Steve's Land Raft

I'm waiting for the `Fitting Bilstein's ruined my life' quote. I know 3 people who use Bilsteins on cars and all have been happy and their vehicles have worked well, however these were not Land Rovers. The unsprung weight on Landys is huge, therefore good dampers are vital to good performance. Back in 2000 I sorted out an R8Gordini for a friend, which sort of turned into a full rebuild, the shocks were ancient Bilsteins which I took off and tried for dead-spots, there were none, so they went back on with my choice of springs and it was a real sweet handling car, which felt great on the road. The Dampers were getting on for 25 years old back then, it's still working today, so that's definitely one up for them. Next up a Mk2 Escort (nuff said) third was a Porsche 911 which had Proflex 3 way adjustable on it. This was seen to not be in the spirit of Historic Motorsport rules!! The owner changed it to Bilstein non adjustable and said it felt better, his lap times improved for certain. Possibly there was so much adjust ability in the proflex shocks he had not found the sweet spot.
I have used Koni, Leda/AVO and currently run custom AVO in the Dauph which adjust seperately for bump and rebound, part of the reason for my choice was they are/were all re-buildable and re-valvable, so Accident damage aside they never need replacing
I Always hoped that Bilstein would reintroduce the R8G/A110 shocks, but they never have, so perhaps this is influencing my decision to finally get them on a vehicle of mine.
Having checked the rates it seems that the Britpart yellow rear springs are 285lbs/in compared to the Lowered springs 245 lb/in spring, so there's the prime suspect. The higher the springrate the better the damper has to be, to properly control it.
Still hoping for suggestions on the headcloth as the replacement cost of it would buy me a complete set of springs and dampers......

I decided to have a go at making the truck cab headlining fit the Hard top. Basically successful, but I do need to work out how to tidy up the rear corner.



Suggestions here. I used to know a great trimmer , but like so many people I know, retired now and business gone.



It'll come to me......

When I'm not Fighting with the Landy, I'm usually found meddling with old Rear Engined Renaults.
This is what you might call my Speciality



What you see here is a 4 speed Renault 8 case, Actually a Spanish FASA Renault A110 case which has been opened out to take all the internals from a Mk1 R5 Alpine/Gordini. Then I have to Graft the R5 end onto the R8 case and Bob's your uncle a 5 speed for your Classic Renault. It's also a bit wider in the Diff, so the case has to be spaced at the Diff bearing output.
I have been studying Ashcroft transmission's website with some interest and can see a possible future project. I think it would be best to find some donor parts before taking the plunge.
.

Been Busy Working on the Renault Gearbox, on to final assembly and working out a gear linkage.



Everything to the left of the bearing plate is a 1960's design, everything to the right and the guts is a 1970's design. One of a few different hybrids I make.

Today this arrived



Spent a soul destroying 3 hours De-Clagging and filing the various and sundry holes then a degrease and a coat of T wash.
Leaves it here



I never seem to get much colour change, but it certainly takes the gloss off it. Hope the weather stays Dry..........

Bulkhead envy is creeping in…

Dauphproto said:

De-Clagging and filing the various and sundry holes

Click to expand...

Where did you get it from/ who made it? I thought they came with all of the tidying process already completed? your t-wash looks very different to mine, the one I use almost immediately turn it all black.

It came from SP panels. It looks good but there was a fair bit of excess Galv to be cleaned out, especially on the square holes. After T wash the surface feels matt, so it has etched the surface, but only a little colour change.

The 'colour' in T wash is a metalic salt, primarily so you can see where you've already painted. It's not part of the chemical process which is caused by the application of Hydrochloric acid.
If the galv doesn't 'turn' then it's lilkely that the HCI hasn't removed the galv'e protective coating or you used brick cleaner (which is the same thing but without the salt).
If you are using Mordant, paint it again with a stiff brush (beware of splashes)...

