Mud & Oil...
The 110Posted by Nicky Smith Sat, October 24, 2015 15:12:38
Do you remember when your Mum & Dad said time passes faster as you get older but when they said that you were in your late teenage years and time is measured in months not years? I do and it was brought to the front of my mind when my eldest daughter proudly told me that she and her boyfriend had been together for a whole six months "Which is like forever!"
Jeez it was six months ago since I last needed not to get up during the night to take a pee and it feels like last week!
How I wish to have a summer that feels like a lifetime again with nothing more serious to care about than how many hours I get to lie in before my next lecture after a night out on the booze. Still I have had my turn at that and it is now someone else's namely my children and that is as it should be.

Seeing as time passes so quickly I thought it best to actually do something to the one ten but with the weather promising to piddle down all day to which we were not disappointed I decided to start at the beginning with it and give a good clean so I could see what exactly I am dealing with.
This started with a quick trip to the shops to pick up a karcher jet washer that was on a half price offer then after getting kitted out in some wet weather gear I set to removing years of grimy oily covered mud. Remember how dirty the engine bay was well its a bit better now...



The steering box maybe fubar as there is over a quarter free play on the steering wheel before anything actually happens so there's a job to look into.


Then it was onto the chassis and my oh my was there a multitude of crap on that from front to back! In fact there was soo much crap I had to power wash the driveway off after I cleaned it but that's a job done that was on my list anyway. After some serious lying down in the wet blasting off anything that was no longer solid the chassis is not really too bad it will need the drivers side rear cross member welding up along with two new door pillars, I could just patch these but it will probably take longer than just replacing them and seeing as I am going to have to take the doors and wings off anyway I may as well just do it right, and a couple of patches in the floor wells. The battery box is just about at the point of no return so I will weld a new one in there as well but all electrics work bar the horn so another bonus there.

Then there was the outer bodywork which thankfully has no big holes but the little jet wash that could managed to blast off a lot of paintwork but better that now than after I have repainted it...




Other news to note is that the Merlin report came back and the life that was lived before for this old one ten was not really very exciting. It spent all of it's forces days with the RAF at Waddington presumably by the number of seats fitted just ferrying folk around the base. Still it doesn't matter to me because this one will not be a historic restoration nope this one is mine and mine alone it's going to be my keeper so I will be modifying it to suit me for years to come that apparently will pass in a flash unless I am trying to remove a stubborn bolt that is.

So I am going to need some sheet metal lots of underseal and o rings for sorting out the injector pump. The tyres are shot so will need a set of those and the suspension is well past it's best so replacements will be sourced but the question there is "to lift or not to lift" while it is in pieces. There is a salisbury rear axle and more mud on the bottom of my driveway than there is in the back garden but I now know where I am heading with "Pukah" which is nice but the dark evenings are headed back our way with the clocks going back on hour tonight so I will have to try and slot in little bits of work on him whenever I can because this will be my first Winter project on the driveway and I am expecting progress to be a bit slower because of it.
Just as well I bought me a new insulated set of babygrows then eh

Pumps and Parts.
The 110Posted by Nicky Smith Sun, October 25, 2015 15:33:21
An extra hour in bed then as the clocks went back....made no difference to me really so I sat in the kitchen early this morning enjoying the peace and calm of a quiet morning whilst the rest of the house slept in.

As I sat there I figured out that this is going to be my third project in 18 months and if I am honest it will be my last big one. I am tired and the thought of doing another major overhaul is daunting but I am trying to take solace in the fact this will be my keeper so I sucked it up and after a quick trip to the car boot where I bought bugger all I set to having a look at the injector pump leaking like Niagra falls issue.

Looking at the injector pump and with no idea how it came apart apart from a quick internet search that pointed to the o ring being fubar in the throttle linkage I decided to start there taking it apart but a word of warning there are two springs behind it...


A 10mm nut held the arm in place so first that came off showing me a bolt left behind...

I easily removed the plastic cap then I set to picking out the white plastic asher quickly followed by a rock hard o ring. I had one the same size in the shed so I popped it into place with the use of a couple of electrical screwdrivers then I popped on the arm minus the springs fired up the old motor and hey presto no leaks!!!!!
Feeling smug with myself I set to putting the arm back on it and the springs back in place under the watchful eye of a new supervisor ho appears to have taken quite a liking to the 110...


