• RME Gear & Apparel

Landrover Defender Thread

T

The Red Ryder

New Member
Hey guys.

Haven't noticed a thread about Land Rover Defenders in general so thought I'd start this one up :)

About my Defender

Bought this last year and it was in a bit of a rough and ready condition. The RAC inspected it and the engines a good-un. :p
It's got the 300 TDI engine in it (despite being a 2001 model) so I know it's not got the potential of being a nightmare to work on compared to the newer Td5.

A few niggles here and there.

The bodywork was a bit dented and needed some work

P1050214.jpg


Nice views, you feel like master and commander up in the cab :)

P1050233.jpg


Bit 'o damage here:

P1050221.jpg


The landrover was previously owned by a drilling company and has a nice open space in the back that is stripped out and is great for stowage. I've got big plans for in here:

P1050228.jpg


Theses are really handy for letting fresh outside air in. When you are at speed you don't need any fans drawing air away from the engine either :)

P1050225.jpg


Need to see about getting a padlock on here.

P1050227.jpg


I've also started a web-page featuring Defenders from the early days up to the present here:

http://www.squidoo.com/land-roverdefender

Please if you can spare the time take a quick look and let me know what you think of it.

Over the next few days I'll be posting the project work carried out so far...

Friendly feedback appreciated :)
 
Spork

Spork

Tin Foil Hat Equipped
Location
Saratoga Springs, UT
Nice :greg:

In the US they stopped importing them in the mid-90s so the ones that were imported have a higher price than when they were new. I've always thought they were a cool rig. :hickey:
 
Rot Box

Rot Box

Diesel and Dust
Supporting Member
Location
Smithfield Utah
Nice rig!

Like Spork said these are pretty rare and very expensive here and the V8's were pretty much what we got stuck with. You can't mistake them for anything else on the trail that's for sure :cool:
 
T

The Red Ryder

New Member
The Next Step

The landrovers interior was a mess from its previous owners.
It was covered in this fine cement dust that would not sweep out nor wipe out easily.

Just prior to painting I got some filler going to repair the plywood floor. Obviously those heavy bags of cement had taken their toll previously :)

P1050262-1.jpg


I soaked up as much as I could of the dust and bought some green exterior wood paint and gave it the real slap-dash treatment :)

It's green green green inside the rear cargo area now.
From this dusty place:

P1050228.jpg


To this:

P1050463.jpg


No longer is dust ever present and getting on clothes and kit etc. With the gloss finish on now any muck or debris just wipes off :)
 
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T

The Red Ryder

New Member
More project history so far:

As you can see the back and front bumpers are pretty rusty looking and faded. The rust isn't deep though and is mostly surface stuff.

P1050215.jpg



P1050220.jpg


So with a grinder and a smooth disc I set about grinding down the worst rust bits and sanding down the rest.

P1050235.jpg


This done I used a few coats of rust eater. Once this had dried I started applying black hammerite paint. This stuff is quite expensive but it is specifically designed for metal application and doesn't need any undercoats. You just slap dash it on. You know the saying 'If you can p&ss, you can paint' :D Only kidding there painter-folk :)

P1050249.jpg


I took off the towing array and gave that a good going over too.

P1050242.jpg
 
T

The Red Ryder

New Member
Thanks for the comments so far guys. I'm working on getting this so it's a mini-RV vehicle :)

Some more doings:

While on the move to work I had a blowout. I steered safety over to the hard-shoulder and tried self-recovery.

Out came the 2 tonne jack I’d bought from Halfords but no dice. It wasn’t big enough and kept slipping off the lifting point. It’d be too dangerous to continue with that.

I called out recovery and learned my lesson, next time I’d have to get a bigger jack.
My tyres were pretty worn too and I vowed to get a full set of new tyres.
So once at the nearest tyre place I got myself some all-singing, all-dancing ‘Grabber’ All terrain tyres.
Although it wasn’t the tyre wear that caused the blowout I learned that it was from running over a roofing bolt. These, I’m told by the mechy, are the leading cause of blowouts on the motorways.

Here’s one of the new tyres.

P1050224.jpg


The spare tyre mounted on the bonnet is the real deal, a proper one and not a space saver either.

Now a bit of a niggle with Defenders is that they are prone to leakage. Mine was no exception. On the inside of the passenger door and the drivers side along with the cargo door it leaked. Drip, drip everytime it rained hard.

If you left the vent flaps open and it rained there’d be leaks from their too but closing them prevented that.
It was time to fix the leaks.
The drivers side leak I fixed by treating the metalwork where the rubber weather seal joined with some rust eater and touch-up paint.
The roof was where the real work was needed though and I needed something to match the white roof.

P1050230.jpg


My local mechy Tom advised me that the best stuff was the window sealant used by double glazing firms. Car accessory places also supplied it.
After a few sagas I sourced some of the stuff – Tiger Seal!



I was warned not to tarry when applying it. Once it the stuff dries, it grips like a tiger and there’s no going back.

Well I attached the grease gun frame and it didn’t work. Not good as it means I’ve no way of applying the sealent to the roof seam L
In the end I just cut the neck off and stuck a big ole thin rod in and pulled it out. Then with some rubber gloves on I just finger applied it into the groove.
Took a while let me tell you but after about an hour I’d just managed to get both sides plus the cross groove done when the stuff set hard!


No leaks from the roof now, just a little bit from the door seal near the ground. But that’s nothing really.
 
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jeep-N-montero

jeep-N-montero

Formerly black_ZJ
Location
Bountiful
Red Ryder, where are you located? The Defender series was originally designed so that anyone with a 5th grade education or better could rebuilt the complete vehicle. I would love a D90, but they go for $25k or more.
 
