Frenglish
Well-known member
I am so curious what color is fitting of a perfect defender?
Building the perfect 90
- Thread starter erover82
- Start date
erover82
Well-known member
I keep coming back to one in particular. Any suggestions?
evilfij
Well-known member
Java Green
Frenglish
Well-known member
Well.. If we are talking "The Perfect Defender" then this is both subjective to you the creator and restricted to the larger Land Rover annoraks like ourselves.
So to me, what is a perfect defender? It would be a Camel.. Or a proper ROW in white, or the classic pastel green, or some shade of green.
When I went on this color journey myself as I was rebuilding mine in the UK, I immediately wanted to order enough sandglow yellow to paint everything. But evaluating this a bit more I concluded that my truck is not in fact a real Camel, and thus would only be ignoring its rich service to the queen in Africa and back in Herefordshire in the UK with its storied unit. Basically It would have been posing as something it wasn't if I painted it Yellow. That and in the general public it looks odd unless theres another sandglow camel parked next to it.
Next I wanted white. White to me is the classic ROW down and dirty color. Why didn't I paint it white? Because my Fiance said its british, its Ex MOD and it needs to be green.. So green it was going to be. I chose the LRC005 (first land rover pastel color from the series cars) and thats that. It looks a little different but it works on a land rover. I think if was to do it again and it had to be green I would likely do Keswick or some kind of a grey green color. Is there anything more fitting for a land rover than green?
So to me, what is a perfect defender? It would be a Camel.. Or a proper ROW in white, or the classic pastel green, or some shade of green.
When I went on this color journey myself as I was rebuilding mine in the UK, I immediately wanted to order enough sandglow yellow to paint everything. But evaluating this a bit more I concluded that my truck is not in fact a real Camel, and thus would only be ignoring its rich service to the queen in Africa and back in Herefordshire in the UK with its storied unit. Basically It would have been posing as something it wasn't if I painted it Yellow. That and in the general public it looks odd unless theres another sandglow camel parked next to it.
Next I wanted white. White to me is the classic ROW down and dirty color. Why didn't I paint it white? Because my Fiance said its british, its Ex MOD and it needs to be green.. So green it was going to be. I chose the LRC005 (first land rover pastel color from the series cars) and thats that. It looks a little different but it works on a land rover. I think if was to do it again and it had to be green I would likely do Keswick or some kind of a grey green color. Is there anything more fitting for a land rover than green?
White will always look good and never will look dated.
KW1985def110
Well-known member
any updates on progress?
erover82
Well-known member
Just returned after a month-long trip throughout Victoria and the Canadian Rockies.
So between that, yard projects, family life, and doing major work on the LR4, there hasn't been much time available. However, with much of that coming to a close I'm definitely ready to focus on this again.
In the mean time, I have settled on a paint color, and have been doing spray tests and refining the entire workflow for best DIY results. I actually need to stop by my supplier again today to mix up another test batch to fine-tune the gloss level.
I've also continued receiving parts packages, some of which have taken months to arrive, but I figured this thread has had enough unboxing shots already. What we need is progress!
Mixing up primer for a test panel..
KW1985def110
Well-known member
Jealous, wish that was my excuse
erover82
Well-known member
Definitely a beautiful and enjoyable part of the world to explore. Spotted many Defenders along the way, each one reminding me to get this one done.
erover82
Well-known member
Refinishing more parts, new and old, and a mix of plain steel, galvanized, and zinc electroplate. Was tired of media blasting, so switched to acid bath etch, but with a surprise.
Washed to remove any oils.
Phosphoric acid bath
Thoroughly rinsed and dried to neutralize the acid - critical when top coating with epoxy.
Prepping to spray
Voilà
Next, the fuel filter head. Being aluminum, I brought out the Bonderite C-IC 33 deoxidizer. However, something wasn't right.
This should have resulted in a brightened finish. That's when I realized it's not aluminum, but cast magnesium. I don't have any etching chemicals for Mg, so into the blast cabinet it went.
Followed by more epoxy and aluminum enamel. The re-plated bleed screw and banjo bolts were redeployed with new copper washers.
Washed to remove any oils.
Phosphoric acid bath
Thoroughly rinsed and dried to neutralize the acid - critical when top coating with epoxy.
Prepping to spray
Voilà
Next, the fuel filter head. Being aluminum, I brought out the Bonderite C-IC 33 deoxidizer. However, something wasn't right.
This should have resulted in a brightened finish. That's when I realized it's not aluminum, but cast magnesium. I don't have any etching chemicals for Mg, so into the blast cabinet it went.
Followed by more epoxy and aluminum enamel. The re-plated bleed screw and banjo bolts were redeployed with new copper washers.
erover82
Well-known member
Focusing on the fuel system. A new tank was fitted back when the transfer case was.
