The 110.

Just put today's instalment over at my gearbox thread earlier. Some successes and some frustrations as you'll see.

Sun Rise & Suction
MusingsPosted by Nicky Smith Fri, January 01, 2016 17:03:27

It is no great secret that I don't really booze any more, I think we all have a finite amount of boozing in us and I used most of mine up by the time I was 40 and these days I enjoy a drink or two rather than a skinfull because any more than that and I have a hangover for days! So you can imagine New Years Eve holds no great appeal for going out and partying as there is nothing worse than being sober amongst a crowd of people how are rather merry.
The last two years has seen me staying at home away from the crowds then getting to bed trying to sleep through all of the fireworks and text messages but this year I decided that I wanted to do something a little different.

I unexpectedly got New Years Day off of work which has never happened before so the plan was to get up very early and drive from Nottingham to the Peak District, climb Mam Tor and watch the first dawn and sunrise of the first day of 2016. Much to my surprise Wifey agreed to come as well so we did indeed get up way before the Larks chucked the dog into the boot of the car, she was particularly up for an early walk which was another surprise because she is really lazy and normally just looks at you like you are stupid if you try to get her up in the dark, then drove up to the base of Mam tor.
The dawn was just breaking in the east so we jumped out of the car chucked on warm clothes and started to climb. There where a surprising amount of other folk waking and climbing all looking to see the sunrise so I was not as original as I thought. When I say other folk there was about another ten spread out over two peaks so we were in no way bothering each other and most of them were proper photographers.

We found a spot between the peaks and watched the sun come up which was just astounding and amazingly was Wifeys first ever sunrise! If you have never seen a sunrise make the effort one day it is fantastic!





The plan was to do some serious hiking once the day had broken but do you know that nasty diarrhoea bug that's doing the rounds? Well turns out it was my turn with a chronic stomach ache I thought I could walk off and I as doing ok until Wifey slipped over on the frozen flag stones and we decided to turn back to wards the car. It was a few minutes after this that the wind arrived in a howling freezing gale and it seemed someone wanted to get off of the hillside as soon as possible...so we did.

It is amazing how quickly you can find somewhere that is open and has a toilet you can use when you think that within the next few minutes you will have to sit on the dogs towels to get home! That issue solved we took a steady drive through Derbyshire had a cheeky cooked breakfast out because now I was bloody starving hungry then headed home.

Being back home by lunchtime meant I could do a few little jobs on the Discovery that were building up the main one being replacing the Brake vacuum pump. This has been ticking away merrily since a few days after buying the Disco and needed to be sorted before I was happy driving it any sort of distance and I have not actually changed one before today.
It really is a straight forward job! I thought I would be battling bolts out of the engine but nope they all undone easily enough and within minutes the old broken pump was out and the old gasket removed. This is not the most easily accessible part it has to be said especially if you are a short arse like myself and the best way to get to it is with a small step ladder then lying along the wing with your knee near the battery so you have no fear of falling off of the edge! What a sight I must have been and I had to get down twice to wish the neighbours who were passing with smirks on their faces to wish them a happy new year!
The replacement pump dropped in with the new gasket just as easily as the old one had come out and a quick test drive to check everything was ok proved that all was well as well as the brake now working much better.

This was all achieved using my new socket set as well, there is nothing like that feeling when you get to play with your new toys! Then it was onto supervising my youngest daughter doing a few bits to her project scooter while I heated and peeled the old plastic coating off of the nudge bar that came with the Disco because it was cracked and coming away in places. I want to get this treated and fitted back on quite quickly because it has a couple of good recovery points built into it. Although I do not want to be off roading the Disco in any major way I would like to partake in some old git gentle green laning and as such will just do a few gentle additions to the old boy.

The doors did opened on the 110 to get some tools out but by the time I had done everything else I was loosing the light of the day so called this first day of the year quits for outside playing.

