Enjoy before restore?

Tbaumer

Technical Excellence Contributor
I have been adding practical cosmetic upgrades and regular repairs (that have become EXPECTED regular repairs) since picking up my 110.
The plan was to get the look I want and enjoy my first Land Rover until I decide the color paint I want and go all in on a restore.
This means that everything I am adding will be coming back off.
With a 300 tdi engine conversion planned next, I am second guessing the order I am doing things in.
There are no major chassis or body issues that require immediate attention, but two things have come up that make me feel like I may regret waiting on a restore;
1 - Pressure washing prep for rock sliders reveals rust under some of the wax oil coating
No holes or pitting, and easily treatable, but I haven't pressure washed the entire underside yet. I keep thinking about unseen rust in covered joints. I can't imagine pulling the chassis for repair /replacement without doing the body at the same time.
2 - The original brown was painted black long ago and I do have some bubbling coming through. Not knowing the reason for the paint job, other than brown being... well, brown, I won't discover any prior body work until I prep it for new.
I have read so many rust nightmare restore threads and feel fortunate to have a truck in the condition I do, but am I being foolish putting a 300 tdi in before addressing the paint and chassis?
 

Tbaumer

Technical Excellence Contributor
posting to my own question is kind of like having a blog.
The thing is, I live in an area with a lot of steep roads (including the road I live on) and upgrading the 2.5 NA is a necessity.
I spent 3 months trying to decide on the 300 tdi or the OM617.
I don't really feel like retiring my 110 for the many months (years?) it will take to restore. I like driving it around (except when I have a line of cars behind me in a no pass zone)!
It's not like it has original paint with cool patina to save, but I also don't want to make it so pretty I won't use it the way it was meant to be used.
 

javelinadave

Administrator
Staff member
Once you are sure it isn't some rusty piece of crap there is no reason not to swap in the 300Tdi and deal with the paint and chassis work at a future time. I say finish the power washing to see what you have to work with and then proceed.
 

Uncle Douglas

Well-known member
Callsign: delete
Clean the entire thing and see what you have. I have seen coated chassis that look great only to find that the coating hides a myriad of sins. One customer sent his recently imported truck purchased from a UK dealer to us to replace the exhaust and do the timing belt. Trey saw a suspect area and took a putty knife to the waxoyl. The frame had been filled with spray foam (ie gaping holes), ground smooth and coated over with waxoyl. Any reason you are fixated on the much more involved install of a 300 or Merc instead of the bolt in 200 ?
 

RBBailey

NAS-ROW Addict
Callsign: KF7KFZ
Where are you? You have lots of support in Oregon.

One thing I can say is I wish I had waited a bit more on mine. I wanted to get it done in a year, have it ready for the next summer when I could take my boy out on a couple of long treks. But it didn't work out, and it is still in the garage.

The rust and paint issues are something that can wait here in Oregon. We have lots of clean rain, and no salt on the roads.

BUT! Do make sure, as Uncle Doug says. And do post up some detailed pics of what you have going on.
 

Tbaumer

Technical Excellence Contributor
Uncle Douglas (I haven't figured out how to copy previous posts yet) - I chased down a series Rover one day because he was cruising along at 70 MPH and he showed me his OM617. A search revealed the availability of a conversion kit with the bugs worked out by Rdavisinva (read a lot of encouraging threads on this), so that was the direction I was heading. However, while I am interested in turning wrenches and consider myself a smart guy, I have little experience with engines past the basics, so I will enlist the aid of a local friend of mine who restores cars.

I kept struggling with the idea of departing from Land Rover specific parts, keeping track of what part of my truck belongs to what manufacture, so the availability of 300 tdi parts spoke the loudest to me.
 

110 Landy

Member
I am about to start a restoration on my 110. I would like to swap in a 200 down the road but worried about availability.
 

Tbaumer

Technical Excellence Contributor
RBBailey - I am in the Rogue Valley - Southern Oregon.
We have a local European Repair shop that I stopped in and looked at a Defender 90 they were working on in the front of their shop, so I approached them about converting my engine. I was really turned off by the dismissive attitude (maybe they were swamped and I caught them at a bad time) and lack of enthusiasm, so I am going to learn a LOT about my 110, by being involved hands on in my conversion, with a friend who has restored a bunch of classic American cars and trucks.
I can almost hear the heads shaking as I write this.
 

