1988 Land Rover 110 CSW Rebuild

[VedRover]

I finally have some time on my hands to start posting the progress of my rebuild.

Late in 2015 I bought me a 1988 Land Rover 110 at the CBSA General Order Merchandise Auction and then brought it back to Canada to rebuild.

Here it is sitting in the bonded warehouse in NC:





The vehicle is almost completely original, except the engine was replaced from 2.5 TD to a 200 TDI and the bulkhead appears to have been replaced not too long ago as it’s in a very good shape, whereas the UK car report talked about bulkhead issues in 2007, so, I’m guessing, that’s when the previous owner replaced it to pass the MOT.

The rig (based on the timing of its’ seizure by the CBP and some remaining paperwork) is one of those, exported in 2013 by a company in North Carolina that caused a major issue in the US when dozens of trucks were seized from their rightful owners (http://jalopnik.com/why-are-the-feds-obsessed-with-seizing-these-peoples-ol-1672381729). This one was seized right at the US port of entry. The issue with vehicle seizures was later resolved by Will, aka “The Defender of Defenders” (http://www.defendersource.com/forum/f61/defender-of-defenders-1997-land-rover-defender-110-a-63852.html).
And my rig was sitting in a bonded warehouse in NC, waiting for the court case to be resolved, and was listed for an auction as soon as the dust settled in the courtroom. First time it was bought by a company in Vancouver for $7K, but then, I suppose, they never picked it up, and it was relisted at which time I scooped it up for a mere $201 (yes, that’s right, I’m not missing any zeroes here).

I then transported it as a bonded cargo to Calgary (in late November), thawed it for a day (antifreeze froze to gel, but not too bad to push the freeze plugs out, so I fortunately just needed to replace it), inspected it carefully, put a new battery in, and, low and behold, the zombie came back to life!

From what I saw right away, I knew that from the structural perspective, I needed to address rear crossmember, doors, sills, C-posts and second row seat upstand.

Rear crossmember (looking from behind and from the front) â€" nothing too bad, that can’t be fized with enough duct tape and Bondo, right?!






C-Post:


Rear seat base:


I also took it in for an out-of-province inspection and sure enough, they gave me a 4-page long laundry list that included mostly the structural issues I’ve noted above as well as a couple of oil leaks (ha-ha), addition of the third brake light, addition of rear bumper and addition of DRL (the latter being a bogus requirement, as the DRL is only required for vehicles manufactured after 1989). BTW, finding an out-of-province inspection facility for a RHD stick-shift Land Rover 110 in Calgary was one hell of a quest, as most facilities don’t deal with these vehicles as they “don’t have the specs, dimensions, etc.” even if you offer to give them a copy of the workshop manual with all that info.

So, I’ve been working away on it since then.

So the plan is (for major components):

• Rebuild front row doors
• New sill rails and lower C-posts
• Rebuild rear tub
• Strip the vehicle to the frame (chassis), rebuild and galvanize the frame from the two frames I currently have
• Replace the gaskets and any worn components on all leaking parts (engine, tranny, transfer gearbox)
• Replace front/rear U-joints and rear diff oil seal
• Replace all worn balljoints
• Replace the clutch (old one works somewhat but I figured I’d do it now anyways while the engine and tranny are off the frame
• Replace the fuel tank (cleaning the old one will cost me as almost as much as buying a new one)

I’m not going to repaint it just yet, as I wanted to do a Polyurethane paint and am having difficulties finding a shop in Calgary. Plus, I might be moving to the East Coast now that the Oil and Gas Bonanza is over for a while, where I’m certain I can paint the truck for less than a second mortgage worth that my greedy fellow Albertans would like to charge me for it.

Wish me luck!

[VedRover]

C-Posts and Sill Rails

And the saga continues…:

As you can see from pictures below, the C-posts were toast. Lower sections, connecting to sill rails were essentially gone. Sill rails looked like they’ve been chewed by angry beavers too. I’m beginning to think that the vehicle was held together by the roof  ;D




I was initially going to get these fabricated but then concluded it was cheaper and faster to just get the replacement pieces from YRM.

YRM parts, did not fit perfectly and needed some fiddling to get them in place. I left the old sill rail in place and used it as my guide for where the new piece should fit.
Of course most of the holes on the YRM piece did not end up where they needed to be. I ended up welding the two bolt holes closed and drilling new holes where they should be. I will also be match-drilling majority of the rivet holes. It would’ve almost been better if they didn’t drill any holes in their piece and let the installer match-drill them in place.

