JSBriggs
Adventurer
Its an aesthetic choice, but it could get expensive with the premium for POR and the need for a good quality etch primer to get it to stick to the galv.
-Jeff
Series upgrade questions
- Thread starter superpowerdave
- Start date
Its an aesthetic choice, but it could get expensive with the premium for POR and the need for a good quality etch primer to get it to stick to the galv.
-Jeff
cjmitchell5
Adventurer
I guess too, how redundant would it be? I assume eventually even galvanized metal rusts. But I have a 71 that the galvanized bits are doing fine and a 67 that completely rotted away, leaving a pile of birmabright, drivetrain, and galvanized (albeit oxidized) parts.
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evilfij
Explorer
It won't stick. You want pictures to prove it, I will dig some up. Maybe, maybe with galvagrip primer and if you never offroad it, you can make a galvanized frame stay black. If you want extra protection, waxoyl it.
Moreover, it is of no use as the galvanized frame, shot of being dropped on a beach in northern scotland and left there for 20 years, will not rust in your lifetime and probably that of your childern.
Ron
Rover gods do not like it when you paint the rover chrome.
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JSBriggs
Adventurer
I guess too, how redundant would it be? I assume eventually even galvanized metal rusts. But I have a 71 that the galvanized bits are doing fine and a 67 that completely rotted away, leaving a pile of birmabright, drivetrain, and galvanized (albeit oxidized) parts.
HA!, I have one like that.
Then again you might have better luck powdercoating the galvanized frame, but again its alot of $$$.
-Jeff
Attachments
I Leak Oil
Expedition Leader
Some of the quickest and easiest thinngs you can do to make it easier to drive everyday are:
-Over drive
-Electronic ignition
-Seats (I went with early defender seats, made a huge difference on long trips)
I've also added parablolics, power disc brakes on the front, ARB's front and rear and changed the rearend to a salisbury.
Things I do want to do to it....Engine/tranny swap and power steering.
-Over drive
-Electronic ignition
-Seats (I went with early defender seats, made a huge difference on long trips)
I've also added parablolics, power disc brakes on the front, ARB's front and rear and changed the rearend to a salisbury.
Things I do want to do to it....Engine/tranny swap and power steering.
KevinNY
Adventurer
I'd keep it simple or you will end up like me
. Parabolics, SeriesTrek rear axles and a truTrac in the rear with some 33's. 33x12.5's are just not the right tires on a series, try a 255/85 MT or for more aggresive use the Interco LTB 34X10.5-16, which is really a 33. Do the wiring harness while you have it all apart, it will solve a lot of headaches later.
. Parabolics, SeriesTrek rear axles and a truTrac in the rear with some 33's. 33x12.5's are just not the right tires on a series, try a 255/85 MT or for more aggresive use the Interco LTB 34X10.5-16, which is really a 33. Do the wiring harness while you have it all apart, it will solve a lot of headaches later.
TeriAnn
Explorer
Reading this, I would suggest a bone stock 88 would fit your needs perfectly. 32 inch diameter tyres were standard fitment for a 109 and a dealer option for the 88.
The key to Series tyre size is the width vs height. The taller a tyre is the narrower it should be not to cause interference problems with the stock Series wheel wells. A 265/75R16 is about as wide as you can go on a 32 inch tyre. When I had a set on the rear inner wheel well surface got polished a little at full upward articulation when the other side was at rear downward articulation. I'm currently running 255/85R16s with are 33.3 inches dia. and do not have wing clearance issues. Its spec'ed to be a half inch narrower than the 265/75R16. I really would not go any taller in tyre size without doing some suspension and prop shaft reengineering.
If you insist on playing with the suspension I suggest 2 areas that should be attended to first thing.
1. Shocks: The shocks do not have enough travel for the front suspension. Unless you have rusted up leaf springs. Slapping in longer travel shocks just steals from the shock's compressed length to give to the shock's extended length. I would suggest fabricating longer shock mounts front and rear and installing longer shocks before putting much effort into playing with springs.
2. Propshafts: For some reason, likely to save a pence or two, Rover uses a U joint that binds up with much shaft bending and a short slip joint. If you play games to increase articulation you can run into U joint binding and slip joint end travel if you are successful with your games. I would suggest contacting Great Basin Rovers or other custom LR propshaft company and ordering a set of custom made propshafts with high angle U joints and long slip joints. Ideally this should be done after you make any spring and spring mount modifications which affect the distance between the propshaft mounting flange location so you can order a propshaft with the correct static length.
These are good ideas even if all you are doing is mounting parabolic springs.
