I ended up purchasing a rebuilt Solex carburettor from the US, since I wasn’t sure my old one would be in a state where it could be rebuilt. I also got a rebuilt Zenith just as a spare, but I prefer the Solex since it’s easier to tune, apparently works better off-road, and is period correct for the car.
Instead of cutting/welding the relay lever to refit the Solex, I bought a second relay lever, so now I have parts on hand to use either a Solex or a Zenith. I also took the opportunity to replace the crappy Britpart plastic ball joint sockets with some higher quality metal items. I sourced these from Dingocroft, but searching for “2BA ball joint” led to plenty of options. That’s something I’ve been learning - if a part is generic, like a ball joint, search for the generic part rather than using Land Rover part numbers.
I’ve been doing longer drives with the new Solex since it’s been running so well, but on a very hot day I noticed that the oil pressure light was flickering at idle. I wasn’t too worried since it developed good oil pressure at higher RPM, but I still wanted to fix it.
The issue turned out to be the engine idle speed dropping too low at higher temperatures. From stone cold I measured it at about 650 RPM, and then after getting it up to about 60°C on a drive, measured it again and got 320 RPM. I adjusted it back up to 500 RPM per the workshop manual, but I’ll have to wait for another hot day to try again (I started having problems at 90°C).
This is another job mentioned in the previous blog post that I’ve since completed, with the modified springs installed the vehicle now sits much more level.
There has been a slow oil leak from the bottom of the transfer case since rebuilding it, but it recently got worse and I finally decided to do something about it. I initially thought the leak was from the sump gasket, which is a notorious leak spot. I tried various permutations of Permatex sealants, but nothing was working right until I tried JB Weld Ultimate Black.
This helped a lot, but didn’t reduce the leak to zero. I did a little more diagnosis and found that there was a second slow leak around the area of the seal between the speedometer drive housing and the transmission brake backing plate. So I disassembled this and found that the seal for the output flange had worn a slight groove in the flange (some time before the rebuild). At the time of assembly I didn’t think this was enough to cause a leak, but I was wrong.
I found a Speedi-Sleeve of the appropriate size (part number 99162). After installing that and renewing the seals in that area for good measure, I no longer have a transfer case oil leak.
For my own peace of mind on longer trips, I’ve installed aftermarket gauges for oil pressure and coolant temperature. They’re installed in a way that can easily be reversed, although it did necessitate converting the vehicle to negative earth.
Besides the battery (obviously), there are only three polarity-sensitive parts in the vehicle:
I made up a custom bracket for the cabin installation, although I also needed a T-piece with weird threads in order for the original oil pressure warning light to work at the same time as the gauge.
I noticed a small, pinhole leak after a longer drive. I considered trying to solder it up from the outside with the radiator in situ, but I decided to remove the radiator and have it gone over professionally.
I’m glad I did that - turns out the last place did a rough job in a couple of spots, so it’s all been silver soldered and pressure tested again. Interestingly the drain tap failed the pressure test, so I’m just using a bolt. This has been working great since, even on a hot day in traffic after a highway run.
This wasn’t a functional thing, but I never really liked how the engine bay looked with the ignition coil mounted on the valve cover. So I got a longer HT lead from the coil to the distributor, and now the coil is back where it should be.
I also installed an inline fuel filter - it’s not necessary since there are already gauze filters in the fuel pickup, pump, and carburettor inlet elbow. But it’s nice to see what’s going on.
]]>After taking the Series II to its annual safety inspection, I drove it home but noticed it was running very rich and stalling when stopped on a hill, or on the recoil from pulling up at traffic lights - in effect, whenever there were some G-forces towards the back of the vehicle.
I initially thought that the inspection place had touched the carburettor tuning - which they wouldn’t need to do for a safety inspection - but after a couple more test drives and some basic diagnostics, I’m pretty sure it’s the crappy Britpart carburettor. It’s meant to be a copy of a Zenith, but given the trouble I’ve had with these (this is now the second Britpart carburettor to fail on me) I think they’re just poorly manufactured.
