Sting Ray's '89 90 - Complete Restoration

Epic in every way, very interesting build so far and if you are as meticulous about the interior as you are the chassis this is going to be a fantastic vehicle.

Thanks - it's always nice to receive feedback

Today I potted about and did a few odd jobs - a mate was over with his Disco 2 to wire up his winch, so I was a little distracted. I did however manage to:

Fit bump stops
Re-bush trailing and radius arms, as well as the fulcrum link arms
Fit front tank front bracket (more on this in a mo)
Stone chip front tank
Dinitrol inside the chassis - I've got plenty left so will likely add more over time

So back to the front (90) tank. The parts catalogue shows that auxiliary fuel tanks are available for the 110, although it says that the one shaped very much like a 90 tank isn't suitable for Station Wagons; this is quite probably due to where the filler neck is. I know that it is possible to fit a standard 90 tank to a 110 CSW as I attempted it on someone else's vehicle during their rebuild. I therefore disregarded what the IPC said, and ordered a spacer that is used to connect the rear of the auxiliary tank to the outrigger, using OE holes on both the tank and outrigger. Very fortunately, this spacer allows a standard 90 to be attached to the outrigger too - hurrah! This spacer is NRC6526 and is available on eBay for around £15. To be honest though, a couple of tubes of the right dimensions, or plenty of washers would make do.

It feels great to be fitting some of the parts that have been hanging around for ages, as well as doing something other than painting that bloody chassis!

Tomorrow I hope to:

Paint the 90 tank with 2k
Fit short rigid brake pipes to the front calipers
Bend rear axle brake pipes, for flaring by a mate down the road
Fit rear tank
Run fuel pipes for both tanks

Oh, and the stone chip that I have been using, which is exactly the same as U-Pol Gravitex, is from T Euro.

Just WOW!!!

As usual, certain tasks have taken much longer than anticipated, and whoever designed the rear fuel tank securing arrangement should be shot!!! Even with a jack and another pair of hands, there orifice is slightly too small to enable stress-free fitting, and the bolt-plate arrangement is just absurd! I managed to fit it, eventually, but it’ll have to come back out so that the cradle/guard can be fitted as well

The front axle is now under the chassis – I had located the radius arms in the chassis, but they’ll have to come out as well because a rubber bush fell off in the process…typical! Getting the chassis high enough is quite tricky, involving a trolley jack and lots of wood!

The pig tail rigid brake lines have been fitted to the front calipers, although the ends of the Terrafirma extended brake hoses don’t appear to be the right gender – I’ll upload a photo to show what I mean. Perhaps the extended flexi hoses are supposed to be fitted directly to the calipers???

The front tank has however now been painted in 2 pack, and looks lovely

So in the attached photo you will see that both the extended brake hose and the rigid brake line have convex flares on the end; this doesn’t look right to me.

Looks like the solid pipe should have been double flared but the 2nd one wasnt done

Kev12 said:

Looks like the solid pipe should have been double flared but the 2nd one wasnt done

Click to expand...

Having researched the different sorts of flares and flaring techniques, I agree!

I'll take it to my mate round the corner who will hopefully be able to add the double flare.

Turns out there was nothing wrong with the brake lines, and after a little bit of bending, the rigid pipes are now connected to the flexi hoses.

The rear axle is also in place, having removed the wheels to clear the rear crossmember, then mandraulically moving the axle a few feet further forward. Installing the trailing arms was a bit of a bugger though - I reallt struggled to get the bolt through one of them and the axle, but persistence paid off, as did removing the front bushes from the chassis, which gave extra wiggling ability.

I would have a photo or two, but because my phone enjoys doing stupid sh1t whilst in my pocket, the battery died

Next steps (off the top of my head):

Install springs and perches - this will need the chassis to be raised without lifting the axles, so I'll most likely have to slacken off the trailing and radius arm nuts to give me some additional flexibility
Rear axle brake lines
Chassis brake lines
Fuel lines
Chassis loom
Refit the rear tank and cradle correctly
Purchase shocks
Fit shock mounts
Strip, repaint and refit gearbox crossmember
Strip and repaint sump

It rolls! (See attached photo)

I REALLY want to whack the person who concocted the fixing arrangement for a 300tdi fuel tank!!! It took around 2 hours to get it and the cradle secured correctly, although I did learn that there are two handy holes in the bottom of rear crossmember that allows a 1/4" socket to secure the rear nuts. Not only was raising both the tank and cradle simultaneously an issue, but getting the holes in both of them to line up with where the studs are, was a bloody nightmare!!! The td5 crossmember really is a massive improvement over the 300tdi, in case anyone is wondering.

