Defender 6x6 Camper Build Thread

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Hi there lovely work...
Just got to ask if you would somehow be mating a transfer case to the back end of that allison to send power to all axles?

Epic work, please keep the updates coming.

Cheers!

The plan for the transfer box is to mount it remotely and to run a short propshaft between the two. Some photos incoming this evening about that!
 
So next up I got a hold of a P38 rear axle. These are offset due to the passenger side drop transfer box, so much handier for the rear axle than flipping a D2 axle.



Usual process ensued.... cut off all the brackets weld on new ones to suit the chassis.



ive been doing this with a number of different measurement devices... with varying degrees of success.. but its worked out right in the end, this was the handiest tool.





All mounted up!



Next up I got a pair of CSW B-Pillars from YRM, this is the best way for me to get a seatbelt mount and a full height B-Pillar that i can weld a panel to at a later point in the build. Right at this point theyre only placed in until i get everything correctly aligned with the back body.







Over the next few days i will set the heights and widths for the position of these and get them welded to the threshold plate.

I was waiting at this point for a steel supplier to reopen so i could pick up some box steel for the rear sub floor and tie this into the b-pillars....So i moved on to the rear suspension...

The middle axle was already set up to recieve the D2 airbags so that made life easier, i made up brackets for the rear axle to accept the D2 bags.





I then sorted some top mount spacers to give an effective 1.5" lift and to adapt the spring perches from 110 rear spring diameter to 90 rear spring diameter (which the D2 air spring sits into)



These bags give about 10 inches of travel from bumpstop to full height (estimation, as i have no weight on the bags or bumpstops fitted.





I then moved on to the rear axle prop. this came off another 6x6 door i have, which happily, just happened to fit, the short nose p38 diff probably helped a lot!



Mostly this just required mounting the carrier bearing to the middle axle, but it was a nice satisfying job!



Prop angle of the rear diff looks a bit dodgy here because i havent nuts for the trailing arms, and the axle had moved back.

With that out of the way i started figuring out where to mount the transfer box. The best option with this for me, was to mount it remotely as the trans pan is quite wide and wouldnt allow room for the front prop if the t-box was mounted directly to the Allison. Even at that, it is still precariously close, so ill be doing some shaving to the Allison sump.



Im using a 130 rear prop as my front prop to set my t-box distance. This allows me to use off the shelf parts for some of the props which saves a few quid on custom lengths, but also puts the t-box in a decent spot.





Ill work on mounting that in the coming days.

Finally, today i got some steel and started working on the subfloor. This was a huge step for me, to start to see the footprint of the rear body.



Its early days with the subfloor yet but this gives you an idea of size.





The wheels on the back give a weird proportion to things as theyre an odd offset, ill be running BFG 33/12.5R15 on +32mm offset 10" wheels so wheels will be about 50mm inside the bodywork when done.

So there ye go! Thats the latest update... Waiting on a few bits to be delivered from paddocks and ive more steel to pick up tomorrow, so i should get the subfloor fairly well finished for the next update!
 
Cor blimey.


Can't wait to see the finished job, looks like a great job so far!
I don't have a first clue on the subject so asking out of curiosity... When you have twin solid axles at the rear, why don't the wheels drag round corners and generally make a mess? Or is it just not that much of a big deal given the distance from the front axle
 
Cor blimey.


Can't wait to see the finished job, looks like a great job so far!
I don't have a first clue on the subject so asking out of curiosity... When you have twin solid axles at the rear, why don't the wheels drag round corners and generally make a mess? Or is it just not that much of a big deal given the distance from the front axle

Cheers man!

There is an inherant 'drag' in the back axle in a 6x6 all right, in normal circumstances, not really an issue as it is fairly minimal, where it becomes a bigger issue is with tight turns, to combat this, im planning to set the back axle up with a lift bag, this should allow me to lift the back axle to reduce drag and wheelbase.
 
What Box you got going behind that Cummins?

Can't wait to see it done!

