1988 Range Rover Classic 3.5L V8 EFi

Yay! More progress on my favourite thread!

marccleave said:

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What did you use for your door seal strips. I tried to make some but the came out rubbish so I cut them off again? Yours look better than factory.

stutab said:

Glad to see another classic saved from the scrap yard, great thread and a very good build from what I have seen so far.

Its funny how these RRC threads start with ' I just thought i needed to do a few little things till I investigated a little further' I know mine did.

If you need any silly bits for yours I have a 1988 Vogue se getting gradually smaller, I have still got most of the interior and the dash parts left intact and had a message today of a 3.5efi and box coming out of a Rangy if you wanted a replacement lump for yours which can still be driven around.

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Thanks! It certainly does feel good when some nice progress is made. That and looking back at the pictures, its almost a different RRC now. Not structural body rust, only some axles and chassis to clean up...

I think Land-Rover made them so they hide their faults. I mean, no one would touch them in their right mind if it was obvious! Or would they... Hmmm don't answer that.

Not sure what I'll need but I'll keep that in mind.

blackstrat said:

Yay! More progress on my favourite thread!

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Oh no... now I have to make progress to keep people happy!

stutab said:

What did you use for your door seal strips. I tried to make some but the came out rubbish so I cut them off again? Yours look better than factory.

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Again, thanks! It really amazed me how these were made, various shapes of metal spot welded together... Glad they rusted out so I could replace it.

The off side and nearside has been done differently as I thought I could cut corners the first time. On the off side (the first time I did it) I put a 90degree bend in the sheet steel I was putting in for the floor, this was a pain to do so when it got to the near side I decided to put in the floor, then the horizontal strip then cut to shape and welded in the curved areas and spent what felt like forever with the grinder squaring everything up, smoothing off faces and trying to make the welds look no so obvious.

The box section used for the sills has a radius on the edges, this proved to be a right pain in the ass when putting in the horizontal strip as the difference in thickness between the box and strip made the heat from the welder go into the box or blew holes in the strip. I ended up tacking it in place so it was flush on the outside, then filled the inside radius to horizontal strip with weld inside and then shaped with the grinder where needed around the pillars and flat faces.

I basically spent a lot of time with flap discs and grinding discs shaping it. My welding isn't the best (although I really should get a better welder) but I try to make sure things are solid and then look nice. You don't want to know how many times I haven't been happy with something so I cut it out and started again. Grinding back an area then re welding it, shaping etc.

Cheers Marc, I suffered from welding thick to thin. I gave up in the end. Luckily it's only the drivers door that I needed to rebuild so I should getaway with leaving it.

Aren't you lucky!

But how are you going to deal with the mounting the door seal?

Haven't got to that bit yet, silicone is the favourite at the moment!

I know what you mean when you posted 'I was amazed at how these were made, various shapes of metal spot-welded together'
My '87 had led a sheltered life prior to my purchase & thus no rot, but I was surprised when I first lifted the front footwell floor coverings to find that the floor was actually constructed from more than one sheet of metal! It seems that, despite the car costing over 22k when new, LR was using up odd cuts of metal when it was built.

dump them calipers..new ones are cheap...espically compared to death..

Yeah I that was the plan when I discovered these ones were shot. I don't need new discs... but new discs are shiny and I like shiny.

Might take inspiration from you zen and put 110 brakes as they have bigger pads. But then I lose the dual circuit so no back up brakes.

Better braking or Back up if something goes wrong. What would you guys choose?


Also put in some headlights today, nice and shiny! Will be relaying them soon. Thew the body panels on just for this picture, thats why they're not straight.

Also my bonnet is foobar, where the bolts go in to mount it on the hinges... I had it unbolted but on the hinges and with the bonnet up, wind caught the bonnet and flew it back against the roof, so now the rear bolt holes don't line up and my bonnet sits up at an angle as you can see in this picture. Will need to get some bolts in there, get the map gas on it and straighten it back out? Thoughts?

Since the standad brakes are more than adequate and removing the dual circuit would contravene the construction and use regs invalidating your insurance, I would suggest just fitting good quality pads.

Hadn't thought of that actually...

Got a source of RRC calipers now anyway. Going to strip them - get them shot blasted? New stainless pistons and seals. At least they don't have broken lugs like my current ones...

They are easy to rebuild, after you get the pistons out.

Rebuilt mine, been easy to stop since then��

Great thread - you're doing a cracking job - the car will no doubt be built to a higher standard then when it left the factory. After my classic started rotting when it was under three years old I got shot quick and have never thought about buying another - the P38 is hand-crafted in comparison!

Aftermarket calipers are cheap - buy new ones.

you dont lose back up brakes!!
they just operate same as 110..ie front/ rear.

are you suggesting LR dont fit split braking systems on their defender series???

also they work better!!have you actually had rrc brake failure, cos i can assure you once one side goes down they do not work!(pedal to floor)..the defender setup is safer failure wise..
anyway..above (failure..before i fixed it ,knew they ere fecked) was on on a project..its still IMHO SAFER to fit new calipers..they are cheap, wether you go 110 or rrc..and nice new vented/grooved discs..

you're thinking of split circuit callipers compared to a split circuit system

the split circuit callipers have two inputs meaning theres five outputs from the brake cylinder, four for the front then one for the rear which then splits into two on the rear axle

the split circuit system is the cylinder itself where if one side springs a leak all the fluid doesn't **** out so you retain either rear or front axle braking unlike on the series landrovers where if you spring a leak anywhere you lose all braking !

Okay then! Not much today, but did get that nasty rusted steel upper tailgate off and a nice aluminium replacement one fitted. Sorted.

Had to contend with one rusted bolt, used the dremel to drill a slot and managed to get it out with the impact driver. Being careful not to break the glass of course.


glad to get rid of this... eurgh!



More tomorrow...

Well then, I got the rear calipers fitted today. Turns out some nice previous owner has already been at them and fitted stainless pistons. So I painted the calipers a while back, but fitted them with new pads and retaining clips today. Even got the brake line across the rear axle hooked up. New flares in the pipe as I cut the pipe last time so had to redo that. Even cleaned up the t-piece that attaches to the axle casing and bolted it down with a nice shiny stainless nylock and bolt. Too dark for decent pictures, will get those tomorrow.

I also finally ordered new front calipers. So those will get fitted with new pads and brake lines hooked up...

More pictures and progress tomorrow hopefully!

Have you had any issues keeping the ali top tailgate closed?
I'm really struggling. The steel one was badly corroded but did stay shut!

Not yet, it seems to be quite a stiff fit compared to the steel one, feels slightly wider when closing it. But pulling it up, hitting it and shaking it around it seems to stay closed.

I guess we'll find out more when it comes to the part where it drives on the road.



But what am I going to do with my lower tailgate? Its not shot, but if left it won't be very pretty. Its more rotting on the inside lower edge than the outside skin which is fine for now. Thinking of getting it shot blasted, any advice anyone?