109 Expedition rig build

[01001010]

Oh ok! Thank you Teri!

Jim,

Excellent work with the wiring. I may have to follow in your footsteps as well as I'd like to head back to Florida and visit some of the trails I never got a chance to wheel on...and most of them involve being in water for extended periods of time.

 

[Mercedesrover]

Got the rest of the wiring and the instrument panel built and installed. The panel is cut from brushed stainless. Not sure I like it yet. Regardless, all the wiring is done including the switches and indicator lights for the lockers.

Built a front bumper while I was at it.

 

[TeriAnn]

Got the rest of the wiring and the instrument panel built and installed. The panel is cut from brushed stainless. Not sure I like it yet.

Jim, I absolutely love your work so far but that instrument panel aesthetically sucks big time. It would maybe work on a CJ5 but not a Series Land Rover. It just strikes a loud aesthetic discordance with the rest of the vehicle.

Was there no way you could live with the stock main panel plus an auxiliary panel or two? If you don't like Smiths gauges VDO has a line of gauges that have the same basic look as the Smiths gauges.

I know it is your vehicle and it only needs to please you, but will you be truly comfortable with this choice?

 

[craig]

Jim,

I love everything about your truck. It is amazing work. I think your gut is telling you the right thing about the appearance of the switch panel.

It would look great if it was galvanized (or painted) and mounted from behind. Right now it looks kinda tacked onto the dash. If it was mounted from behind, it might not interrupt the dash lines so much.

Again, I love the truck!
Craig

 

[frans]

Your work is an inspiration in how to re-build a landrover and not mess around doing it!


I have a general type question:

With the limited storage space available in LRs, is their any particular reason why folks don't engineer/fabricate the bumpers to incorporate storage for tire chains, tow straps, compressed air storage, etc?

Is it because that would change the original look of the vehicle?

 

[Mercedesrover]

Jim, I absolutely love your work so far but that instrument panel aesthetically sucks big time.

Tell me how you really feel. Yow!

Actually, I think it's growing on me. I might paint it, but for now I'm going to leave be. It's nothing more then completely functional and durable and that's what I want.

One of the reasons I wanted a one-piece, strong dash plate is these 2.6-style bulkheads are a fair amount weaker than their 4-cylinder counterparts as the boxed section behind the engine is removed on this model. This bulkhead was near cracked in half between the upper and lower parts of the dash box, and the frame wasn't all that bad on this truck. This heavy plate will help hold the bulkhead rigid and with luck will keep it from cracking again.

jim

 

[Mercedesrover]

With the limited storage space available in LRs, is their any particular reason why folks don't engineer/fabricate the bumpers to incorporate ....compressed air storage, etc?

Is it because that would change the original look of the vehicle?

The front bumper on my 88" is an air storage tank supplied by a 12v compressor mounted on the frame. Doesn't hold too much air but it still comes in very handy.

jim

 

[Michael Slade]

I'm OK with the layout, etc...but the color of the panel has me a bit concerned. I know that for my eyes, anything on the interior of a car that's chrome and can reflect the sun back at me makes driving VERY uncomfortable. My CrewCab interior is all a satin black with black guage. I'm not sure it's the prettiest thing around, but the black color helps me a lot. In fact, where the paint has peeled off of the galvanizing and it can show through bugs me. I need to re-prime and re-paint those areas.

Go with your gut, but I'd like to see at the very least you taking the shine off of that silver.

 

[DCH109]

Hey Jim,

The Rover is looking great. Not sure about the panel, or the gauges, I would have gone with something black for the gauges and painted the panel to match the truck. BUT, this is YOUR build not mine and not others. I am sure as i build mine people will have their options on what they do not like.
What it comes down to is this, do you like it? Does it work for you? Can you change it later if you want (of course you can)?
So enjoy your build and keep the pics coming.


Now with that said. Do you have a pic of the steering shaft after you cut off the worm gear?

Or where did you cut it off at?

 

[Dances with trees]

WOW is all I have to say, amazing job, very good work indeed.

 

[James86004]

Tell me how you really feel. Yow!

One of the reasons I wanted a one-piece, strong dash plate is these 2.6-style bulkheads are a fair amount weaker than their 4-cylinder counterparts as the boxed section behind the engine is removed on this model. This bulkhead was near cracked in half between the upper and lower parts of the dash box, and the frame wasn't all that bad on this truck. This heavy plate will help hold the bulkhead rigid and with luck will keep it from cracking again.

jim

Hi Jim,

After reading this, I was wondering where I should check for cracks on my 2.6 bulkhead. I have not been able to find any.

James

 

[Mercedesrover]

Hi Jim,

After reading this, I was wondering where I should check for cracks on my 2.6 bulkhead. I have not been able to find any.

James

Look on the vertical part of the bulkhead just above the foot wells. Mine had a crack about 15" long on the passenger side.

 

[Mercedesrover]

Not much work in the past week...Me and a fellow Series owner hit the North Maine Woods. For all of you who complain about not having anywhere to go on the east coast, you're sorely mistaken. There is everything from smoothly graded gravel roads to logging trails that fade into the bush. Wash outs, river crossings, rocky terrain, etc. Without exaggeration there are 1000s of miles of roads to explore up there. It may not have the Rocky Mountains that you have in the west, but it's a very beautiful place with its own sights, sounds and smells. Plus lake trout for dinner (if you can catch one ).

The main purpose for the trip was to find the elusive land route into the locomotives between Eagle and Chamberlain Lakes abandoned in 1933 as well as the steam powered tramway that ceased operation in 1907. Lots of cool history in the area!

We also stopped in at the B-52 crash sight outside of Greenville.

Anyway, back to work on the 109 next week. In the meantime, here are a couple pictures from the past week.

 

[frans]

I'm hungry for more progress pictures :beer:

 

[truck mechanic]

I am hungry for more trail picks, and how to get to the trains ! I am a train nut and my granddad worked for the Bostob Maine line back when it was steam.
Paul