It’s still driveable, but pretty annoying, and I suspect it happening at the same time as the safety inspection is just a coincidence.
My plan now is to dig up the old Solex from the storage box and have that properly refurbished - there’s a place in the US that does a nice job, and I’ve heard good things about a guy in Queensland. Not sure which way I’ll go just yet.
This is a very minor gripe, but the aftermarket parabolic springs were the same for both the left and right hand side of the vehicle, unlike the original leaf springs which were a bit stiffer/taller on the driver’s side. That’s because the fuel tank and the driver are on that side, so if you use the same springs on both sides, it lists by about 25mm with a full tank of fuel and no driver.
This didn’t especially bother me, but it was visible and to be honest I was getting a little tired of explaining the spring situation to people, so I’ve taken them out to have both the front and rear springs on the driver’s side raised by 20mm. That way the driver’s side will sit a little high with no driver (but much closer to level than it is now) and a little low with a driver but no passenger. The idea is that, on average, it’s closer to “correct” more of the time.
The differentials were one of the few parts I didn’t fully rebuild when I restored the vehicle, since they were (and are) fine. But I was still curious about what was involved, so when the opportunity came up to purchase another early Series II 4.7:1 differential for not much money, I bought it with the intent of rebuilding it, swapping it into the vehicle, then rebuilding the one that came out of the vehicle, and swapping that onto the other axle (the front and rear differentials are identical).
This would get me freshly-rebuilt differentials with no downtime, and a third differential that I could play with - for example, checking whether ARB air lockers for the 3.54 differential can be made to fit on the 4.7.
I’ve got it fully apart without the special tools, but unfortunately I damaged a couple of shims while removing a bearing (I didn’t realise they were packed in together) so I’m waiting on replacement shims from the UK. It’s not a big deal - the shims are cheap, and this is a spare differential, so there’s no time pressure.
I was considering buying another project Land Rover recently. It was a Series I 80”, lights behind the grille. This is an iconic model, and makes even my Series II look enormous. After seeing it in persion, I decided not to take it on - the chassis would’ve needed more work than I could do in my garage, the bodywork was a mess (one of the most expensive bits of a restoration, unless you simply replace entire panels), the levers and ring pull for the gearbox and transfer case were jammed, and the gearbox wouldn’t turn at all.
The two-hour trip wasn’t a total waste though - it’s a pleasant drive, and the person holding the vehicle (the seller was interstate) had quite a show of other old Land Rovers around the place.
]]>75mm x 44m x 8mm
Firm texture, relatively plain flavour with little sugar. Vague hints of maple syrup. Dunked in tea: mixed bag. Very soft when wet, and poor tea penetration even with ends eaten. Taste is good, though - golden syrup flavour much stronger.
59mm x 8mm
Hard and crumbly, very buttery flavour. Dunked in tea: remains firm and absorbs tea very consistenly. Flavour remains the same.
56mm x 7mm
Firm, moderate dark chocolate flavour with slightly bitter aftertaste. Dunked in tea: quite soft and absorbs tea quickly, but uniformly. Taste is quite muted after dunking.
80mm x 46mm x 10mm
Firm and crumbly. Mild buttery taste. Dunked in tea: goes soft but maintains reasonable integrity. Taste remains the same.
75mm x 50mm x 7mm
Firm and not crumbly. Moderately strong malt taste, and relatively sweet. Dunked in tea: Softens quickly, but retains integrity reasonably well. Absorbs liquid uniformly. Malt taste darkens but retains sweetness.
76mm x 46mm x 7mm
Firm and a little bit crumbly. Moderate taste of honey/maple syrup. Dunked in tea: intially, outer layer absorbs liquid quickly and goes soft while the core remains hard. This improves after the first bite is taken, and it absorbs liquid quite consistently afterwards. Syrup flavour gets stronger.
76mm x 59mm x 8mm
Firm texture, not crumbly. Subtle flavour, presumably arrowroot but I’m not sure what that tastes like normally. Dunked in tea: absorbs liquid quickly and consistently, but does not retain much integrity. Arrowroot flavour gets stronger.
