Sting Ray's '89 90 - Complete Restoration

Trailstar said:

Please say that you will carry on this project....!!

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That's the idea!

Sting Ray said:

That's the idea!

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Ok that's good....I can sleep tonight now...

Good luck with the move though!!

Love a rebuild thread - keep the pictures going and good effort!

So folks, I've been in Canada for 18 months or so now, and have almost gotten through all of the second winter. It was frickin cold last winter - getting into a car when it's -28C isn't much fun!!

Anyhow, the front end is being painted by a local who is also a nurse so rather busy with the whole COVID shenanigans.

Getting parts here is a bit of pain because I've got to order from the UK. Fortunately Britcar and Bearmach have been very good.

Two windscreens from Paddocks broke in their way here (not packed tremendously well, but hey ho) so I'll have to go there for that when the US border opens again. They're in a shambolic state of course so it could be a while.

I'm going to post some more photos in die course, but have a question about the seatbox. Is the very front end of it (where it connects to the tunnel) supposed to rest on the gearbox? I suspect not, but would like to be certain.

Has that been 18 months already? Sheesh...time flies....I must be getting old

Welcome back

I know! Terribly lax of me!

I bought these a long time ago - I know where they go, but what is the point?

https://yrmit.co.uk/product/316-ss-nut-plate-for-bulkhead-to-chassis-bracket-footwell-lr-defender/

Sting Ray said:

So folks, I've been in Canada for 18 months or so now, and have almost gotten through all of the second winter. It was frickin cold last winter - getting into a car when it's -28C isn't much fun!!

Anyhow, the front end is being painted by a local who is also a nurse so rather busy with the whole COVID shenanigans.

Getting parts here is a bit of pain because I've got to order from the UK. Fortunately Britcar and Bearmach have been very good.

Two windscreens from Paddocks broke in their way here (not packed tremendously well, but hey ho) so I'll have to go there for that when the US border opens again. They're in a shambolic state of course so it could be a while.

I'm going to post some more photos in die course, but have a question about the seatbox. Is the very front end of it (where it connects to the tunnel) supposed to rest on the gearbox? I suspect not, but would like to be certain.

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No, it's not. Are you using the original engine and gearbox, engine mounts and gearbox cross-member?

Sting Ray said:

I know! Terribly lax of me!

I bought these a long time ago - I know where they go, but what is the point?

https://yrmit.co.uk/product/316-ss-nut-plate-for-bulkhead-to-chassis-bracket-footwell-lr-defender/

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Just spread the pressure on the footwell I suppose. Compared to the original two bolt heads.

Al2O3 said:

No, it's not. Are you using the original engine and gearbox, engine mounts and gearbox cross-member?

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My 110 is like Trigger's Broom I can't even remember where the seatbox is from, although it's not original because it's for an R380, and there was originally an LT77 in the vehicle. What sort of clearance do those with an R380 have? The brackets on the chassis to support the front of the seatbox may be a little low, or the box/engine is a bit high.

FYI, and I'm not sure if this is common knowledge as I've been off the scene for a while, but Shielder weren't fitting/don't fit anti-crush tubes at key points in their chassis'. I've installed steel tubes into the chassis for the rear shock mounts, gearbox cross member, power steering pump and bulkhead brackets.

Al2O3 said:

Just spread the pressure on the footwell I suppose. Compared to the original two bolt heads.

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That's what I was thinking, but then I discovered they fit onto to the chassis, using the bolts that run through the chassis for the bulkhead support bracket.

As promised!

Here's the 90, which is next. It needs too much work to go straight for an MVI (MOT) so will need similar attention. May just clean up the engine and transmission rather than rebuilding though.

The rebuild is looking great.
Mine is a 90 so not sure if the seat box height will be slightly different.

This shows the bulkhead side better than the seat box side. I think the clearance was similar on both sides. Mine's a 300Tdi with a R380 box.

Thanks - would you say there's an inch or so clearance?

Sting Ray said:

Thanks - would you say there's an inch or so clearance?

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Yes.
However, I'll go and get under mine and have a look!

Grazie!

Ok, very hard to tell from lying on your back looking up to judge the gap. Obviously, it would be perfect if you could look straight on at it However, I'd say on average about an inch is a fair estimate of the gap. Certainly not touching.
What do you think is causing the problem on your set up?