Sting Ray's '89 90 - Complete Restoration

Thank you! What should be level on the seatbox (i.e. where the seatbox attaches to the sill) isn't, so am thinking the supporting mounts on the chassis are too low and I'll need to either cut and weld higher, or add a big spacer of some sort.

Sting Ray said:

Thank you! What should be level on the seatbox (i.e. where the seatbox attaches to the sill) isn't, so am thinking the supporting mounts on the chassis are too low and I'll need to either cut and weld higher, or add a big spacer of some sort.

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Ahh, spacers under those brackets, bolted to the chassis, that the seat box is mounted on. I can see them now.
I don't know the 110 set up like I do the 90. However, I think I'd be tempted to leave it until you have the tub, B pillar, roof, screen frame and doors on. That way you will be able to get the shut lines on the doors sorted and know the bulkhead is at the correct angle. Then when you bolt the sills to the bulkhead, you'll know they are coming off it at the correct angle and it will help you judge the correct height for the seat box. Just my thoughts, mate!

@Sting Ray , I doff my hat to you sir ......I fancied a tour of Africa and looked into doing it a couple of years ago but chickened out due to extremists etc , I hope you do it and have a great experience .........

Thanks! Do you have spacers?

I think you're right - I'll wait until the B posts are sorted before fixing everything down - have a feeling it's not going to be straightforward!

Moron said:

@Sting Ray , I doff my hat to you sir ......I fancied a tour of Africa and looked into doing it a couple of years ago but chickened out due to extremists etc , I hope you do it and have a great experience .........

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They are a concern, hence a safe with 9mm is on the list!

The core plugs have been giving me lots of grief - have fitted several now, with leaks upon filling each time. Hoping my problem was recessing them in a little too far, and/or not getting them in square, which we know is the usual issue.

Fitted another set yesterday, having removed the starter, turbo, exhaust manifold etc. They are in true this time, with a little bit of sealant around the edge too, although most of that gets squeezed back out anyway. Fingers crossed they don't leak, otherwise I'm going to have a real problem on my hands.

Sting Ray said:

The core plugs have been giving me lots of grief - have fitted several now, with leaks upon filling each time. Hoping my problem was recessing them in a little too far, and/or not getting them in square, which we know is the usual issue.

Fitted another set yesterday, having removed the starter, turbo, exhaust manifold etc. They are in true this time, with a little bit of sealant around the edge too, although most of that gets squeezed back out anyway. Fingers crossed they don't leak, otherwise I'm going to have a real problem on my hands.

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Just to mention, dont be tempted to clean off the sealant that squeezed out, if you do it looks neater but often leaks.
Best to put them in then go round with your finger before it sets, just to make it a bit neater.

raywin said:

Just to mention, dont be tempted to clean off the sealant that squeezed out, if you do it looks neater but often leaks.
Best to put them in then go round with your finger before it sets, just to make it a bit neater.

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Bugger.

I went round with my finger a couple of minutes after installing them. Fortunately I've got another 15 arriving from Britcar in a few days.

Sting Ray said:

Bugger.

I went round with my finger a couple of minutes after installing them. Fortunately I've got another 15 arriving from Britcar in a few days.

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Probably ok if you did it before the sealant set, I used to build large compressors and we sealed the gear case with silicone it always squeezed a thin bead out which I used to leave, but sometimes some helpful people would pull it off, didn't leak every time but enough to drive me up the wall.

raywin said:

Probably ok if you did it before the sealant set, I used to build large compressors and we sealed the gear case with silicone it always squeezed a thin bead out which I used to leave, but sometimes some helpful people would pull it off, didn't leak every time but enough to drive me up the wall.

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I can imagine! Even though it was a beautiful 15C here two days ago, it's now snowing, so I will probably refill the coolant today. The sealant has had nearly 48 hours to set, so should be good (crosses fingers).

The new plugs have been in for a few days now, along with the coolant, and all is well! No leaks! Hurrah!

The manifolds, turbo etc are back in place too, and I'm tempted to start the engine as it's been quite some time before it last ran.

The new ignition barrel is in, as are the new stalks. New column shrouds are sitting on the shelf along with a host of other new parts, including lights, bezel rings, badges and many other drab bits and pieces.

I'm having a hard time finding the right fuel filler hose. The tub and filler neck, which i'd like to keep, is from a 1985 110, and the tank is new - have tried a couple so far, and neither fit both ends. May have to get one made.

That's about it for now - I imported my motorbike recently (VFR800) and have been swapping over the headlights from UK spec to US/EU spec. I've also hard to sort out some electrical gremlins, including the LED tail light which required oven-based disassembly and soldering to fix.

I'm leaning towards getting an Icarus via a company in the US, rather than a roof rack with a clamshell pop up. This does means sacrificing some interior space, but Pinterest has been handy in suggesting storage options.

So it turns out that some bright spark in the province's department of transport has decided that copper brake lines are a no-no, unless fitted as standard by the manufacturer, and it can be proven. Looks like I'll have to make them out of steel or buy new ones. FFS. I'd be running a reasonable risk if fitting Cu-Ni too, and wouldn't want to run the risk of leaving it until the MVI (MOT) to find out that they are no good.

Afrer much faffing, the vent flaps from the 90 are temporarily on, which will help to install the new rubber seals. Any tips for avoiding leakage will be appreciated!

Sting Ray said:

So it turns out that some bright spark in the province's department of transport has decided that copper brake lines are a no-no, unless fitted as standard by the manufacturer, and it can be proven. Looks like I'll have to make them out of steel or buy new ones. FFS. I'd be running a reasonable risk if fitting Cu-Ni too, and wouldn't want to run the risk of leaving it until the MVI (MOT) to find out that they are no good.