It is going to be a busy year this one with all we have planned and I aim to fill everyday! I wish you all dear readers a Happy New Year may it be prosperous and I truly hope you all enjoy it in whatever way you have planned

nickysmith.me

Frames And Lists
The 110 Posted by Nicky Smith Sun, January 03, 2016 14:06:32

They say age catches up with us all and if we are lucky enough it seems much to my surprise that it does. I started having to wear glasses a few years ago now for driving, then for watching TV or working on computers then I got to have two sets for doing theses things as my sight got just a little more worn out. This is not a problem as such but if I did not put either on in the morning I could usually potter about for hours no problem at all with seeing what I was up to but this morning it turned out it was the first day I could not actually do that either!
Now my mind is telling me that I am not any older than 26 and I will not wear out any more ever but my body seems to be betraying me and if it was either of the Land Rovers I would be ordering a few new parts! Funny really because I am fitter now than I have ever been but the forties aches are starting to appear but I refuse to grow old oh no I will be a big kid until my best before date passes and I move onto whatever lies in store for us all next.

I did not have an early start today,it is Sunday after all, but I was out on the driveway for 9am trying to beat the rain that the radio weather folk said was on it's way in. Over the weekend I had dug out the old A frame bar that came with Blue the Disco when I bought him and stripped off the cracking plastic covering using a heat gun and wallpaper scraper. This was a bit of a chore but only took about an hour or so keeping my hands warm in the cold before I then gave it a quick coat of Hammered Black Hammerite paint leaving it in the shed to dry over night.The reason I wanted this back on the Disco is so I can do a bit of gentle green laning from time to time and this frame has built in recovery points on it so it saves buggering about having to buy then fit something else...make and mend do and all that!
So this morning I got set up and the old Disco looked a little bare on the front end...




I undid the bumper bolts and offered up the frame, it all but fell into place for the bottom bolts which I slid easily into place then I pushed it up to do the top bolts and it was here the problems started... It should have been an easy four bolt do but nope the frame had been "bumped" at some point and bent back enough that I could not get it with 20mm of the bolt holes I wanted to use. I moved it up and down from side to side I even took the bottom bolts out to see if the top bolts would go into place but no the top of the frame just dug into the bonnet no closer to it's goal than before.
I took a step back at this point to have a brew and a think but the only option I could see was to drill a couple of new top holes in the brackets so I shoved the drill through the chassis on each side to mark the place the new holes needed to be, took the whole thing off and drilled the new markings through.
This took some doing as it turns out my metal drill bits are pretty tired and need renewing but after lots of noise that I expect my neighbours loved on a Sunday morning the deed was done and the frame fell into place no problem at all!

I stood back to admire my handiwork and liked what I saw there, yes it is a little lower than it should be but none the less it looks well enough and will work perfectly for towing me out of where ever I get stuck!




The rain started then right on queue so tools down packed away along with a quick escape indoors.
You may be wondering why I am doing these few bits to Blue seeing as he was just to be my winter motor that would be sold on again but it has been proved once again that I have possibly the most understanding and best Wife kicking around on this small ball of a planet we live on because when we were chatting about moving house this year last night we somehow got around to talking about how to get the stuff moved again as well as parking spaces that would be needed at the new place when she said "you will need three spaces plus the bike"
To which I replies "I thought we would be selling Blue by then?"
She just smiled a gentle one sided smirk and said "Let's face it Nick, Blue won't be going anywhere"
God I love that woman and what I did to deserve her I have no idea but she really lets me play with the big boys toys and keep them too!

Once indoors with another brew in my hand my thoughts turned to the 110. I have a week off coming up in a couple of weeks and I intend to make some serious headway on the old boy then by at least getting the fuel tank out, new rear 1/3 chassis welded into place with the fuel tank treated and put back into place if it is still serviceable and if not I have a plastic Discovery tank stood waiting in the wings to take its place.
A list was needed then of what I need to pick up for this rather large chore and so far it looks like this...

New nuts and bolts to attach the chassis to the body on the rear tabs.
New Nuts and bolts to hold the body to the chassis mounts underneath.
New nuts and bolts for the tow bar and Nato hitch.
Tin of Underseal.
Tins of waxoil for inside the chassis.
Wire brush and Wire brush for drill.
Another roll of welding wire as mine is getting a bit in the low side.

