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?
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