76mm x 6mm
Firm, not crumbly. Subtle syrupy, sweet flavour. Dunked in tea: absorbs liquid quickly and moderately evenly, but retains very little strength. Syrup flavour gets stronger.
68mm x 40mm x 10mm
Firm and crumbly. Strong buttery shortbread flavour. Dunked in tea: absorbs liquid quickly and evenly. Retains structural integrity, and also retains slightly crumbly texture when wet. Butter and shortbread flavour is slightly muted after dunking.
71mm x 35mm x 6mm
Firm, not crumbly. Strong malt flavour. Dunked in tea: absorbs liquid quickly and evenly. Retains a moderate amount of integrity. Malt flavour is quite muted after dunking.
62mm x 7mm
Dry, moderately firm and slightly crumbly. Subtle wheat flavour, and also sweet. Dunked in tea: flavour becomes sweeter and more syrupy, absorbs tea quickly and evenly but doesn’t retain much integrity.
65mm x 5mm
Dry, firm and not crumbly. No flavour, grainy texture. Dunked in tea: flavour and texture unchanged, absorbs liquid quickly and evenly and retains some integrity.
62mm x 50mm x 7mm
Dry, firm and not crumbly. Very strong honey flavour, smooth texture. Dunked in tea: absorbs liquid quickly and evenly, and retains some integrity. Flavour and texture are unchanged.
53mm x 8mm
Dry and extremely hard. Does not crumble, but fractures into large chunks. Strong gingerbread flavour with spicy aftertaste. Dunked in tea: absorbs liquid slowly and inconsistently. Ginger flavour falls off, and spice flavor becomes stronger.
45mm x 16mm
Outer layers: soft and crumbly, moderately strong coconut flavour. Filling: chocolate. Dunked in tea: absorbs liquid quickly and evenly, retains little integrity. Flavour unchanged.
50mm x 14mm
Outer layers: Moderately firm, and crumbly. Subtle golden syrup flavour, dominated by the strong synthetic orange flavour of the filling. Dunked in tea: absorbs liquid quickly and evenly, and retains almost no integrity. Biscuit flavours are more muted, making filling flavour stronger.
60mm x 49mm x 20mm
Outer layers: Moderately firm, and crumbly. Slight coconut flavour. Filling: Vanilla cream with slight jam flavour. Slightly chewy. Dunked in tea: absorbs liquid quickly and consistently, but retains no integrity. Coconut and jam flavours get stronger.
50mm x 14mm
Soft and crumbly. Moderately strong chocolate flavour, with cream filling. Dunked in tea: absorbs liquid quickly and evenly, and retains no integrity. Chocolate taste becomes less strong.
60mm x 30mm x 15mm
Soft and slightly crumbly. Gentle butter flavour, with very sweet cream filling and subtle lemon flavour. Dunked in tea: absorbs liquid quickly and evenly, and retains some integrity. Butter and lemon flavours get slightly stronger.
45mm x 45mm x 15mm
Soft and crumbly. Gentle custard flavour, and very sweet. Dunked in tea: absorbs liquid quickly and consistently. Retains some structural integrity. Custard flavour gets stronger.
60mm x 33mm x 14mm
Outer layers are flaky, moderately firm, and slightly crumbly. Strong lemon taste to filling, and also slightly sweet. Dunked in tea: absorbs liquid slowly and inconsistently. Retains good structural integrity. Lemon taste gets stronger, while sweet flavour diminishes.
]]>After driving the Series II around for a while and getting reasonably comfortable with it, I realised I was a bit nervous about driving it in the rain. The main problem was the fuse situation. From the factory, there is only one fuse for the entire car, protecting the windscreen wiper, brake lights, and fuel level sender. I’m not sure why the engineers originally chose to protect only these (and not, say, the headlights) but that’s how it is.