I think that's about it as I have the grinding discs etc to cut the rotten bit off already in the shed and even as much as I would like too I don't think I can book the weather to be dry in advance in fact knowing my luck it will probably snow that week!
If it does I ill shovel it out of the way and just crack on as long as I am not fighting a blizzard or torrential rain as this is the last big welding hurdle to overcome and I cannot wait until it is behind me.

nickysmith.me

Paint & Oil
The 110 Posted by Nicky Smith Sun, January 10, 2016 15:50:57

Now I am not one to use a modern mobile phone to it's full potential in fact most of the fanciful things it can do are either genuinely lost on me or I have very little interest in doing whatever it is supposed to do along with the fact that I get very very frustrated with the damned things when my own lack of understanding means they don't do what I want them to do. So with that in mind you can guess I am not a big fan of any sort of "App" but I have come across one I do like and I even managed to fumble around on the internet with my phone and install it without crashing the mobile or bringing in a virus that would do that for me.
Once installed I even managed to figure out what to do with it and hey presto I have managed to convert photos of all four of the Land Rovers that I have owned into a painting and they do look really good!


I am not going to put all four of them up in this blog but feel free to have a look at the Facewipe group "Just turned 40" to see them all there.

A free day today and against the norm in such days the ground is dry with the sun shining brightly in the sky pushing forth a meagre warmth but lets face it it does not matter if it is cold I always feel better when the sun is out, it just makes me happy to be alive when I am outside on a day like that.

Wifey is feeling rough and wanted to do as little as possible today so there was no guilt of pottering around outside on the Land Rovers instead of being out and about in the countryside on this glorious day.
First stop was Blue the Discovery because his gearbox had sounded a little loud this week which sounds odd but you know what it is like once you have heard certain noises you tend to have an idea of what the issue probably will be and the issue I thought I had here was that there was either very little or very old oil in the gearbox so I drained the lot out after having to worryingly use a breaker bar to get the filler plug undone.

As I thought there was next to bugger all oil in the box and what was there was very old so while it was draining the last few drips out I set to fitting the pair of sump guards I had bought. This is just the first step of what will be a slow process of putting just a few gentle off road/green laning modifications Blue is going to get. Once on all shiny and new they looked good though.


After making sure I had put the drain plug back in I filled up the gearbox with oil getting plenty down the inside of my forearm in the process, I have to say this is one of my least favourite jobs as I tend to end up greasy covered in oil and without a doubt somehow having to managed to ruin the clothes I am wearing under my baby grow!

Then I had to top up the engine oil as I erred on the side of caution when I changed that amount wise so half a litre saw it right and for some reason the coolant expansion tank caught my eye so I took the cap off but the level was good with no signs of anything nasty going on. My gut though told me I was missing something and it took a little while to twig the coolant as completely clear, so just water there with no antifreeze and this became my next job seeing as the weatherman has forecast a pretty cold spell coming up. This did not take long to do in fact it took longer to get the engine up to temperature and the coolant flowing nicely around the block mixing up the antifreeze with the water than anything else.

That done and parked up with me satisfied all was well for the little bit of winter we have coming I looked to the 110 and that off side rear suspension I walked away from a couple of weeks ago as I did not have the parts to hand to seat the new spring. This I had now along with the new securing bar so off with the wheel and out came the old spring and what was left of the rusty plate.


I had to grind away what was left of the old bump stop plate at this point as well so that is something I will have to get around to buying then welding back into place along with a new bump stop itself but the more I look at things on the 110 the more I realise now that I will be stripping back just about everything on it and refurbishing it.



The rusty spring plate and old securing bar along with the nuts and bolts that held it on had to be ground off as there was no way that they were going to be coming off by the traditional methods. Once off I gave the whole area a good dose of Hammerite seeing as it was not going to be accessible until the next time it was all taken apart and who knows how long that could be!


