Brakes & Suspension & Wiring Recommendations - 1988 90 Restoration

Hi All,

Recently bought a low mileage 1988 90 Station Wagon with a 300TDI engine fitted to it. Truck has been sitting outside in a yard for years and requires complete restoration....my first.

Chassis needs rear cross member, however seems pretty solid elsewhere although I'm sure there will be more rust once the truck is taken apart.

Possibly thinking of new chassis to start as foundation if it turns out to be worse than seen, I have a used decent bulkhead to replace the poor existing one, rear tub is fine as is roof, side panels, wings, grill, bonnet.

The brakes are totally seized all around and the suspension is rotten. As everything needs to be renewed I want to start with a good brake & suspension set up, can anyone suggest a good brake and suspension set up please?

Truck will be road use mainly with occasional trail use (not heavy off-roading).

I believe this age of 90 only has disc brakes to the front and drum to rear however I could be wrong and I'm not sure if anything has been changed.

Thinking of disc set up all around if this is possible and if so what this would entail.

I will be renewing the wiring on the vehicle in it's entirety, are there wiring kits that can be purchased for a 90 in entirety to suit the 300TDI?

Thanks

I would use loom to suit the age of car, the basic engines are all much the same wiring wise, one wire to trigger starter solenoid, one wire for alt warning and one wire to keep the stop solenoid open.

As for chassis, cut the chassis to fit a new rear x member (as you would be doing anyway) and take a peek inside with a torch.

Thats a big project you are starting ... lots of photos please ....

For your use fit new standard springs and shocks all round, or standard springs with gas shocks for smoother ride.
For brakes new discs and calipers on the front along with new pipe work. If going in the mud like on a trial going vented disc is a waist, they just get clogged, stay with solid disc and dump any disc mud shields that may still be on the truck.
You can fit the later larger tdi calipers,[ easy upgrade] just a bolt on job. I would fit new master cyl as well.
Rear drums are fine in good order [ it's the front that do most of the braking ] and all parts available for repair.
Simplest way to disc rear is a whole axle from a later Landy or a Disco1.

SPLRover said:

I will be renewing the wiring on the vehicle in it's entirety, are there wiring kits that can be purchased for a 90 in entirety to suit the 300TDI?

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Auto sparks do complete new looms (link). I have just fitted them throughout on mine after a fire (Rebuild link)

SPLRover said:

ruck will be road use mainly with occasional trail use (not heavy off-roading).

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tottot said:

For your use fit new standard springs and shocks all round, or standard springs with gas shocks for smoother ride.

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^^ Agree with this. use oem standard shocks and springs all around for your use this will be more than adequate.

As for brakes I would replace all hydraulic parts, including pipework and flexi, and even if fitting new calipers I would replace the pistons with stainless, it is easy enough to do, if you are feeling brave you could rebuild your seized ones but new calipers are not expensive.

On a similar note I would also be looking to renew the clutch hydraulics at the same time, master, slave and flexi.

Thanks all for the responses, sure I will have more questions. Pic of the truck.

SPLRover said:

Thanks all for the responses, sure I will have more questions. Pic of the truck.View attachment 293176

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Interesting. The drivers door might need some work

I built a new engine wiring harness for my old 90 after the original was damaged. They're very simple engines electrically. If yours has been replaced with a 300tdi you can make something up to match the newer engine with the original vehicle.

FlyingPete said:

I built a new engine wiring harness for my old 90 after the original was damaged. They're very simple engines electrically. If yours has been replaced with a 300tdi you can make something up to match the newer engine with the original vehicle.

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Thanks a lot, any advice on how to go about this?

I used the original harness as a guide- lay it out on a big piece of board and stick nails in where the various branches are to make a template. Mark on it where each connector lands. Use a combination of examination and a multimeter to test where each wire goes, and make notes. Then you buy the appropriate colours of wire and connectors, and build up the new harness one wire at a time. Now is also the time to include any extra wires you might need for future additions- for an oil pressure gauge, for example.

If needs be, you can make some alterations at the ends where it connects to the vehicle- what works on a 300tdi discovery might be too long or too short for a 90.

FlyingPete said:

I used the original harness as a guide- lay it out on a big piece of board and stick nails in where the various branches are to make a template. Mark on it where each connector lands. Use a combination of examination and a multimeter to test where each wire goes, and make notes. Then you buy the appropriate colours of wire and connectors, and build up the new harness one wire at a time. Now is also the time to include any extra wires you might need for future additions- for an oil pressure gauge, for example.

If needs be, you can make some alterations at the ends where it connects to the vehicle- what works on a 300tdi discovery might be too long or too short for a 90.

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Thanks FP, great method.

SPLRover said:

Thanks all for the responses, sure I will have more questions. Pic of the truck.

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You will need a big tin of polish for that ...

miktdish said:

You will need a big tin of polish for that ...

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No offence to the OP, but brakes, suspension and wiring are well down the list of “Things to do”

meego said:

No offence to the OP, but brakes, suspension and wiring are well down the list of “Things to do”

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Having said that. It is worth saving I think. But I wouldn’t expect to get my money back if thinking it’s an investment !!

meego said:

No offence to the OP, but brakes, suspension and wiring are well down the list of “Things to do”

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Chassis and bulkhead surely are first targets. Once they are sorted worry about wiring and suspension.

meego said:

It is worth saving .... <snip>

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Yes, saving, thats the adjective ...

meego said:

Having said that. It is worth saving I think. But I wouldn’t expect to get my money back if thinking it’s an investment !!

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I'm not doing the restoration for "investment", I'm doing it because I fancied restoring a Land Rover I found abandoned.

Not sure if you know, but we we live in an age of £200k Land Rover restorations and there is nothing that the companies that charge this amount of money for those restorations that I can't do or have done by contractor and for a fraction of the price and achieve a near same look.

Cost makes no difference to me, albeit I won't be spending £150k nor do I need to and nor will the finished article result in a "bank busting figure".

You are obviously the type of person that thinks about "getting your money back".

dag019 said:

Chassis and bulkhead surely are first targets. Once they are sorted worry about wiring and suspension.

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Yes, covered in initial post.

Vented drilled discs front
Rear drilled disc conversion
CuproNickel ( Kunifer ) brake lines, get a roll and a brake flarer do it yourself (see my build thread its a doddle to do)
Old Man Emu Standard height shocks
Standard Springs
Supa Pro poly blue bushes all round.

Wiring is simple, dont buy a loom make your own, good chance to improve on original ( fuses / breakers etc)

SPLRover said:

I'm not doing the restoration for "investment", I'm doing it because I fancied restoring a Land Rover I found abandoned.

Not sure if you know, but we we live in an age of £200k Land Rover restorations and there is nothing that the companies that charge this amount of money for those restorations that I can't do or have done by contractor and for a fraction of the price and achieve a near same look.

Cost makes no difference to me, albeit I won't be spending £150k nor do I need to and nor will the finished article result in a "bank busting figure".

You are obviously the type of person that thinks about "getting your money back".

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Ok mate, chill out. It was only a comment I thought would be useful, as I don’t know your financial situation. I honestly hope you enjoy getting it back on the road, as that’s what it should be about.