Tbaumer

Technical Excellence Contributor
200 tdi parts availability problems are mentioned in a few posts by others, but I have also read that there isn't a shortage of parts by others.
When I look at parts listed at various suppliers, I see ALL of the 300 tdi parts available, but not so much for the 200 tdi.
Maybe I am not looking in the right places.
 

Dan kemper

Founding Member
Callsign: KK6ECF
This is pretty much every rover shop i have ever visited.

RBBailey - I am in the Rogue Valley - Southern Oregon.
We have a local European Repair shop that I stopped in and looked at a Defender 90 they were working on in the front of their shop, so I approached them about converting my engine. I was really turned off by the dismissive attitude (maybe they were swamped and I caught them at a bad time) and lack of enthusiasm, so I am going to learn a LOT about my 110, by being involved hands on in my conversion, with a friend who has restored a bunch of classic American cars and trucks.
I can almost hear the heads shaking as I write this.
 

chris snell

Administrator
Callsign: NW5W
Staff member
You are close enough to Gig Harbor, WA to go up to Defenders Northwest and do your own engine swap. You pay them for the parts and the shop time/labor they spend helping you and you get it done correctly. You learn a ton about your new motor in the process. I did an entire resto this way and ended up with a great truck that I trust completely--I've personally worked on almost all of it.
 

Tbaumer

Technical Excellence Contributor
If it is a weekend swap that would be awesome!
I will schedule the trip to Gig Harbor if I lose my nerve.
I'm just afraid I will see stuff during the conversion that I will want to address before covering it up.
I have a quality car builder who is letting me use his shop and help him do the work on my time table.
He already wants me to disassemble everything and put it to new, so I have to make it clear that I want to repair the things that will get worse if not treated, but keep it a go anywhere truck!
 

Tbaumer

Technical Excellence Contributor
Frame and under body pictures

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The_Vermonster

Well-known member
You are close enough to Gig Harbor, WA to go up to Defenders Northwest and do your own engine swap. You pay them for the parts and the shop time/labor they spend helping you and you get it done correctly. You learn a ton about your new motor in the process. I did an entire resto this way and ended up with a great truck that I trust completely--I've personally worked on almost all of it.

That's freaking amazing. It's the absolute best of both worlds; DIY, and experience.
 

RBBailey

NAS-ROW Addict
Callsign: KF7KFZ
I swapped from the V8, and although it is something I "could have done", I'm glad I handed it to Ship's to actually put the engine and transmission in. Mainly because I can't weld, but also because after it was done I realized that it really is pretty straight forward, but there is just a lot about it I didn't know. I would have kept running into road block after road block. As it is, I had to take a break from the project because in trying to put it back together, I sheer ran out of luck and everything started going wrong with only a few hours of shop time left before it was driving again... Long story.

BUT! If you are willing to put the time into it -- plan for a year -- you can do it yourself, with coaching. Pangolin, Ship's, and Defenders NW (in order of their distance from you) and this web site, are the places where you will get the help you need.

From the pics, this looks pretty typical. It looks in good order, but you are going to find things.... Every panel you pull off will be one more thing to refurb before putting it back on. And some of the parts will just bug you enough that you won't want to refurb, you'll just want to replace.

If the truck is running well now, you might want to keep driving it and working on the parts that you can do on the weekends so that you can keep it on the road and have fun. Save up the parts you know you will want. Save up the money.

If I had not run across the good deals I got on the engine, transmission, and bulkhead, I would still be running mine with the V8, and it would probably be in better condition now. I could have waited. Not saying I really made a mistake, just that I could have waited, and I wouldn't have been any worse off.
 

Tbaumer

Technical Excellence Contributor
RBBailey - I appreciate all the posts I see from you on both sights. You actively contribute to this community. If you are ever down in southern Oregon let me know. I know of only a half dozen series/defender style Land Rovers in my area.

I knew my 110 would be slow - the guy I bought it from said, "Going down hill, leaning forward, with the wind at your back, 55 MPH is all you'll get."
If it wasn't like putting the spurs to a snail, I would put off a restore for years - because there isn't anything failing to make it necessary, but I get a line behind me as I shift down from 4th to 3rd to 2nd - and thats just on the hill to get home!

I have been doing the fun and easy stuff with no big plans any time soon.
Along with a few necessary repairs;
Master cylinder
front rotors, calipers and pads
rear wheel cylinders, springs and shoes
rear brake lines
viscous fan clutch
alternator

I like your advise to gather all my parts and keep having fun with it.
I have put it off this long - no need to rush it.
 
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