Afrer much faffing, the vent flaps from the 90 are temporarily on, which will help to install the new rubber seals. Any tips for avoiding leakage will be appreciated!

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CuNi is widely used. Would it be worth calling an MOT station to see what they say?
I don't think my vents leak. Hard to say because of the amount of water that leaks in from the roof!

Sting Ray said:

So it turns out that some bright spark in the province's department of transport has decided that copper brake lines are a no-no, unless fitted as standard by the manufacturer, and it can be proven. Looks like I'll have to make them out of steel or buy new ones. FFS. I'd be running a reasonable risk if fitting Cu-Ni too, and wouldn't want to run the risk of leaving it until the MVI (MOT) to find out that they are no good.

Afrer much faffing, the vent flaps from the 90 are temporarily on, which will help to install the new rubber seals. Any tips for avoiding leakage will be appreciated!

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Mine has some copper tubes and has passed several times with them, is there anywhere where this is actually officially in black and white?

Yes, there are two places in the Nova Scotia regs that expressly prohibit copper brake lines, including the MVI requirements. One part of the regs also prohibits any brake line material that isn't spec'd by the manufacturer. I read a local thread from a couple of years ago about this too, so it's unfortunately a 'thing' here in NS.

I'm probably going to re-run in Cu-Ni and paint/coat them in buzzweld/raptor.

This is probably a good time to ask/waffle about the brake setup, so:

I converted the rear drums to disks.
The T piece on the rear axle is original, but based on the parts diagrams is the same across drum and disk setups.
I think the servo is NRC4775 (type 50, with the vacuum on the bottom right as you look at it from the front)
This is the original PDWA:



My questions are:

1. Can/should I still use the original PDWA valve, or do I need to fit ANR1415? The parts catalogue shows with and without brake valve configurations.
2. What the heck is a G valve and do I need one? If so, where the blazes does it go?

Any help will be very much appreciated

So the uncertainty over the brake setup continues:

I have two new servos - one is the smaller type 50 (probably STC2878, which corresponds to NRC4775); this fits onto my original pedal box (probably NRC6058). The other is larger (LR013488 / STC441) and does not fit onto the pedal box, the holes for the servo studs are way off.

I have two new master cylinders - one is the larger pre-rear disk variety (NRC8690), which fits onto the smaller STC2878 servo. The other MC is LR013018 (STC441), which fits onto the larger servo, LR013488 (STC442); it does not fit the smaller servo.

I'm aware there is a pedal box that was fitted to later 110s, which is NRC7933 (LR010403). I'm wondering if I need this, or if I can simply drill new holes into my pedal box.

Confused.

My 1989 90 has disks on the rear. The MC is NRC8690, and the servo is STC2878. It also has a G valve on the bulkhead support bracket, which looks like a 90 thing rather than a 110 requirement.

Google reveals that some people stick with the larger servo, and either remove or retain the PDWA. Those who remove it also put the 300tdi MC cap on the earlier MC and adjust the wiring accordingly.

I see that there are a few options:

1. Retain the smaller servo (STC2878) and larger MC (NRC8690). Fit to 300tdi MC cap and adjust the wiring. Ditch the PDWA. Fit a T piece for the front calipers. Hope for the best.
2. As above but retain the PDWA and don't fit a T piece.
3. Drill the pedal box and fit STC441 and STC442; possibly fitting ANR1415 too.
4. Get a new/second hand pedal box and fit STC441 and STC442; possibly fitting ANR1415 too.

I'll post this elsewhere in the forum to see if I can gain greater visibility

I haven't decided what to do about the servo and MC, but have been fitting various odds and ends, such as the handbrake, while I wait patiently for the front end to be painted. I've also spoken with a neighbour about how invasive the MVI is, and the good news is that they're not allowed to dig too deep. I have therefore fitted some plastic corrugated conduit over the existing brake copper lines - it actually looks pretty smart, but will obviously accumulate crap over time.

Sourcing some dynamat-esque material is on my list for the next couple of days, as is dense closed cell foam; makes sense to fit these while access to the seatbox and bulkhead is still pretty good.

I've gotten a couple of wiring looms out of the garage (think one is from a 300tdi) - what a mess. I'm half tempted to strip the whole lot back and remake one. An Autosparks loom is just too costly to justify unfortunately. Being realistic, I'll clean all of it up (they went in the shower this morning), get rid of all the extra junk that previous owners have fitted, and then add my own wires/relays for things like spot lights, winch, working lights, 12V outlets etc. Figuring out what I'm likely to need will be a challenge in itself!

My life at the moment:



The original 1989 19J loom is at the top, and a 300tdi loom from a '96 Defender is at the bottom. The 300tdi loom will be used as the base as it's closer to what I'll be finishing with, which will be wrapped in loom tape.

All the crap has been taken off both of them. Now I need to work out what additions I will make, including:

Heated seats
USB charging points throughout
Mirror camera
Webasto heater
Split charge
Fridge
Front light bar
Side light bars
Gullwing lighting
2x front spots
Rear working light
Winch
Water pump
Additional fuel gauge and sender
Exhaust gas temperature gauge

Having just typed the above list, I'm inclined to make a separate accessory loom. Please feel free to suggest anything else that an overlander would need!

Sting Ray said:

Having just typed the above list, I'm inclined to make a separate accessory loom. Please feel free to suggest anything else that an overlander would need!

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Multiple interior lights. like a gazzilion of them. Switchable in given zones
12V take offs. Internal and external for lights on flexi cord.
Inverter wiring.
12V air compressor.
Anderson connector.

Cheers

Oh and have all the additions done by a bus board that can be taken off line.

Be able to isolate and diagnose wiring issues using a waterproof fuse box / relay/ busboard set up.

Cheers