Later models had more fuses, and more electrical equipment protected. With this in mind, I chose to add a few subtle inline-style fuses for various components:
This doesn’t quite cover everything, but it’s a lot better than it was. The 30A fuse on the wire from the starter switch to the ammeter is something of a “catch-all”, it’s still possible for damage to occur in the time it’ll take to blow (for example, the lead lamp sockets) but I’m confident it’ll prevent a fire, at least.
The main issue I now have with driving in the wet are the skinny 6.00x16 bar tread tyres, which don’t offer a lot of grip.
While installing fuses and testing them, I noticed that the main beam warning light in the dash wouldn’t turn on. The main beams themselves worked fine, so it wasn’t the lights or the switch. Measuring the voltage at the dashboard indicated the junction box was at least trying to send current to the warning lamp.
After unbolting the dashboard and pulling it forward just enough to reach behind it, I removed the housing for the warning light and tested it on the bench. Curiously, it worked fine - so where was my electrical problem?
I removed the larger instrument binnacle to test that independently with a DC power supply, and found that moving the ground from the bulb socket to the “common” ground point on the screw holding the cluster to the dashboard prevented it from working.
I forgot to take photos of the process while I was doing it, but here’s an old picture of the instrument cluster in question, before I restored it.
The part labelled (1) is the main beam warning light, the part labelled (2) is the common ground, and the part labelled (3) turned out to be the answer. It turns out that the “bridge” between the segments of the gauge cluster needs to make good electrical contact, they’re not just for distributing clamping force. The segments are isolated from the main body with a rubber gasket, so there’s no ground through the cluster body without those bridges.
Once I discovered that, it was a ten second job to fix it: remove the clamp, clean off some of the dust that had gotten under it (or was already under it), and fasten it back to the vehicle.
As mentioned in the previous blog post, I’ve fitted a Wootz transfer case sump.
So far I’m very happy with it, it’s fixed the (very) slow drip when parked and the slightly faster drip when hot. I haven’t measured the temperatures before and after, but given the extra oil capacity and cooling fins, there’s no way it’s gone up.
The instructions suggest fitting it without a gasket, but unless you’re very confident that the mating surface of the transfer case is flat, I’d suggest using one. Some of these vehicles are over sixty years old, and the normal variations in the surface that creep in over time are unlikely to line up with the freshly-machined sump.
Now that I’ve gotten comfortable with it, I wanted to revisit the accelerator pedal setup. There were a few issues with the initial settings I made during restoration, none of which were foreseeable (unfortunately). Firstly, the pedal was in a bad place for the “heel and toe” manoeuvre needed on a non-syncromesh gearbox, so my “third to second” and “second to first” changes were sometimes a little crunchy.
The second issue was that it left a little bit of throttle on the table right at the end of its travel, meaning I only had 90% throttle when flooring it. This wasn’t a big issue, but it’s not optimal. After disconnecting it at the carburettor end and playing with the linkages, I discovered the problem was at the arm on the end of the shaft from the pedal to the outside of the toe box. There wasn’t quite enough clearance between the mounting bracket and the tensioning bolt, so I moved it over a little. I also moved the accelerator pedal upwards a little, and I’m very happy with it now. Apologies for the bad pictures, it’s a difficult spot to photograph. The alt text for the image might be useful.
One unexpected benefit is that the linkages now sit slightly more square to each other, so throttle response just off idle has improved slightly.
I also got the driveshafts balanced. This is something I should’ve done during the restoration originally, but there weren’t any driveshaft shops nearby and I had no means to transport them. In any case, they’re a 30 minute job to remove. I’m now a five minute walk from a driveshaft shop, so getting those balanced has fixed a slight vibration above 60km/h.
]]>That said, there were a couple of smaller jobs that are worth covering.
The car developed an issue where it wouldn’t run for more than a minute before stalling out, unable to be restarted unless it sat for a while (over ten minutes). I initially assumed the carburettor was the problem, since the previous rebuild didn’t get it 100% of the way there and it was still a little rich (and idling fast).
So I replaced the original Solex carburettor with an aftermarket (Britpart) Zenith copy. This didn’t work at all, and it turned out the new Zenith copy was bad out of the factory! I got a replacement sent out for free (this happens a lot, according to the reseller) and it helped the rich running condition (and made it easier to start) but the vehicle would still die after a few minutes.
