The Rolling Restoration & Customization Of My 88' Range Rover Classic

[rrclassicbt550]

A decent early 2 door for "free" is the stuff myths and legends are made of. :drool: If you ever find one, and it has a sister who is also free, let me know and I will be there with a trailer in a flash. If you gotta dream, dream big!

Since its axles your working on, a later one may not be such a big deal. I would think the noset, rear, and sills have the same rough geographic locations too. With some ingenuity you could probably use a later 4 door as a test platform for your 2 door.

If I could find an early 2 door for "free" I would totally do it.


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[rrclassicbt550]

Question for Disco owners or those knowledgeable about Discos....

This may be a dumb question. Did the Disco ever come with a heated windscreen? Also were ther all glue in windscreens or did some have the rubbers seal like the Classics? Just curious. I have a crazy idea brewing for another long term LR project.

Have a good one,
Jon

Oh, one more thing. Does anyone know if the glass can be double layered? I know Mercedes vehicles run double glass all the way around. Just wondering if it could be done in a Rover.

 

[Nonimouse]

The bonded in windscreen for the 300 series Disco (94 to 98) was available in heated form on a lot of the model range

The earlier 200 series Disco (89 to 94) never had one - but can be fitted with a windscreen for an RRC.

Worth noting that the Disco's have a blacked out section at the bottom of the windscreen that the RRC never had

Not sure about the double layered bit

 

[Series1Rangie]

A decent early 2 door for "free" is the stuff myths and legends are made of. :drool: If you ever find one, and it has a sister who is also free, let me know and I will be there with a trailer in a flash. If you gotta dream, dream big!

Since its axles your working on, a later one may not be such a big deal. I would think the noset, rear, and sills have the same rough geographic locations too. With some ingenuity you could probably use a later 4 door as a test platform for your 2 door.

There is good and bad info out there on what dues and doesn't swap. some things a RRC would be fine for, and even a disco for a few. My preference would be the 2 door body on a 95 swb. But that's not happening soon.

Why the question on windscreens? Hmmm. Inquiring minds and all.


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[rrclassicbt550]

Why specifically a 95' chassis? Inquiring minds and all.
I can keep my eyes open for you, to see if anything comes up. I have access to a car trailer and if there is something that was found around Bonneville Speed Week, I might even be able to deliver it.

I wanted to have a heated wind screen in my Classic but haven't been able to put one in it yet. It's something that crosses my mind anytime it's cold. Since, I put a Disco's structural components in my Classic for the tilt wheel, I know that a Disco and a Classic are very similar in that area.
With the other long term LR project I am thinking of doing. I would be taking the 93' LWB I have now, a Disco, and MAYBE another LWB, then putting parts of them together to make something else. If I did build it, I would want less wind noise, and there is a lot of wind noise that comes through the glass on the LR's (which is why Mercedes went with double glass). With the Classic, it uses a rubber seal so I am pretty sure I can't double up the glass. However, the Discos bonded windscreen can be double layered (I think/hope). By doing that I could cut down on the wind noise there. As far as the windscreen heater in a Disco, well I would want that LR to have a heater in it too on a cold day.
I have thought about experimenting with double glass on the side windows of my Classic but just haven't pulled the trigger on it yet. I am not sure the current motors would cope with the extra load. Kind of going back and forth on it right now.

There is good and bad info out there on what dues and doesn't swap. some things a RRC would be fine for, and even a disco for a few. My preference would be the 2 door body on a 95 swb. But that's not happening soon.

Why the question on windscreens? Hmmm. Inquiring minds and all.


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[Series1Rangie]

Why specifically a 95' chassis? Inquiring minds and all.
I can keep my eyes open for you, to see if anything comes up. I have access to a car trailer and if there is something that was found around Bonneville Speed Week, I might even be able to deliver it.

I wanted to have a heated wind screen in my Classic but haven't been able to put one in it yet. It's something that crosses my mind anytime it's cold. Since, I put a Disco's structural components in my Classic for the tilt wheel, I know that a Disco and a Classic are very similar in that area.
With the other long term LR project I am thinking of doing. I would be taking the 93' LWB I have now, a Disco, and MAYBE another LWB, then putting parts of them together to make something else. If I did build it, I would want less wind noise, and there is a lot of wind noise that comes through the glass on the LR's (which is why Mercedes went with double glass). With the Classic, it uses a rubber seal so I am pretty sure I can't double up the glass. However, the Discos bonded windscreen can be double layered (I think/hope). By doing that I could cut down on the wind noise there. As far as the windscreen heater in a Disco, well I would want that LR to have a heater in it too on a cold day.
I have thought about experimenting with double glass on the side windows of my Classic but just haven't pulled the trigger on it yet. I am not sure the current motors would cope with the extra load. Kind of going back and forth on it right now.

