Jump to content

Land (Rover) Reclamation or (Land R)over the Hill!


warch

Recommended Posts

 

84A5541A-726B-490E-B782-3588A57BF505.thumb.jpeg.8c52d1c0328c7ab853dbdb60cff0b667.jpeg

97F98531-478A-4D46-B3D4-591F5C23EB8B.thumb.jpeg.944425796152d91b0d878e1fe07c9b24.jpeg

That’s the welding all done, time to put it all back together. I have acquired a posh ratchet tool for electrical connections and my own weight in paint, electrical hardware and fripperies like new lights and track rod boots. The second shot is a work in progress but the welding gas held out until it was fully welded up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

6B3FF82C-3704-46F6-B9BC-138EF8D588D9.thumb.jpeg.bfce8cef38d2ae29de52699fb5d0ced2.jpeg

Update, mostly painted, just a door, tailgate and 4 wheels left to paint.

6F6B7111-1F67-408E-BA1F-FF6CB021DF2C.thumb.jpeg.bf0491364f82b17bd8b89d935e8ad616.jpeg

Rebuilt windscreen with proper never set putty stuff which cost nearly 25quid but looks good. My mate insisted on rotating the screens to equalise wear, so I humoured him on this.

Interior all back in, apart from painting just got to refit the driver’s side door lock and fit and wire six lights and the tow pack, reattach the roof and put the rest of the bolts in the rear crossmember. Weirdly all the electrics I’ve refitted all work perfectly which is a bit worrying.

CAEFA659-4ED4-420D-8150-C71825C885BF.thumb.jpeg.36f0573d3ee195d62e1fb6e1ff4e78bf.jpeg

Should keep me going for a few more decades I reckon. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Merryck said:

Looks fantastic!

Thank you, it's still completely usable, I think you should be able to use a Land Rover without worrying about scratching it. Its a proper Autoshite job too, I spent barely 500quid on parts and materials. I imagine the welding would have at least doubled this but my mate didn't want any money for doing it, so I owe him into perpetuity. 

I was quite pleased to be able to sort a load of other niggling issues out like renewing all the gear oils, both gearboxes, both differentials and both swivel housings, changing some hard to access rubber boots in the steering system, cutting out and replacing some Heath Robinson wiring, fitting a new under seat box and tightening up the gear shift mechanism. 

I've got a bit disillusioned with the classic Land Rover scene, it seems to be infested with rivet counters, matching number obsessives and people who talk about things like patina or provenance. They'd probably hate the modern radial tyres, the silver painted bumper and windscreen and the el cheapo Wipac lights but that's how its looked since the early 90s.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...
1 hour ago, warch said:

Bollocks. Made it all of three miles up the road then I was struck by a low flying Rav4.

57A9156D-3ABA-4C9C-9F46-08187F577362.thumb.jpeg.0dca886f975a562a89229151d9c7be43.jpeg

Completely obliterated one wing, damaged the bonnet and bumper beyond repair and pushed the bulkhead back a centimetre on the left hand side. 
 

At least no one was hurt.

shit! thats awful to see after all the work you did on the old girl! 

but im glad no one was hurt, and hopefully the damage can be fixed without too much hassle! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It'll just give me an excuse to artificially extend the life of this thread. Landrovers are quite old school in so far as the design allows for easy removal and replacement of bits like the front bumper and the wings. I was a bit concerned about the bulkhead but as I think I mentioned further up the thread, the old girl has previous for this sort of escapade, having apparently struck a dustcart or similar due on black ice back in the 70s which bent the bulkhead in a similar fashion. My mate who does all the welding seems to think that he can panel beat all the damage out and bend the bulkhead back into position.

I'm normally quite sanguine about car crashes as I like watching rallying where cars are only ever millimetres away from needing a bit of remedial bodywork with a sledgehammer at the end of every stage. The lady who crashed into me seemed quite reasonable, and it is quite hard to have a go at someone whilst rescuing them from their car.

