Ice...cold...snow...wet = not much happening?

So three weeks off for my Christmas break and what does it do but freeze, snow and rain for almost all of it. The original plans of what can be progressed on the 109 have gone to rats and the only thing that has been achieved is I bought a new (to me) Stihl 044 to provide us with enough firewood to keep the stove going..oh and cleaned the chimney and reset the spark arrestor that I almost knocked off with the rods ;)

So what did I actually get done? Well even in the garage not much happened. That was just as wet inside as it was out. This is what happens when someone builds it underground? Power also failed out there in the middle of the hols when the mains feed blew so the de-hum and oil heater were down for a few days which didn't help. Power prob now sorted and everything back on-line!

WHEELS
Just before the break I dropped into a guy local to me and collected 8 rims that had been sandblasted and primered. £10 each and a superb job to be honest. If anyone needs some sand/grit/shot blasting done around here then Tony Cowles is the place to go. Turns out Ashtree LR also use them as I found out when I bumped into Lyn while dropping them off.

So these did get two coats of brush applied Containergard over the break and should be heading off to get the tyres and tubes refitted early in Jan.

RAD PANEL
Before this can be put to paint I need to check the mounting locations and mods required to fit the intercooler and oil cooler in front of the rad. Originally the plan was to mount the oil unit at the top and the I/C below but now I see a problem. The I/C outlets will foul the rad! So either I don't I/C, or use an alternative unit (as there is no suitable spot to mount it otherwise) and I still stick with my decision not to do the usual and use the whole Disco rad/IC unit and butcher the front panel. Each to our own?

So decisions need to be made there.

THROTTLE PEDAL
Back a few months at the Shepton LR show I picked up a Defender throttle pedal that looked suitable for the job. As the weather 'dried' up towards the end the month it gave me some time to look at how to rig this up using a selection of Mini/Disco/Series LR cables and ends.

BRAKES
http://www.series2club.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=31958.0
As the fornote mentions nothing really happened here.

I tried to source the missing fittings for the brake M/C and the shuttle valve unit. 3/8" ones already here but three on the shuttle are larger and now seem to be 7/16". Not a problem but no one locally seems to stock them. I tried Ottons LR (only sell pipe sections), Camberley Auto Factors (only do pks of 100) and then Halfrauds (only sell 'lifestyle accesories' and no brake fittings). So the only option is by mail and suffer the cash extraction for the postage?

The master cylinder still has one port that needs a fitting. Out of the two one is 3/8" but the other is larger and is neither 3/8",7/16" or 10mm fine. So what it is I do not know which is causing a further brake headache.

On the S2 forum 'SmokeyIIa' has kindly mailed me a pair of brake pipe mounts for the front hubs (mine were missing) so I also need to get some couplings to fit through these so the flexi pipes and hard pipes from the chassis can join.

Slow, slow, slow...........29th November - Mirrors/rad panel back

Rain, rain ,rain! It's all it seems to be doing (gales excepted) and it is holding me up big time.

I have been fiddling with more small parts in the garage but even in here it gets damp and with too much rain it manages to work it's way through. A PITA basically!

Next stage of challenges to face:-

• Get the brake pipe system finished (waiting for flexi mounting for the front hubs from 'SmokeyIIA' plus the fittings on the servo m/c and Lucas shuttle valve are not 3/8UNF or 10mm fine?)
• Waxoyl the chassis and bulkhead
• Manufacture/fit a plate for the fuel filter/FPHE
• Still waiting for the LWB rims to come back from tyre stripping so I can get them off for blasting...
• Exhaust! - just heard Parker's are looking into an exhaust system for 2 others. He now has a third!

MIRRORS
As a complete diversion I started looking at the door mirrors. Now the hole size on the top hinge is around 5/8" and the mirrors that came with Trigger have a shaft diameter around 1/2". So big washers were the order of the day but Mark had relocated the mirrors to the strengthened wings anyway.

So what should actually be fitted? So I started a thread here to find out ---> http://www.series2club.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=31814.0;topicseen

Long way to go until I need them but I will keep my eye out for the 'proper' sprung arms. Until then I can use the current ones and washers.


RAD PANEL
One piece of good news was that Lyn at Ashtree called to say the rad panel is complete and ready for collection around the middle of next week.

Well it is now back from Ashtree and here it is......before

....and after

A darn sight better than it was before Lyn got hold of it! There is a slight twist that I need to straighten out but it looks easy enough to do.

15th November - Clutch working....and that's about it?