It is a proper mordant solution T Wash I am using, there is a slight colour change when you apply it, but it does not go black, however the surface goes from a glossy waxy feeling to a thousand grit wet n dry feeling, which proves the surface has been etched. I found when I used it on my new rear door, that it gave different colours on the different parts, some went dark, some hardly at all, but the rough surface was present everywhere I had applied it.

Dauphproto said:

found when I used it on my new rear door, that it gave different colours on the different parts, some went dark, some hardly at all, but the rough surface was present everywhere I had applied it

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I know exactly what you mean. The ripples of fresh hot dip finish react differently to the solution. But in the end it all gets etched which is the important part.

Well it was forecast for Ok weather today, so I got up and got on with it.
I went over the whole Bulkhead with a Scotchbrite and it was amazing the amount of Grey dust it produced. Got it all etched and left for a couple hours to dry. Used Stonechip on the higher impact front and lower front footboxes. I thinned it down with about 20% thinner and covered the lower half using the big Primer gun. Then used 4:1 hibuild on the upper part of the Bulkhead and pillars, the Bits you will see.



I now need to leave it for 24Hr and flat off the exposed bits, it looks like it will need a second layer though. Shiny paint causes Stress, but I want to get it looking good.



More if the Rain stays away, can't see it personally

Nightmare trying to dodge the showers, but it's done.



It turned out better than expected. I could have filled some of the marks, but once you start that, there's no end and It still won't look right when finished.



Going to start it next week
Wish me Luck....

Started Yesterday 10am-5pm trying to pace myself...







That was the easy bit I suppose, a lot of prep had been done freeing off bolts etc...
More Soon

Day 2
Less fun, reasonable progress. Just got to take the steering lock off and remove the column and clutch pipe. After that I need to remove the sills and main bolts and it should be ready to remove.








I need to order a few bits as well, then clean up and refurb a few bits, and so on and so forth....
More Soon

Day 3
I have Broken my Landy






Good news is that it's time to put it together...


I have found a Broken Wire though it's Black/Yellow, heavy Gauge and appears to have been a ring terminal - Some kind of Earth ?? Any Help gratefully recieved.



The only thing it is close to in the loom is this single plug.



Can someone put me out of my misery...........

Is that not the feed for the heater plugs ?

Thanks Man. I'll check that in the morning, someone has been at the wiring on this at the rear and down the camshaft side of the engine

Dauphproto said:

I have found a Broken Wire though it's Black/Yellow, heavy Gauge and appears to have been a ring terminal - Some kind of Earth ?? Any Help gratefully recieved.

Click to expand...

miktdish said:

Is that not the feed for the heater plugs ?

Click to expand...

That was exactly what I was going to say, glow plug power feed.

The Glow plugs are a stand alone option on this Landy. They're not connected to anything, so that's the wire issue sorted thanks Guys. Think it's been like this since I got it, one of it's more endearing features is that it starts on the first turn cold without heater plugs, like all good 300tdi should. Lucky it didn't touch earth though. The pace on The Bulkhead has really slowed as I have to sort everything before it goes back on, but I'm slowly winning.





I'm waiting on the connecting blocks between the Bulkhead and screen panel, I thought they would re-use, but they are rotten. Hey Ho .....

I am Slowly fitting parts back on. I need to get the bulkhead /windscreen surround panel joint finalised with new blocks, then I can trial fit the doors to check the alignment, once that is done I can tighten up all the mountings, remove the doors and put the dash/wiring harness together, along with flyscreens and all the rest of the interior fixtures and fittings.
I am having a bit of a day off, but have just washed near 30 years of Dust off the lower dash and upper dash black panel and plastic tray thing, next up is the brake pedal box and Servo for a tidy up.
I did manage to re-use the N/S block mount, so as of Last night it looks like this..









I'm calling that Door Fit a Win!
If anyone spots any possible mistakes from the Pics, Please shout up, the input I have had here,so far has been a real help
Thanks to all
This is my First Foray into a Defender Proper........