To rebuild or not...

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FlyingPete

FlyingPete

Well-Known Member
Posts
1,305
Location
Coventry
So there's a few jobs to do stacking up on my 90. I think the rear crank seal is leaking oil slightly, along with one of the shaft seals on the transfer box, so gearboxes are due to come out. There's a slight drip started from the fuel tank so that will want to be replaced most likely (suspect the skid plate is acting as the bottom of the tank). A couple of the rubber seals between body panels need replacing, the electrics are in various unknown states (some bits have been pulled out and rewired already) and in general the whole wagon is starting to feel a bit tired.

So I'm wondering if in the long run it's better to tackle all these things at once, and do a bit of a rebuild while I'm at it. Won't be a full nut-and-bolt restoration as I don't have the space, but the interior, floor panels etc could all come out. The engine is in reasonable condition so would probably stay in place, and the front axle had new bushes a few months ago. I'm thinking take most of the drivetrain, rear axle etc out and make a bit of room underneath to see what state everything's in.
 
If its road worthy keep it that way and rolling resto it piecemeal, Trust me. Ive just misplaced 18months of my life to similar and trying to so it all in one hit + mines wasnt road worthy.

How ever as they say the best things in life cant be bought.

Driving my hand crafted landy that i built is one of them :)
 
I guess the best approach would be to keep the landy mostly assembled, but group several jobs together e.g while the floor's out to access the gearboxes, do the fuel tank and generally tidy up that area of the car. That way any bits I remove can just be stored in the back of the landy, and the down-time won't be too long each time.
 
This is how I rebuilt mine! Concentrate on one job at a time or one area and make sure that is sorted. Very little time unserviceable.

If I had a spare Landrover I might do it differently :D
 
Yeah thats how i would do it next time.

Mines suffered from major neglect in the few years before i got it so it was a mountain of tasks to do , it failed mot.

I have rebuilt or replaced every single componant except the gear box..... Over 18 months.

Hopefully get a few more years before i have to do a galv chassis and bulkhead transplant.
 
top drive said:
Yeah thats how i would do it next time.

Mines suffered from major neglect in the few years before i got it so it was a mountain of tasks to do , it failed mot.

I have rebuilt or replaced every single componant except the gear box..... Over 18 months.

Hopefully get a few more years before i have to do a galv chassis and bulkhead transplant.
Click to expand...

I'm about to replace the axles. Doing the seals or swapping the transfer box and then gear box. Once that's done it's a few minor things and then galv chassis and bulkhead.
 
I say rebuild, I personally like to get as much done as I can at once, or all the jobs done in one area.
It's been a while since I've done one as a rolling resto but it's never ideal, running out of time and having to get it ready for work for the next day, it's all doable, but just takes a little longer in the long run as you can't do as much as you'd like in one hit.
 
top drive said:
Too many projects get abandoned though when folk try to take on too much and loose interest. Not every one has your deddication aaron :)
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Agree with the above
I thought the same as aaron, get it all done in one go.
That was last march
I still have all, the body work to do,
and not only that, the bank Manager now hates me
oh and so does the wife :D
 
top drive said:
Too many projects get abandoned though when folk try to take on too much and loose interest. Not every one has your deddication aaron :)
Click to expand...

Fair comment :) But I still find it best in the long run, ok everyone gets ****ed off at times, me included. But in the long run it's all worth it :)

greyhair said:
Agree with the above
I thought the same as aaron, get it all done in one go.
That was last march
I still have all, the body work to do,
and not only that, the bank Manager now hates me
oh and so does the wife :D
Click to expand...

The problem is people get caught up in the rebuild trap, where they want to replace everything. Which obviously costs a lot of money.
You've got to know where to stop, my funds don't stretch to perfect so I don't aim for it, so I go how far I can.
That said, I am getting worse, every build seems to go further than the last, and cost more money.
But that's because of new idea's or better ways of doing things etc..

top drive said:
Yeah im not massivly popular round here either atm
Click to expand...

Seems to be a theme going on here :eek: Funny really, everyone loves me around here :pound::eek:
 
we all luv you aaron :clap2::clap2::clap2: its a shame we dont hav an annual meet to chat lannys and drink beer next to a log or lanny fire lol :flame2:
 
Personally, I think there's a lot to be said for a rolling rebuild, where you do one job at a time and minimise the time the vehicle is undriveable. It's good for those of us who don't have anywhere to get the car under cover for an extended period of time. I tend to work on mine like this - one weekend it's the brakes, another weekend it is the suspension bushes, another for bearings and seals and so on. It does mean you tend to spend time taking the same things apart several times over, and don't necessarily have the time to lovingly wire brush and paint everything.
 
the issue with doing it all at once is you can end up with several piles of bits and all of a sudden those 100 jobs you had to do on the whole car you could tick off 1 by 1 turn into 1000000 jobs

I seriously had a spreadsheet for jobs to be done- it helped me visualise the progress and gave me a tangible tick off list.
 
Well I'm an engineer so always like a good spreadsheet :D Would be useful to keep track of what jobs go together- otherwise it's inevitable you'll get the dashboard back together just as you realise that you need it all off to get to some widget on the bulkhead.
 
top drive said:
the issue with doing it all at once is you can end up with several piles of bits and all of a sudden those 100 jobs you had to do on the whole car you could tick off 1 by 1 turn into 1000000 jobs

I seriously had a spreadsheet for jobs to be done- it helped me visualise the progress and gave me a tangible tick off list.
Click to expand...

I'd agree with the 1 job turning into 1000 jobs, and the more you strip a vehicle the more you find. And guaranteed more than first thought.

Although spreadsheets aren't something I've ever done (I probably wouldn't know how too :eek:) No lists, just store everything in me head.
Guess a list of some form isn't a bad idea, as you can see your progress being worked though. Either that or it'll scare you at the size of the list :eek:
 
Sod spread sheets I see enough of the buggers at work
I like the white board, that way every time i go in the shed/workshop I can see the long list of things I still need to do
;)
 
top drive said:
Id love a white board.....

They cost money.

My spread sheet was free :)


But know what you mean !
Click to expand...

Mine was free from work
we did a school clearance loads of monitors and pcs and lots of smart white boards, which are daft money around £800-1000 but one was damaged small rip, so it came home with me :D
 
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