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

[rrclassicbt550]

Feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment....

Have you ever had moments where you thought to yourself "Wow, what have I gotten myself into!?"

I am not sure how Land Rover thought that the set-up underneath the dashboard was in any way intelligent, but Lord be with anyone who needs to change a heater core, wiper motor, or source a shorted wire in the the dashboard harness. That whole thing is a nightmare! I have around 50 reference pictures and used half a roll of painters tape for labeling just so I will be able to remember how things came apart and most importantly WHICH ORDER they came apart in.

I have to admit that a couple of times during disassembly of that dash I thought about forgetting the whole thing and sticking with the 88' RRC equipment but I didn't come this far to quit, so I will finish what I started; however, I would definitely not do this again and would not recommend you do it unless you are a glutton for punishment. Seriously. Don't do it. Just start with a 95' RRC and start stripping the extraneous stuff off it. Unless you are good with sheet metal work, handy with a welder, have a large amount of patience, and have time to burn; this is particular swap is not for you.

With every cloud there is a silver lining though. I get to inspect the wiring harness for potential problems that may come up in the future and prevent them before they happen. Go through and replace all of the foam seals. Check the heater core and possibly replace it preemptively. Clean everything. Do a more thorough job of sound deadening/ceramic heat shielding, and rust proofing. There will be less stuff in the way when I cut up the firewall to fit the 96 Discovery pedal assembly and 95' RRC steering column. Not to mention, should I decide to do a manual transmission swap someday, it will be much easier to convert over using Disco equipment.

Does any of you have any advice on what else I should look for or do preemptively while I am this deep into the dashboard?

Here are a few pictures to show you the overall standing at this moment. Before and after the dash completely removed as well as the initial test fit of the Disco pedal assembly and firewall piece.

If anyone needs some reference pics just let me know and I will do my best to oblige the your request by posting them.

Have a good one.
Jon

 

[zenithj]

I would source some thin felt (dark or color matched to the dash)- the self adhesive kind if you can find it. Thin strips of this between plastic mating surfaces will work miracles for current or future squeaks.

 

[Series1Rangie]

Jon,

Glad your back. Sounds like you found a keeper, congrats.

I would think about replacing the blower motor when you do the heater core. Get it done while you are in there. I would also run a couple of wires to either a remote fuse block (for future accesories) or wire in a couple of power outlets while you are there.

The progress is looking great, keep the pictures and updates coming!

Mike and Myles

 

[rrclassicbt550]

I would source some thin felt (dark or color matched to the dash)- the self adhesive kind if you can find it. Thin strips of this between plastic mating surfaces will work miracles for current or future squeaks.

Thanks! I would never have thought of doing that, but will definitely do so now. I appreciate the tip!

 

[rrclassicbt550]

Jon,

Glad your back. Sounds like you found a keeper, congrats.

I would think about replacing the blower motor when you do the heater core. Get it done while you are in there. I would also run a couple of wires to either a remote fuse block (for future accesories) or wire in a couple of power outlets while you are there.

The progress is looking great, keep the pictures and updates coming!

Mike and Myles

First, I want to apologize to you for not sending you an email to let you know I wasn't going to be rolling through your area; however, in the future I promise I will email you to let you know when I will be in your area.

Also, thank you very much for the congratulations! She definitely is a keeper!

As for the Rover, I was wondering if I should replace the blower motor or not but with your recommendation and its location, I am going to do that along with the heater core.

As far as the power outlets I am wiring in an auxiliary fuse box for the rear power seats and 3 12V DC power outlets so there will be the two factory outlets in the front, two next to the backseats and one in the cargo area. I am also putting in a power inverter (on the back of the center console...I think) with a remote on/off switch that will be on the rear pillar in the cargo area so I can turn it on or off from either end of the vehicle. I am putting in two 120V AC on each side of the back seats and an extension cord on a retractable reel in the cargo area. I am also contemplating wiring in another auxiliary fuse box (taken from the Disco I just cut up) under the hood in the future for all the different lights and other accessories.

I have all of these parts bought and waiting to be installed but with the extra time this steering column modification has added, I am not sure how many of the added power outlets will be able to be wired in, but I am putting in the auxiliary fuse box so that they will be able to be wired in whenever I have time.