One lesson learned: the original YRM piece comes with the below piece straight (per the LR design) and it makes fit-up problematic. I left it as is on the first piece I’ve done and had a difficult time fitting it up (both to the upper piece and then to the sill and rear wing).


So for the second piece I made a shallow bend, as if for lap-welding and it worked like a damn with the two pieces fitting up perfectly.


Here’s RHS C-post piece welded together:




I then marked the B-post on the spot before removing the sill rail and B-post from the vehicle so that I could later re-install it correctly.


And removed the sill rail complete with the remaining B-post


Lots of surface rust on the other side, Land Rover certainly created a dirt pocket there.


I then removed the B-post off the old sill rail (8 spot welds). After cleaning the B-post from all the rust, I put it back in its position, installed new sill rail and riveted the C-Post to the rear wing for the final fit-up.

Once everything fit and after lots of measuring, I tacked the B-post and C-post on the new sill rail. I then removed the entire piece and welded it up.


Put them back in and voila â€" perfect fit!

[VedRover]

Rear Tub Reflooring

And the saga continues…..

The rear tub floor didn’t look too bad at first glance, except for aluminum cancer in the safety belt hook areas, however, the stiffeners didn’t appear trustworthy when looking from below.

So I pulled the floor off and sure enough the aluminum floor stiffeners (aka “top hats”) are completely FUBAR.


Struts didn’t look too bad, but would need to be blasted and galvanized or repainted. I contemplated fabricating new top hats briefly but then just ordered brand new top hats and galvanized struts along with a rear underfloor support from YRM.

While waiting for my new shiny YRM parts, I pulled the old crap out, cleaned and Zinc-sprayed the existing metal contact areas.




Thinking about what to use for the new floor, I checked the price of a precut floor plate from the UK, a cost of an 1/8” aluminum sheet and then, finally, in a stroke of wisdom, of a 1/8” checker plate (that’s base material thickness, not including tread height).
All the folks I called, though, were going to order a 1/8” checker plate in as they usually stocked thinner sheets. 4x6 sheet was going to run me $350 at most places I called. Pretty pricey but not much more than a plain sheet.
I then called another place and they said they could sell me a 4x8 sheet of a 1/8” checker plate for a “minimum order price” of $250. Not bad, I thought. The guy was reluctant to give me a price of an individual sheet, though, but then he finally gave in and said a 4x8 sheet was a bit over $125, so I could get two 4x8 sheets for a tiny bit over $250 if I wanted to.
Sonofagun, if I didn’t grill him on the individual sheet prices, he was going to sell me just one sheet for $250, and I thought I was getting a deal then!
Anyway, I picked up two sheets which now let me, pretty much, wrap the entire tub in it and still have some material left for a toolbox 

Here’s a glimpse of what it will look like after everything is said and done:


I’m planning to make the rear seats upstand and all bottom floor panels (front and rear) from it. If I have any time left, I’ll cover the rear wheel wells/inward facing seats bases too. All for less than what I would’ve paid for a precut floor panel from the UK. The 1/8” plate thickness is a bit thicker than the original aluminum sheet (3mm) used for these parts, so it should work great.

When YRM parts showed up, I put a bit of primer and then also some vinyl tape on all galvanized metal parts where they could contact with aluminum top hats (will be adding more when installing the floor too). That’s my attempt to prevent galvanic corrosion.


I then installed the struts and top hats (initially riveting them together from inside out using a hand riveter as the nozzle of the pneumatic one was too wide to fit inside a top hast profile) and fit the old floor for now, getting the tub ready for removal.
The reason I went with termporary rivets is: a) I didn’t want to remove the fuel tank just yet and b) even with the tank removed you still can’t get to the second and thirdstrut, as they are obstructed with the chassis crosssmembers. I also didn’t want to just leave the struts unattached to top hats and remove the tub as I was concerned with maintaining the original geometry.


With buddy’s help, the tub was pulled off and put away for subsequent work. The tub is not heavy at all, the two of us were able to lift and handle it easily.

Once it was on the side, I drilled out the temporary rivets and put the final ones using pneumatic riveter (I’ve no idea how people can go about riveting the entire Landy with a hand riveter, I put just the 12 rivets in and I was tired from that, pneumatic riveter does the same job effortlessly).

My Landy now looks even less like a station wagon and more like a go-kart:

[VedRover]

“…I came in like a wreeecking baaool!... No naked Miley swinging on the ball, though, but other than that last week has been all about demolition, stripping the Landy down to bare frame.