Well two more weeks have gone by without a post.....again, and it would appear to the outside observer that not a lot has been done? In reality I have been in 'the bunker' working on all those fiddly bits that always slow down a project but have to be done. You know, clean this and that, paint this and that, then redo it all again after dropping the newly painted item in the dust on the floor when hanging it up to dry?!

So what can I tick off the list?

Oil cooler has arrived and the mounts are now drilled/tapped/fitted in the original military oil cooler mounting position (Same width and far more efficient with 1/3rd of the height). Hose and fittings all ready to connect. But the final pipe positions and lengths will need to be determined once the radiator panel is back and fitted. On that subject Lyn at Ashtree informs me that the rad panel went off for initial sandblasting towards the end of last week so expect that to be ready in a couple of weeks.

Clutch pedal bolted in (with S3 master cylinder) and hoses connected. Filled with DOT4 and bled without any problems. Just need to set the clutch free play and height...and stick a rubber pad on it.

I  had planned to fit both fuel tanks in position and had already applied underbody Waxoyl to the chassis area enclosed when the tanks are installed and the neighbouring part of each fuel tank. That is where the crud gets trapped after all? But thinking about it again I decided that installing them will restrict access for the brake pipe install etc. So they have gone back into storage for now.

Biodiesel proof fuel lines and tank filters have arrived and are ready to fit but first I need to organise the placement of the main fuel filter. This needs to be bolted through the blind box section in the bulkhead. To mount the filter (and later a flat plate heat ex for WVO viscocity reduction) I have decided to fab a plate with 8-10mm studs to hold the filter and secure this to the b/h with six 6mm sheet-nuts/rivnuts. I hope to sort this next weekend.

The main fuel filter is now complete and is basically the original Discovery filter with an additional 8mm banjo connection for the fuel return from the Bosch injection pump. Plus I have slipped some pipe lagging over the whole assembly. So if the FPHE is installed the heat can be held in there. It costs peanuts after all?

Under floodlights on Sunday I started to tackle the exhaust system. Not a good time to do it but thought I would give it a go. So with the 300tdi Defender downpipe to hand I cut and tacked to form a suitable bend to clear the LH engine mount and the bolts to the rear of the front leaf spring. After a few hours it was starting to look good with the pipework running 1/4" below the gearbox cross member. But that is where I had to leave it.....run out of time.

I am travelling again this week so I will have to revisit the exhaust next Saturday ;)

31st October - Engine mount fixed......Rad panel off for galv

EXHAUST SYSTEM
Taking another look at both the possible routes and parts to use to make a usable system for the tdi I had a bit of an epiphany and thought 'why not look at the original Series petrol system?'. This one is in good condition and had only been on Trigger for 2 years before it moved on to me.

Now looking at the Disco system the internal bore is 2.1" at the downpipe and drops to 1.8" further back with two silencer boxes. The Series std system had a bore minimum of 1.5" ID. Not much difference and it has a single box - and I could use the large rear box from the Disco easily enough if it is more efficient or use nowt?

Lining up the Series downpipe with the 300tdi mounting proved that it would both miss the engine mount plus the first cross-member behind the engine. The route would then be spot-on and I could use all the original mounts! All it would need is a 3 stud flange either by modifying the existing one or aquire and weld on one from a 200/300 tdi downpipe. I have a new 300tdi downpipe here which owes me £25 so I could butcher that, but I would prefer to use a secondhand one off an old system - if I can find one? Then I can 'Bay the new unused section. So far it looks as if the flange is not available as a 'spare'. They are only suppllied fitted to the downpipe. Or make one up from a piece of 1/4" mild steel plate?

The other issue is would the system work OK with the slightly increased back pressure induced by the reduced bore?

The thread I started on this subject is here --> http://www.series2club.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=31277.msg279106#msg279106

Decision made on the exhaust. From the discussion on the link above I will build the exhaust from parts I have to hand, starting with the the 300tdi Defender downpipe - modified slightly. At least then from that point it should be straightforward?


RAD PANEL
Well a bit of progress here. As mentioned in the last post the panel has now been stripped and after a bit of haggling I have agreed that the panel is going to be repaired by Ashtree. Price was also haggled down a little as I am local and will drop off and pick-up. So they will repair and fully galvanise it! The only issue now is to arrange a drop-off. They respond to emails after 24 hours but mobile and landlines are always on answerphone?

In the end I got hold of Lyn (he works as almost a one man operation) just before he headed to Holland for one week to deliver another batch of galv bulkheads. Front panel is now with him and should be back with me in 3-4 weeks.

ENGINE MOUNTS
After finding out the offside was lacking a certain 'slipper plate' that then went back on over the weekend. Engine now sits spot on level and there is no longer any strain on the mounts. Tidy!