New plate new spring new securing bar all came out of the shed and put into place. There was more room than I thought for doing up the nuts than I thought here which was a pleasant surprise as I thought it was going to be a bit of a pain with my sausage fingers! Once it was all set into place and secured I jacked up the axle seating the top of the spring in the process then fitted a new shock absorber to finish it all off nicely.



Time for a brew as I sat back admiring my handiwork. My thoughts soon wandered to the fact we are house hunting at the moment and I mentally ran through the properties we have seen over the last couple of weeks, there is a clear leader at the moment but it is up in some daft "Modern method of auction" which after reading the small print with it is a load of tosh with no end date and many restrictions against a potential buyer along with lots of added costs that are unnecessary so if we do put an offer in on the house it will be on the condition that we follow the traditional method of house buying or they can keep the place. I am not being grumpy here but I will not be messed about or have the family set their heart on something only to lose out on it at the last minute because no doubt a mysterious bidder will arrive and up the ante...folk must think we just fell out of the tree honestly.

Once I snapped myself out of that daydream I decided to make a start on getting the rear cross member ready to be cut off next week (weather permitting). I chucked WD40 over just about anything that would need to be undone and started with getting all of the nuts and bolts off of the rear tabs that hold onto the rear bulkhead. It didn't take long really with it all moving quite easily so that after a happy twenty minutes playing twister by myself on the driveway I had them all off.

Turned out that the six middle nuts were welded to the rear of the tub which was a surprise, the rest of the bolts looked in good repair so I grabbed an old food tub used for housing the unlucky bugs that were my Bearded Dragons dinner popped them all in with a liberal dose of WD40 and left to soak and be reused later. This is quite a handy trick for keeping things separated until you need to use them again saving the usual hunt around to the last missing bit that you need when reconstructing.


I sat thinking of what the next job was when I realised that I could not be bothered with it. I was getting cold even though I was sat on cardboard and my enthusiasm was leaving me so rather than force the issue I set to cleaning everything up and putting the tools away. I have been using my new Halfords set and loving the feel of it and again recommend these to anyone that wants a half decent set of spanners and sockets that do not cost the earth for hobby wannabe mechanics like me. There was yet again lots of rusty crap to be swept up that left me wondering if the 110 was actually loosing weight through this rebuild process...


www.nickysmith.me

Another good day's progress. There are only a finite number of nuts, bolts, springs, bearings and bushes on a Land Rover and every one you replace won't need doing again for a long time. There's a rather nice NATO style hook on the back I see. Is that getting transferred over to the new crossmember?

Yes the NATO hitch will be transferred over Although I am toying with the idea of a drop plate with the standard tow ball on it and another with the NATO on so they are easily transferable giving a bit more ground clearance on the back end...
As for the nuts bolts and bearings yep be glad to see them all done for a number of years to come! Just looking forward to getting the rear third chassis sorted because that is the last big bit of welding to do.

Inspirational indeed! The only problem with it is its also a massive distraction!
You are a braver man than me, mate! I spent a few hours outside yesterday on my 90 but that is the only time it has been dry enough for long enough for me to entertain the thought of tinkering outside!
You should be very proud of yourself!
The truck is looking great!

Thanks callisr it is much appreciated It is a distraction at times but it is much better now there is no rush to get it on the road

I am busy planning there rear third chassis replacement that if the weather holds will be next week. I am planning on doing it over two to three days because it is getting very cold and I don't fancy lying down in it for too long at a time!

Snow & Steel
The 110 Posted by Nicky Smith Fri, January 15, 2016 19:20:48

Well Winter has arrived properly the last couple of days with early morning windscreen scraping, driving to work wrapped up like a toddler going out to play in the snow along with the car heaters only just getting warm by the time you pull into your work car park.
The frost looks fantastic normally best appreciated from behind your warm and cosy houses front window with a steaming hot cup of tea in hand.

So what sort of idiot would be happy as hell that he has a week off of work starting right now that he can climb under a rusty 110 to disconnect the whole rear end of a rusty chassis and replace it with a shiny new one? Oh that would be me of course!

