Building the perfect 90

erover82

Well-known member
also bellmetric sells the gold reduced head metric bolts at 1/5th the price of LRD

Belmetric is great. I've used them for a few specific items. However, I wish they had a field in the cart to input a note for each line, in this case what part # one is matching. Receiving a box full of random hardware is a pain to reference back to LR part #s. I suppose I could create another spreadsheet..
 

jymmiejamz

Founding Member
Callsign: KN4JHI
Belmetric is great. I've used them for a few specific items. However, I wish they had a field in the cart to input a note for each line, in this case what part # one is matching. Receiving a box full of random hardware is a pain to reference back to LR part #s. I suppose I could create another spreadsheet..
Whenever I order from Belmetric everything is bagged individually by size
 

erover82

Well-known member
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Dealing with hundreds of little polybags of hardware is a royal pain. All hardware was de-bagged, photographed, and sorted into parts organizers with custom printed labels noting the part number(s) (multiple in cases of succession), brand, and country of origin.

As briefly mentioned, many parts we unpackaged and photographed. The purpose of this was to contribute back to LRWorkshop and the community. Being able to lookup a part and see detailed photos is very valuable to see if it's what you expect, too look at details of it, and to see the differences between Genuine, OEM, etc. Over many nights spent unpacking, photographing, repackaging/sorting, and labeling I was able to upload nearly 300 photos. An unexpected benefit to the endeavor is that now when I'm looking at a part I'll recognize on of my photos which signals "You've already got that part, move on!"


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The makeshift photo booth. Not ZG level, but adequate.


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I was pleasantly surprised to find that the vast majority of items were made in countries other than China. Some of the house branded items were even made in the UK.


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I was also able to create some comparison shots. Interestingly, the Britpart pedal cover actually matched my old Genuine one (marked RA2) better, but I think it was because the design had revised at some point as seen on the new Genuine (marked RA3).



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Watch out Will!

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Made using many of the uploaded photos.
 

rocky

NAS-ROW Addict
This thread makes me feel better about the dollars I refuse to admit spending/deny I spent/have no recollection of spending on parts and labor… yes sometimes it’s good to admit defeat and get a project moving again..
 

erover82

Well-known member
Having sufficiently organized the shop, hoarded nearly every part necessary, and completed a number of other projects, I found myself in the circumstances needed to proceed to the next phase: teardown. Once it began, there was no turning back from the disarray that would ensue.

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No, that's not oil. The first step was to drain the coolant. Many months prior, I'd found with disappointment that the cooling system was only filled with tap water, which lacking anticorrosion additives can lead to issues as various components fail from severe corrosion. A treatment course of Thermocure was employed to flush the block and head. Most other components which could be negatively affected would be replaced anyway. Upon draining, it appeared the water was just as dark and nasty as the first drain. Unfortunately, not being able to find my siphon starter, I did it the old-fashion way and regretfully sucked a mouthful of the dark roast Landy brew. After swiftly moving to the sink I spent some time taking care of my own oral flushing requirements.

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The boys served as enthusiastic helpers.

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Front end teardown progress. The original Eastnor Green paint can be seen on the inner closing panels.

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When a washer isn't enough?

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Upon removing the wings I found they were missing 75% of the intended fasteners. I'm guessing whoever preformed the shoddy bulkhead repairs was bitter about the use of BSW fasteners and had chose to omit most of them. Having the front end body removed, focus shifted to engine ancillaries, bulkhead, and dash.

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Brake and steering system being removed.

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Labels were printed and applied to various wires to save time and head-scratching on reassembly.

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Unable to find my steering wheel puller, I resorted to adapting a pitman arm puller, and with great success.

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Staying on task.

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Hey, back to work!
 
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erover82

Well-known member
What's better than more boxes of parts?

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Boxes and a crate of parts! Where am I going to put it all?

The bottom left box isn't parts, but a window air-conditioner, which with rising temperatures (115F this last weekend) has been instrumental in keeping the shop habitable and progress moving. I'd like to have employed @Tbaumer to install a proper split system if I planned on living here longer. I'm already dreaming of the next shop space.
 

Napalm00

Technical Excellence Contributor
I found that the evaporust coolant system cleaner is super effective. Thermocure just like you are using .

I left it in my 64 Dodge dart for about a week of driving around and it flushed out the original copper radiator that it looked nearly new inside
 

erover82

Well-known member
Hold up. Four more boxes arrived. Two of them took about four weeks longer than intended. LRDirect mistakenly shipped me someone else's order; two very heavy boxes of D2 parts. I assisted in resolving the mix-up by shipping the boxes back to the UK as requested. I'm sure the redundant shipping made it a costly mistake on their part.

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The excited little shop monkey was already tearing into them.

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Time to start organizing parts again. Not sure if I'll do as much photography this time around as I'm eager to get back to the teardown.

Parts storage space is becoming a problem. There's only so much I can heave into the attic, my shelves are full, and the grey labeled bins are 95% full. I can't have parts sitting around the floor, new or old, or I wont have room to actually get work done. To store all the bulky take-off parts, I'll be picking up the largest steel shelving rack I could find locally and setting it up just outside the shop. I also have a storage unit dedicated to LR parts which I might have to utilize more as well.

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Two years later?
 
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rocky

NAS-ROW Addict
Oh god. They shipped parts for a UK or similar customer to you? That’s an expensive mistake.
 

erover82

Well-known member
Oh god. They shipped parts for a UK or similar customer to you? That’s an expensive mistake.