Well the fuel tanks didn't get fitted and there was no progress on the exhaust over the weekend due to both time and the weather so let's see what the next one brings?

25th October - Turbo assembly in and tweaked!

TURBO

Now despite the 300tdi turbo being far a better orientation for this type of install (over the 200tdi Disco type) I still fancied tweaking the turbo boost outlet a tad. Then I could get a bit more space between both it and the nearside wing. I didn't need to do it, and I could have got away with not doing it....but what the hell?

To allow the outlet port to be rotated by 45 degrees requiers the turbo internal valve vacuum unit to also be moved. Here it is after the body of the turbo was rotated and then adjusted so the shaft action is still perpendicular to the actuator body.

To rotate the turbo body either tap it around with a raw hide mallet or remove the large circlip on the body.

Once the assembly was back in position it now looks like this......

I did have a problem with one of the two top center exhaust manifold stubs. One thread started to strip and it was then discovered that the actual thread in the block was 1/4" deeper than the stud. There never was much holding it into the block. So the thread was cleaned with a 10mm plug tap then both this and the stud alongside were replaced with 10mm cap head screws. This now also means I can access them easier if nec.

So the next item to tackle is the actual exhaust - but for now I need to work on some of the other bits such as swapping the diffs and bulkhead bits and bob's.

BULKHEAD

Wipers/vent seals/fly screen/washer jets are now all back on. The curved wiper tube to the left hand end had been mullered by a PO when they installed the S3 assembly instead of the original twin motor setup. While I was at the October Bath & West LR 'show' I picked up a complete wiper assembly for £5. I then used that tube and kept the rest for spares.

AXLES

Rich (aka 'Rogue Trooper') dropped off a spare Range Rover rear diff during the week (plus a spare S2 gearbox) so the diff was cleaned up and fitted in the back axle. One of the diffs I reclaimed from the scrap Disco was also fitted in the front (10 spline too). So both axles are now 3.54:1, filled with GL4 and are ready to go.

OIL COOLER

A decision was made on the oil cooler/rad. I am going to stay with the Series rad and fit an auxiliary oil cooler. So order now placed for a 13 row/plate FPHE type plus all the necessary pipework/fittings etc. These should be here for next weekend.

ENGINE MOUNTS

While fiddling with the oil cooler connections at the filter block I noticed this.

Offside Series petrol mount is starting to split! It is under some strain but should be able to take it? Now this was new when the engine was dropped in a few weeks ago, but were 'pattern' parts from an unknown source. No marking on the packet and bought from Paddocks. May have been Br1tpart?

This will obviously need to be removed and chucked but do I replace with the same again or like the gearbox rubbers change for 2.5N/A ones which are more substantial?

Thread about it linked here ---> http://www.series2club.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=31206.0

Well now I know why the rubber is under stress! Delving in piles of boxes at the back of the garage I found my fruit box marked 'Chassis bits' and in the bottom under several layers of rubbish was this.

I now need to clean this up and fit it on the RH engine chassis mount where it should be!

MISC

I now need to get that front rad panel fully stripped and then decide do I pay through the nose to get it rebuilt and galv'd? (£150!) ....or go for the cheaper £50 and just get a bit welded in?

3/4 & 10/11 October - Tx box back on and dipstick sorted.....

Two weekends worth of blog in one. Either I was too busy or just too damn tardy to get this all down?

Well the transfer box/gbx seal went in (Allmakes this time) and looked the same as the genuine unlike the Britpart one I had received then mullered previously. New set of Britpart gaskets, which seemed all fine despite some having problems with them, enabled the box to be rebuilt and refilled with the saved lube - once the transmission brake was refitted. The brake was in good condition when I removed it, but I rebuilt it with new shoes etc. anyway.

Painted what will be the outside of the bulkhead with Containergard in DBG. Interior will stay gloss DBG. It's easier to wipe down.

Using the old 'work out how long a drive belt you need with a piece of wire' trick I dropped by the local emporium and found that a Halfords HB1250c drive belt would fit (£4.50 with 'trade' discount). Maybe a tad thick as it rises a little out of the alternator pulley but I will see how it goes. There was a thinner option which was a bit shorter if I need to change it.

That was all last weekend and not much has happened during this one due to the weather and all the other stuff that had to be done. But I have sorted the dipstick!

With a 300tdi turbo assembly and the 200tdi inlet mani the original dipstick tube will not fit so something had to be done. After a bit of fettling it looked like this and even is secure on the original two mounting screws when fitted. Takes a bit of wiggling to get both it and the 300tdi turbo assy on/off but it is easily do-able if you know the procedure now.