Now it is cold and there is even a little snow forecast on Monday to be thrown into the mix just to keep me on my toes but I am determined that over the course of a few days, in short bursts between nipping into the house to thaw out that I will get this back end sorted because it is the last major piece of welding that needs doing to the old boy and in my head the brow of the hill on this resto.

I got home to a rather large parcel waiting for me in brown paper packaging that I did not recall ordering but my name was on it so I opened it eagerly to see what was inside but also having the thought in the back of my mind that you would not have dared opened such a package a few years ago that you were not expecting because it was traditionally from the seedy back street mail order companies that only supplied items to aid personal gratification...most folks now just jump onto the internet for that sort of thing now!

In the parcel were a few of this months copies of "THE LANDY" newspaper and I was amazed to see that they had dedicated just over three full pages to "The Project Has Landed" on this months write up of the book. Now don't get me wrong here they are publishing the whole book word for word but just taking exerts in a joint promotion type exercise which is fine by me and it genuinely still surprises the hell out of me to see my name and ramblings in print in yet another new place, it will not make me rich in fact it makes just about bugger all but pleases me none the less that it makes a few folks laugh or smile.

Now biggest decision for this evening is what type of alcoholic drink to have and exactly what else I will do next week to please myself because, you see the Wife will be at work along with the kids at school so it is just me and the dog...how will I cope?

www.nickysmith.me

Frost & First Cuts.
The 110 Posted by Nicky Smith Sat, January 16, 2016 16:42:20

Hurrah! It is the first Saturday of many (we are a bit odd in our house when we have a week off everyday is Saturday until the last Sunday...if you understand what I mean) and I was awake bright and early at stupid o'clock because my body thought I had to go to work. Not to worry I am long past fighting myself over trying to sleep more or forcing a lie in when I don't need them so I hopped out of bed getting a disgruntled muttering form the Wife about it being still dark and headed out for a wash to be met by the dog with the usual "Are we going for a walk then?" face on.
Yes, yes we were because I love the early morning in the city while everyone sleeps but my oh my was it a bit parky this morning it was that nippy I actually put my winter coat and hat on to go for a wander amongst the hard frost that covered everything in a coat of frozen white. I the Land Rovers looked really nice wearing their white coats...


After getting back in with one exhausted dog I woke Wifey up because we were back on the house hunt again first thing with a couple of viewings one of which has become a contender but as you should in such matters we are not in a rush and will sleep on it for a few days as well as looking at the area at different times of day and night.

A cheeky sausage cob whilst we were out saw me in good ste ad when we got home around lunchtime to get started on the sorting the 110 out in the mid winters sunshine.
First though I emptied out the bargain set of Defender 110 G90 wheels I had picked up last night from the Disco so I could use it of the need arose...


A rub down and repaint will see these wheels ready for the 110 when it finally gets around to MOT time after the rebuild.
It was then onto the 110 itself to start the preparation for the rather large chassis repair that is needed this week. First off the fuel tank had to come out so I had to remove the filler and overflow fuel pipes which should be easy enough after all they are only jubilee clips right?


Wrong.

The clips would not budge for love nor money so after five minutes of buggering about I got the grinder out and put short play to them. I was not worried about damaging the pipes themselves because they had turned hard as stone and could do with replacing anyway.
That sorted I undid the easily undid the nuts holding the tank in place at the front and back then tried to remove the tank...


It was when the tank would not come out of place that I realised I had been a bit eager here and had forgotten to remove the fuel pipes along with the electrics for the fuel gauge. I shifted the tank back into place and proceeded to snap off both of the fuel pipes, destroy the earth wire for the fuel gauge and break both the sender wires.
Apart from that it all went swimmingly!



I used the tow bar support arms to support the tank again as I lowered it out of place and they came in handy as an extra pair of hands. The tank itself is in surprisingly good condition but the fuel that came out was full of rust that had to be filtered out of it before I popped the little that was there into the Discovery.



I have rubbed down the cross member ready for sealing up before I fit the new chassis section and refit the tank...