Busy week as I’m trying to take advantage of the unusually nice and warm weather we’ve been blessed with here.

Removed the bonnet, grille, wings and bulkhead:







Engine in all its oil- and other fluids-leaking glory:


Removed seatbox and engine/tranny:


Pulled other odds and sods (power steering, brake and fuel lines, fuel tank, engine and body mounts) off the chassis.
Corrosion was far better and bolts were the easiest to remove near oil leaks, naturally. I think that’s the true ingenuity of Land Rover engineering: engine and drive train oil leaks are in fact an active corrosion protection system!

As I was doing all of the above, my Landy just kept on dropping British dirt and sand all over my garage from god knows where, so when I was done, I’ve swept a pile the size of the Isle of Wight! I guess that’s why Land Rover is so opposed to people bringing old Defenders to North America â€" with every vehicle the UK loses a good chunk of its soil, so, they’re literally defending their homeland!

So I pressure washed my rolling chassis before going any further.


Suspension, as expected, put up a bit of a fight, but nothing too horrible. I owned a Toyota Highlander that came from the Nova Scotia, and boy was every bolt a struggle there (lots of penetrating oil, MAPP gas, breaker bars, etc.) nothing like that on this one.
To the unknown Mechanic who used copper grease on almost all of the suspension bolts â€" “You da Real MVP”!

Stripped chassis


And axles loaded up ready for me to take them to the DIY sandblasting yard in Calgary. I decided to media blast axles and suspension components and then POR15 them all before reinstall. Considered wire-wheeling/brushing for a moment but then decided to save me some time and elbow grease and blast them instead.


The axles are HEAVY! I spent a good chunk of the day dinking around trying to load them on the trailer. Really should’ve used a helper.

As always, as you take things apart, you find issues. I now decided I would put in all new shocks (two are on the verge of being shot) and springs and steering damper. While I will run 12K Lbs and 15K Lbs winches in the back and the front accordingly, I still really don’t want to lift a vehicle at all as it’s already barely fitting through my standard height garage door.
While this Landy will be a hunting truck, it will still mostly see forgiving terrain as anywhere I hunt I can drive a friggin sedan in if I really had to (IMHO, offroading is less about what and more about how you drive).

[VedRover]

The plan for the chassis is to use the front piece from the current one and the rear piece from the one I’ve acquired from a fellow forum member.
The latter is from a 1995 MOD RHD and, unfortunately, the front piece is damaged beyond repair. I took it to the frame puller and they said they could attempt to straighten it but the cost in the end would be close to 6K. So, a non-starter there.


Both frame pieces, once cut, will go to acid dipping (thank God, I found one in Calgary that’s still alive and kicking). Then it will be welded together and galvanized.

Before acid bath, I decided to replace both the old bulkhead outriggers as they looked like Swiss cheese. The LHS one was “repaired” in the UK in a very traditional fashion of on-vehicle replacement: old piece cut off as best as access allows, new Britpart piece cut to fit and welded on with pretty crappy welding.


Of course, shoddy repair leads to issues, when I cut the old outrigger off, I found a soft spot in the frame that I patched up right away.




I reckon, because of how the replacement piece was welded in, it closed the drain natural path, so water and moisture were trapped in that spot. Frame under the other outrigger (all-original) was fine.

Here’s both outriggers removed:




Because the original support bracket was rusted and repaired before, I cut it off too and installed the one from the other chassis I have which was in like-new shape. Here it is, cut and beveled, ready for tacking:


The replacement pieces I ordered are Bearmach and, unfortunately, the CL of the bolt holes was off by about 5 mm on each side if the pieces are installed the way Bearmach designed them to be installed. I learned that once I fit them on and tacked them in place. There was a lot of swearing and cursing, not my proudest moment. So the piece had to be negotiated to fit. I wish it was longer, then it would’ve been easier, as otherwise I ended up with 5mm holes between the frame and the outrigger edges on each side.

Those gaps I had to close by building up metal with multiple strings before the cap/fill.
Here’s pictures of root/strings and fill/cap:




Lots of measurement, I hate rulers, levels and measuring tapes now. I expected minor dimensional issues, but I did not expect the new piece from a respectable supplier to be off by as much as 5 mm on one of the most critical measurements.