Managed to get the vent flaps on (now painted in DBG) and most of the metalwork off the old bulkhead. Did start to fit the vent seals but dopey managed to put the glue on the wrong side so they are trashed and will have to be done again. Duoooogh?

Next weekend's plan is to fit the wiper motors and vent screens; both fuel tanks in; and to decide on the turbo outlet position. I planned to rotate it slightly to improve the fitting of the turbo ductwork but that is going to entail some fettlin' with the linkage to make it workable. I may give up and fit it anyway....or I may not. Come back next time ;)

26/27th September - Gearbox in (and out)

Friday evening and Sat morning I managed to get the flywheel casing modified a la Glencoyne and the genuine crank seal fitted. Original was a Dowty and the new one came with no stamped ID but was in a genuine LR box). In the end I had to buy a pack of 25 off 10mm x 80mm cap head screws for the bottom strengthener bolt replacements as I couldn't source them locally. Hopefully others will need some and I can pass them on for beer money?

Noons Scrap metal also recovered the Disco shell. So that'll keep the neighbour happy!

So using the shanks from some long stainless 10mm screws (cut to form studs) they were inserted with permanent thread lock after tapping the housing to suit. At the base of the housing (3 off) and one to replace the relocated stud in the 3 O'clock position. The four cap heads at the base of the flywheel housing had to be accomodated flush with the housing. Unfortunately I could not find a suitable 16mm drill and all I had to hand was a 19mm. A bit oversize and it breaks through into the flywheel cavity but should not present any problems.

Note the third hole from the left though. Drill went a bit too 'happy', snatched and cracked a bit off the casing. So no screw to be fitted there. Three should be more than sufficient. Some installations don't bother with these at all after all?

Saturday afternoon Stu 'Twizzle' dropped over to help get the S2 gearbox up close and personal with the tdi's backend. After a great deal of huffing/puffing and tweaking the engine crank position etc. it went in!

The in a fit of enthusiasm Stu suggested fitting the renovated bulkhead. Now it has never been on the chassis before and was built up on the old and now scrapped one. Would it fit?..........................It did, and the bolts lined up perfectly :) It's starting to look like a Land Rover again?

On Sunday I had a few hours spare so I decide to adjust the valve clearances, get the trans brake rebuilt and back on then refill both the transfer and main gearbox.

To avoid filling through normal side ports I popped the access plate open on the tx box and filled that with semi-synth 75/90 GL4 through there. Then moved onto the main box and decide to fill through the top turret as that was directly over the gearbox I assumed the oil feed must come from there? After about 4 litres of expensive lube the gearbox level was still not reached,and I thought something must be wrong? I opened the tx box overflow and it gushed out so I immediately thought the seal between the boxes must have failed.

So transfer box off to access the main shaft oil seal...... and I then realised that the top turrent oil comes from the tx box via a slot machined in the back of the tx box. I was just filling the tx box through that! Duuuugh!

Pic shows tx box off and a view of the rear of the main gbx and main shaft and lip seal exposed (yes I could even have changed the seal in situ without removing whole tx box but it's a darn sight easier this way).

Luckily I saved all the gear lube (£25 for 4 litres after all x2) so that can go back in later. While it is all off I may as well replace the main to tx box seal, give the whole assy a clean up and replace all the gaskets. Cheap enough after all. At least I learnt something from the experience?

Stu had left on Sat with 4 of the 7.50's on late 109 rims and I plan to drop the last two matching ones off at the end of next week. Tyres will be pulled off (in exch. for beer) and I can then get the rims sand blasted and painted. So I needed to grab the last one that was propping up one corner of the chassis and swap it with a spare.

Well as I tightened up one wheelnut it seemed to go around a bit more than usual. Then fell out. Someone in the past had epoxying the stud in the bl**dy hole!

So along with the gbx gaskets etc I have ordered the 'spline' type wheel studs (Part No.561886). I just need to bore the hole out to 9/16" then wind the new stud in. Stud costs 25p after all, so why bodge it?

18/19th September - Cam belt replaced

Despite the PO believing the cam belt had been changed late in 2008 -

a) The Disco the engine came from had been through a lot of mud (sans plug)

b) Had the idlers etc. been changed?

Opening up the cam belt cover it was actually pretty clean internally and the belt did appear to be recent. But the idler was rusty so prob original and old as did the tensioner. Also someone had mullered the injection timing cover bolts.

So this weekends plan was to get the cam belt swapped and the front and rear crank oil seals. The first issue was despite the various searches on the 'net and the Haynes book 'O' lies my timing case markers are not as per any of those - plus the timing tool will never fit in the notch in the flywheel when the engine is at TDC - it is about 60 degrees out!