To avoid the factory plastic lines and uncommon fittings, as well as hard-to-diagnose leaks that can plague lift pump suction method of fuel delivery, I decided on using an electric pump at the tank, Continental USA-made R7 fuel hose, and simple barbed fittings.
I had a hard time determining which fuel pump / level sender harness to purchase. No photos of the various possible part numbers were available online and Autosparks had no equivalent. The curiosity of which part number correlated with which harness was killing me so I just purchased all four possibilities. Two ended up being NLA but the remaining two arrived, both obviously very old stock. The left harness was clearly for a diesel where only a level sender is present. Fortunately the right harness had both the wiring for a level sender and for a pump. Mystery solved.
I couldn't decide between using an in-tank 2.5 petrol pump with the filter sock removed, or an external Facet solid-state pump, so I opted for both. The 2.5 petrol pump is elegant in that it mounts to and is fully contained in the tank. I cut off the factory Rists 3-way round connector and replaced it with the proper Lucas spade terminals and covers to mate to the factory harness.
The Facet pump was also fitted with the correct terminals and hose fittings, and then mounted behind the tank with very strong magnet bases. With this arrangement it serves as a spare that's ready to be quickly and easily swapped to at any moment.
With the plumbing and wiring complete I filled the tank with a few gallons of fuel to test the pump.
Success
To avoid the factory plastic lines and uncommon fittings, as well as hard-to-diagnose leaks that can plague lift pump suction method of fuel delivery, I decided on using an electric pump at the tank, Continental USA-made R7 fuel hose, and simple barbed fittings.
I had a hard time determining which fuel pump / level sender harness to purchase. No photos of the various possible part numbers were available online and Autosparks had no equivalent. The curiosity of which part number correlated with which harness was killing me so I just purchased all four possibilities. Two ended up being NLA but the remaining two arrived, both obviously very old stock. The left harness was clearly for a diesel where only a level sender is present. Fortunately the right harness had both the wiring for a level sender and for a pump. Mystery solved.
I couldn't decide between using an in-tank 2.5 petrol pump with the filter sock removed, or an external Facet solid-state pump, so I opted for both. The 2.5 petrol pump is elegant in that it mounts to and is fully contained in the tank. I cut off the factory Rists 3-way round connector and replaced it with the proper Lucas spade terminals and covers to mate to the factory harness.
The Facet pump was also fitted with the correct terminals and hose fittings, and then mounted behind the tank with very strong magnet bases. With this arrangement it serves as a spare that's ready to be quickly and easily swapped to at any moment.
With the plumbing and wiring complete I filled the tank with a few gallons of fuel to test the pump.
Success
MountainD
Technical Excellence Contributor
I removed th filter sock one time. Pump lasted less than 200 miles. I was pre-warned that the size of contaminant necessary to jam the pump was VERY SMALL, but I ignored that. like Head of pin small, tiny. That is petrol, not sure about for a diesel pump, but lesson learned and towed home. Run a sock. Just sayin.
erover82
Well-known member
On a different petrol pump? This experiment may not work then. I think the filter will restrict the diesel in the cold too much. That's why the Facet is there though. I'd use it to start with, but I want to see what happens with the 2.5 petrol pump.
erover82
Well-known member
With fuel delivery sorted, all oil lines in place (ordered the wrong ones three times), it was time to work towards test firing the engine. It would be increasingly more difficult to access once body panels begin to be fitted. If there were any issues, now was the time to address them.
Priming the turbo with a syringe of oil, and setting up a catch funnel to bleed and ensure oil is flowing to the turbo.
Bleeding the fuel pump and flushing out any contaminants. Unfortunately the duct-taped catch funnel malfunctioned..
And finally, startup!
Technically it was the second test start after tightening a few things. The first start sent the wife and boys running for the hills when it exploded to life in a furious black cloud of soot and inadequately-fastened injector pipes spraying diesel everywhere.
Priming the turbo with a syringe of oil, and setting up a catch funnel to bleed and ensure oil is flowing to the turbo.
Bleeding the fuel pump and flushing out any contaminants. Unfortunately the duct-taped catch funnel malfunctioned..
And finally, startup!
Technically it was the second test start after tightening a few things. The first start sent the wife and boys running for the hills when it exploded to life in a furious black cloud of soot and inadequately-fastened injector pipes spraying diesel everywhere.
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Where's THAT video?
erover82
Well-known member
Test harness switches in one hand, watching hyperactive boys with one eye, while also watching and listening intently to the engine - unfortunately didn't leave much bandwidth to film that very first run. It looked like the video above, but with more action CGI and overacting.
TravelinLight
Well-known member
I am sure satifying to see it start and run. Now we all dream of the body panels being fitted updates.