The DiscoDavis Sandglow Thread
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DiscoDavis
Explorer
DiscoDavis
Explorer
Still working on the lights
Then got a bunch of Rovers North stuff. (Thanks Zack for the help!) Including this shovel, which as I noted elsewhere is dimensionally different from the original CT model, still very close. Gets daily use digging the ruts out of my yard as the 110 moves about. The blue color grew on me so I left it. Hard wearing finish too it seems. Changed the clear sealant for linseed oil, bit softer on the hands
Which brings me to the issue of all the rotten equipment straps. We have some coming to test if they fit the original spec
Then got a bunch of Rovers North stuff. (Thanks Zack for the help!) Including this shovel, which as I noted elsewhere is dimensionally different from the original CT model, still very close. Gets daily use digging the ruts out of my yard as the 110 moves about. The blue color grew on me so I left it. Hard wearing finish too it seems. Changed the clear sealant for linseed oil, bit softer on the hands
Which brings me to the issue of all the rotten equipment straps. We have some coming to test if they fit the original spec
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DiscoDavis
Explorer
Forgot to add the latest sticker:
Was a gift from Marc's stash, ones the CH team had made up for 1990. Also, it was pointed out by a Russian-speaking friend that they spelt "Trophy" wrong in cyrillic! Well they didn't exactly have google then, right?
Was a gift from Marc's stash, ones the CH team had made up for 1990. Also, it was pointed out by a Russian-speaking friend that they spelt "Trophy" wrong in cyrillic! Well they didn't exactly have google then, right?
DiscoDavis
Explorer
Dash
Part of the RN order was the pieces to fix my cracked dash, which rattled all the time and was generally worn out
Not pictured is the internal plastic cowl/stiffener which was snapped in half. The dash surround had a few snapped tabs.
Ready for rattle-free duty again
Ask me how jealous again that sheepdog's 90 has the battery voltmeter gauge whereas the camel has a blank...
Part of the RN order was the pieces to fix my cracked dash, which rattled all the time and was generally worn out
Not pictured is the internal plastic cowl/stiffener which was snapped in half. The dash surround had a few snapped tabs.
Ready for rattle-free duty again
Ask me how jealous again that sheepdog's 90 has the battery voltmeter gauge whereas the camel has a blank...
DiscoDavis
Explorer
Learning stuff
By my own admission I don't have a lifetime of 4x4 driving and recovery experience. I spent years driving backroads, snowy passes, farm fields etc, but I could use a few tips. Brenton from 4xFar Adventures was kind enough to lend his expertise and tools on a Saturday to come spend it in my backyard winching a Camel Trophy car around. I am glad I asked him to come by. A lot learned and several mistakes made in a safe environment. You may also remember him as the guy who organized the Return to Camel Trophy night at TAD's warehouse in SF last year. Thanks again Brenton! He also happens to be coaching the NCLR team DiscoDolls for this year's Rebelle
(These are his photos)
Teaching hand signals [winch in]
New personal favorite: "I'm going to go put my hands in the winch, hold the controller up to the windscreen..." OR "DO NOT MANGLE MY HANDS PLEASE"
Teaching materials
Not pictured: the extra line dampeners added after the photo
By my own admission I don't have a lifetime of 4x4 driving and recovery experience. I spent years driving backroads, snowy passes, farm fields etc, but I could use a few tips. Brenton from 4xFar Adventures was kind enough to lend his expertise and tools on a Saturday to come spend it in my backyard winching a Camel Trophy car around. I am glad I asked him to come by. A lot learned and several mistakes made in a safe environment. You may also remember him as the guy who organized the Return to Camel Trophy night at TAD's warehouse in SF last year. Thanks again Brenton! He also happens to be coaching the NCLR team DiscoDolls for this year's Rebelle
(These are his photos)
Teaching hand signals [winch in]
New personal favorite: "I'm going to go put my hands in the winch, hold the controller up to the windscreen..." OR "DO NOT MANGLE MY HANDS PLEASE"
Teaching materials
Not pictured: the extra line dampeners added after the photo
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DiscoDavis
Explorer
Yeah neither had I. Definitely makes you aware of what you need to focus on versus what I thought had been important before.
DiscoDavis
Explorer
Batteries
When they originally setup these vehicles for the events, two batteries were permanently wired in parallel to act as one big battery for the huge current draw from the winch and lights. Simpler, easier to fix, but it was designed before we had nice solenoids and good setups. After 27 years, it was iffy and a mess. Years of weird extra wiring including this POS stereo system that still steals power to this day. Still working on ripping that out...
the Diehard platinum was DOA, only the 10 year old yellowtop was allowing the car to start, and they would discharge eachother if left connected. Someone added that green screw-type to at least disconnect them when parked. Had to figure out what was wired to what.