The steering box is now on too, as is much of the steering assembly. Much like the trailing and radius arms, everything will get done up properly once the axles are loaded, which will prevent a ny undue stressing of the various bushes.

The rear axle brake lines are on, having had them flared at my local LR expert, Lewis Land Rover Specialists, as is the main chassis line, which I will try to flare in situe if possible. The extended breathers from the axles have also been run into the breather manifold, which will take multiple breathers into a single breather in the snorkel.

I also stripped the sump and cross member, in preparation for priming and painting this week...assuming the forthcoming snow doesn't hinder my access to where the Landys are stored; my DD is a Z4, which isn't ideal.

I've ordered a whole load more boring parts, including the fuel lines, which will be installed once received. I intend to make my mind up about shocks this evening too, although I may get distracted when researching my next diving trip!

As you may imagine, I’ve not been able to make much progress in the past few days.

I have however been able to identify where the fuel pipes will run, and sourced a 300tdi bulkhead. It needs extensive repairs, and I’ll need to make a trip to Essex on Saturday to collect, but at least I’ll have one. I will see if I can get it galvanised o/c too.

I etched the sump and gearbox crossmember on Saturday, and will paint both during the course of this week.

As well as buying/fitting the shocks, fitting the main gubbins of the exhaust is probably a sensible idea whilst access is good, as is stripping the rest of the engine right down for a rebuild if necessary. If all looks good, then I’ll keep the crank and pistons in place, and work on the exterior of the block; the head will be professionally cleaned however.

I stripped the engine and identified some issues with #4 bore and piston...typical!

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/piston-bore-wear.328409/#post-4226828

The (knackered) 300tdi bulkhead was also delivered for blasting this week; a significant amount of metal will need replacing! Fortunately I know an excellent welder who will sort out the aftermath.

It doesn't look like the photos I tried to upload in my last couple of posts were actually attached; not that I can remember what they were photos of...

Progress has been rather slow of late unfortunately. The bulkhead has been shotblasted and will be repaired accordingly; it needs full vent repair panels, extended footwells, and at least one foot. The A posts are in surprisingly good condition.

I still need to send the engine away for some work - not sure if replacing the liner is the way to go, or re-bore and hone etc...

Getting these two sorted is my priority as they will allow other jobs to be carried out once fitted, including fitting the gearbox, transfer box, props etc.

I went to the Overlanding Show at the weekend and got some good ideas, although I simply don't have the funds to justify an Icarus!

The bulkhead is in for repair - I've asked for it to be sorted by the end of the month as I'd like to get some paint on it and installed so that progress elsewhere can be achieved. Worth mentioning that the repair panels from yrm are spot on; I've got the outer panels for the seatbox too, so I'll look to prep that for paint - I might go for Raptor as it is known to be very hard wearing. Had a look at my tunnel Diaphragm as well - I may as well replace it as one of the lower edges is corroded badly.

The engine chap is popping over on Friday too - he'll certainly be taking the head away; I'll ask him to take a look at the block too.

Just about to push the button on OME dampers! Koni Heavy Track Raid are simply too expensive to justify.

Outstanding thread.

I've been looking at converting my rear axle from drum to disc for a number of years - never found the time or funds! Nonetheless I've acquired (free) a new set of discs and a set of front calipers. I had thought of buying a set of red-winche double piston caliper brackets - time will tell. Still need to get the other bits.

Where did you get the adaptor plates?

bluehaze said:

Outstanding thread.

I've been looking at converting my rear axle from drum to disc for a number of years - never found the time or funds! Nonetheless I've acquired (free) a new set of discs and a set of front calipers. I had thought of buying a set of red-winche double piston caliper brackets - time will tell. Still need to get the other bits.

Where did you get the adaptor plates?

Click to expand...

Simplest way, as I did, is get a 300Tdi rear axle complete and replace the drum braked axle as a whole unit ..