Once all the arm and springs were back in place I went to start it up again and bugger me it wouldn't. I looked around and realised it was below low on fuel so hopefully it's as a simple fix as popping some diesel in it but the battery has gone flat now and I had no diesel to hand so onto other things while the sun still shined.
Next in line was to see if I could take the half turn play out of the steering so I set to adjusting the steering box.
First of all I had to get the front wheels off of the ground with a couple of jacks then I set to undoing the securing nut on the steering box and adjusted the centre with a flat head screwdriver clockwise a half turn at a time seeing if it would take up the play at the steering wheel...


It did indeed do it to some extent but at full turn there is still about a quarter turn on the steering wheel so I suppose that a replacement box is needed but hey ho it is a project after all.

With all of that done and dinner calling me inside I decided to call it a day. I need some fuel putting in the 110 before I can check to see what's wrong on that side of things and quite frankly I had had enough for one day. Yes the thought a third project on the bounce is daunting and at times I wonder why I do it to myself instead of just saving up and buying a nice motor that will tow our wobble box where ever we want it to without the need for constant maintenance but hell I suppose there would be no fun in that at all.

Before you discard the steering box completely, check the state of the ball joints, especially the one in the drop arm. Occasionally the circlip comes out and the bottom cup that holds the ball drops out, giving about the amount of slack you describe. It's worth doing the cheaper things first and only replacing the expensive bits if you really need to.

Indeed it is Brown and I will have a good look around before spending any money at all being the tight arsed git I am!

Bigger than I thought...
The 110Posted by Nicky Smith Mon, October 26, 2015 18:35:21
I am feeling a bit despondent a little sorry for myself and I shouldn't do because I am a lucky fella with a great Wife great kids and in all fairness I have more than I need in material possessions not that I am rich but the bike is pretty new for me and we have had Wifey's car from brand new so all in all nothing to complain about.
But the 110 is becoming more and more of a project each time I look at it or explore something new it throws up more problems to be dealt with.

We are moving next year so there is a bit of a deadline there because I would like it to be road legal by then but I have to admit I am sitting here wondering whether I have another project in me or not. I am feeling tired after fighting that nasty bug that was doing the rounds last week that knocked me off of my feet literally! I cannot remember the last time I could not get out of bed due to illness so again just there just proves how lucky I am but I cannot help feeling a bit fed up with it all.

Thing is I want a Defender and I have one sat there ready to be built to my spec but it will be a mountain to climb so where do I start with it? How far do I go with it? Do I go for a full strip down and rebuild or a patch up and play? At the moment I just feel like selling it I wont do that I know that deep inside unless I literally run out of money bit a quick fix it is not going to be!

I will stop moaning now and sorry for down beat feel of this post but sometimes it makes me feel better to put things into written words and don't tell me you Landy lovers out there haven't at some point thought about throwing the towel in at times...

Think we've all been there.
Personally I'd get it MOT worthy, then run it for a while to straighten out any major problems, then get it towards how you want it as a rolling build, then when you've worked out what works for you and planned what you want to do with it only then would I consider going the whole strip down and rebuild route. Hth

Probably a good idea that chap. I have just worked out this is my third project in 18 months so no wonder I am bloody tired!

Piece by piece. Just work round it slowly and do a bit each weekend and it'll take shape. One weekend the steering joints, another weekend the wheel bearings, the one after that a few bushes and so on. Or whatever seems to be the most urgent. Anyway, you're a tender youth compared to some of us. I wish I was as young as 40 again. So I'm sure there are a few more projects to be done. I'm 53 and as soon as I save up enough for a decent one I shall buy an AEC Matador. That'll be a project and a half.

Min, when I bought my 110, I dint touch it for two months. Just looked at it morning and night and kept researching, reading up on here, thinking about it. Making an informed decision. I had 5 options. Mot and use, strip and rebuild, strip and break, sell as is, wait s bit longer. I didn't rush into it, kept changing my mind. Once I'd had a whole week of not changing my mind I broke out the tools. And it's half way back together. And I've not as much experience as you.

It will be staying folks...I think. Thanks for letting me know it's not just me that gets fed up from time to time! I know I will keep it because I keep finding bits that I think would look good on it or that I need to fix it so it will come right in the end.
Work is stupid busy at the moment as well which is not helping much along with these dark nights that make doing anything afterwards impossible but hey ho it will still be there at weekends and the odd day off I suppose! I am off next week for the whole week so I am hoping to get a couple of days in on the 110 then Progress will make me feel better I am sure!