95 chassis for the full soft dash. Only reason. And never going to happen but it would be cool. SLO hybrid was building one, not sure what happened to his thread. Hmmm.

IIRC the disco windscreen only fits the 95 classic. But I may be wrong.

Good luck. I love having you lead the way. Makes it easy for me

More pictures!!!


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[rrclassicbt550]

Ahh, ok. You wouldn't need a 95 Classic to do the structural side of the soft dash conversion. The Disco and the 95 Classic are the same structure wise and in fact they are pretty close dashboard wise too, except the binnacle surround on the Disco has a bunch of switches. You could just find a Disco near you and do the swap with that. That is what I am planning to do with my other LR project. I am planning on doing a full soft dash conversion in the LWB with the structure from a Disco. As well as putting a soft dash in my 88 Classic.

Anyway, as you requested, I will post some more pictures soon.

Have a good one,
Jon

P.S.
I would be very interested in Seeing SLO hybrid'S build thread if you can find the link, I looked but couldn't find it.

95 chassis for the full soft dash. Only reason. And never going to happen but it would be cool. SLO hybrid was building one, not sure what happened to his thread. Hmmm.

IIRC the disco windscreen only fits the 95 classic. But I may be wrong.

Good luck. I love having you lead the way. Makes it easy for me

More pictures!!!


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[rrclassicbt550]

Side topic/6.2 update

Well, where I stand on the 6.2 project. I haven't forgotten about it, I have been biding my time. I am nearly ready to purchase the adaptor. Also, I picked up another Range Rover Classic to do all of the mock up/research and development on. I am going to do all of the 6.2 swap mods to it first so that I will have minimal downtime on my 88', because summer is coming and I want to have the 88' ready for playtime. I am also go to do some other modifications to it that I will then install on my 88', such as making the rear side windows flip up for better access to the cargo area, and finishing my tailgate storage mod. I got both ideas from the Landcruiser guys. I am also replacing ALL of the wiring in the 88', so I will use the LWB as the test bed for that to. I also want to completely strip everything out of the engine bay, fill all the unnecessary holes, and start from scratch with only the items I want in there, again using the LWB for that. All this will be over an extended period of time, during which my 88' will be running and ready to go.
However, once I am done doing that, maybe even during that whole process, I have myself 85% convinced to build a 6x6 truck. The 6x6 truck would be inspired and strongly influenced by the Mercedes G63 6x6, only in Range Rover Classic form. BUT....although I want it to be extremely luxurious inside and beastly on the outside, above all I need it to actually work, so I can use it on the farm. The extra traction and payload would be a great help. Having atleast an eight foot bed (or longer, depends on proportions, has to look right) would also come in handy. I would also make it rear steer so it won't have a ridiculous turning radius. I could talk about it for a very long time, because I think it would be a good fit around the farm, nice challenge, unique, and suit pretty much everything I have want to do to my 88' but for one reason or another won't be able to.
Anyway, thought I would put it out there, please don't bash me too badly. I think it will turn out well in the end and be useful.
This is the LWB, it definitely needs some love, but I can fix it and without me, it would have gone to the car crusher.

Here is the Merc 6x6 I was talking about for those who may not have seen it.

 

[rrclassicbt550]

Winch plate update

Hello everyone,

I don't have a lot of time to do an in depth write up, but then again I am not really sure this update needs a lot of words. The pictures pretty much speak for themselves.
I found a winch plate that SORT OF fit the Classic, then modified it to mount exactly how I wanted it. I am not entirely happy with the end product, but I consider it to be a good prototype. Later on, I will have one manufactured to my specs so it has less welding and only the holes I need in it. Like I said it sort of fit and I then modified it to work for me. With the LWB, I will have one made by a shop with bigger bending equipment than I have , so I can get it dialed in just right.
Some of you may be wondering why I went with a winch plate rather than with big winch bumper. Well, I have come to the decision that I want the bumper and the winch mounting/recovery points to be separated. They have two different jobs in reality anyway, so I will keep them separate. I want to make a bullbar style bumper, but I am thinking of using aluminum for it. I want the bumper to absorb impact and if I make it strong enough to use as a winch mount and recovery point, it's going to be heavy and stiff; in other words, it is not going to help absorb an impact.
I also want to make the bumper in sections, so that if part of it gets damaged I can replace that section rather than the whole thing. Anyway, all that info will come when I eventually get around to making the bumper. For now, the stock facia, bumper (trimmed to fit), and brush bar will do just fine. I still need to make or get some proper recovery points. I also need to work on the the wiring but that will be a bit later. I am hoping to straighten the front of the LWB and cut out the damage soon. Plus I have to work on the house for a bit. I will try to get another post in here soon, until then.