Its an Allison 2000 series auto, I had a 110 i put a cummins in a few years back, with a manual ZF box, i used it mostly for long haul and towing, the manual box drove me mad, too noisy and heavy clutch, so said id try auto this time for a bit more comfort!
 
OOh i bet thats gonna drive nice!

Loving the progress so far, any performance mods to the Cummins planned?

cheers man!

Yeah as it happens, the engine in it currently isnt the one ill be using, i have another engine organised for it. however all the goodys off this engine will be moving across to the new lump. Bigger injectors, piston lift pump, boost pin, governor spring, dynamic timing spacer.... ive a HX35W for it too, but im looking at going HX35/40w hybrid.
 
cheers man!

Yeah as it happens, the engine in it currently isnt the one ill be using, i have another engine organised for it. however all the goodys off this engine will be moving across to the new lump. Bigger injectors, piston lift pump, boost pin, governor spring, dynamic timing spacer.... ive a HX35W for it too, but im looking at going HX35/40w hybrid.

Wow..

Love the Cummins unit, would love to fit one to a D2, heavy old lump though!
Bullet proof!!

With those bits she'll fly, a mountain of torque!!
 
Cheers man!

There is an inherant 'drag' in the back axle in a 6x6 all right, in normal circumstances, not really an issue as it is fairly minimal, where it becomes a bigger issue is with tight turns, to combat this, im planning to set the back axle up with a lift bag, this should allow me to lift the back axle to reduce drag and wheelbase.
Sounds genius, keep up the good work!!
 
So ive been cracking on since last time with more of the rear subfloor. Just tipping away tacking pieces in bit by bit and deciding on dimensions as i approach an issue... just goes to show, even with all the 3d CAD prep i had done, it still comes down to on the fly adjustments!





Here i was tieing the b-pillars into the rear subfloor. Note the offset and tire size are completely inaccurate a representation for the final product.



The subfloor will also incorporate a number of drop boxes, these will house a lot of different things from storage lockers to air tanks to water tanks etc. Also included in this was the rear enterance step.





Part of the subfloor build was tieing in the mounting locations across the rear crossmember, making it fit to work around the read fuel tank, tieing it into the seatbox and body mounts....etc.





Everything that could be captive on this join, was made captive.







Next up was mounting the transfer box. For this, i used a 130 rear propshaft as the front prop. It just happened to be an ideal length and made it much easier to measure out the positioning of the box.



First up was to bend up some left over rollcage CDS tube to make the body of the cradle/removable crossmember.



After that i jigged up the transfer box where i wanted it to stay and tacked it into place.



A bit of messing around and it started to take shape



Then finally i sorted the transfer box side of the mounting







Finally, once i got the box mounted, it was obvious there was an issue with the carrier bearing location on the second axle. a propshaft running from it to the transfer box clashed with the a-frame on the second axle. So i ended up moving it.

Original Location:



Moved over:





Its hard explain, but basically, moving it over allows it to well clear the A-Frame through the full range of motion.

The front propshaft is a tight fit also, next to the gearbox sump.



There will be a bit of gentle massaging needed here to get this to clear.

Finally, i picked up a scrapped Disco 3 for spare parts for my daily driver, and said i would try out the centre console for size, what do you guys think of this?

 
Does your ttansferbox not have a high and low if its a 1 to1 box as if it does your rear axle isnt going to be the same speed depending on if tour in high a low? Your build is looking mega so far
 
Does your ttansferbox not have a high and low if its a 1 to1 box as if it does your rear axle isnt going to be the same speed depending on if tour in high a low? Your build is looking mega so far


Hi Tom,

So due to the engine choice (6bt) having a significantly reduced RPM range, gearing had to be changed to suit. the common solution to this is a 1:1 ratio LT230, so this allows me to run a 3rd axle off the PTO (only in high ratio). this is the cheapest and easiest way i can achieve what i want for now, but may not be the final form for this machine... time will tell.
 
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