Re. steering box... Now is the time to think about power steering, I think it is the the best thing I've done to my ex-mod 90.

1. This is not a sprint it is a marathon. Don't get discoraged - as has been said one thing at a time and you'll be amazed at what you end up with.

2. Bought my first Landy over 20 years ago (a IIA 109 pickup) and it was far worse than what you have, and rotten to boot. I still have it- did 300 miles in it last weekend chasing machine tools. If it suits you, you're building a companion that can stay with you forever with proper maintenance - see if that Honda or Kia can do the same.

3. We all get discouraged especially in the early stages. Once you gain some momentum and see things improving this will pass, and each new cleanup or improvement will give you the lift you need to go after the next.

One thing I might suggest, however, if you've never welded before is to do the learninionng on anything but your car. Get the basics down with some practice on scrap before you do anything that might not be quite up to snuff on your car. Seen far too many chicken crap welds on landy chassis over the years - and it's just not a good idea.

Alan

Power steering is on my mind along with maybe a 300tdi conversion because if I am in this big style I may as well do the lot in one go!
Thanks Alan been welding for years so no worries there I genuinely think that because it's now dark early and the fact it's my third project in 18 months have just hit me a bit hard...working stupid hours as well which doesn't help and I thought this was going to be a quick project but hey ho it's not and I am coming to terms with that! If it's not ready when we move next year it will be put on the back of a trailer and towed over to the new house

Making Plans...
The 110Posted by Nicky Smith Sat, October 31, 2015 12:19:32
Right then after the sun had risen and some time had past after me getting out of my pit just before 5am not being able to sleep and after watching my neighbour the night shift cab driver come home I set to seeing if I could get the 110 to start again. I walked up to the local petrol station seeing as I had time to kill enjoying the early morning stillness that is rarely found in a big city.
Diesel in and a fresh battery fitted I set to removing the throttle arm and linkage from the injector pump to see if that made any difference. The keys in the ignition I turned them clockwise not expecting a great deal to happen other that the noise of the starter turning relentlessly over so imagine my surprise when the engine fired immediately into life!

Now this pleases me a great deal because it is one less problem to deal with but there is still the issue of refitting the throttle arm and springs correctly because how ever long I look at it and what ever way I turn things over I cannot see for the life of me what I have done wrong there to make the engine not start! So if anyone would like a cup of tea and some cake that can fix it feel free to pop around

Satisfied that at least it runs once again I decide it was time to get to grips with all of the problems this 110 has and make a plan of action an order in which to do things just one step at a time so the whole project doesn't seem so damned overwhelming. First out was the middle front seat because that really wont be staying and will be replaced with a cubby box...



Then the hammer and screwdriver came out bashing all of the rusty spots I could see because it's not worth pretending that a bit is ok if it is not. I started in the floor pans...



Didn't take long to make some good sized holes! Then I checked the chassis and quite frankly the rear cross member is now a mess it's shot along with the back part of the chassis on the drivers side. A new extra extended piece will be needed so I best get saving for that! I already know the steering wants looking at a full service will be needed the rear axle is rusted to hell and I expect the brake system will need an overhall. The bulkhead is ok-ish but both of the front door pillars want replacing.
It will require repainting then a new set of wheels and tyres fitting.
Hell folks I have bought me another full on rebuild project here!
So the plan is quite simple from here on in....sell it.

Nah only joking I will start from the front and work my way back through doing the bodywork initially then when that is all good I will paint it then move onto the mechanical side of things. I did get to have a play with my new welder today as well on an old piece of metal I had kicking around and what a difference that bit of kit will make! No more pigeon **** welding for me dear reader oh no its nice and smooth all the way from now on! My old welder must have been in an awful state for longer than I realised because using this one is like colouring in pictures with crayons.

