiler breaks fix it, new partition wall make one, want a solar panel and new hot water tank fit one, new doors for house get on with it, basically you can be jack of all trades maybe not a master but you can get by and quite literally save a fortune, people boast of their new 10k kitchen and you think bloody hell I can do that myself for 2.5k! so they may earn more than you, but to pay for that 10k kitchen they have had to earn 12/13k before taxes etc

Too true, I'm much like that now anyway.
Many call me a tight tw*t, Not the way I see it, If you can save money doing it yourself then I do.
Even if I have to buy tools to do the job, You've got them for the future if needed then.
Again people ask why I spend money buying loads of tools.
For me they pay for them selves over time.
Or even if they don't, It's not like I'm like most people.
I don't go out, Drink, Smoke, Buy fandangled phones or clothes :blah: :blah: :blah:
So waste money on lr's and other associated crap



This is why in the main normal joes doing normal joe jobs run little cars as anything interesting costs to much to fix, whereas as a mech is only paying for parts as labour is free, so can run some weird and wonderful stuff, like cummins land rovers!
You must have noticed that most of the population run small boring cars?

Again very much true, And again everyone ridicules me for spending money on them. Although they have to pay labour on top and I don't which helps massively.

Hourly rate for hgv mechs down south is anywhere between 12 and 15ph on early/late shifts, nights pay approx 20 percent more and the closer you get to london the higher the rates are, not unusual at all to hear of hgv mechs earning 37/40k for std 40hr week and breakdown blokes kissing 50k.

Not bad money at all. More than double my current wage.
Although wages are generally more down south than up north anyway.

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Al2O3 said:

Can't for the life of me work out what you think you are bad at! As for putting things better than you, the way you analyse comments on here, highlight them in quotes and respond to each part is very impressive. What you say is thoughful and honest.

I think I'm bad at most things, And I have zero confidence in most things in life
It's easy to reply on here as I can think about what I want to put.
Whereas in person I generally just blurt stuff out which people tend not to like as I'll tell them exactly what I think.
I don't believe in bull****ing people and being honest, But as above people don't really like it even if they have asked your opinion.
But hay what do I know I'm only a lacky.


A young lad I play football with, I think he will be 25 by now too, had few qualifications when he left school. He started his own business doing gardens, developed that in to landscaping gardens and now he has his own 'Ground Works' business. He's got 3 Transit flatbed trucks, 2 vans, an Isuzu pick up and a lot of machines (JCB type diggers, dumpers etc) He's got a limited set of skills (certainly not English), but he focusses on what he is good at, grafts hard and backs himself.

I think a lot of people are like that.
Where most bosses want qualifications working for yourself you don't really need any (Depending on what it is you do)
I think if I had this opportunity I would thrive on it in a weird kind of way. As it me that is responsible for my own downfall and not have to rely on others.
As much as having a guarenteed wage every week would be nice. Although I don't get that now anyway.

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kes86 said:

There is a tax exempt (over here on the Isle of Man) 1983 defender hi cap, and a 6bt on eBay at the moment, both in Cornwall. Really have a terrible urge to go on a road trip with a car trailer.

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This one? If so I wouldn't bother, From what I've seen and heard the lt230 adapter isn't great.
The guy I bought my adapter off is now making them to order at sensible money and would be my first port of call if I wanted another.
I can give you a contact number if you need.
So for me he is charging a premium because it's already converted to take the lt230 but you could pick an engine and gearbox up and the adapter up off the above for less than the buy it now price
Just my opinion, But cummins powered Hi cap sounds good

Landrover engine conversion, Cummins 6bt, ZF gearbox coupled to LT230 | eBay

In other news I went and picked this up with my brother mid week
For his 90, It was cheap(ish) and local so seemed a no brainer.
But with London looming and mine still in the garage I'm not sure how I'll do it yet.

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Also got a little excited this week as I saw a little lock up for sale locally.
Went to view it today and it's smaller than I thought. Bugger!
Although most people would put their life savings (if you like) down for a house deposit and not a little lock up Should do the same really. If only I had a secure job.

aaronmorris said:

This one? If so I wouldn't bother, From what I've seen and heard the lt230 adapter isn't great.
The guy I bought my adapter off is now making them to order at sensible money and would be my first port of call if I wanted another.
I can give you a contact number if you need.
So for me he is charging a premium because it's already converted to take the lt230 but you could pick an engine and gearbox up and the adapter up off the above for less than the buy it now price
Just my opinion, But cummins powered Hi cap sounds good

Landrover engine conversion, Cummins 6bt, ZF gearbox coupled to LT230 | eBay

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Yep, that's probably the one. I'd rather do it myself anyway, at least then it is done right. Who buys a v8 diesel then a cummins and gets something else instead, seems odd.

Thanks for the offer, if I spot a decent pre 87 defender going over here I'll be in touch.

Hello all, So then as I said last week I've got a galv chassis to put under my brothers 90.
So I had a dilemma, Where do I do it?

First thoughts where just do it on the drive. But didn't really fancy that. With everyone being able to see it.

That meant I had to shift mine out of the garage.
Which gave me a couple of options.
Put it in storage somewhere. But I don't trust many people so decided against this.
Finish it and put it on the road. Can't afford to do it.
Finish it or not and sell. But theirs no way I could part with it now. The last one I built I sold without too much thought, But I'm to far into this to sell now and I couldn't do it.
Or the option I chose, Store it at home.
This meant taking the back of the garage out so I could put it on the back yard
well at least this way the only way for anyone to get it out is to dismantle the garage or dismantle it. Neither of which are quick so I'm hoping it'll be ok.
That was yesterday and just threw a tarp over it for the night as it was dark when I'd finished.
So this morning I put the roof on for the first time since it's been painted black. (Seems such a long time ago)

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And the back door for the first time since it has been rebuilt. Fitted perfectly

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So with that done I thought I'd get an hour on the new one with the plan being to get the roof and sides off so it'd fit in the garage.

This is what it looked like when he first got it. But has changed a little since then.

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And this is what it looks like now.
We started to prep it for paint before the chassis change idea came about. but the weathers turned a bit **** now so paint went out of the window until next year.
Unless I can find somewhere to do it while it's in bits. Which would be the best way.

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Anyway, We managed to get the roof sides and back door off and stuck it in the garage. Then he f*cked off out.
But after 6 weeks in work my last day was Friday
After all the stress about going to London that seems to have gone quite now. Which is good for me, Didn't want to go to the **** hole anyway
So hopefully this will be stripped by the end off next weekend, Well maybe not but we'll see

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You do all your work in that garage ? Looks like a sardine can. All the more impressive. My garage is bigger than that and i chose to work on the drive over clambering all over it inside....that and i store all the loose bits inside

top drive said:

You do all your work in that garage ? Looks like a sardine can. All the more impressive. My garage is bigger than that and i chose to work on the drive over clambering all over it inside....that and i store all the loose bits inside

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It is like a sardine can
I don't do everything in their. But stuff like axles etc. I can manage and at least it's dry.
Although once in bits their isn't exactly a lot of room.
It's more for rolling said lr back into on a night to keep away from prying eyes. (Live on a main road)
Maybe I'm just paranoid I just seem more so when something is part way through being rebuilt.
But yes having to clamber over everything annoys me too

why not extend into the back garden with your garage then both and future projects keep safe and under cover :rolly::bolt:

Ooh goodies
One step at a time and all that

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Custom props?