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Landrover 90 Rebuild? how hard can it be?

T

tomreade

Accelerating Away
Im Very close to buying a landrover 90 TDI (preferably the 300TDI but its price depending)

1) How hard is it to strip it down and repair a chassis? or infact a chassis swap?

2) Can you lift the whole body off with all the wiring inside in one go?

3) Is there anywhere i can buy new stainless steel bolts from for rebuilding it? I suspect most of the bolts will need to be drilled out!

4) Is it to much for me? I have never tried to tackle anything of this level before! Is there a guide I can follow to remove the body and following parts? There are afew videos on youtube but there not the best.

I know its allot to ask from the forum at one time but any answers would be great :D

Tom
 
Personaly i dont think its a question of CAN I but a question of have i got the space and tools.
Im fairly sure the harness would have to be cut near the rear,
Essentialy its all nuts and bolts to undo so if you do it in a order i cant see why not.
If you have the paitience and space then go for it.
 
The biggest thing as Dave18 mentioned is space, paitience and also a family that dont mind seeing you in the house for long periods of time.........
What appear to be minor half hour jobs can last all day..............
 
ive built a 90 from a pile of parts in a double garage,with bits dumped over the garden.as you take it apart take pics,make notes and sketches.you will need an engine crane but the axles,arms,wheels etc roll out lovely.just dont get bogged down rebuilding every single part or it will take years,ive seen people take a year and still only have a rolling chassis.you can buy sets of s/s bolts.i just hope youre prepared for the costs
 
I have a Large garage which i can use so space is ok.

Tools I don't have many i have the essentials : Socket set , spanners, hack saw, grinder + the normal tools. Would a Breaker Bar be handy?

How much does it cost in bolts and parts you need to replace while stripping it down (ball park figure)

Is there a step by step guide? or is it just common sense really?

Tom
 
I forgot to ask. If I am just wanting to strip it down to fix any rust and repaint the chassis would i need to remove the engine and gear box? Im not to confident on removing it... If i do have to remove it can i use a chain winch attached to the roof to lift it out?
 
common sense really because its an old joke that landrovers are big meccano sets. you will need an engine crane to lift the engine/gearbox and to reposition the bulkhead if you are alone.hard to say on price but i have seen bolt sets on ebay i think,if you cant make brake pipes then u will need a set,will you be changing all the bushes or are they ok,all these questions need to be thought through.i wouldnt think we are talking about hundreds and hundreds of pounds.if youre not sure always make sure you tag everything and even take pics,i used to sketch all over the haynes, and if the worst happans you just have to look under someones elses truck that hasnt been attacked
 
tomreade said:
I forgot to ask. If I am just wanting to strip it down to fix any rust and repaint the chassis would i need to remove the engine and gear box? Im not to confident on removing it... If i do have to remove it can i use a chain winch attached to the roof to lift it out?
Click to expand...

no i wouldnt bother with that and leave the wheels on cos it cant fall off its wheels eh,have to be a damn good roof thats all i can say
 
So keep the engine and running gear in?

I should be able to use the winch to lift the body off the chassis where would you advise i put the straps to lift it without distorting or damaging it?

Price is a slight issue but seeing as im planing on doing it over a long period of around 6 months or more it shouldn't be an issue.

does anyone have a old 90 they wouldn't mind parting with for a price? :p
 
Re step by step guide..

I found the programme 'How a landrover is born' or what ever you call it useful...er entertaining.... that vet bloke who makes things, Landrover / plane / trike / MG etc etc.....

Think the DVD is available from the usual places. But be carefull as he also does programs on disecting camels / Whales / elephants, make sure you get the right DVD

Suspect the other half wont be too amused with bits of camels around the garden :)
 
As everybody said it's like a big Meccano set. If you are going to take it apart that much to repair the chassis you might as well get a new chassis.

One option to use instead of an engine crane is a high lift, trolley jack and a load of timber blocks. Jack the chassis 'down' onto blocks by removing first the wheels and then the axles. Once it's all on the floor just lift the chassis over the top of the drivetrain. Yes it is possible, I will try and remember to put some photos up.
As Haynes have said for decades. Re-assembly is a reversal of the removal steps.

As to donor vehicles. If the Isle of Rum is anything like Skye that we visited in June then there must be something parked up somewhere near to you.
 
Thanks for all the help.

I think i remember that series was it not called a 4x4 is born? and was it not a discovery he used?

As for the idea of getting a new chassis...i would love to but at £1200 there not cheap! + parts

Im from the Isle of Mull not Rum but yhe its pretty much the same with old cars so i will keep my eye out!

What paint would anyone recommend for a really thick strong coat for axles etc?
 
I would think about how long it will take you, then double it, the same with the money

Its faster to put new/preped parts on but its expensive, its cheeper to reuse parts but the ammount of cleaning is stagering

a SWB is alot less work than a LWB SW ...

I would have a look at some of the excelent work in progress on this forum, dont discount the series write up either the fundimentles are almost the same

there realy are some fab threads on there, some of the OP are still active members others, life has moved on

Aidan
 
Yes it does take a lot of time and you really have to accept putting somethings back on that are not quite right otherwise you will never get it back on the road.

As Aidan says but the other way around. It's more expensive to put in new parts, but you save some serious amount of time as you don't have to clean it all up and if it doesn't come off. Cut it off !
 
Tomreade, yes youre right it was a 4x4 is born, but was deffinatly a defender, he converted a 110 to a 100inch if I remeber correctly
 
hi there
ive just finished restoring a 1986 90 2.5, but swapped the engine for a 3.9efi, i got the lr in bits from my mate and striped it completely, i have been doing it in my spare time in the evenings and at weekends when i havent been working,
i cut all the rot out the chassis and welded in new plates and it wasnt really that hard to be honest, doing all the bulkhead was the headache lol im pretty competent at welding and fabricating and this took me ages to do as there was so much of it!

The price for doing it all has come in at around 3-4k but everything is new, its a true offroad toy lol its like a mini monster truck lol
if u look on youtube there are plenty of vids of people rebuilding them, there easy to strip aprt and put back together, just need some patience and plasters for your knuckles as u will slip of most of the bolts!
its taken me around a year on and off, i did lose interest in it half way through to be honest but had 2 weeks off work and stormed into it, got it sprayed and big tyres and all the little bits that can b a nightmare, but its been an experience and all these people on these sort of sites have made it worth while and they have all been very helpful,

i'd say go for it lol
 
tomreade said:
So keep the engine and running gear in?

I should be able to use the winch to lift the body off the chassis where would you advise i put the straps to lift it without distorting or damaging it?

Price is a slight issue but seeing as im planing on doing it over a long period of around 6 months or more it shouldn't be an issue.

does anyone have a old 90 they wouldn't mind parting with for a price? :p
Click to expand...

i wouldnt worry to much about the body,2 can easily move that around,same with roof and bulkhead but if youre only patching and painting then leave the bulkhead in situ because all your dash,brakes,wiring is attached to tht and will save you lots of time,as i said before and others have commented just be tough and dont think you can rebuild every part or you will be at it years.ive done a few complete rebuilds including swapping a range rover chassis in 3 days and building a s1 80" in less than 6 months but that was a long time ago when i didnt mind being out in a cold garage at 1am haha
 
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