The rear exhaust silencer was in the way and seeing as it was rusty as hell with holes in the pipework I made the job easier for myself with the grinder when it was removed.


It was about now I had had enough of lying on the floor in the cold so I dug out the new chassis section for a look at it and I have to say I am not looking forward to cutting the old chassis away because if I bugger it up I will really bugger it up!
I will measure then remeasure then measure again. At this point I will have a brew along with a bit of a think and then measure it all up again before making the first cut.
Now as usual I will be totally honest when I do it but hopefully it will all be good news when that bit comes around.

The next job will be to disconnect the rear lights and feed the loom back along the chassis a bit so I don't destroy that when the old part gets cut off!
It is going to be a busy week!

www.nickysmith.me

I have been looking forward to your week off almost as much as if it was mine!
The first cut is eagerly awaited! I hope the forecast snow doesnt hinder you!

lol thanks chap I will update as I cock it up and go along! Joking aside yes it will be a good week as long as the snow doesn't settle that is falling outside right now! It can fall as much as it wants as long as it melts when it hits the ground!
Won't get much of anything done tomorrow as there are many chores to clear so the week will then be mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hmmm Snow.
The 110 Posted by Nicky Smith Sun, January 17, 2016 07:43:07
I had to open my mouth didn't I. In a passing tongue in cheek comment I said all would be good for the work on the 110 chassis as long as it didn't snow on my week off...


Bugger.

lol at least it has not settled on the drive so work can carry on as long as that's all that falls from the sky! I wont be doing anything else until tomorrow anyway so hopefully some would have melted away

On the plus side it was a fantastic walk with the dog early this morning who loves the snow rolling around as well as ploughing the fields with her nose in the stuff and the city does look very nice with the overnight white coating it has received...

It's not just your fault it snowed, I made plans too! Looking good so far, those brackets for the bump stops were gone on mine, easy to fab up if you're chassis doesn't go that far.

I thought the bump stops would not be a problem to sort out The snow has melted fast so onwards and upwards we go with it all!

Crying & Crossmembers
The 110 Posted by Nicky Smith Mon, January 18, 2016 17:40:32
Social media can be a fantastic thing with its instant access to lifetimes of information and the fact that you can be anywhere in the world on a webcam seeing places you may well never visit in the real world as well as all of the like minded friends you can make on there. But the other side really saddens me, first thing this morning because as usual I was up before the dawn I was on Facewipe and there were a plethora of hatred posts ranging from hurting animals to hating people.
I am not going to preach from a soap box here but people come on people just live and let live, pass on a smile to folks you see look into different ways of life and cultures before you spin off in a mainstream media frenzy of hatred make informed choices. Chase the fun things in life use your energy to laugh as much as you can because God only knows there are enough tough times in our lives as it is!

Right then enough of that and speaking of tough times I had my yearly visit to the Dentist this morning and I swear that bloke is only a Dentist because it causes folks pain he really is a sadistic bastard! "A quick scrape and polish" damn I thought he was pulling my teeth out by removing my gums first and with no pain relief either!
Now I am a man and as such I do not cry, well in public anyway, but as I was lying in that chair I seriously had to hold myself back from giving the chap a quick slap and by the end of the five minutes of hell I did have water amassing at the corner of my right eye...it was just the bright lights you know!

When I got home I looked at the 110 and knew it was time to tackle the chassis, the weather was good it was not too cold and inside my mind this was turning into a massive hurdle so head down arse up and best be getting on with it!
Now does the back of anyone else's project Landy look like a bomb has gone off inside of it???


This was the first step of the day because tools seem to be going missing and I am sure most of them were in the rear twilight zone I have been developing...I was right!
That done I dragged out the new 1/3 chassis and its box opened it all up so I could measure where and how much I was going to be cutting off of the old one.


It was at this point I realised that I was getting ahead of myself so I went back into the rear tub and started to try to take the back panel off of both sides in order to access the wiring that needed to be disconnected so the wiring loom could be fed back through the old chassis. This kind of set the mood for the day because the single bolt and phillips head screw that held each panel in place were knackered and unmovable by traditional means.