As you’ve probably guessed from the heading, the problem was the ignition coil overheating. I only noticed this after checking for spark after the vehicle had stalled - this turned out to be the key, since it was generating a healthy spark while it was cool.
It’s unfortunate (and difficult to diagnose) when two things fail at the same time, but it’s running great now.
I noticed after a little while that the steering had worked a little loose. There was about 5cm of play before any change of direction occurred, which is way too much even for a vehicle like this. I couldn’t feel any play in the box itself, and I couldn’t detect any movement by putting my hand across the mounting bracket and bulkhead. However, at some point I accidentally had my hand across the steering box and the mounting bracket, and detected some movement there - the fasteners from the steering box to the mounting bracket had worked loose.
I wasn’t particularly happy with the steering box itself either, as it had developed a small leak. So I decided to give it another rebuild, and properly tighten the fasteners from the steering box to the mounting bracket.
The manual claims it’s possible to remove the box without removing the front guard, but I don’t think that’s possible - maybe on later models. I couldn’t get the box forward enough to rotate the stiffener bracket out of the way of the clutch master cylinder without hitting the wing. I also removed the door to make life a little easier when dealing with the fasteners in the toe box, here’s what it looked like:
After rebuilding all of that and going for a test drive, I was a little disappointed that it only removed about half of the free play - an improvement, but not as much as I’d hoped. I’ll need to get a second person to sit in the car at some point and twiddle the steering wheel back and forth while I inspect things, as I suspect the issue is downstream of the steering relay (none of which I can see while turning the steering wheel). It might also be worth checking the toe-in, since I did that with a measuring tape and it may not have been the most accurate job. Again, that’s much easier with two people.
Another note on the workshop manual - ignore the torque specifications in the steering section. It recommends 41Nm for the fasteners from the stiffener bracket to the box, which is way too much for 5/16” threads in aluminium. It also recommends 41Nm for the ball joint securing nuts, which is (in my opinion) not quite enough. Finally, the figure of 75Nm for the 1/4” fasteners clamping the ends of the longitudinal steering arm to the ball joints is ludicrously high, and will probably strip whatever fastener you’re using.
The accelerator pedal also got a stronger spring as part of the carburettor upgrades.
Unless something goes wrong, I don’t plan on updating this blog particularly often. There might be some more steering work (as mentioned), and I’ve got a new transfer case sump from Wootz that I plan to fit as a cooling/leak prevention upgrade. It definitely gets warm when driving on the highway for any length of time, and there’s a slow leak that starts when this happens. It makes sense (at least to me) since the rate of expansion with heat will be different for the aluminium box and the steel sump.
]]>There isn’t really much to write about here - I finished off the interior with a bunch of rubber blanking grommets in the right spots, and by completing the cleaning job I started in my last blog post. I also got a few rivets sorted out in the rear tub that I’d forgotten about. It’s a reasonably comfortable place to sit, albeit a bit dark with the roof on (and there’s only just enough room).
I finally got around to cleaning up the exterior of the car, which obviated a few more places where I need some touch-up paint. Nothing dramatic, just a few spots where I sanded the clear coat a bit too agressively or slipped with a screwdriver.
I aimed the headlights properly, or at least did it by the procedure in the workshop manual - I’m sure they’ll need some tweaking once I take it on a real road. There’s also now a small tool bag in the back with a few basic items to get me out of trouble (hand air pump, shifting spanners, etc).
There were a few more mechanical items that needed sorting, including the distributor timing (done, including replacing some of the mounting hardware) and dropping the fuel tank to replace the sender unit. The fuel gauge now works, which is nice. I also decided at the last minute to replace the brake shoes and wheel cylinders, since the OEM cylinders were back in stock (they weren’t available when I first did the brakes). This necessitated bleeding the brakes, which still needs some work but is done enough to move the vehicle - read on for more about that…
The vehicle moved under its own power this weekend, which was good. It was also the first time I tried to start it with the “real” electrical system, instead of bypassing it and hot-wiring things. I had a friend on standby with a fire extinguisher, but happily it wasn’t needed.