Should have this all sorted quite quickly with any luck, I think I'll do all the work myself and reach a settlement on the cost of the parts, and time taken to fit them. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

79B58922-6B7F-4AC4-878D-6407BA34BDAA.thumb.jpeg.75b1147fce620cf41850f95d3c50c451.jpeg6A904266-E270-49FC-9F78-332183A0DD38.thumb.jpeg.54ad6507698c442dc4ebadd513b23c21.jpeg0506C216-E20E-432B-BA45-BD9508E1DCA6.thumb.jpeg.198ea3f50c27e9e075aa2b76bf006931.jpeg

Right back to work on this. I did find a spare pair of very straight looking wings and a bonnet (the actual bonnet this vehicle started life with) hiding behind my dad's goose shed. I have ordered a new bumper too.

I am doing all the work myself and not claiming on insurance. The whole insurance thing left a very sour taste in my mouth, its all about trying to extract inflated sums of money from other people for things like bullshit injury claims or hire cars.  The main issue is time, I would like to have this all sorted quite quickly and not sitting there for months whilst the insurance people um and aah. Yes this leaves me out of pocket (the woman who crashed into me originally said she would settle outside of insurance and agreed a settlement but then reneged). I can't really see how I would be better off if I went through the insurance, I would certainly be worse off in terms of increased renewals in the short term whilst they sorted out blame. 

Annnywaay, I have the parts and the paint. I need to fit both new wings really, despite the colour, they are off an ex military Land Rover hence the over and under lights. I'm not sure where the number plate will go, military plates are smoller, mine might still fit in the gap under the lights. I could conceivably fill the lower hole (fnagh!) and reposition them but I will look at that before I paint them.

The bulkhead is slightly bent back but will push back out. The eagle eared amongst you may spot that the front nearside chassis leg is also slightly bent. My mate has acquired a 10 ton bodywork jack which will hopefully unbend everything.  On the upside, my mental image of the archetypal Land Rover is this, the nearly new pathfinder Land Rover used in the 1971 Darien Gap expedition. They somehow look rather cooler with the living shit kicked out of them.

111859-6328305-darien_5.jpg

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Building Back Better!

43E7BA3D-9CE9-4488-9D8E-AC5C5E7B7300.thumb.jpeg.6da529a4217a7e9881d1c2925381567f.jpeg

First job was to straighten the chassis which was bent about 1 and a half cms sideways and about 1cm down. Sorted!

F3B09068-3AF4-4464-A2C2-CAC78C8FE5C5.thumb.jpeg.b27777c0388e568e5f9258962cf37e51.jpeg

Next job was to reinstate bulkhead in the upright position. Took a few goes but...

0F358436-56BA-4AEA-AA4B-F3C4E15890B3.thumb.jpeg.e0ab68b57af4bf0eed2ff3089902ebf0.jpeg

Success! The door was no longer rubbing on the bulkhead. The banana shaped door pillar is a remnant of a similar accident 45 years ago. The door actually closes almost flush now which it never used to.

2007BCD2-337A-4652-B3C9-FE7C7EFCEF33.thumb.jpeg.1bd615bcb350a3c2c0755da77d3c21c9.jpeg

The mangled tinwork on the upper door pillar was unmangled using the spreading jaws and a panel beating hammer

F6E420A8-5410-4F78-88B3-FD1E4CB02C55.thumb.jpeg.969254a00b25504906426591eedbd40a.jpeg

Apart from a slight ripple which won't be visible once painted it is as good as it was before (if not better).

3A39ACC2-4DD7-4616-B60F-3B2B3B33ED62.thumb.jpeg.439c9b6c8d637058a7362ec6d71efff7.jpeg

I've test fitted the shineh new bumper, all that need fitting is the new wings and bonnet then its good to go. Might give narrow country lanes a miss for a bit though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...