One more project it is then I have to admit feeling better now that I know what I am up against. Costing wise I reckon I can get it sorted on this side of another £1000 if I box clever and buy wisely but we shall see how well I do on that at the end of it all because I will keep a full account of what's being spent as we go along. I am sure there will be some more laughter and tears over the upcoming months but I aim to keep the hospital visits to a minimum this time! See you on the other side...

nickysmith.me

Front End Fun.
The 110Posted by Nicky Smith Sun, November 01, 2015 19:24:00
Been a busy day really today because it was a bit shorter for me than usual. Imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning to see the start of daylight creeping through the side of the curtains it left me a tad confused because it is normally pitch black when my body tells me it's done with sleeping so I turned to look at the little digital clock on my left that informed me it was 3 minutes past seven in the morning...that meant I had slept for about nine hours straight last night something that I have not done for years and I felt surprisingly refreshed instead of that beaten up slept too much groggy feeling you normally get from too much sleep.

I lay there relaxed and at peace with myself and the morning lay ahead of me I realised I had no desperate need to do much of anything at all. The day lay ahead and we had made no plans so I decided to be really naughty after my lie in and drag that relaxed feeling out by getting up ignoring my clothes throwing on my dressing gown which got a knowing look off of the dog who was waiting for me to take her out that that was not going to happen and then headed downstairs to stick the kettle on and not do much of bugger all. What a way to start the day nice and relaxed not rushing off anywhere after a great nights sleep I could get used to that!
So after a brisk walk in the woods with Wifey I decided to at least have a bit of a go at the 110 starting with getting the front end of it off of the ground to make working on it a bit easier...



The offside wing needs to come off so I can start repairs on the bulkhead there on the door pillar then onto the foot well but before any of that can happen the wing needs to go so first things first the wheel came off which showed me yet more rust in places I had not noticed on the witches hat/suspension turret which is scrap as is the shock absorber...




Surprisingly enough the spring looks ok but seeing as I have to strip the rest off I will refit it all with a 2" lift all round not because I will be off roading it a great deal but just in case I do!
With that decided I set to removing the rubber arch enough to be able to get to the blots holding the wing on...


I managed to get all of those rusty buggers out eventually and it is now all set bar a couple of screws to come off and away showing me the full extent of what lies ahead but why leave it there I hear you ask? Well the beef roast was coming on and the light was fading fast so I decided to end the day the way I had started it...relaxing.

nickysmith.me

Rain & Frustration
The 110Posted by Nicky Smith Fri, November 06, 2015 15:17:48
My family is spread far and wide across this big boulder we all live upon and to say we are an interesting mix of folk would be an understatement. Do you know that TV program called "Modern Family" that is supposed to be an exaggeration of what a family can consist of mix folk wise today well that has nothing upon my lot in fact they probably wouldn't have made us into a TV programme because no one would have believed it! Thinking about it that could be a good series of short stories there I may well pen into that at some point...
Anyway Wifey and I set off to see one of my many siblings who lives in Dublin also meeting his new girlfriend in the process. This was going to be my third trip to Dublin city but it was the first time I would actually see any of it because this brother is a musician and we usually just ended up in a bar getting drunk over a couple of days but not this time folks I am older and wiser then throw into the mix that I cannot tolerate any sort of hangover any more (the last one lasted three days) I determined we were going to see this fair city this time and what a city it is! We had a great time exploring the place on a budget even taking in a guided tour which was fantastic and walking for miles and miles and miles to boot! You must do the Guinness Storehouse visit if you are over there that was fun and you got a pint at the end of it...which was nice.



Well the weather was fantastic after a foggy start first thing on the Monday morning so I was hoping that it would be nice for the week when we got home because we both had it booked off of work so a trip to Derbyshire was also planned to climb Jacobs Ladder along with some much needed time on Pukkah the 110.

Nature on the other hand seems to have other ideas on our plans because from what seemed like after the minute we landed back on home turf the heavens opened and have not stopped since. No worries I thought it wont last that long I will just have a lazy day then get around to doing a bit on Friday...it's still raining.
Now funds are a bit tight this month but I have gathered a few bits up for sale and got shot of them so I could then invest in a few bits for the 110 so with nothing more pressing to do I tooted off to Paddocks to buy a few bits with Wifey in tow who bought me a nice lunch out

Price update time then. There's a few bits piling up in the shed now and more on the way which I will add on once they arrive but once the weather breaks I am set and raring to get stuck in before the really cold weather kicks in.