See flywheel pic below. Arrow on flywheel is on the notch and arrow at the bottom is the drain/tool entry point.

Sussed it in the end and used the crank woodruff key at the vertical position as TDC and ignored the flywheel (and marked it in red for next time). From now on I won't be able to access the drain anyway so this works for me and I will prob drill and tapo another in the gearbox bellhousing.

Pic below with everything lined up after the new idler, front crank oil seal and tensioner where fitted with the  new Dayco belt.

Now ready for next weekend and maybe I can get the flywheel housing modified ready for the S2 gearbox to mate up...and fit the rear crank seal. The only reason I didn't do the seal this weekend was the 'OEM' seal that arrived was a rubber Br1tpart affair. There was no way that was going in with all the hassle that would be entailed in replacing it if it failed. A genuine one is now on order at the cost of £25!

17th September - 300tdi turbo trial fit

Arrived home tonite at 1930 to find the 300tdi Disco turbo assembly had arrived inc. the oil pipework - as requested from the Ebay seller. Good guy and at £90 delivered it seems a bargain.

Does it fit? Here are a few pics.

From the pics the downpipe clearance is tight against the LH/passenger side engine mount but with a few mods the 300tdi Defender downpipe will clear it. The next issue if I get that sorted is the exh. pipe route. At the moment it looks as if the pipe will foul the crossmember behind the engine flywheel casing which I guess is due to the different heights that Defender mounts would position the block? I also need to find out what route a 110 200/300tdi exhaust run would take so I need to do a Google or ask the question and if I can rotate the turbo outlet to put it in the vertical position?

Another plus point is that both turbo oil feed pipes fit the block without any issue. So no worries in that dept. I just need new copper washers.

12/13th September 2009 - Engine in !

Saturday and Sunday were hectic....again.

The previous evening I managed to finsh the front hubs off with a pair of new swivel seals and vaseline impregnated leather gaiters. The hub assy's were then fitted first thing Saturday so the 109 chassis was then rollable and could be moved around later in the weekend.

Saturday I tackled dropping the gearbox out and lopping the remaining engine attachments. The exhaust looked quite new and was pulled for a possible later parts source. Props all looked good and were put to one side for scrap or sale.

To get the final top 10mm nuts off the top of the bellhousing I removed the gearbox x-mem then lowered the complete gearbox assembly onto a hydraulic jack. I could then get access. This seemed the easiest method and allowed the gearbox to be dropped onto the gravel and dragged out with a towing strop.

I eventually managed to make it indoors at 2230!

Sunday started at 1000 with the arrival of my father, Richard ('Rogue Trooper') and Stu ('Twizzle'). Richard was excited by the thought of an almost bottomless box of 1mm chop disks and a Disco front end to 'open up'.

The amusing spectical after pulling the engine was for the 4 of us plus a neighbour attempting to 'shuffle' the rolling Disco shell around the inclined parking area swapping position with the rollable 109 chassis. Lacking brakes we had to use wooden blocks chocking the wheels for every meter of movement downhill to stop it colliding with us/neighbours garages/cars/pedestrians......! After a bit of excercise we managed to get both where we wanted them! I didn't want a recurrence of  last weeks 'garage door' incident :)

Engine ready to 'drop in'

After about 2 hours wobbling and fettlin' the engine was in. We used the original 2.25 petrol engine mounts with new Series petrol rubber mounts. It took a bit of fiddling on the RH chassis mount to get everything to line up. The original mounting hole had to be slotted by 1/2".

We popped the Discovery 200tdi turbo assembly on just to see where it 'landed' in relation to the chassis rail. As Glen Anderson had quite rightly said to me before.....it does make contact with the LH rail. But Twizzle's install saw it missing with about 3/4" of air between the two. The difference there was 2.5N/A rubbers, Perkins chassis mounts and a non-1 tonne chassis.

The engine position still needs a bit of a fine tune as it sits a few degrees to one side. But the gearbox is still to be installed and there is room on the mounts to add some spacers, if necessary. I will wait until it is all bolted up before I 'tweak' it.

The first 'dying' Disco bits buyer arrived as Stu and I finished on Sunday and took away the track rod arm, cigar lighter, headlights and the one sun visor clip. Total £30 in the bank. Rear half shafts and rear prop on their way next week for a further £30 and I have had an enquiry for the front diff (10 spline). Also had one call about the 3 brg petrol engine that came out of the old 109 chassis! Transfer box has also prompted an offer £100 too.