It mostly ran well, but as is tradition, I now have a list of other minor things to fix:
There’s still a few minor issues that were outstanding previously, too - I need to adjust the handbrake a bit, since I don’t think it’s quite holding the car at the moment. I also need to fix up the hand throttle, but that depends on getting the idle speed correct.
All in all, I’m pretty happy but there’s still a few weekends of work to be done.
]]>I was about to start messing with the fuel tank sender unit (as per last week), but along the way I noticed that there was zero resistance across the leads to the battery, which implies there was a short somewhere. I started staring at the wiring diagram, and after disconnecting the brown/white lead from the ammeter to the voltage control box, I narrowed it down to either the horn, starter motor, or inspection lead sockets.
After eliminating the starter and horn, I was left with the inspection lead sockets. I started pulling the dashboard apart to get behind them, and found that the short disappeared. I disconnected all of the wires behind the dash, one at a time, and eventually got it down to three wires - the ground to the voltage control box, and the leads to the inspection sockets themselves.
Even with these three wires, it would still only short when screwing the dash into the bulkhead. Eventually, I figured out that the negative (i.e. supply) socket was shorting to the aluminium dashboard panel, and the positive (i.e. ground) socket was not. As a result, there was a short only when the dashboard was bolted to the bulkhead and the ground lead from the voltage control box was connected.
I ended up fixing it by squeezing some aquarium tubing over the main threads of the inspection socket. Unfortunately, this process wasted an entire day, but I’m glad I persevered with it.
I ordered a pair of key fobs recently from Classic Leather Fobs, and they arrived during the week. I’m very happy with them, and it’s clear that they’re a very high-quality item. I also painted the keys for easier identification. I only had one ignition key, so I attempted to have some spares cut locally. None of the larger chains could do it since the blank is quite an old design, but I eventually found a locksmith that had been around for 50 years that had the right blank in a shed out the back.
Now that I’m done painting (and mostly done assembling stuff), I’m spending some time cleaning things. I did the rear tub last week, and did the mechanical bits and interior this week. I’ll probably leave the exterior until last, since there isn’t really enough room to access the passenger side.
After cleaning the engine bay and interior, I figured I may as well get the stickers installed. Not a big job by any means, but it’s one small job off the list. I also clear-coated them for protection, which is why the gearbox oil level sticker on the transmission tunnel has a weird border around it. That’ll go away with time.
]]>This has dragged on for a while, and I’m glad it’s finally over. The driver’s door shuts nicely, although the passenger door still needs a bit of pressure - hopefully those seals “bed in” with time and it gets easier. The solution, at least on the passenger side, was to completely remove all of the Bearmach seals and throw them in the bin. I’ve done the entire door frame with double-sided adhesive and generic door seal, so hopefully it lasts. The driver’s door seems to be working well so far.
The seals for the vents in the bulkhead are also done, using the same technique (although I ended up using a smaller type of seal).
Made good progress on the remaining tasks for the interior of the car. The steering column was making a loud squeaking noise when turning right, so I’ve put some oil down the column and hopefully it clears up. I also installed a fire extinguisher in the passenger footwell. I hope to never need it, but with an electrical system as poorly designed as the one on this vehicle, there’s a good chance I will. I got a replacement fire extinguisher for the rest of the garage.
I got the rubber pedal covers installed - despite coming in a “Britpart” bag, they’re quite high-quality items. I also cleaned out the rear tub and cut out a thick (3mm) rubber mat for the central section, it’s looking much nicer now. Just a tip, if the spare wheel isn’t sitting vertical as you tighten down the retaining wingnut, wedge a block of wood between the tyre and the support post.
I got the various gear knobs installed too. Just a note on the wingnut for the gearbox filler panel, part number 301074 - John Craddock lists this as being in stock, but the item I got was brass and threaded as UNF. I’ve made it work by running a 1/4” BSF tap through it, but I highly recommend saving your money and just getting a generic 1/4” UNF wingnut and re-tapping it yourself. It doesn’t need to take much load, so it ends up working fine.