T

The Red Ryder

New Member
Yeah the tea spillage was a close one man :D

Ok, next databurst follows

While on the move to work I had a blowout. I steered safety over to the hard-shoulder and tried self-recovery.

Out came the 2 tonne jack I’d bought from Halfords but no dice. It wasn’t big enough and kept slipping off the lifting point. It’d be too dangerous to continue with that.

I called out recovery and learned my lesson, next time I’d have to get a bigger jack.
My tyres were pretty worn too and I vowed to get a full set of new tyres.
So once at the nearest tyre place I got myself some all-singing, all-dancing ‘Grabber’ All terrain tyres.
Although it wasn’t the tyre wear that caused the blowout I learned that it was from running over a roofing bolt. These, I’m told by the mechy, are the leading cause of blowouts on the motorways.

Here’s one of the new tyres.

P1050224.jpg


The spare tyre mounted on the bonnet is the real deal, a proper one and not a space saver either.

Now a bit of a niggle with Defenders is that they are prone to leakage. Mine was no exception. On the inside of the passenger door and the drivers side along with the cargo door it leaked. Drip, drip everytime it rained hard.

If you left the vent flaps open and it rained there’d be leaks from their too but closing them prevented that.
It was time to fix the leaks.
The drivers side leak I fixed by treating the metalwork where the rubber weather seal joined with some rust eater and touch-up paint.
The roof was where the real work was needed though and I needed something to match the white roof.

P1050230.jpg


My local mechy Tom advised me that the best stuff was the window sealant used by double glazing firms. Car accessory places also supplied it.
After a few sagas I sourced some of the stuff – Tiger Seal!

[URL="http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc174/Ulysses3100/Ireland/P1050468.jpg%5b/IMG"]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc174/Ulysses3100/Ireland/P1050468.jpg[/IMG[/URL]]

I was warned not to tarry when applying it. Once it the stuff dries, it grips like a tiger and there’s no going back.

Well I attached the grease gun frame and it didn’t work. Not good as it means I’ve no way of applying the sealent to the roof seam [FONT=Wingdings]L[/FONT]
In the end I just cut the neck off and stuck a big ole thin rod in and pulled it out. Then with some rubber gloves on I just finger applied it into the groove.
Took a while let me tell you but after about an hour I’d just managed to get both sides plus the cross groove done when the stuff set hard!
No leaks from the roof now, just a little bit from the door seal near the ground. But that’s nothing really.
 
T

The Red Ryder

New Member
Time for upgrading the landrover...

When you have a tyre mounted on the bonnet (or hood as you would call it) the remote release mechanism struggles. While at work though I found a tough looking carriage spring and welded it onto a plate. I bolted that in....

The spring splate wasn't ideal though; too many rings were on it and the main spring catch wasn’t engaging.

P1050305-1.jpg


Out came garth’s grinder and it was not one, not two but three rings of the spring plate sheared off before the bonnet would close. The grinders disc went through the rings with ease despite being stainless.

P1050309-1.jpg


Then the moment of truth. I pulled the release lever...

One resounding ‘klung’ later and it popped open!

P1050304-1.jpg


I trimmed the release catch with some tin-snips and wrapped some tapeit. This prevented it from catching on the spring:
P1050307-1.jpg


The grills went on today. They came with no instructions and were just over £60. I need to get this right with the drill otherwise my lannie will look like swiss cheese on the front end.

But it wasn’t that straightforward. Drilling and getting the holes right was more of an art than a science, especially when there’s zero in the way of instructions for drill bit sizes. Rule of thumb cometh...

P1050299-1.jpg


The rubber grommet fittings were not simple and needed a bit of modification.
Some tape on this one to make it flush with the hole.

[URL="http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc174/Ulysses3100/Land%20Rover/P1050351.jpg%5b/IMG"]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc174/Ulysses3100/Land%20Rover/P1050351.jpg[/IMG[/URL]]

The self taping screws were to be put through thin metal. For wood this might suffice but a vibrating surface such as a veh has the potential for unscrewing. On a lannie even more so.Hence the bolts and locking nuts.

[IMG]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc174/Ulysses3100/Land%20Rover/P1050352.jpg



Mission accomplished! :)
 
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T

The Red Ryder

New Member
The landrovers interior painting was nearly completed today. It’s green green green inside the rear cargo area now. No longer is dust ever present and getting on clothes and kit etc. With the gloss finish on now any muck or debris just wipes off.
Final coat went on today.

Also found out my grommet things on the headlight grills are the wrong way around. So a quick blitz with the drill and I’d made them right.

Next it was time to grind out the flakey and bubbling paint on the aluminium bodywork.

I used my dremel for this. I didn’t want to damage the bodywork with a heavy grinder...

P1050258-1.jpg


Bottom of the door looking a bit grim.

P1050263.jpg



Changed the Air Filter:

P1050257.jpg


The itty bitty jobs out of the way I next focused on the spotlights/driving lights.

For some reason they weren’t coming on.
I tried calling the original seller and he was in the dark. He reckoned it might be the bulbs though.
I started the saga of fault-finding there. I got my solar battery out and tested each of the bulbs. Both were fine.
This meant it surely must either be the switch or wiring.

P1050487.jpg


I started to trace the wire first:

So far so good...
P1050489.jpg


The problem, after following it all the way back underneath to the battery inlet hole was the wire had come loose from the negative terminal. Reattaching it I flicked the switch! Let there be light 

P1050480.jpg


Later on the bulb did go on one of the lights but that was my own fault in not using fresh electrical tape to re-seal it with..

Jerrycans in place with some hooks to hold it steady. I had to cut these first down with a grinder...

Plenty of Water for an exped of week-end away somewhere. Note the solar reflector for keeping the sun off it (and prolonging it’s life).

P1050526.jpg
 
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