I have now decided to keep the rear diff and drop that into the front axle of the 109. Rich has a spare Range Rover diff (with filler port) that I can have for the rear. So we are going 3.54:1 instead of the original 4.7:1. But I will hold onto the old diffs just in case.

The plan next weekend is to fit both new front and rear crank seals, replace the cam belt and tensioners and complete the engine clutch housing stud mods. All parts are on order bar the 4off 10x80mm cap heads for the base of the clutch housing which will have to wait for a few days.

Also I hope the Ebay sourced Disco 300tdi turbo assembly will have arrived. This will offer a higher turbo outlet and also a better angle for the exhaust downpipe as well. If I get time next week I will get that offered up!

All that now needs to come off the Disco 'shell' is the front diff and maybe the hub assy's (have another buyer) and parts of the tow bar assembly which I can re-cycle. I might also save the remaining track rods.

4th-6th September - Chassis now rolling

Another spurt of activity (so much so I forgot to take any pics!) over a long weekend.

Chassis is now fully rolling with both the front a rear axles fitted (still have the U-bolts issue with RM though) using Paddocks petrol U-bolts all round, which fit fine on the RM parabolics. Front hubs on temporarily though as I need to fit some new swivel seals (might as well?)....and then get the gaiters on (Vasaline soaking in). LR Series order on it's way so may finish that off next weekend. But......

The reason for this spurt was mobilise the 109 to vacate a space in the courtyard to 'roll' the Discovery in for strip-down. Had a few problems with the Disco namely I managed to drive it through the front door of one of my garages Friday (no clutch and no foot brake) but after a bit of hammer fettlin' the Disco made it into the 'yard on Sunday - {Homer voice on]dhooooo[Homer voice off]. 'Engine out' booked for next weekend.

By end of play Sunday the rad and intercooler were out. I had drained a further 25 litres of diesel out of the Disco fuel tank (fitted a bucket underneath and just drilled a hole at a low point). Most of the electrical connections removed from the 200tdi and the fuel filter and glow-plug wiring assembly tucked away. So exhaust/starter connections/heater matrix/throttle still to go....then to tackle the bellhousing. So there's next Saturday gone?

At the moment I have fitted the original 4.7 diff's in and will probably keep it that way. Diso diff's will be removed and put to one side if they are 10 spline otherwise they will be 'weighed in' if no-one wants them. As to whether to turbo or not to turbo I am still bouncing that decision around. To turbo firstly requires a 200tdi Defender manifold assembly and I have given up finding one of those. An alternative is a 300tdi Defender (custom exhaust required) but nothing yet there either.....and a DI install meets the KISS objective?

We will get it sitting in the rails and I'll decide when I come up against a wall schedule wise!

One more thing. The Disco is going to be broken anyway after I take off all the bits that I need so I have offered the majority of the parts to the bunch of LR Magpies that inhabit the internet.

So far I have had requests for the rear half shafts, transfer box, headlining, some plastic trim and the wiper assembly. So add that to the free fuel and the Disco hasn't really 'cost' me much? The local scrap merchant has also agreed to collect the non-rolling chassis/shell against the scrap value ;) Also dropped off the scrap 109 chassis/springs and two dustbins full of electrical cable Friday morning to the tune of £63!

Cheers all,
Paul

28-31st August - Disco arrives!

Well a bit of a busy one this weekend, though Friday was an LR loss due to having to get the rear brakes rebuilt on the Cherokee. As the daily driver that had to take priority.

Saturday and also Monday saw the rear springs going on and the rear axle minus the diff and half shafts. Looks tidy. It would have looked even tidier if the RM supplied U-bolts actually fitted. The axle could then have been clamped up and I could have moved onto the front. But oh no!

The RM supplied U-bolts for both the front and rear axles are 13mm diameter (larger than std) which would not have been a problem if that was the only hitch. In addition the spacing between the legs of the U-bolt are 1/2" too wide so they will not fit the spring plate without a lot of filing and also it also leaves a lot of slack around the axle tube. I dropped a mail to RM on Saturday so I will give them a few days to respond. See pic below showing the difference in spacing against the rear spring plate.

Also sorted out a plate to mount the civi towing electrics over the military towing socket on the rear x-mem. A bit of 3mm plate some fun with a chop saw then the welder = job done!

The biggest task of the weekend on Sunday was to collect the Disco :) By lunchtime it was home and driven 35 miles without any clutch, which was an experience and luckily the 200tdi has enough torque to pootle along in 3rd all the way. Though the traffic behind both me and a following SWMBO wasn't too pleased at being restricted to 45mph all the way down the A36 from Bath.