Someone also repainted the inside of the box banana yellow
>Got another yellowtop to try and better match them
>Got a HF 8ton battery crimper and some marine terminals
>PAC 500 solenoid
>bunch of wires
>a bluesea fuse box
>relocated the reverse solenoid and wired it to the new fusebox instead of the battery directly
Still need to add a separate cutoff for the winch, right now both the starter and winch power are keyed together. At least god forbid a hooligan can't power the winch if the car is off and locked.
Every time I get under the car more dust and mud falls out. The rust gods are kind to my dirty car, I swear one day I will clean it all...
When they originally setup these vehicles for the events, two batteries were permanently wired in parallel to act as one big battery for the huge current draw from the winch and lights. Simpler, easier to fix, but it was designed before we had nice solenoids and good setups. After 27 years, it was iffy and a mess. Years of weird extra wiring including this POS stereo system that still steals power to this day. Still working on ripping that out...
the Diehard platinum was DOA, only the 10 year old yellowtop was allowing the car to start, and they would discharge eachother if left connected. Someone added that green screw-type to at least disconnect them when parked. Had to figure out what was wired to what.
Someone also repainted the inside of the box banana yellow
>Got another yellowtop to try and better match them
>Got a HF 8ton battery crimper and some marine terminals
>PAC 500 solenoid
>bunch of wires
>a bluesea fuse box
>relocated the reverse solenoid and wired it to the new fusebox instead of the battery directly
Still need to add a separate cutoff for the winch, right now both the starter and winch power are keyed together. At least god forbid a hooligan can't power the winch if the car is off and locked.
Every time I get under the car more dust and mud falls out. The rust gods are kind to my dirty car, I swear one day I will clean it all...
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DiscoDavis
Explorer
Reverse Lamp/Rear Flood
During battery fix day, Joe moved and replaced the reverse light, a square IPF halogen mounted above the license plate (which blocked a ladder rung and got kicked every time someone climbed onto the roof), to a twin bulb Hella that Brenton was super kind to donate to the 110 project. May end up being centre mounted above pickaxe handle, but there was an unused mount sitting there on the corner.
He even waterproofed all the connections and added some loom to fit the grommet
Much better for reversing, and now useful as a work lamp looking down.
During battery fix day, Joe moved and replaced the reverse light, a square IPF halogen mounted above the license plate (which blocked a ladder rung and got kicked every time someone climbed onto the roof), to a twin bulb Hella that Brenton was super kind to donate to the 110 project. May end up being centre mounted above pickaxe handle, but there was an unused mount sitting there on the corner.
He even waterproofed all the connections and added some loom to fit the grommet
Much better for reversing, and now useful as a work lamp looking down.
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DiscoDavis
Explorer
Met Luis and Family
Their Td5 110 makes the sandglow one look small... Luis and Sebastienne are on the way from Honduras to cover the West Coast! Last I heard they were headed for the Tesla Gigafactory. Their son is a huge fan and mega freaking smart.
Exquisite Mexican food with them and the NCLR crew at Mexxis. Several hours talking rovers and stuffing my face. Safe travels guys! I know a few others have spotted them on their journey.
Their Td5 110 makes the sandglow one look small... Luis and Sebastienne are on the way from Honduras to cover the West Coast! Last I heard they were headed for the Tesla Gigafactory. Their son is a huge fan and mega freaking smart.
Exquisite Mexican food with them and the NCLR crew at Mexxis. Several hours talking rovers and stuffing my face. Safe travels guys! I know a few others have spotted them on their journey.
DiscoDavis
Explorer
More of a reminder to me to update here. Very busy with this the last few weeks, as always a struggle getting enough photos. Would like to bounce a few ideas around and see what sticks too. Thanks to all who answered questions privately, thus far I didn't even have any manuals on anything and relied on various forum posts and guesswork.
Arriving today finally is 8LF of some special tubing to replace the snorkel hoses, then we pressure test to 3psi, which should be enough for water to roof level.
