Goodbye 90, hello 110 project

Even the wolf hard tops that these are made for still have the roll bars underneath to help with the fit. You could just use a good glue I guess but I wouldn't reccomend it. Can you screw some loops to the hard top ribs?

Hi passed mot. Now for reg plate. Anyway. As I have ex mod. No reverse lights. Are u putting one on or no bothering ?

I like the look without a reverse light. It would be handy to have when reversing in the dark though but you will get on fine without. People seem to get the idea that im reversing in car parks without the need of a reverse light anyway

Ha ha yeah true. My current disco 200tdi has no reverse. Switch is knackered cos that stupid gearbox is busted !! As yet people move out of the way when I reverse at tescos!!! Yup I shall leave my defender as it is. Will remove the disco engine out and scrap the disco and then in summer swop the engine etc. I like the ex mod set up very much. Nice simple and cheap parts !!! I might need new door locks. I can't seem to get the lock to lock. Strange !!!

lucifus said:

Even the wolf hard tops that these are made for still have the roll bars underneath to help with the fit. You could just use a good glue I guess but I wouldn't reccomend it. Can you screw some loops to the hard top ribs?

Click to expand...

I was thinking of putting some tube across the roof by attaching it with a plate to the roof mountings, so it'd be in the same place roughly as on a softtop so i can just attatch it easily.

Quick update - Good and bad news

The good news is that my new transfer box arrived today from ashcroft. Turned up packaged in a crate. TNT driver was a tit and didnt want to help unload it. Bad news is that my clutch master cylinder appears to have given up this week and ****ed itself all over my footwell So now ive got to get it transported to a garage to get fixed.

Great build on a nice 110. I am just in the process of looking at some ex-mod 110, just wondering why you went for the soft top instead of the hardtop?

How is the new transfer box and clutch master cylinder install going?

I like the idea of the soft top. If we ever get a nice summer again I'll take it off or roll the sides up. I figured that it's cheaper to convert to hard top in future if I change my mind than it is to convert to a soft top. It's actually no colder with a soft top than my old hard top and it actually seems to leak less. Infact it doesn't leak at all. I guess it's personal preference at the end of the day.

lucifus, how much was the transfer box? It could well be a future modification for me also.

£495 plus vat plus exchange cost up front that is refunded when you return your old one. Its expensive I know but Im planning on keeping this land rover for a long while. You can pickup disco transfer boxes pretty cheap used but you get no guarentee and lots of them have high mileage.

Totaly agree with you

Mine was £150 secondhand, and has has already cost me probably another ton in flanges,joints,skin off me knuckles and the bastides still leaking!!!!

Hello. Did you change the steering wheel in your ex mod ? Are the steering wheel an disco one ?

Taffy said:

Hello. Did you change the steering wheel in your ex mod ? Are the steering wheel an disco one ?

Click to expand...

I haven't changed it. It's the standard wheel for that year.

just read through your build so far, really like what you've done with it

Update from today -

The day started like this at 7am this morning -



Its a sad sight to see a land rover being winched onto the back of a truck
Had my new 1.22 transfer box fitted and the old 1.667 removed and new clutch master and slave cylinder. The slave had gone completely and the master was starting to go. The removed 1.667 box seems fine as you would expect for less than 50k miles. Just need to arrange to take it back to Ashcroft to get my core charge back.

Out with the old


and in with the new


Drove back at a steady 65 from Thetford today. What a difference it has made. It still feels pretty nippy. 1st gear is fine with the 1.22 transfer box. Its nice to be able to cruise at A road/motorway speed without feeling like im revving the tits off of the 200tdi. Next mod is now some sound insulation and rubber matting. Then I think im almost done until the summer when I decide what colour to repaint it (if at all)

Leave it that colour, looks good. Few personal touches like youve done. Looks good as is.

How are you finding the 1.22 box? I've been toying with the idea of fitting one to my 110 hardtop but was a bit worried that on 7.50's it might make the low down pulling away power a bit sluggish.

Elefantman said:

How are you finding the 1.22 box? I've been toying with the idea of fitting one to my 110 hardtop but was a bit worried that on 7.50's it might make the low down pulling away power a bit sluggish.

Click to expand...

It drives fine. The acceleration obviously isn't as good as the 1.66 but the drive is nicer. 70mph on the motorway is like a disco. 200tdi has no problem. I'm just getting used to the different gearing now.

update for today. The old transfer box has been returned to Ashcroft and I decided today to fit some new shocks to the rear. The old ones have clearly seen better days. It seems that I never have any luck. What a nightmare job is was..... First off the first upper shock mount nut sheered off when I went to undo it Then I had to cut the nut off the bottom of that shocker to remove it with a hacksaw. Took me about 2 hours just for one side. All the time I was thinking how much easier it would be with air tools. The other side wasn't as bad. The upper shock mount unbolted fine and so did the lower shock nut. When I removed them and tested by compressing them they didn't open again at all. Completely dead. Also cleaned out my air filter hosing and replaced the filter as it was full of mud from Whaddon a few weeks back. I think I went a little too deep.

Old and new shocks. Notice that the old ones are fully compressed


Old shock with shared nut and stuck firmly onto the chassis mount. Replaced the mount. Tried levering the old shock off the mount first with a crow bar and the sucker wouldnt come off.



Old shocker that I had to cut off with a hacksaw. Cutting through the rubber grommet to get the the metal was even harder than cutting the metal. Nightmare



New shocks fitted



And the air filter before I removed it to wash it out completely. Lucky the inside of the old filter was clean so no mud/water had gone though it. I guess Ill be carefully next time.




Now I feel bruised and tired from laying on a stony floor for hours. Think ill treat myself to one of these.

Good effort Lucifus - are you doing the springs as well?

Also how much were the shocks?