Anyway the Disco seems to be a good one and drove very well with loads of power. With change out of £400 I have a '93 200tdi with 99k on the clock, 11 months MOT and it has even had a new cambelt 8 months ago (though no docs to prove that so I will change it anyway) plus half a tank of diesel and five SAG lookalike tyres on good 109 military rims (NRC7578/Dunlop/5.5Fx16x33 - spare is new to!).

The diesel went into SWMBO's truck and the wheels will be blasted and used on Trigger.

Sunday afternoon was spent stripping down the Disco to get access to the engine and also to give it a good clean around the engine bay. Also lopped off the viscous fan and changed the oil and filter. Will change the oil etc again once it is in Trigger, but fresh oil gives it a good clean out.

The plan now is to get the 109 chassis into a 'rolling' state and moved out of the courtyard. Then get the Disco in and the engine out. That is the only way we will be able to use the engine hoist again due to the gravel.

So now to get a few orders in for conversion parts for the 200tdi but I am still undecided whether it will be a 'tdi' or 'di'. At the moment the decision rests with me sourcing a Defender exh/inlet manifold and turbo assy - which seem to be as rare as teeth on hens. At least this way the parts are std, or as much as they can be. If I cannot find the manifold soon it will have to be Di (sans turbo). So for now the alternator front pulley; temp sender adaptor and 9.5" clutch assy are all ordered.

Let's get this chassis rolling?

21-23rd August - 200Tdi on it's way!

I mentioned right at the beginning of this 109 saga that I planned to replace the existing engine with a diesel. Two reasons really one to give it a bit more power and torque and also so I can run it on a small percentage of waste veg which we already process here anyway. The engine of choice would be a 200Tdi from a rusty early Disco. For now I will leave off the turbo just to make the installation as simple as possible. Whether I fit it in the future - who knows?

Anyway, in the background I have been putting the feelers out and regularly checking Ebay for cheap MOT failures with what appears to be a good engine and transmission (after all I can sell the LT77 on if it is good). So far two have come up over the past week and both have got away.

1. G plate with 180k in Avebury - couldn't view due to other social committments and that went for £315
2. H plate with 196k Andover - Was on the way over to see it Friday when he called and said he had sold it for £600 outside of the Ebay auction for cash :(

So back to the Bay and keep on looking?

Saturday was spent stripping the rear axle followed by the front on Sunday then giving both the remains of the POR15 that had formed a lump in a jar followed by two coats of Johnsons grey primer (as used on the chassis)then International black satin gloss. I was worried how much material remained on the rear diff bowl then noticed that a PO had done a weld repair after a previous 'puncture'. But it looked much better once cleaned up. Hopefully that will hold for years?



Front is surprisingly good internally and once the scale was chipped off and the surface beaten about with the wacky wheel it wasn't bad externally either. After pulling off the leather gaiters both balls were in perfect condition - so that worry is out of the way.



Also found what looks like a chassis No. (?) stamped on the outside of the front casing.



When stripping the rear axle I found the old military ratio markings for the diff (4.7) under layers of grime.



+++++ Stop press ++++++ Disco now found!!
Well all change again! After losing the last 2 Disco's keeping my eye on The Bay has now come up trumps. A 'K' plate 200tdi with 100k on the clock. Good engine with current (new MOT) plus 3/4 tank of diesel for £350. Reason - the clutch lever in the bell housing has pulled through. Common problem but one that gave me a bit of leverage on the price. We collect next Sunday :)

16th August - Chassis top coat on

Surprisingly the sun shone all day on Sat and Sun so I able to make an attempt at the final coat of chassis paint.

Now I have been wondering whether to paint it Deep Bronze Green (DBG) using the Containergard (as I have so much) or to use the black Rust Bullet top coat that I bought for the job (but is probably going to struggle to achieve even one coat with only 1 litre).

Saturday I had a quick go with the Containgard and realised fast that it requires a lot of thinning and dries almost immediately. So never drag the brush over a previously coated section! Anyway, I used some DBG on the front end of the chassis and left it overnight. Looking at it in the morning it was obvious it would need two coats to do the job when thinned to a suitable level so I would need to use half the can to do a good job.....and I really wanted at least half a can to paint the outside of the LR after all?

So back to the black. Sunday - Decanting about 300ml of RB into an old (but clean) baked bean tin (Tesco budget brand) then thinned with some synthetic enamel thinners (aprox. 10%) and tried it on a small area. Coverage was good so I thought what the hell and went for it. Luckily there was enough, but it was tight and wasn't helped by me spilling some during a moment of lapsed concentration. Time taken for another lap = 3 hours.

So here it is and ready to leave for a few weeks until the axles are ready to fit.



