Range Rover Classic 1983 Rolling Restoration

So far there has been a lot more 'rolling' than 'restoration' in this rolling restoration....

I've knocked off both mirrors in separate incidents, the left mirror I ran over in the process
Doesnt matter though as they were two different types on either side.....

Oh and I put some roof racks on too...

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Nice to see a classic being used as designed and looks totally at home in that environment and looks like your enjoying every minute

brianp38dse said:

Nice to see a classic being used as designed and looks totally at home in that environment and looks like your enjoying every minute

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Definitely enjoying it....

And the electrical stuff has been fun so far too, was expecting something a bit more troublesome in that regard!

I spotted these things at SuperCheap Auto decided to fit them for a bit of a laugh, I quite like them now! Very bright....


It's a kit which comes with several adapters that mean you can fit LEDS to a few common light fittings....

Lake Opuha Trip

I can see why people like NZ beautiful place with stunning views

That radiator looks a bit long in the tooth, waste of time trying to flush it out it never gets it clear, I dare say it will tick over all day and not over heat but as soon as the engine has to do some work it starts to over heat, time for a new rad, been there a few times with different cars.

brianp38dse said:

I can see why people like NZ beautiful place with stunning views

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Yep it sure is, and it's all so close.....

kds said:

That radiator looks a bit long in the tooth, waste of time trying to flush it out it never gets it clear, I dare say it will tick over all day and not over heat but as soon as the engine has to do some work it starts to over heat, time for a new rad, been there a few times with different cars.

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Yeah that's what I'm thinking too.....I'm getting sick of draining and refilling this one anyway....
Probably going to get one with some fairly generic mounts and just make it work.....

With the stat fitted & working the top hose should suddenly get hot as the stat opens.

The stat controls the engine temp & will keep opening & closing to keep the engine at optimum temp. Removal will see the engine overcooling & will also affect the waterflow through the system. Best to refit. Don't forget the jiggle pin hole goes at 12 o'clock when fitted or you will airlock behind it.
Until this episode was the temp gauge more or less in the middle?

Hot top hose & cool bottom one is normal. Hot water enters the top of the rad & is cooled as it descends through the rad.
If you can get hold of a infra-red thermometer you can check the rad for any odd spots which would point to blockage(s) - this sort of thing www.amazon.co.uk/Lasergrip-Non-contact-Thermometer-Temperature-50°C-750°C/dp/B01I4TB2IM/ref=sr_1_1_sspa/258-7368163-7393152?ie=UTF8&qid=1551224112&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=infrared+thermometer&psc=1 which is a bit more accurate than feeling with your hand.
Old rads can be very bunged up & the first one I replaced on mine was considerably heavier than it's identical replacement!

Coolant temp sensor can play up. I've replaced a couple on mine over the years & they either tell you the car is about to boil or don't work at all. It's the single wire one pointing forwards on the front of the inlet manifold.

Trailstar said:

Yeah that's what I'm thinking too.....I'm getting sick of draining and refilling this one anyway....
Probably going to get one with some fairly generic mounts and just make it work.....

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Good man, you know it makes sense.

Ratae said:

With the stat fitted & working the top hose should suddenly get hot as the stat opens.

The stat controls the engine temp & will keep opening & closing to keep the engine at optimum temp. Removal will see the engine overcooling & will also affect the waterflow through the system. Best to refit. Don't forget the jiggle pin hole goes at 12 o'clock when fitted or you will airlock behind it.
Until this episode was the temp gauge more or less in the middle?

Hot top hose & cool bottom one is normal. Hot water enters the top of the rad & is cooled as it descends through the rad.
If you can get hold of a infra-red thermometer you can check the rad for any odd spots which would point to blockage(s) - this sort of thing www.amazon.co.uk/Lasergrip-Non-contact-Thermometer-Temperature-50°C-750°C/dp/B01I4TB2IM/ref=sr_1_1_sspa/258-7368163-7393152?ie=UTF8&qid=1551224112&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=infrared+thermometer&psc=1 which is a bit more accurate than feeling with your hand.
Old rads can be very bunged up & the first one I replaced on mine was considerably heavier than it's identical replacement!