So, both outriggers are now in:


For cutting, the best cut/splice location is in the central section, just in front of the front seatbox crossmember. The cut is made at 45 degrees. I wish I could do a 30 degree cut (something that’s a somewhat of a standard practice in aviation and heavy machinery repairs), but there’s not enough room for the 30 degree cut and the fishplates. So 45 degrees it is, which is an acceptable practice in automotive.

Cross-bracing was installed in place before the cut to keep everything in place. And the cut is made (blurred for artistic dramatic effect :-). Actually no, I didn’t realize picture was out of focus until I looked at it later, sorry):


Loaded up on the trailer, ready for the acid bath, just 2 days later than anticipated (friggin’ Bearmach…):


Should be bathing in acid for the next week, then I’ll be welding her up and taking her to galvanizers.

*****Two weeks later:*****
Frame is back from acid dipping.


More cancer found that needed to be addressed.




Rotten frame piece rebuilt:


Almost done now, just one more weld from being complete.


Frame still has some areas that have coating left, so, I’ll blast those areas clean before welding her up and taking to galvanizers. They say they would blast it too, but I: a) have a couple more pieces that need blasting; and b) kn ow that I’ll clean her up better than they would.

Calgary looks like this today, though, hopefully, that’ll clear up next week.

[VedRover]

That was one of the most labor-intensive projects after the doors. And nerve-wrecking too, as everything had to be measured and re-measured to make sure the frame was per the spec dimensions. Took about 2 days all in.

HAZ cleaned and edges beveled to ensure good penetration:


Two pieces ratcheted together and aligned for fit-up. It’s -26C and I’m working in my garage with propane heater at full blast to keep me warm:


What’s not shown is I welded pieces of steel to the inside of one frame piece (on all 4 sides of each box) to use as guides to help me align the boxes. That worked very well for me.

HAZ preheated above 50F to eliminate chances of a cold start and hydrogen cracking from trapped moisture:


Frame tacked together:


And after measuring and re-measuring, double- and triple-checking all dimensions, as well as a thorough prayer and sacrifice to the gods of fit-up and welding, welded together:


Welds then ground flat to be covered with fishplates:


Fishplates tacked in place:


Once fishplates have been welded, I prettied them up a bit:


Frame loaded on the trailer, ready to go to sandblasting. As you may recall, the plan was to clean up some spots that the acid didn’t get to:


Of course, once you are spraying sand, it’s easy to get carried away, so I just gave the entire frame a bit of a blast:


Frame now passed on to galvanizers, going to their Saskatoon plant, and I will be getting it back around Dec-21. Folks at the galvanizer told me it’s their 6th Land Rover frame this year, so, we are keeping them busy and there’s definitely more LR resto projects on the go in Alberta than what’s published in this community.

[VedRover]

While the frame is enjoying its vacation in the galvanization baths in Saskatoon I figured I’d get the underbody stuff ready for reassembly.
As I said earlier, I was always planning on POR15’ing axles and suspension components which all have been previously sandblasted.
With a cold blast in Calgary (temperatures well below -25C) and no heated workshop available, the Family Council decided that the parts be brought and painted inside the house. Here they are in what used to be kids playroom:


Here they are painted:


On the axles, I am also replacing the differential flanges (getting complete kits with upgraded seals), all bushings, all balljoints and a friggin’ rear axle breather banjo bolt that sheared off. I decided not to touch anything else for now as it all looks and functions OK, and as with any old cars, if you dare touch one little thing too soon, you will end up rebuilding the whole lot.

Lots of other stuff to do in the meantime to get the car ready for reassembly.
“…On the 6th Day of Christmas my Honey gave to me….. A fully assembled all-new rear fuel tank!”:


Was putting it together and left it under the tree, my son thought it was a new toy present. My wife caught him attempting to shove stuff inside through the fuel filler. She managed to stop him before anything got inside…

BTW the bottom part of the fuel feed pipe was way too long and I cut approximately 5mm off to make it fit inside the tank. This seems to be the usual thing with the new tanks, at least, I came across a number of people having to do the same.

[VedRover]

I picked up my frame last week, but dropped and killed my phone the following day, so, no pictures from the pickup.
I jumped right on it and did the following between the holidays:

Installed the rear axle and pulled the wiring loom through the chassis:

Cable pulling wasn’t too bad, fished it through using the cable fisher, taped the connectors tight to the cable, KY-jellied the chassis openings and thickest parts of the loom and slowly but surely pulled it through.  Much less fun pulling the loom through the rubber grommets, though.

