My 110 1995 300tdi

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Steve Noakes

Active Member
Posts
131
Location
Sussex
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Having bought the 110 from a great guy in Sussex, he builds steam cars for a hobby so the engine and underbody were in good condition and it runs great at 70mph.
The body and inside are the first small projects.
  • Thorough clean inside which brought up the white internals a treat
  • New radio and alarm, so nice to work on a vehicle with standard wiring and no laptop needed
  • Found cheap central locking solenoids in Maplins so had to install them in the Landy. Used S/S flexible tap connector braid (£1.50 from Screwfix) to protect the wires which works well and looks good too. Works with the alarm so one click action to lock/unlock
  • Went to LandRover Fest and bought new rubber flooring for the rear and bench seats which are too long but will be a project to shorten them (they were a bargain that had to be had)
  • All door bottoms are rusted through, bought repair sections and will repair each door instead of replacing with new one
I've changed the order to put newest jobs at the top to simplify seeing the progress.
Please share thoughts, comments and advice.

Remove roof lining and stick vinyl back in place
The roof lining vinyl is in good condition but had suffered the common delimitation from the backing material.
The lining sections were removed relatively easily using trim extractor tools.
Roof is in very good condition.
I took the opportunity to add soundproofing to the roof panels to reduce the running noise.
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I stripped and re-stuck the vinyl from the linings which lasted nearly a year, then started to delaminate again.
So, finally had to buy new complete linings - see below for updates.

Refurbish the front plastics which have bleached to a dull grey
The front plastics have bleached so next job is to refresh them and clean up the metal work in the radiator bay.
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Searched the internet and forums and chose
Forever Black Bumper & Trim Cleaner & Reconditioner Dye Kit
purchased from Amazon, delivered next day.
First step is to clean the plastic thoroughly using the supplied detergent and let it dry.
I'll post the photos in a few days once the refurb is complete.

Cut down and install the rear seats
The bargain (£10) rear seats from LandRover Fest are too long for the 110 so instead of selling them on and buying new seats at much higher cost, we decided to modify these ones instead.
The seats were in OK mechanical condition apart from surface rust and the vinyl was in good condition except the retaining plastic clip had failed in a few places so the vinyl didn't look great.
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The seat was 165mm too long so first job was to cut 165mm off one end. All welds ground off and then metalwork cut down to size.
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New mounting brackets were also welded into the new framework to pick up existing fixing points.
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The re-welded frame was given 2 good coats of Hammerite and the support brackets in the wheel arch removed, de-rusted, and coated in Hammerite and Waxoyl underseal when installed.
New riv-nuts were installed for the lower seat mounting.
Most of the existing rivets had rusted badly so were drilled out and replaced with new XL head rivets. Underside covered in Waxoyl underseal and top painted with white Hammerite to tidy up the surfaces.
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The top seat back vinyl was removed from the metal backing to replace with 9mm ply which was easier to make to the new length and also to resolve the vinyl fixing problems.
IMG_0667.jpg 9mm ply replaced metal backing. IMG_0668.jpg Vinyl stretched and stapled to ply, tidy fixing

Seat frame re-installed and new carpet is planned to be installed as the old carpet had too many un-used holes in it. Whilst fitting new carpet, took the opportunity to install additional underlay soundproofing.
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New carpet installed on both sides, looks much better.
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Last task was to modify and install the lower seat cushion. A few well spent hours with the sewing machine
and it looks good and fits perfectly.
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Repair and refurbish side steps
All 4 of the steps had seized up due to lack of use and rust.
The steps were removed after a fair amount of "coaxing" on the fixings, some of which needed grinding off to release the brackets.

New riv-nuts were installed where the old ones had rusted solid. Made a riv-nut install bar from YouTube videos, works great and much cheaper than buying an install tool.
The steps were stripped to individual piece parts, sanded down to remove all rust using flap wheel and wire brushing wheel in a 4" grinder.
2 good coats of Hammerite and plenty of copper grease on the bolts and the steps look a whole lot better.
Step rubber were rivets replaced with XL black head rivets, look good
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Before - rusted solid
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After - refurbished, fully operational, and wife happy....

First jobs - replace radio and install alarm and central locking to front doors
Replacing the radio was relatively straight forward, the speaker cable connectors were compatible but a little bulky for the installation space, a bit of tugging and poking put everything in the right place.
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The alarm was a good rated unit from ebay with the reseller local to me in case of any issues. Installation easy enough, good instructions supplied and key fobs are solid. The alarm is capable of triggering central locking solenoids which was one reason for its choice.
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The central locking install to the front doors was straight forward for the mechanical installation, the electrics took a little time to plan how to get the wires into the doors as they weren't designed for cable entry. The stainless steel braiding from 15mm tap connectors turned out to be effective solution and only cost £2 each. The braid provides flexible movement and good protection for the cables, looks good too when door is opened.
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2nd row of doors will be done when their bottoms are refurbished.

