Steve's Land Raft

[Steve Swan]

Well it was forecast for Ok weather today, so I got up and got on with it.
I went over the whole Bulkhead with a Scotchbrite and it was amazing the amount of Grey dust it produced. Got it all etched and left for a couple hours to dry. Used Stonechip on the higher impact front and lower front footboxes. I thinned it down with about 20% thinner and covered the lower half using the big Primer gun. Then used 4:1 hibuild on the upper part of the Bulkhead and pillars, the Bits you will see.




I now need to leave it for 24Hr and flat off the exposed bits, it looks like it will need a second layer though. Shiny paint causes Stress, but I want to get it looking good.




More if the Rain stays away, can't see it personally

 

[Steve Swan]

Nightmare trying to dodge the showers, but it's done.




It turned out better than expected. I could have filled some of the marks, but once you start that, there's no end and It still won't look right when finished.




Going to start it next week
Wish me Luck....

 

[Steve Swan]

Started Yesterday 10am-5pm trying to pace myself...










That was the easy bit I suppose, a lot of prep had been done freeing off bolts etc...
More Soon

 

[Steve Swan]

Day 2
Less fun, reasonable progress. Just got to take the steering lock off and remove the column and clutch pipe. After that I need to remove the sills and main bolts and it should be ready to remove.











I need to order a few bits as well, then clean up and refurb a few bits, and so on and so forth....
More Soon

 

[Brigsy]

I did wonder why you were doing the bulkhead until i seen the last pic. Looks like a big job!

 

[Duncan Grier]

Land raft getting some serious love, no messing about

Enjoying watching the journey......while also wondering why we do this to ourselves

 

[andybond]

Land raft getting some serious love, no messing about

Enjoying watching the journey......while also wondering why we do this to ourselves

I want a Landie.
I dont want any of the hassle.

Firmly letting Steve do his thing and Ill watch from a far!

 

[Steve Swan]

Day 3
I have Broken my Landy








Good news is that it's time to put it together...


I have found a Broken Wire though it's Black/Yellow, heavy Gauge and appears to have been a ring terminal - From the font of Knowlege at Landyzone it is the Glow Plug Feed




Don't think it has ever worked, would have been interesting if it had got to earth though



Good TDI Light first time no heat, like this one does.
Onward.....

 

[MartijnTrophy]

If this is what Defender owner ship looks like i think i'll have to pass.
Big job!

 

[Steve Swan]

If this is what Defender owner ship looks like i think i'll have to pass.
Big job!

It's without doubt the worst job on a Defender. That's why most old Landys have bodged Bulkheads. Now that Brand New Galvanised Bulkheads are available, for a keeper it's worth the effort. Making sure all the seals are sealing and the drains are draining has a lot to do with it also.

 

[Renaldo]

Just read this post and enjoying the details of the huge amount of work completed.
Nice to see the commitment to a Landy
Look forward to further updates

 

[Steve Swan]

Day 12......
It'a a grind this. Would be great if it were just `re-assembly is the reverse of dis-assembly' but of course it isn't. Every bit that came off has to be examined, assessed, replaced or worse still dismantled, de-rusted, Painted and re-assembled then fitted. This is why I did it myself, to pay someone hours to go through all of this would end up in a bill I couldn't Pay...
One bit of good news was that I decided to get my inner wings re-galvanised. I took them to Forfar Galvanisers in Forfar, as it happens. Great firm and service, came back looking like new and £55.00 all in! you couldn't paint them for that kind of money.




Minimal flash to clean off. Well pleased with them..

Some pics of the re-assembly.























The more Eagle-eyed among you will have noticed the new suspension and it has had a new de-cat frontpipe as well.


Thanks for looking..

 

[Renaldo]

Great amount of work completed
Going back together and sorting parts before refitting can feel like a grind but not only are you keeping labour costs down, you are also doing it how you want it done.
Inner wings re-galvanised looks good .
Keep going and it will soon be back together
My eagle eyes also spotted black anodised windscreen brackets?

 

[Steve Swan]

Yeah. The threads were not too good... Part of the strip, clean, assess process. It's back on the road as of yesterday. Going to have a bit of a break and re-assess my life....

 

[Adey]

awesome work as always Steve

 

[Steve Swan]

Bringing this up to date is the last of the pictures.







I did sort of fall at the last fence with this. The Bulkhead was a great fit and it all went back together as well as it was before.
Problem started with fitting the bonnet which was now touching the wing at the osr??!!
I did have the presence of mind to check that the bonnet rotating blocks did fit into the brackets on the Bulkhead (which they did) but the brackets were not quite the correct shape and as a result the bonnet did not sit on it's hinges correctly.
Sadly I had to make a Half mil oversize nylon insert to put in the hinge and then Adjust it in Brutal style with Vicegrips !!
Bad news is that I will have to repaint the hinge brackets on the Bulkhead, but the good news is that with the bonnet catch properly adjusted the Bonnet fits, opens and closes beautifully now. It sits nice and does not rattle. RESULT







My Mate also gave me some left over black carpet from his new project, which I used to retrim my roof panel, it had been covered in foam, which is good ,but looked kinda rough.Think this is much better and free......




Need to get some better pics, then it'll be time for the MOT - then see if I'm still happy....

 

[andybond]

That looks absolutely superb.

 

[Wheelers Workshop]

Hi Steve,
Wow what a project now beautifully completed, I guess it makes a total change from working on your previous Renaults!
Its half the battle when the Landy is well supported by new parts providers.
What will you take on next one wonders. Did I just hear the distant rumble of a Big Yank V8?
Cheers
W

 

[Renaldo]

Great work Steve,
Shame you had to modify the bracket for the bonnet to fit correctly-but glad to hear you adopted the original factory procedure for resolving problem
Landy looks good now, hopefully you will have some time to use it and enjoy it

 

[Steve Swan]

That's the foundations of the Landy all good now. I bought it as a multi use Vehicle which can tow my trailer, take me fishing and can lay out in all weathers. I'm not finished though, really just getting started. There are a few more small jobs to tick off before winter sets in.
Still struggling with waving at other Series Landys and Defenders (never new ones though) You haven't bought a vehicle, you've joined a community... They do all wave at you !!!