Thank you for your advice it is always appreciated.

Have a good one.
Jon

 

[rrclassicbt550]

Do not try this at home ladies and gentlemen...seriously, please don't!

Hello everyone,

So the progress as it stands is moving forward but it is one of those projects where it is one step forward and two steps backward.

After some inspecting, test fitting, and thinking, I found that the easiest solution (in my case) would be to fabricate a new piece of the firewall out of 14ga and then weld that in. So the following pictures are of the making of that panel, the fitment issues, the removal of the original stamped steel mount, the test fitting of the new stamp steel mount, and the sections that were...uhh..."gently" removed from the Disco (Disco lovers may want to look away when those picture come up).

While I was taking apart this Disco though I was noticing that it was completely stocked with everything short of a dual battery system. It is kind of sad why this one got retired and sentenced to the scrap heap though. A great many of its parts are going to be recycled into/onto other rovers though so it is not a total loss. I managed to get the rock sliders, frame sliders, steering stabilizer, Bilstien shocks (rear are 14" travel remote reservoir), front and rear heavy duty springs, progressive bump stomps, and sway bars w/ mounts for $600. I am really thinking hard about the axles and snorkel though....any advice on pricing?

The axles (which you can kind of see the front one in the pictures of the Discovery) have safari guard diff guards and ARB lockers (the front axle has a uprated steering arm too). The snorkel is a Safari Snorkel with the ram air head. I didn't see any of the under the hood bits for the snorkel though. I know the snorkel won't fit my RRC but I have a plastic welder, pretty good fabrication skills, and a lot of persistence so I think I could make it work.
Money is super tight after all the purchases I have made but I am wondering if it would be better to spend a little now to save a lot later. So what do you think? What should I offer him for the axles and/or the snorkel? He is a very reasonable guy.

 

[rrclassicbt550]

If you are wondering why I had to cut the Disco up so much; it is because I needed the support mounts for the steering column and those areas are where all of the steering support mounts are.
It is much less complicated to cut out the firewall and bring home those two bits and then cut/drill out all the supports where it is dry, warm-ish, I have all of my tools, I can recharge batteries, and have the pieces on my workbench instead of standing on my head in a Disco that is parking lot while it is its raining (thankfully the rain held off until I had literally just finished loading everything into my truck).

 

[repete]

I have a few questions. With your sunroof conversion. Did you find that a glass roof would not fit in the 88's framework, or did you just find a complete roof and decide it was easier to swap the whole thing? I'd like to take the glass one out of my 93 LWB and put it in my 90 SWB.

You mentioned finding a heated windshield from a newer rangie. My 88 had a heated one, so I'm guessing that someone replaced yours with a non heated one. The last one I replaceed cost my insurance 1700.00!!!!
I was also told from the glass shop that 1988 and earlier models were a few mm's smaller than 1989 and newer windshields. I have a hard time believing it, but it might be worth looking into.

I would not be worried about the amp load from your fans. You want to run 2 winches, I assume you will also run 2 batteries. The little power from that fan wont effect a large power bank like that. I have ran most my rovers for years with only the dual factory electric fans with no problems. Even in NC.!

Good luck with your project.

 

[rrclassicbt550]

I have a few questions. With your sunroof conversion. Did you find that a glass roof would not fit in the 88's framework, or did you just find a complete roof and decide it was easier to swap the whole thing? I'd like to take the glass one out of my 93 LWB and put it in my 90 SWB.

You mentioned finding a heated windshield from a newer rangie. My 88 had a heated one, so I'm guessing that someone replaced yours with a non heated one. The last one I replaceed cost my insurance 1700.00!!!!
I was also told from the glass shop that 1988 and earlier models were a few mm's smaller than 1989 and newer windshields. I have a hard time believing it, but it might be worth looking into.

I would not be worried about the amp load from your fans. You want to run 2 winches, I assume you will also run 2 batteries. The little power from that fan wont effect a large power bank like that. I have ran most my rovers for years with only the dual factory electric fans with no problems. Even in NC.!

Good luck with your project.