I looked at the 110 and firmly informed it that I was not going to be playing games with it today and headed out to the shed to get the grinder...that made short work of that problem.

That sorted I laughed at the fact whoever wired up the old trailer socket on it used only yellow wiring, no seriously look I had to take a picture of it because I could not believe it myself!


I could not put it off any more now I had to start on the chassis so I measured up from a few different places and marked up the old one where I thought it would need cutting.

Once it was marked up I put lots of axle stands and a jack in place to catch the hold chassis when I made the cuts then I went off for a cup of tea for 10 minutes. The reason for that was I have been dreading cutting the chassis off because if I buggered it up it means I would need a whole new one and think as hard as I tried I could not find an excuse or reason good enough to explain to Wifey why needed a grand in cash.

When I came back I triple checked my measurements and marking, again, then I checked once more! Nope couldn't put it off any more everything looked good so I fitted a 1mm cutting disc to my grinder (I hate using the really thin ones I think I am going to end up with a broken one in my face...Jesus I am turning into a worrying old git these days) then set to on the first cut.
All went well and after a few disc changes the rusty old one was off...



Looking at the pictures you can see how rusty it really was and way beyond any sort of proper repair! What I DO NOT recommend is dropping this very heavy rusty piece of crap on your shin when moving it out of the way because it really does smart a touch! At least it took my mind off of my visit to the Dentist!
The chassis underneath looked good and the rear end looked all lost and lonely now its backside had been surgically removed!



The wiring loom took some feeding back through into the new chassis and I re-taped it all up before I did. I also set it so it sits in the middle of the chassis using tension to keep it out of the way when welding.


Now we would see if I had made the right cuts or not as I tried to offer up the new chassis... If you are going to attempt to do this particular type of work on your Land Rover may I suggest getting someone to help you as it is bloody awkward trying to fit a new piece this size by yourself but it was possible using the axle stands and a jack oh and the high lift.



It was tight...I mean really tight to get onto the old chassis but with some gentle persuasion using a sledge hammer it went nearly all the way into place. I did use the nuts and bolts on the tabs at this point as well. I put them all into place which kept the chassis in line and helped by putting some extra tension/force moving the replacement chassis exactly where it was supposed to go.
My measurements were all good much to my now smug satisfaction (I mean it is my why was I worrying??) the whole thing had lined up a treat!



Sounds easy doesn't it? Well it was straight forward enough but this process of lining up and banging and bashing took about 45 minutes until I was happy with the end result, after all I hope this will be on here for quite some time.
The back end looks good now though with no more rusty holes...no one likes a rusty hole...


So first job tomorrow is to finish cleaning off the metal then clamp it all up and get the welder out. The reason that none of that was done today was because it was getting darker, colder and I had had enough for one day. The weather looks like it is staying dry until Friday so lots of pottering can be done without having to rush, I don't rush any more...

www.nickysmith.me

Early Starts & Seats
The 110 Posted by Nicky Smith Tue, January 19, 2016 16:39:29
It's getting beyond a bit of a joke now, I am on holiday it is time to relax and do just what the hell I feel like while all of my family are out of the house and this should start every day with me sat in bed with a nice cup of tea watching the news for just a few minutes...ten would do!
But nope my body is on work time and I am wide awake around five laying there staring at the ceiling until six because I refuse to get out of my pit before I would normally start a shift at work!
Oh well if that's all I have to complain about eh, at least I get to see my youngest every morning before she leaves for school because there is no better start to the day than being mostly ignored by a teenager.

Now my oldest daughter informed me that she was going to buy a motorbike because she has started working full time and would like a bit more freedom and independence than the bus network can currently offer her.

By "she was going to buy" I should of put

"she decided she wanted one and looked at Dad because he was the one who would be looking for it"

Now this did not take me long really just a few days with most of that time letting her sleep on it a bit before she spent her money and changed her mind instantly after buying it leaving me to sell the bike back on again.
This fad will probably only last a few months so I told her to set a budget of £500 and I managed to find a 62 plate Chinese 125cc with 2 miles on the clock...seriously!
A husband had bought it for his Wife who liked the idea of it then rode up and down the road twice, popped it into the garage and promptly left it there for three years.