Next job. Get those axles cleaned/stripped and painted.

9th August - Chassis in the yard and now 'battleship gery'

The likely lads managed to move the chassis last Monday evening and it is now ensconced in the courtyard.

Being away all week then followed by the crud weather I was grateful to have two days of sun this weekend. I made the most of it and managed to get two coats of galv primer applied.

So here it is in it's battleship grey splendour and ready for a final top coat next weekend if the weather sorts itself out again (it's Summer for godsakes...isn't it?)



Also a decision has been made on the paint for the bodywork etc. After a discussion on the HMVF I have decided on BS381C-224. Protega Containergard in Deep Bronze Green with a sheen/semi-gloss. Bought from Smith & Allen for £45 delivered for about 5 litres. More than enough for two LR's?

Also I have been having another sniff at finding out more about the military origins of Trigger. The best source I have found for older LR's seems to be the HMVF and the thread below has turned up a bit more info on South Eastern Command (which it turns out later became know as South Eastern District).

http://www.hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?t=14135

2nd August - The old chassis is no more!

The plan today was for both Minivin and myself to head up to Swindon for the Sodbury Sortout ....which we then found out had been cancelled! :( So my planned order of paint will have to go by phone it seems.

Anyway to make use of the spare time and as the weather was unusually clear and warm it seemed daft not to crack on with the task in hand. So with the old rolling chassis sitting in the drive the remaining bits were removed, axles cut out (most of the bolts were rusted solid in the spring bushes) and the whole chassis cut up ready for the scrap man.

So from this...........



A 109 chassis can be reduced to this in 3 hours with the help of a 9" grinder and 5x 2mm cutting disks....



What was interesting (from an anoraky persepective at least)was the internal condition of the chassis rails. The rails on the front half of the chassis were in surprisingly good condition for a ~45 year old vehicle. The original dip paint finish had started to peel and there was only slight surface corrosion at the base of the rail. But the rear half of the chassis was completely different. Serious spalling had occurred and you could easily see that the original material was now around 0.5mm thick - and had then been plated over where it had holed. It appears that this 109 had been used to maybe launch boats in a salty environment in the past? It had belonged to a Co. working on canal boats for many years but they had been working in fresh water...or maybe not?

At the end of the day the minimum it would have required was a rear half chassis and a repair to the drivers side front dumb iron assembly. As the former is no longer available a full chassis is the only option....bank manager withstanding!

STOP PRESS!!!! -- A 'team' of trusty fellows have been press-ganged into being over my place at 1900 tomorrow to shift the new chassis.

31 July 2009 - The chassis has arrived !!

After the best part of 3 months waiting for the large and the most important part of the project to arrive from Richards - it is now here. I did have a bit of a panic the day before when Kathyrn at Richard's called to say the delivery had been delayed...from a sparrow's f**t time of 6am to a more sociable 3-4pm - in the end it was here at 1430 ;)

So here it is as Terry dropped it off along with his oppo...and boy is it heavy. Original estimates put a 109 chassis at 100kg but a military 1 tonne style lump with the associated additional rail depth and material thickness it weighs just a bit more than that. It now needs to be moved from here and into the courtyard so I need to rope in a team to do that!

Only small problem is the lack of a steering damper bracket. It was on the order but hasn't appeared. A quick call to Richards and they admitted it was their oversight. It is a bolt on component so they are sticking one in the post next week. I also noticed the the rear front spring outriggers are different. The new ones have two holes compared to the old ones one. Someone had fitted std rear outriggers at some point on the old chassis? So now with new parabolics and 2" lift with the new mounting position this will make it tall at the back end!



Bren the JRT checks it out!



Later in the afternoon Rob (Minivin) rolled over with the engine hoist so we quickly put that to good use and lifted out the old gearbox and 2 1/4 petrol lump and managed to stick them on a pallet by the garage. The whole task was not helped by the fact that 99% of the drive is gravel. The only concrete patch is in front of the garage so we had the position the hoist over both that and a few lumps of chipboard under the outriggers.









It wasn't helped by the hoist seal leaking so much we got through at least 1/2 litre of ATF just lifting the block out.



Now the chassis is almost empty of the necessaries I need to remove the last remaining bits before we can pull the axles and chop it up for weighing in.



Evening came around and before sundown I couldn't wait - so out came a rag with a bit of cellulose thinners and a gallon of 'T-wash'. 1 hour later the whole chassis was prepped with the etch acid solution and hosed down. Also rain was due that night to neutralise and de-activate any remaining acid etch.

Here it is as I found it this morning and at least no-one ran off with it?