Have a good one,
Jon

 

[rrclassicbt550]

 

[rrclassicbt550]

Hello everyone,

Had to take a bit of a break it was goat showing season and I was very busy with that. Then unluckily enough, one of our goats caught pneumonia from another goat at the show (even though we were the only ones taking every precaution). That goat brought it back home and got the whole heard sick. Long story short, we lost two but managed to save the rest. That teamed with some predator strikes on our other animals has kept me pretty busy and fairly unmotivated to work on the Rover.
In the past couple of weeks though I have been able to get back on the Rover, so I do have an update coming when I can snag a big enough block of time to do it.

Until then, I had a question about running a 6 volt compressor on a 12 volt system. I have an old air compressor that is supposedly from WW2. It is in good condition and seems like it would move a lot of air. For those of you who have the knowledge, how do I get it run on a 12 volt system? How do I know what the amp rating would be? Should I just fire it up an check the amp draw to see what fuse and guage wire I need? How do I calculate or find out the cfm? Any advice would be sincerely appreciated.


Also, I am picking up a free Disco 2 parts car today. I am aiming to get it for the dash board and hvac. Is the support structure the same as the Disco 1? Is the vehicles frame the same as the Disco/RRC? Is there anything they actually did right on the Disco 2? Are there any parts I should keep to put into the mix with my Classic or the 6x6 project? The drive train, front axle, rear door, and most of the interior is gone, but there is still a lot there that could be used. I am just not as familiar with the Disco 2's? Any advice?

Thanks and have a good one,
Jon aka "Farmer Jon"

 

[David Harris]

Hello everyone,

Had to take a bit of a break it was goat showing season and I was very busy with that. Then unluckily enough, one of our goats caught pneumonia from another goat at the show (even though we were the only ones taking every precaution). That goat brought it back home and got the whole heard sick. Long story short, we lost two but managed to save the rest. That teamed with some predator strikes on our other animals has kept me pretty busy and fairly unmotivated to work on the Rover.
In the past couple of weeks though I have been able to get back on the Rover, so I do have an update coming when I can snag a big enough block of time to do it.

Until then, I had a question about running a 6 volt compressor on a 12 volt system. I have an old air compressor that is supposedly from WW2. It is in good condition and seems like it would move a lot of air. For those of you who have the knowledge, how do I get it run on a 12 volt system? How do I know what the amp rating would be? Should I just fire it up an check the amp draw to see what fuse and guage wire I need? How do I calculate or find out the cfm? Any advice would be sincerely appreciated.
View attachment 408152View attachment 408153View attachment 408154View attachment 408155

Also, I am picking up a free Disco 2 parts car today. I am aiming to get it for the dash board and hvac. Is the support structure the same as the Disco 1? Is the vehicles frame the same as the Disco/RRC? Is there anything they actually did right on the Disco 2? Are there any parts I should keep to put into the mix with my Classic or the 6x6 project? The drive train, front axle, rear door, and most of the interior is gone, but there is still a lot there that could be used. I am just not as familiar with the Disco 2's? Any advice?

Thanks and have a good one,
Jon aka "Farmer Jon"

The Discovery 2 is a completely different vehicle body and frame wise. There may be a couple of trim items in the dash that are the same, such as the center radio surround, etc. but that's it.

 

[rrclassicbt550]

The Discovery 2 is a completely different vehicle body and frame wise. There may be a couple of trim items in the dash that are the same, such as the center radio surround, etc. but that's it.

Thank you for the information, but turns out that the Disco 2 is too far gone so I didn't get it.

 

[Lee_N]

Hello everyone,

<snip>

Until then, I had a question about running a 6 volt compressor on a 12 volt system. I have an old air compressor that is supposedly from WW2. It is in good condition and seems like it would move a lot of air. For those of you who have the knowledge, how do I get it run on a 12 volt system? How do I know what the amp rating would be? Should I just fire it up an check the amp draw to see what fuse and guage wire I need? How do I calculate or find out the cfm? Any advice would be sincerely appreciated.
View attachment 408152View attachment 408153View attachment 408154View attachment 408155

<snip>

Thanks and have a good one,
Jon aka "Farmer Jon"

You should be able to run the 6V motor at 12v. It will run twice as fast so hopefully the compressor internals can take that. Current draw will be 1/2 what it is at 6V. If there is nothing on the motor listing horsepower or current, you'll have to fire it up and measure.

I don't know an easy way to measure CFM but I bet you can google it.

 

[rrclassicbt550]

You should be able to run the 6V motor at 12v. It will run twice as fast so hopefully the compressor internals can take that. Current draw will be 1/2 what it is at 6V. If there is nothing on the motor listing horsepower or current, you'll have to fire it up and measure.

I don't know an easy way to measure CFM but I bet you can google it.

Thank you,

I am a bit nervous about hooking straight up to to 12v but I think you're right. I will have to do that in the not so distant furture. It was built back in the days when quality was king and overbuilding was a way of life so hopefully it can take it.