Rough list (mostly done, not posted):
>water pump went, replaced
>and thermostat replaced, was ok though
>lift pump went, replaced
>Cyclone breather (PCV) replaced
>roof light orientation corrected, switches and relays still have ground issues
>turbo hose tore open, patched
>swivel balls greased
>mantec swingout added
>need to replicate a few structural bars for the rack to body
>missing bumpstop for sals rear replaced
>Got some Land Rover part 3/16 rivets to try and replace/restore the original tool mounts
>new tool straps since mantec does not offer the original spanset straps
>mount CT axe bracket, buy axe
>trans cooler needed?
>suspension very squeaky
>buy a tire for the last spare
>fix fan rubbing on cowl
>battery tray bracket needed
Explanation to come
Arriving today finally is 8LF of some special tubing to replace the snorkel hoses, then we pressure test to 3psi, which should be enough for water to roof level.
Rough list (mostly done, not posted):
>water pump went, replaced
>and thermostat replaced, was ok though
>lift pump went, replaced
>Cyclone breather (PCV) replaced
>roof light orientation corrected, switches and relays still have ground issues
>turbo hose tore open, patched
>swivel balls greased
>mantec swingout added
>need to replicate a few structural bars for the rack to body
>missing bumpstop for sals rear replaced
>Got some Land Rover part 3/16 rivets to try and replace/restore the original tool mounts
>new tool straps since mantec does not offer the original spanset straps
>mount CT axe bracket, buy axe
>trans cooler needed?
>suspension very squeaky
>buy a tire for the last spare
>fix fan rubbing on cowl
>battery tray bracket needed
Explanation to come
DiscoDavis
Explorer
Coffee in hand, here we go.
The Mantec Steering guard has not been off the car for a very long time. Every single allen recessed bolt is seized to its nut on the brackets. Each soaked for weeks in penetrating oil and hammered every once in a while. They've got me beat for now... In theory you can work around the guard so I will return later to this. If they get drilled out I don't know where to get the old style bolts. Newer is not recessed?
Wear your eyepro reminder
___________________________________________________________________
Spotted: The Shamel Range Rover that DutchSafariCo has/had?
Spoke to the guy for a few seconds, DD: "hey I love your Range Rover, was this the DutchSafariCo one?", RRCTguy: "yeah I picked it up, do you like Land Rover stuff?" DD: "I've got something in that color at home"
He gave me this look as if to say "yeah right..." I did not have the 110 with me so he probably thought I was kidding
Neato car. Hope someone or him puts a cage in it.
___________________________________________________________________
Chinesium winch hook swapped
For a Yoke one, closed loop. With a hammer link. When under load it will not open up, as you can see. If you are like me you wonder, does it just flop around open if there's no line tension? No, it has a little locking lever in the hook that unlocks to hinge open.
___________________________________________________________________
NCLR Meeting of the Members and breakdown
Went down to Dublin for the annual club swap meet, nice seeing everyone like me coming out of their hibernation! I meant to take a photo of the club parking lot but forgot. Got some good stuff on trades and sold my old D3 swingout. Everyone it seems is going from steel winch cable to synthetic, so I scooped up a few extras for spares
Then, later in the afternoon, disaster. Returning from the hardware store for some bolts, the battery/alternator light came on. About 1km later, water temp started climbing. Sadly, could not get to the top of the last hill to coast down to home, pulled over into a median spot on the road, got the tools out. Yes, it was the fan belt. Head temps got to about 210.
I should have noticed it stretching a few times and noted that as a warning sign. Instead I just retensioned it and forgot about it. Now on the side of the road I could not get the fan off. It was seized to the threads... So I waited about an hour and manually turned the pump to cool the car, fired it up and drove up the hill and coasted down to the house. Didn't even warm up that much. Nice. I begged Colin to save the day, and he came over for a small barbecue and some beer, naturally he got the fan unstuck with some huge pliers and a hammer. We got a new belt on (I had 2 spares!) and done. Now as a lesson I grease the threads every time I take the fan off, and this will be important soon... Could not have done it without ya Colin
The Mantec Steering guard has not been off the car for a very long time. Every single allen recessed bolt is seized to its nut on the brackets. Each soaked for weeks in penetrating oil and hammered every once in a while. They've got me beat for now... In theory you can work around the guard so I will return later to this. If they get drilled out I don't know where to get the old style bolts. Newer is not recessed?
Wear your eyepro reminder
___________________________________________________________________
Spotted: The Shamel Range Rover that DutchSafariCo has/had?
Spoke to the guy for a few seconds, DD: "hey I love your Range Rover, was this the DutchSafariCo one?", RRCTguy: "yeah I picked it up, do you like Land Rover stuff?" DD: "I've got something in that color at home"
He gave me this look as if to say "yeah right..."