No idea where in the world the intended destination was. It was at least 100lbs of Discovery 2 parts though. Had to use my hand truck to move them around. I felt bad for the DHL guy hauling them up my door steps.
 

erover82

Well-known member
In the context of this project the astute among you might notice a discrepancy with the photo below. I certainly should have noticed it earlier with all the pouring over.
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The axle had been swapped for a later 24 spline, which is fine as there are advantages to each. However, all the rebuild parts I purchased were for an early 200Tdi axle, so yet more parts were ordered.

The teardown continued with little resistance other than the odd corroded fastener or head scratching while observing work previous owners had performed.
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Behold this creatively repaired handbrake cable bracket. Yes, that's a socket welded to it.
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Seat box and harness out, shop monkey in.
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Disassembly gets interesting when one finds that items that normally would bolt together have been welded together. Liberal use of the angle grinder was employed as the bulkhead and sill rail would be replaced anyway.
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While draining the fuel tank of diesel, the boys were enthused with the UV reactive example of laminar flow.
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Why go through the trouble of welding patches when you can simply bolt a patch in? Genius.
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The fuel tank and bulkhead fought us during removal but we finally prevailed.
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Shop monkeys love a good destructive exercise and so it was his time to shine in the noble task of removing the lame carpet and foam.
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erover82

Well-known member
Tearing down the rear tub exposed corrosion that was previously thinly veiled by the terrible paint job.
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Exposing more common areas of extensive corrosion. The outer panel being constructed of 3 layers of thin aluminum makes it challenging to repair.
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For the Jameson's fans.
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Insisting he had found the correct tool for repairing body panels.
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Nearly ready to pull.
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The front coil springs were removed, making lifting and maneuvering the drivetrain as one lump more easy. It was soon out and broken down.
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Followed by the rear tub.
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erover82

Well-known member
The last two updates portrayed an uncharacteristically low degree of parts hoarding, so let's fix that.

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Reproduction decals
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As mentioned recently, storage space was running slim, but I've managed to store all the incoming parts by continually getting creative with organization. Well, almost all the parts.


In the words of Steve Jobs, there's one last thing..


The ultimate conclusion of terminal shipfitter's disease.
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Attracting a few onlookers. What else could be in the attached box?

What about this one?
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The old chassis will live again on another truck after being properly repaired, but my priority at the moment is balancing getting this project done and getting it done the way I want it.

I prefer a factory finish to rolling with a bare galvanized chassis, but painting galvanized metal and getting long-lasting adhesion takes some consideration. From the factory a chassis is normally coated with a catalyzed/baked alkyd (as Defender chassis were) or more commonly now are EDP coated which has the advantage of coating internally as well. Neither of these were an option. For around $600 I could have had it powder coated, but the cost and uncertainty in the finish quality left me wary of that option. The modern default standard for high quality automotive finishes is a high quality primer (and various additional coating layers in the case of bodywork) and polyurethane topcoat. It's a bit overkill for a chassis, but that's what I settled on.

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In this case I chose SPI's system of Epoxy primer and Matte black single stage polyurethane, which is not actually matte but who's gloss is controlled by the mixed activation ratio ( I mixed it to 10-15% gloss). I could have settled on a much less expensive alkyd topcoat but with some areas of a Defender chassis being externally exposed, I wanted maximum UV stability and durability.

The night before painting I prepped by gathering all the required materials. This took a few hours in itself. I did not want to drive down to the warehouse and find I had forgot something, although that ended up happening anyway.
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The specified procedure for SPI's epoxy involves cleaning the entire workpiece with waterborne degreaser, lightly sanding with 80 grit to remove oxidation and give the correct surface profile for adhesion, and then cleaning with degreaser again. One may underestimate how much complex geometry a chassis has (it's a rectangle right?) until you have to go over every millimeter of it by hand three times. The use of an acid etch could have made life much easier, but SPI clearly recommends against it. After 4 hours at it in nearly 100 degree temperatures I was tired, but as it was only now ready for coating, was only getting started.
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erover82

Well-known member
..previous post continued.

I'm fortunate in having access to large industrial facilities and several 400v screw-driven air compressor systems which provide essentially limitless dry refrigerated air, perfect for painting. The one addition I provide is a simple but highly effective final filter and diaphragm regulator before a lightweight hybrid-polymer air line and spray gun.
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As I began applying the epoxy, it became clear I had underestimated how much it would require for two coats of complete coverage. This annoyingly began several trips running back home for more epoxy and activator, and then to several stores when I ran out of mixing supplies. On the subject of annoying, I also found the engine crane that suspended the chassis had a slow leak which caused the chassis to lower over time and on one occasion I returned from a break to find it nearly laying upon the ground.

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Finally pleased with the epoxy coverage, it was time to head home and recover from the long hot day. Thankfully, epoxy doesn't mind being applied in high temperatures.

I got up early the next morning and headed out for day two of coating, which would be two coats of the satin mixed "matte" polyurethane. This went much more smoothly than the previous day, and after a relatively short few cycles of mixing and spraying, was complete. The shot below shows the final surface finish which I was quite pleased with. The small goobers on the otherwise smooth surface are just welding splatter or galvanizing nibs that I couldn't be bothered to completely remove.

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After a week of curing in hot weather I examined the surface more thoroughly. It easily passed the fingernail and light metallic abrasion/tapping test while exhibiting very minimal orange-peel. In the end I'm pleased with the finish. It was very labor and time intensive, and the supplies cost nearly as much as powder coating, but between the galvanizing and four layers of highly quality coating, it should last a very long time.
 

blueboy

Well-known member
Not sure what impresses me the most:
1. The high level of prep
2. The high level of workmanship
3. The high level of documentation

Answer - all of the above!

Truly a labor of love and very much looking forward to seeing the end result. Just great work.
 

evilfij

Well-known member
What impresses me the most is the boged previous owner repairs, especially the socket welded to the handbrake cable.

But great work on the rebuild. Truly fine work.
 
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