Put the front axle together:

Polybushes are there because a full box of those came with my truck ( I immediately had a 100% return on my original $201 investment when I found that box), otherwise, there would be squeakies.

After trying different methods, described elsewhere, I came up with a very easy way of getting the old rubber/metal bushings out. I carefully hit the outer edge of the outermost metal sleeve with an air chisel (you can use regular hammer/chisel too) to bend it in over the rubber. No need to bend it too far and just take it easy so you are not damaging the good piece. The goal is just to bend the edge in to create a bevel Do it on both sides and then press it out using a shop press or vice. I used a shop press and didn’t have more than 1 ton of pressure on it when it came out. About 5-20 minutes of air chisel work and another 2 minutes on the press was all it took for me per bushing:


And both axles are now installed:


BTW, I also re-galvanized the wheel arches, they look awesome now:


Overall, I really like the fresh look, too bad I won’t be painting the body panels just yet.

I will now Waxoyl inside the chassis and some of the weaker exterior spots too and carry on with the reassembly.

[Trevor]

Great detail on the project! Thanks for posting, and keep em coming!

Lol, I love the fact you did the axles etc in the kids play room. That's priceless. Eminently practical too during an Alberta winter.

[binch]

excellent write up!!!    Lovejugs has the twin to this one, with a 300tdi in it. ;)

[ugly_90]

You must have a few surplus frame bits now from this job to trade/sell off to other club members then? I'm not doing another 110 anytime soon, but perhaps someone else here is? Recycling at its best.

[VedRover]

You must have a few surplus frame bits now from this job to trade/sell off to other club members then? I'm not doing another 110 anytime soon, but perhaps someone else here is? Recycling at its best.

I most certainly do. I will be posting the ad later in the "parts for sale". Frame plus other odds and sods.

[VedRover]

Lol, I love the fact you did the axles etc in the kids play room. That's priceless. Eminently practical too during an Alberta winter.

Thanks! Yes, I try to teach them early that Daddy has his toys too and that they need to make space when he's playing with them  ;D Kids aside I'm glad my wife was onboard with it....
The thing we do when we don't have a proper workshop, though...

[VedRover]

Couldn’t Waxoyl the chassis just yet due to low ambient temperatures, will be trying the upcoming week if the weather forecast is accurate.
In the meantime I put the engine back on the chassis and replaced the clutch.

I suspended the gearbox on the shop crane, removed the nuts and lifted it away. I didn’t remove anything that wasn’t already disconnected for engine/tranny removal from the vehicle. I’m sincerely puzzled why the shop manual and resto manual insist that you should remove the transfer box and a bunch of other stuff too. Even with in-vehicle replacement there’s a way to maneuver the entire assembly out of the way.




The original clutch plate and cover (Valeo) weren’t in bad shape, hardly any springs rattling (so if anyone needs them, I can part with them for free), but the release bearing was pretty bad (sticky and noisy), I suppose, whoever did the clutch the last time didn’t replace the latter which was not their wisest move.




New bearing was installed along with a new clutch plate and dust cover. I like to use the clutch alignment tool, makes the job a piece of cake.


I also bought Britpart’s “Heavy Duty” fork kit with an intent to put in but the bugger broke during the install (the rivet holding the clip was not pressed good enough). I suppose the only heavy duty part of that kit was the cardboard box it came in… Goddamn Britpart. I’m grateful, though, that it broke right away and not a few miles down the road, I’d be even more pissed then. So the old fork went in, with new slip pads.

Slap them back together, hand-tighten the nuts diagonally and torque them to spec. Done, time for a cup of tea.


I also did a front diff oil seal, installing an upgraded oil seal and dust cover that allegedly aren’t as prone to leaking as the old leather ones. The kit came with a 24-spline flange, though, and mine is a 4-spline, so I had to reuse the flange. Time will tell.
Old gear oil looked like tar, looks like it hasn’t been replaced in a while. Went to Land Rover Calgary for laughs and inquired about the 80w90 gear oil causing them a slight panic. “…They said: “We haven’t had that spirit here since 1969…” © Eagles “Hotel California”. They haven’t had any for a while and moreover they haven’t had any 75w90 (which is what they recommend in lieu of 80w90 for Canada) on hand either (sic). Went to MOPAC and got me some RedLine 75W90 for a decent price which is what I’m pouring in.


Next up are: timing belt, new turbo, leaky crankcase sump and rocker cover gasket.

[Matt H]

Wow, lots of work done on this project. Well done. Keep it coming.