If I had an 88, your goals and wanted to add stuff, I would:
- Install a Pertronix system into a very good condition or new distributor because the points currently available are junk that do not hold up very long and a worn out distributor can make a good engine run poorly.
- Install 255/85R16s on D110 or Wolf or Discovery I steel wheels
- Add a New Roverdrive or one of the new Santana overdrives
And just drive it otherwise bone stock. It should more than meet your stated goals.
One step farther:
- Longer shocks and new springs leaf or parabolics
- long slip joint, high angle U joint propshafts
If you just gotta spend money on your truck and you want to take it into rougher places than you mentioned:
- Hardened 24 spline rear axles
- ARB rear diff
- Trutrac front diff
- Longer front springs
- Second fuel tank
- Winch
Just remember this goes well beyond your stated goals, costs a lot more and you will break more things more often if you actually need this stuff.
You mention body armor. Over the years I've gone back and fourth over that. Body armor adds to the vehicle weight. Anything mounted below something to protect it decreases the free space at that point. And you might make driving decisions based upon a belief that armor will protect a part.
For me, I decided that it was more important to know where my tuck's hangy down parts were and how to drive my truck in such a way as not to damage those hangy down parts. I believe that driving skill is more important that armor. For me learning what path to take trough an obstacle and driving it in such as way as to get through it without damage is a lot more satisfying than bullying my way through something. Granted there are places that you can not drive through without needing armor but they are a lot more likely to break parts even with body armor. I just prefer finesse to brute force and bypass anything I can not drive through without damage.
I do have one piece of body armor. Since my rear visibility is very limited I have a diff guard on my rear diff in case I back into a rock I can't see.
I almost forgot. "Idaho", "Year around daily driver".
I suggest adding the optional heated windscreens, Defender door seals, Kodiak heater if you have a IIA, interior body insulation, block heater that can be used as a timed pre-heater, grill muff.
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greenmeanie
Adventurer
It's not the coolest or most technical thing out there but I'd suggest that for a DD high back seats and decent seat belts are high on my priority list. Like a bike helmet they may not be the coolest thing but if you need them you'll be glad you have them.
They also make a world of diference for comfort on any length of journey.
They also make a world of diference for comfort on any length of journey.
JackW
Explorer
Teri Ann pretty much nailed it - except on an 88" I think 235/85R16 is plenty of tire - they are around 32" in diameter and offer low rolling resistance which will help utilize all of the massive power available from the 2.25 liter 4-cyl.
The aftermarket electronic ignition I've been thinking about for my truck is the one made by Tex Automotive in England. I don't think they are distributed over here but they look to be several orders of magnitude more robust than a Pertronix unit. I've seen several Pertronix fail in the field.
I like the Pangolin galvanized rock sliders - they look very well made and a rock slider can offer a good bit of side impact protection (especially from little squatty cars). There was D-90 at the MAR last year that got nailed in the door by a Range Rover coming around a blind curve on a dusty road - without the rock slider the driver would very probably have been injured - as it was he walked away shaken but not stirred.
The aftermarket electronic ignition I've been thinking about for my truck is the one made by Tex Automotive in England. I don't think they are distributed over here but they look to be several orders of magnitude more robust than a Pertronix unit. I've seen several Pertronix fail in the field.
I like the Pangolin galvanized rock sliders - they look very well made and a rock slider can offer a good bit of side impact protection (especially from little squatty cars). There was D-90 at the MAR last year that got nailed in the door by a Range Rover coming around a blind curve on a dusty road - without the rock slider the driver would very probably have been injured - as it was he walked away shaken but not stirred.
Snagger
Explorer
I have extensively modified my 109 during its rebuild. Not only do the mods cause extra effort and cost, they tend to interfere with eachother if you're not very careful.
I agree with Teri-ann that you should keep things as standard as p[ossible and only change what is really advantageous.
I found that parabolics, RM overdrive and Defender seats were all very worthwhile, and fitting an extra fuel tank with UK MoD changeover tap (I fitted a pair of military under seat tanks inaddition to the standard rear tank with two such taps) would be useful.
I fit a 200Tdi engine, which is a fair bit of work to get the rad, intercooler and pipework in, but its performance isn't much more than a good 8:1 2.25p in an 88", so I wouldn't be too set on such a change unless you really have a liking for diesels.
Electronic ignition seems to have a good reputation over here. Many in the UK think electric fans are good, but they have been sucked in by the ads and can't tell good accessories from bad - unless you're going to be wading and need to be able to stop the fan easily, the standard fan is best for power as well as reliability, but you really need to retain its cowling to make it effective.