Coolant temp sensor can play up. I've replaced a couple on mine over the years & they either tell you the car is about to boil or don't work at all. It's the single wire one pointing forwards on the front of the inlet manifold.

Click to expand...

I am running it without the stat right now, and it's still running hotter than usual, I forgot to add one of the first things I did was replace the stat, but it seemed to make it worse and sometimes the top hose was cold so I think the new stat was faulty too.

Replaced the temperature sender as well, didnt change anything, then borrowed an infrared thermometer and that's when I figured it had to be the radiator as the top hose would sit at 45 while the bottom hose would be 95ish and creeping up....with the stat removed it still heated right up but the temperatures on the hoses actualy made sense! I know the bottom one should be cooler but it shouldnt be dead cool while the top is blazing hot, then next time it's hot while the top is cool...

Didnt bother looking at the temps across the rad which was probably a dumb idea but I'm pretty sure by now that it's the rad...

Before this it always ran a bit cool, sort of halfway between the white and the middle of the guage....

Thanks for your tips anyway!!
It's good having some people to bounce stuff off and suggest ideas...

What's the temperature stamped on your stats?

Avoid cheapie pattern ones, I've seen RV8 ones which don't appear to have the bleed hole & jiggle pin where I would expect to see one.
I'm also aware from some years ago of an issue with those used in the Ford Essex 3.0 V6 which didn't have a bleed hole at all & after fitting the engine would just sit & overheat in the garage on tickover. That was on the Reliant Scimitar & was found by one of the specialist garages.

So the engine is out to be replaced by a freshly rebuilt 3.5, with an lpg specific cam, and my new lpg intake setup...

Empty Engine bay in the process of being cleaned up...


Gbox/tcase looking a bit dirty

But doesnt appear too bad after a clean!!


New engine being assembled, waiting on the cam to turn up


Just a small bit of rounding on the old cam....

More pics to come next weekend, hopefully have it driving around too...

Was wondering about this project the other day. Good stuff

Just a couple of bits and pieces I'm tidying up back at home before the weekend.....
The RRC is 2hrs away in Timaru, so working on parts that I could bring back with me...
I managed to source a similar seal to what was used on the above cover where it touches the radiator, so will be replacing that, the stuff that was on there was just hanging on...


I stripped the shock towers back to bare metal and painted them too....
They are so simple I might make myself some new extended ones in the future...

Should make the engine bay look a bit cleaner......until it goes offroad again that is....!

I am also going to try and fit these headers to the new engine...

I have access to a plasma cutter through work now, so have learnt to draft up 2d objects, and made myself 2x 12mm flanges to get welded to the new exhaust side....




Have got 1 of these for the exhaust now, wasnt running one previously and I realise now that is a stupid idea, especially in a 4wd where it can get knocked around a certain amount.....


And 1 of these should be what I need to bring the two pipes from 2" to a single 2.5", and smoothly too, most y pipe designs I have seen are just jammed into the y section creating bad flow...

Slowly coming together now....
New engine is all in, just tidying up bits and pieces before I start it....

Once started, its 2000rpm for 50 minutes to wear in the camshaft, then 500miles of road trip to bed the LOF clutch in, then once 1000miles is up, it gets an oil change to get rid of the break in oil...

Issues with the swap included,
- My idea of p38 stainless headers didnt work...now in the process of making up my own.
- had to reassemble 1 rocker assembly due to the shaft being upside down.
- seized the oil pump spinning it up to pressure with a drill
- stripped the thread on a gearbox mount putting the engine back in
- none of the pulleys we had balanced lined up with the new water pump or the power steering unit....so we robbed some parts of the old engine and another parts engine to make it work....
- I need to rewire the reverse switch on the gearbox back up because the original wires are all hardened and brittle

But apart from that, it's all gone pretty smoothly so far....

Cant wait to get it running again now!

And some fabric has arrived to start the seat reupholstering....
Colours you see in the photo arent what they look like in real life.
The darkest fabric is a deep velour for the side bolsters, the lightest fabric is for the inserts and the suede is to replace the vinyl.
It all matches the dash and wood grain great so should keep it looking original...

More pics



For those interested, here's the spec sheet for the cam we had custom ground to suit the lpg setup I have running on it....