Costings.
110 PROJECT & DELIVERY £1500
PILLAR REPAIR PANELS £70
FILTER KIT 2.5 NA £12
FRONT SHOCKS PAIR £27
SUSPENSION TURRETS PAIR £10
TURRET SECURING RINGS £7
RADIATOR MUFF
MILITARY ARIEL £5


TOTAL £1631

Accelerators & Horns
The 110Posted by Nicky Smith Sun, November 08, 2015 16:07:28
The rain had stopped. I looked out of the bedroom window and was astounded that there was nothing falling from the sky so first things first I had to take the motorbike out for a short run to warm the engine through because it had been sat on the driveway for the last week. That done I decided that some time on the 110 was just the ticket so I set to sorting a few tools out in the shed but when I turned around to walk out to the driveway the heavens had opened once again so what else could I do at this point but go and make a sausage cob.

Cob and tea done the rain had eased off once again so I ran outside and ended up looking at the 110 wondering what to do today with it but I soon settled upon what seems to be my nemesis on it at the moment...the injection pump.
This bloody thing has been a pain in the backside since I replaced the leaking O ring it has simply refused to run once the throttle arm is replaced but this time I had a trick up my sleeve I had borrowed another pump off of a friend to compare what I was doing and there was one spring I had been putting on wrong so I set to rectifying this mistake.
Stripped down again then put back i the correct order I was sure it would just fire up first turn of the key but as it turned out I was wrong. It just turned over and over not firing so I sat on the wing looking in wondering what to do now?
Everything looked like it was in the right place but something was obviously amiss but what that was just eluded me. At this point my youngest daughter called me around back for some advice on stripping down her scooter panels so I had ten minutes away from my problematic pump.
When I returned I had decided to strip it all down once more then fire up the engine which was not a problem with the arm off so I started it up then being mindful of the spinning radiator fan and fan belt putting one bit on after another then the springs came into play finally tightening down the nut on top of the throttle arm.

That was when the engine cut out.

Hmm interesting. The nut is a locking one so I wound it back half a turn and then twisted the ignition key again to hear the engine spring into life! I checked that the accelerator worked, which it did a treat, then that there were no leaks at all coming form the injection pump, which there were not much to my surprise, and I let the engine warm through properly which it has not done in some time...



What next then? Well I set to running through all of the electrics again making sure of what exactly worked and what didn't. Indicators...checked out ok along with all of the other lights even the wipers and washers worked but my luck ran out on the horn making any noise at all. Oh well couldn't moan about that so I decided to check through to the horn to see what the issue could be. I removed the grill and the problem was soon obvious because you see there was not a horn there at all so no wonder I couldn't get any sound...

nickysmith.me

Sounds like you're making some headway despite the weather. I want to replace a couple of brake pipes sometime this autumn - they're not bad, just not as nice a condition as I'd like them to be - but the rain keeps putting me off.

It's all simple stuff chap I would rather be attacking the welding side of things but hey ho you cannot help the weather

Rainy Days & Diarys
The 110Posted by Nicky Smith Sun, November 15, 2015 18:02:39
It's only November but my diary is booked every weekend from now until Christmas fitting family and folk in across the board to say hello to making the effort to actually meet up because as I get older life does seem to get in the way of such things. So yesterday we had our great friends up for a day out at Chatsworth House which is all decked out Christmassy like along with a rather large Christmas Fair/Market thing which was nice until the heavens opened heavily and didn't stop from that point on for the rest of the day.
That just about sums up how the weather has been since I bought the 110 whenever I have had a chance to work on him so when this morning it was raining again I set to buying some more essential parts off of my list for him online so I can get the front end rebuilt which has wiped me out financially but those bits along with what is hopefully being delivered from a friend as well this week sets me up to sort the whole front end up to the rear bulkhead sorted. I will add the costs up as we go this week and as parts are delivered so it stays true but I finally feel like I am getting to the point here I can actually get stuck in from next weekend now without fear of everything grinding to a halt because I have forgotten to buy a nut and bolt!

Costings.

110 PROJECT & DELIVERY £1500
PILLAR REPAIR PANELS £70
FILTER KIT 2.5 NA £12
FRONT SHOCKS PAIR £27
SUSPENSION TURRETS PAIR £10
TURRET SECURING RINGS £7
RADIATOR MUFF
MILITARY ARIEL £5
FRONT SPRINGS
FAN BELT
CAMBELT KIT
STEERING DAMPER £62


TOTAL £1693