Rover rear axles seem to be a vulnerability (my 109 has a Salisbury), so maybe a change to a Salisbury 109 rear axle would be useful. That would require the repositioning of the spring sadles (109 rear srpings are ouitboard of the chassis, not underneath it) or new chassis mounts. You'd need to be careful about the suspension height, too, because the Salisbury has a longer nose and results in a steeper prop angle; combine that with a significant lift and you could be in trouble.
If you have a SIII, a Defender cabin heater system is a worthy upgrade.
Halogen lights are a must - the standard sealed beam units are terrible, but the Wipac 7" H4 replacements are easily sourced in the UK for about £30, and I'm sure some of the mail order companies could ship them if you can't source them in the US.
I agree with Teri-ann that you should keep things as standard as p[ossible and only change what is really advantageous.
I found that parabolics, RM overdrive and Defender seats were all very worthwhile, and fitting an extra fuel tank with UK MoD changeover tap (I fitted a pair of military under seat tanks inaddition to the standard rear tank with two such taps) would be useful.
I fit a 200Tdi engine, which is a fair bit of work to get the rad, intercooler and pipework in, but its performance isn't much more than a good 8:1 2.25p in an 88", so I wouldn't be too set on such a change unless you really have a liking for diesels.
Electronic ignition seems to have a good reputation over here. Many in the UK think electric fans are good, but they have been sucked in by the ads and can't tell good accessories from bad - unless you're going to be wading and need to be able to stop the fan easily, the standard fan is best for power as well as reliability, but you really need to retain its cowling to make it effective.
Rover rear axles seem to be a vulnerability (my 109 has a Salisbury), so maybe a change to a Salisbury 109 rear axle would be useful. That would require the repositioning of the spring sadles (109 rear srpings are ouitboard of the chassis, not underneath it) or new chassis mounts. You'd need to be careful about the suspension height, too, because the Salisbury has a longer nose and results in a steeper prop angle; combine that with a significant lift and you could be in trouble.
If you have a SIII, a Defender cabin heater system is a worthy upgrade.
Halogen lights are a must - the standard sealed beam units are terrible, but the Wipac 7" H4 replacements are easily sourced in the UK for about £30, and I'm sure some of the mail order companies could ship them if you can't source them in the US.
KevinNY
Adventurer
TeriAnn
Explorer
Michael Slade
Untitled
If you are RHD you can have all of my Defender heater bits FOR FREE!!!!
superpowerdave
Adventurer
Lots of good ideas here, and I appreciate all of the insight. A lot of people seem to think that a stock 88 is exactly what I need, but that's pretty far from the truth. I am not a glutton for punishment with my trucks, and wouldn't be asking the questions if what I already had was working exactly how I wanted it to.
A statement was made to the armor reference of mine, and I stand by it; if there wasn't a need for sliders and diff guards in our area I wouldn't bother, because they do cost money.
Electronic ignition was already written down as an expense, but hadn't seen any besides Petronix - those of you with experience in other brands I'm open to suggestive links and or recommendations.
A Series friend of mine in North Carolina fitted Hellas because they were readily available and cheaper than shipping from the UK - has anyone else done the same or have most lighting upgrades been through UK companies?
Teriann the reason the suspension questions come up for me is that there is never enough droop in the axle for the trails we find ourselves on out here. Lots of cross-axling trails where a tire on each axle will momentarily find itself off the ground at the same time - and then momentum is lost. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to build a crawler here by any stretch of the imagination, I just don't want to get stalled on easy to moderate trails.
Has anyone fitted DI seats in a Series? I have a set but haven't measured them up yet - any information would be appreciated.
Thanks again for all the feedback; definitely given me something to wrap my brain around until I get home and start purchasing things
A statement was made to the armor reference of mine, and I stand by it; if there wasn't a need for sliders and diff guards in our area I wouldn't bother, because they do cost money.
Electronic ignition was already written down as an expense, but hadn't seen any besides Petronix - those of you with experience in other brands I'm open to suggestive links and or recommendations.
A Series friend of mine in North Carolina fitted Hellas because they were readily available and cheaper than shipping from the UK - has anyone else done the same or have most lighting upgrades been through UK companies?
Teriann the reason the suspension questions come up for me is that there is never enough droop in the axle for the trails we find ourselves on out here. Lots of cross-axling trails where a tire on each axle will momentarily find itself off the ground at the same time - and then momentum is lost. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to build a crawler here by any stretch of the imagination, I just don't want to get stalled on easy to moderate trails.
Has anyone fitted DI seats in a Series? I have a set but haven't measured them up yet - any information would be appreciated.
Thanks again for all the feedback; definitely given me something to wrap my brain around until I get home and start purchasing things