Got some minor mechanical bits done, too. I re-adjusted the handbrake since I didn’t quite get it right last time, and greased the clutch and brake pedal pivots. I’ve fitted grease nipples to these instead of using the original bolt and filling with gearbox oil as per the manual. I’ll have to wait and see how that turns out. I also went around and double-checked the oil levels on everything, and sorted out a minor issue with the 4WD lever.
I wanted to get this replaced during the week since it’s stuck on “full” (as previously mentioned), but I didn’t get the time for it. I tested out the replacement unit, and it seems to work the opposite way to the original - it decreases resistance when the tank fills up. I’ll have to see if I can modify it to make it work how I want.
Not much to say here, other than it’s good to get a bunch of junk out of the way.
]]>I kicked this off last week, but didn’t really have anything to show for it until now. While it’s possible to get an aftermarket replacement (e.g. from here), these plates don’t quite match the original - for example, the fonts are wrong (look at the “W” in “LOW RANGE”), there isn’t meant to be a dot after the “CAR No”, and the comma is in the wrong spot in “BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND”. I looked around for some more, then gave up and spent a few hours designing a replacement.
I used Inkscape for this, and it worked great - despite me not having any design experience, or even having used Inkscape before, I managed to come up with a design in about six hours. You can download an SVG version here, but I’m not sure how it’ll render on another computer with different fonts installed, so you can download a high-res PNG version here. These designs are licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0.
I had this printed on 0.5mm aluminium at Select Awards, who were fantastic - I sent it in on a Monday, and it was ready for collection on a Wednesday, and for a very good price. Here’s the final product, installed on the bulkhead (with a blanked out chassis number):
This is still an ongoing saga, although I’ve made some progress. After giving up on the Bearmach door seals for all of the seals on the lower half of the door, I got some high-strength double-sided adhesive tape and some generic door seals from Clark Rubber. They’re the right size and density, the main thing I’m worried about is how long the adhesive lasts. I got high-strength outdoors-rated stuff and made sure to install it on a clean surface, but only time will tell.
I’m also making some progress on the bulkhead vent seals. The “genuine” replacements were much too thick, so I’m going to use the same approach as for the door seals.
The retaining chains are (galvanised) off-the-shelf items from Bunnings, but the pin was missing when I bought the car so I ended up getting a custom replacement made. It’s high-tensile stainless steel, which I’ve painted to match the rest of the towing pintle. The machinist I go to recommended high-tensile after I told him the car is rated for up to 4080kg in the manual, as highlighted by the red arrow:
These were another item I ended up getting custom-made - the left-hand one was present and working fine, but the stay and locking nut for the right-hand side were missing when I bought the car. I could probably justify a lathe for myself at this point, but hopefully this is the last custom-made item I need. This type of tailgate stay is getting very hard to find, and now that it’s finished, the tailgate is completely done.
]]>I’m in the process of getting a second tailgate stay and a pin for the towing hitch made up, and I also made a small custom mounting plate for the interior mirror, which is now installed.
The door seals are still proving to be problematic, so I’m going to replace the lower front seals (adjacent to the hinges) with something else. I’m not sure what yet, but my current plan is double-sided outdoor adhesive and some generic door seals from a rubber place nearby.
Speaking of rubber, the various rubber plugs and grommets on the bulkhead and windscreen frame are now installed. They’re mostly the correct, original mushroom-head type. The empty holes for the demister hoses are also blanked off. For anyone else reading this and looking to do the same thing, don’t bother searching for the part number with Land Rover suppliers - just go to a rubber shop and get a 41mm blanking grommet.
I also got around to trimming down various bolts that were left too long, both mechanical (e.g. the U-bolts for the front axle) and cosmetic. It’s not an exciting job, but it had to happen and I’ve been putting it off for a while now.
Hopefully there’s a bit more to write about next week, and something work taking photos of.
]]>