New front mudguards were installed to replace the old ones as the brackets had rusted badly and weren't worth repairing. Quick delivery from Paddock Spares and a few hours removing the old brackets, drilling out seized riv-nuts, installing new rib-nuts and vigorous wire-brushing of the chassis ready for copious waxoyl undersell. Job done.
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Preparing for 2016 Landrover Fest, I thought it was time to tackle the rotten doors. I purchased repair metal instead of buying new doors. Each door was in a sorry, and "normal" state given the age and poor water management in Defender doors. Still, with the money saved repairing the doors, I justified buying a new MIG welder which was a bonus.
After welding in the new parts, a bit of filler to smooth the edges and good coats of etch primer, primer, and cellulose paint matched to the Alpine white, the doors will be good for another 20 years. New window runners and external rubbers were installed to finish the weather proofing. The hinges were stripped back to base metal, etch primed and painted the Alpine white. New stainless steel fixings installed to finish the job.
IMG_0839.jpg IMG_0842.jpg IMG_0845.jpg rusty old door bottoms

IMG_0846.jpg IMG_0849.jpg IMG_0850.jpg cut and weld repair sections, made new hinge tube

IMG_0853.jpg IMG_0901.jpg primed, filled, ready to paint...
 
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At Landrover Fest, my camping neighbour had purchased a new roof rack and was in the process of taking off his old one with help from his mates. "want to buy a roof rack ?" as we cooked breakfast on a glorious morning. A quick nod from the good wife and the deal was done. In true Landy spirit, the "pit crew" lifted the roof rack off and carried it over to mine and even installed it for me. What gentlemen....
The the fun started. "We need spot lights on it Dad... sure son, we can find some in the show.... let the fun begin...."
IMG_0956.jpg New roof rack is just the beginning

We need spot lights, which need switches. There aren't any spare switches in the dashboard, so a Raptor Engineering console is the answer.
http://www.raptor-engineering.co.uk/product/defender-s111-console-dash/
IMG_0961.jpg IMG_0962.jpg IMG_0963.jpg cut out the old dash to make space for the Raptor

The Raptor comes with a pair of CB radio brackets, not needed but very handy to create a relay and fuse bracket
IMG_0965.jpg 2 relays for the spot lights, we had to be able to choose 2 or 4 lights didn't we... A good few metres of cable and a lot of crimps later and wiring was done

IMG_0966.jpg The Raptor installed nearly complete. Note the missile launch switches to activate the spot lights - had to be purchased...
The top panel will be the blank plate for now as we don't know what to add next. Do we need more gauges ? Or just a good place to mount SatNav etc.
 
Whilst preparing for the Landrover Fest, I noticed the front tyres were cracked despite the tread still having a lot of material left. Still, safety before cost avoidance. Popped to local tyre store and ordered 2 new tyres and got the originals removed so I could service the wheels which we quite rusty.
A few hours with wire brush attachment on the 4" grinder and we were back to base metal.
Etch primer, primer and Alpine white paint and the wheels look good as new.
IMG_0890.jpg IMG_0892.jpg dirty, rusty wheels

IMG_0893.jpg IMG_0894.jpg a good clean and ready for paint

IMG_0903.jpg the finished wheels with new tyres. Painted the hub and wheel nuts to finish the look.

Whilst the wheels were off, the brake calliper and suspension didn't look great so more wire brushing and good old Hammerite and Underseal to brighten up the front end.
IMG_0897.jpg IMG_0898.jpg hub, brake and suspension looking much better....
 
Good to see sleeves rolled up and stuff happening. It's looking good - what's the plan for it (other than more lights Dad)?
Thanks for feedback, main objective is to do the lady justice for her age. Just finished installing the last bits and bobs bought at Landrover Fest. Then go out and enjoy it more and more...
 
The roof lining unfortunately dropped again after the recent high temperatures, so whilst at Landrover fest we found a great retailer selling roof linings. A friendly negotiation concluded with a full 4 piece set for a very acceptable price. Whilst the lining was down, took the opportunity to install a pair of rear speakers. The sound is more balanced.
IMG_0981.jpeg replacement lining, much better
IMG_0984.jpeg rear speakers to balance the sound
 
And finally, the last items from Landrover Fest - a pair of rear seats with the same upholstery as the other seats - a welcome find.
IMG_0980.jpeg the back end is complete now....
 
No not found one yet. Thought I'd found two good candidates on LRO but we're older adds an x heard nothing back so guessing sold. Next door neighbours got an old 110 V8 van. Was giving him a hand with his doors today. Base frame shot to bits.
 
It took a while to find our 110, so many rotten ones at high prices but advertised as good condition. As suggested by others, don't rush to buy until you find the "right" one for you.
I know about shot door frames.... good fun to repair though if you have the time.
 
Yes am trying to be patient, which isn't my string suit. To be fair with the state of them I might have been inclined to have hot new doors. But easy to say when you're not the one spending!
 
For me the repair was cheap for the metal work but consumed a lot of paint cans to prime and top coat with colour match. More than I'd expected considering it was just the frame work inside. Taking to a sprayer may have been easier in the end to finish them off.
 
My neighbour uses to be in the trade so spraying won't be an issue for him. He enjoys the repair work more than the vehicles I think sometimes. He's got numerous different cars he's working on. He speaks of an original camper but I'm yet to see it. Not sure if it's a series 3 or original 110. Certainly sounds interesting.
 
After looking at a rutty green lane, it was a good excuse to buy new toys. The steering and diff guards arrived Friday so Sunday morning was fitting time.
Went together ok, no instructions but not complicated. Luckily all bolts came out without too much struggle.
 

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