The battery was shot so they put a new one on and delivered it to my door for the princely sum of £450. It will need an MOT now due to being over three years old but apart from a brake lever switch all seems good so it's going on Thursday after which my eldest daughter can insure it and I can have the pleasure of teaching her to stay shiny side up.



By the time I got back in this morning from organising that lot it was 10 o'clock, tea time, which I drank while taking the first wheel off of the 110. The order of the day was to weld up the new chassis that was fitted yesterday so out came the correct tools like some big hammers and clamps to shape the metal around the old chassis giving an easier and stronger weld.
It did not take long to jig the offside into place ready for the welder to come into play.


You can see in the picture I also used some old wood to keep the lower part of the chassis flap in place by jacking it up first then gently lowering the jack down with the wood in position. This gave nice tight fit and before I knew it I was merrily welding away after adjusting the feed speed down a touch as it seemed to be flying through at an alarming rate.

I was struggling a little bit here because I got a rusty bit of metal in my right eye yesterday and today it seems a little "gunky" although thankfully there is no metal left in there!
It was soon all nicely welded up into place so just a bit of a grind down saw it bang on as did the messy underseal.



That side done I jumped around to the other and it was more of the same although three people "had" to talk to me while I was under the 110 two being my neighbours and the last being the postman who as it turns out is a bit of a Landy nut and sat himself down on the path for a ten minute chat so if your post as late today it was probably my fault!


It is a nice feeling having the last major welding obstacle behind me now as the rest of the rebuild feels like plain sailing because the rot has been removed.
Now I am not saying am lazy here or anything but after two days of lying underneath the 110 for one reason or another I had had enough. I was feeling tired, not as young as I used to be you know, so I put the tools away and went into the back garden because there was the old chassis just sat waiting with lots of bits that needed to come off.


I set too with it and every nut and every bolt came undone easily, not one of them fought me! I had the whole lot stripped off in less than ten minutes.


I will be keeping the NATO hitch and handles but that drop tow ball is of no use to me. I want to fit a drop plate to the 110 so I can easily change over hitch types without sacrificing ground clearance.

When we were out for dinner with some friends (yes I do have some real ones) over the weekend I was given by one of them a half leather interior out of a Laguna so I could modify the front seats to fit the 110 and drive in some comfort! Now this is a bonus as I wanted to put some different type of seats in it to make driving it over any sort of distance bearable and the fact they are free means I really don't mind adjusting them to fit Thanks again chap if you are reading!
The rear seats will be made into a garage bench seat for drinking cups of tea on. I don't have a garage yet but it is a must for whatever house we end up buying over the next few months.

Tomorrow will be a proper day off though as I intend on doing just whatever I damned well please be it a walk in Derbyshire or a lazy day stuffing my face full of crap or going out for a bike ride, I will not be working on the 110 or any other mechanical device.
The leg is bruising up nicely from dropping the chassis on it so I doubt I will doing anything too strenuous!
Having said that don't be surprised if you see another update because I decided to potter doing nothing in particular and ending up working on the 110 again!

www.nickysmith.me

Good progress. Are the rear lights still working, or did the wires get cooked?

Don't know I have not wired the buggers back up yet. They have two choices eh chap

min200 said:

Don't know I have not wired the buggers back up yet. They have two choices eh chap

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I've always wondered how the wiring looms fare through all this recreational chassis welding one sees on Landyzone. Not just the wiring looms either. All those little rubber tubes for things like fuel and brake fluid must get a bit hot sometimes too. I feel a bit left out because I don't have great gaping holes in my chassis, because rather foolishly I selected one which was at the time still fairly new and wasn't too rusty. Unfortunately now with all the Dinitrol I've slathered all over it, I could have to wait years before I'm merrily hacking the crossmember off. Of course, I entertain myself by replacing bearings, bushes, seals and the like, but there's nothing quite the same as a big chassis job.