"Pre" MAC 4x4 Challenge!

Only 81days to get the old 250k mile 200tdi ready for the MAC 4x4 next March

After many months of searching threads on the forum, esp Green Hornet and Mr Noisy, I finally got stuck in with the grinder, spot weld drill and fire extinguisher and stripped the boot floor out and cut the rot out of the cills. By the way Green Hornet I agree with you about the stupid design of the hitch also having to gingerly cut the chassis bolts out next to the tank to drop it .

With the help of mate, who can weld, the cills are now sorted and we are ready to sort the boot floor. I ve decided to go for a replacement panel rarther than chequer plate, and seam weld it in and spot weld it across the two main boot floor cross members. Can anyone tell me if the boot floor is also spot welded to the two flat "strap" crossmembers or does it just rest on them?

cheers

hi mate
correct me if ime wrong , but hasnt all welding got to be seam welded for mot now even if old part was spot welded

Hi unclefester

dont know! My mate was planning to seam weld around the edges of the boot floor but how would you seam weld it to the boot floor crossmembers?

spot or puddle weld is okay ,drill holes in floor and fill with weld

jamesmartin said:

spot or puddle weld is okay ,drill holes in floor and fill with weld

Click to expand...

Hi Jamesmartin

That was the plan but i'll check unclefesters comments out with my local garage.

thanks

Pembs,

Thanks for the credits. The boot floor doesn't have to be seam welded for the MOT. Drill through and puddle weld as mentioned previously. I did this to my sills and it works great, just drill a big enough hole, say 6-8mm. The boot is spot welded originally to the cross members.

For note - I welded in a frame made of 25mmx3mmTHK stock bar. To this i am screwing the chequer plate keeping the original tophat section cross members. I will make the section above the sedementor and petrol tank removable for obvious access and keep the section above the seat belt mounts fixed. To clean the sedementor i just lift up the rear seats and unscrew the panel and to access the petrol tank I will empty the boot of everything including said kitchen sink and then unscrew and lift up. JD (Job Done)

Good Luck

Hi Green Hornet

Thanks for the info. I spent ages looking for the fuel sedimentor before realising it had been removed and bypassed Does it matter??

Almost ready to weld the floor back in having nearly finished cleaning up the chassis and other bits. Spent ages this morning taking the front seats out, the passenger one took 15 min the bl...dy drivers side 2hrs!

Anyway more jobs ticked off the long...long list

happy to be wrong
but better to safe than sorry

1968unclefester said:

happy to be wrong
but better to safe than sorry

Click to expand...

no worries unclefester, having read many of the threads about replacing the boot floor some say must be welded and some say not . I've got a mate who can weld so might as well weld it in.

Pembs landyman said:

Hi Green Hornet

Thanks for the info. I spent ages looking for the fuel sedimentor before realising it had been removed and bypassed Does it matter??

Anyway more jobs ticked off the long...long list

Click to expand...

well there have been a few posts on this matter and I followed them with every intention to remove it. However in retrospect after seeing what was in mine and the length of fuel hose between the tank and filter at the engine bay, I am singing it's praises. For once it seems land rover got something right. They just put it in a god awful place which means that it rarely gets maintained and then causes problems leading to people saying its useless.

I would fit it.

Regards them top hat supports, my method was to cable tie around them to mount them to the rubber feet, then they can be left separate to the floor panel if required.

If you are buying a floor buy from Britpart, do not buy from mps-trading on eBay cos it was like a piece of tin. Bloody lucky it was **** though because otherwise I wouldn't have fitted the chequer plate floor and that's the best thing I ever did!

Umm Chequer plate - I like mine soo much I smile at it everytime........

Am I Sad>>>>

GreenHornet said:

Umm Chequer plate - I like mine soo much I smile at it everytime........

Am I Sad>>>>

Click to expand...

Err....... Yes Are you attracted to shiny things in particular?


Starting to get worried now(only 78days left to MAC) boot floor still not fully in and still need to:

• Take dash out to put new heater motor in.
• Fit CB
• Fit Lightbar
• Replace steering box
• Replace seals of Alpine lights
• Take engine out for mate to semi rebuild as done 250k and smokes... alot
• Repair inner front wings
• New clutch
• re fit interior
• New springs and shocks
• Maybe set of new wheels

Looks like a long list but I'm sure you will manage it OK.

Steering box and clutch will be easier with the engine out as will the inner wings. Rip out the inner wings and that will make the suspension easier at the front.

Dashboard is only four screws and two bolts once the grab handle is removed and the binnacle taken out. The the heater motor is easily got at.

Refitting the interior is just diddly. I have done mine over three evenings, a couple of hours an evening.

Sorry if I'm teaching you to suck eggs. Hope it helps.

Got the steering box off this afternoon what a bas....d of a job. In the end couldnt get the two bolts off the stablising bracket so took the bracket off with it, will have to get some heat on them later Also building up a collection of imperial spanners/ sockets, what a mixture of imperial & metric on an early D1!!

Can anyone recommend a supplier of recon steering boxes, I've looked at the main part compaines such a Paddocks and John Craddock is there any difference in quality between them??

Pembs landyman said:

Got the steering box off this afternoon what a bas....d of a job. In the end couldnt get the two bolts off the stablising bracket so took the bracket off with it, will have to get some heat on them later Also building up a collection of imperial spanners/ sockets, what a mixture of imperial & metric on an early D1!!

Can anyone recommend a supplier of recon steering boxes, I've looked at the main part compaines such a Paddocks and John Craddock is there any difference in quality between them??

Click to expand...

Is the steering box too far gone for a repair kit? I can't help much more than that as I haven't tackled this myself.

I am also amazed how many times both metric and imperial fittings are used around the D1. Then again what should we expect when a parts bin is used that gives us the old Montego van rear lights and the Marina door handles.

Any photos on the project? Would love to follow the build and the event itself if possible. Where are you based? Your profile doesn't state

Hi Greenhornet

I ve looked at a few threads about the steering box and decided that a recon would suit me best as there is alot of play in the box. The seal kits dont seem to last that long.

I based in sunny Pembrokeshire (although its been chucking it down for the last few days) I have been taking some pics as I go and will try and upload them soon.

cheers

Spot on dude. Look forward to seeing them.

i am on steering box 3.

bought first one for £35 and was oily, leaked a bit but not as bad. then it got worse and then started going out of alignment.

searched ebay and came across a bone dry rusty one. guy wanted 70 quid for it but it was well spent because it doesnt leak a drop. if you cxan find a very dry one you might get a few years or a few days out of it but its a cheaper gamble...

hey ian, something i hope you can help me with:

you say dashboard is very easy, but last time (3 years ago) it took me a whole day.

if you wouldnt mind, please gimme a brief step by step so i know where to look. need to get my dash out for a tidy up and bit of a looming session.

cheers