I did not have the 110 with me so he probably thought I was kiddingNeato car. Hope someone or him puts a cage in it.
___________________________________________________________________
Chinesium winch hook swapped
For a Yoke one, closed loop. With a hammer link. When under load it will not open up, as you can see. If you are like me you wonder, does it just flop around open if there's no line tension? No, it has a little locking lever in the hook that unlocks to hinge open.
___________________________________________________________________
NCLR Meeting of the Members and breakdown
Went down to Dublin for the annual club swap meet, nice seeing everyone like me coming out of their hibernation! I meant to take a photo of the club parking lot but forgot. Got some good stuff on trades and sold my old D3 swingout. Everyone it seems is going from steel winch cable to synthetic, so I scooped up a few extras for spares
Then, later in the afternoon, disaster. Returning from the hardware store for some bolts, the battery/alternator light came on. About 1km later, water temp started climbing. Sadly, could not get to the top of the last hill to coast down to home, pulled over into a median spot on the road, got the tools out. Yes, it was the fan belt. Head temps got to about 210.
I should have noticed it stretching a few times and noted that as a warning sign. Instead I just retensioned it and forgot about it. Now on the side of the road I could not get the fan off. It was seized to the threads... So I waited about an hour and manually turned the pump to cool the car, fired it up and drove up the hill and coasted down to the house. Didn't even warm up that much. Nice. I begged Colin to save the day, and he came over for a small barbecue and some beer, naturally he got the fan unstuck with some huge pliers and a hammer. We got a new belt on (I had 2 spares!) and done. Now as a lesson I grease the threads every time I take the fan off, and this will be important soon... Could not have done it without ya Colin
DiscoDavis
Explorer
Saturday Winch Service
Just as we started getting warm weather, it was a great time to keep the cars in the yard for some hammock fun. I bet the superwinch had not been serviced for a long time judging by the grime on the plugs. Picked up some 85w140 at the store and got to it.
I believe the fill plug size was 7mm.
I did need to use the yard because about 100' of cable needs to come off the drum for you to have enough space to even break the plugs open.
The nozzle on the bottle would not make the gap between the port on the bumper and the fill hole on the winch so I found some spare tubing in the spares bin and make a small extension.
The winch was a 2007 model from RN so the fluid that came out was in good shape. Could have gone a few more years even with hard winching. Now I know at least it is perfect.
Just as we started getting warm weather, it was a great time to keep the cars in the yard for some hammock fun. I bet the superwinch had not been serviced for a long time judging by the grime on the plugs. Picked up some 85w140 at the store and got to it.
I believe the fill plug size was 7mm.
I did need to use the yard because about 100' of cable needs to come off the drum for you to have enough space to even break the plugs open.
The nozzle on the bottle would not make the gap between the port on the bumper and the fill hole on the winch so I found some spare tubing in the spares bin and make a small extension.
The winch was a 2007 model from RN so the fluid that came out was in good shape. Could have gone a few more years even with hard winching. Now I know at least it is perfect.
DiscoDavis
Explorer
More Winch Stuff
Removed the fairlead rollers and regreased them.
Did not have a handsaver, but one of my extra cables had a hook with one. I 'repurposed' it.
This was posted to Instagram, and someone from Superwinch actually commented on it saying they'd make sure I got a correct handsaver. That was a very nice offer from them, and a few days later they came through!
I actually received an extra or two. I'd like to pay this forward, so if you have a Superwinch and lose a handsaver or don't have one, shoot me a message. I will try to either get one to you at a local event or maybe mail it on the cheap. Send me a photo of your winch!
And if any Warn guys read this, I like Warn too, they're great! All repurposement of your materials is done so for safety and fun! Brenton has my "SuperWarnch" strap for teaching materials now.
Removed the fairlead rollers and regreased them.
Did not have a handsaver, but one of my extra cables had a hook with one. I 'repurposed' it.
This was posted to Instagram, and someone from Superwinch actually commented on it saying they'd make sure I got a correct handsaver. That was a very nice offer from them, and a few days later they came through!
I actually received an extra or two. I'd like to pay this forward, so if you have a Superwinch and lose a handsaver or don't have one, shoot me a message. I will try to either get one to you at a local event or maybe mail it on the cheap. Send me a photo of your winch!
And if any Warn guys read this, I like Warn too, they're great! All repurposement of your materials is done so for safety and fun!
Brenton has my "SuperWarnch" strap for teaching materials now.
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