Well the sunroof in an 88' has a smaller hole and has different supports that are "pop riveted" in at different locations and are no where near as strong. Whereas the glass moonroof models (mine is from a 93' SWB) have a much larger hole and the supports are much stronger and are "bolted" (I pop riveted and bolted mine in) to the main structure of the Rover. So what I did was to find a 93' SWB and then took all of the necessary parts off of it.
I do not believe a LWB will work for a SWB because the roof and headliner are longer, but if you found a SWB roof and headliner I bet the structural supports and moonroof assembly will swap over from a LWB.

In short, you need a whole roof from a SWB which is pretty easy to remove because it is held on by a screw every six inches and a thick bead of silicon all the way around. The moonroof assembly itself. The structural supports. As well as the pigtail for the electrical connection (they changed connectors in later models).

Its not to much harder than just straight bolt on, but it is going to need a few tools, some ingenuity, patience, and a whole lot of persistence. Oh and a friend to help take the roofs on and off because it REALLY is not fun to move one by yourself, trust me.


Hmm... that is worth looking into. Mine is a very early 88' so maybe it was an option they either didn't have at that time or the original buyer never specified. I don't have the wiring for a heated windshield or a switch for it so I doubt it was changed later. However, I would love to know what the wiring harness for a heated windshield looks like and whats included because now would be the optimum time to wire it in. If you or anyone else can chime in and help me out on that one I would really appreciate the help. Because I would really love to be able to have that option as we are headed back into winter.

You are right, I am going to be running dual yellow top optima's with the IBS dual battery management system. I figured between the dual electric fans and all the added accessories I am putting in, that it would be a good a idea to have dual batteries for self-preservation out in the middle of no where.
I am glad to hear that yours are running well and you haven't had any issues. Makes feel a little more secure running them.

 

[repete]

Hmm. That's a bummer that the sunroof won't work. However the rover I want to put this one into is a 1990. Probably the same as the 88.

The heated w/s uses a signal from the oil pressure logic unit to turn on. That way if your engine isn't running, the w/s heat wont drain your batt.

 

[repete]

Ok I talked to my Novus dealer and had him run some part #'s.
In 1988 the "block size opening" was 25"x63". 1989 on up, was 25.7x63".
He claims that 1988 never offered a heated version. With that being said, I'm sure my 88 had a heated w/s, but it's been years now that I sold it.

 

[rrclassicbt550]

Status update...

Hello everyone,

As it seems to be the way in recent history with me, delays are becoming common place, I had to have surgery on my finger last week because I accidentally got it smashed in the hinge of a truck canopy a couple of months ago and it was not healing properly. So I am ditching the time lines and just planning on get the Rover done as and when I can.

The current state of the Rover doesn't sound like it has progressed very far but a it has taken a large amount of work to get it to its current state. I will admit that I have been bouncing around between the steering column mods, the drawer system, and the recent addition to the modifications list...an on-board filtered & powered water system. I will wait to post the drawer system and the water system though, so that this thread will not become anymore disorganized than it already is. I am taking pics all throughout those mods as well so you won't miss out on anything...I will just post them later on.
Anyway back to the current state of things, the lower firewall modifications for the pedal assembly are all finished up and final welded into position. The pedal assembly could actuallybe bolted straight in now except for two things: first, it gets in the way of the test fitting/welding of the rest of the upper firewall mods for the steering column; and second, there are slight differences between the throttle pedal linkages of the 88' RRC and the 96" Disco. These slight differences mean yet more little modifications still need doing and therefore you will have to wait for the picture of it all nicely bolted in and hooked up until later when the upper firewall mods are done as well.

They say "a picture is worth a thousand words" and to be honest typing this many words with a bandaged hand isn't all that much fun so how about I post a ton of pics in lieu of typing an extra thousand words....

As always though, if you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Have a good one.
Jonathan

 

[rrclassicbt550]

 

[rrclassicbt550]

 

[rrclassicbt550]

Interesting fact for your Range Rover Classic owners that may be looking for a little more complete sound deadening. The floor of the Disco is very very similar to the RRC. As you can see in the pictures, I decided to play around and see if a Discovery sound deadening mat would fit in an Range Rover Classic. The answer is....about 85% yes, if you have a pocket knife then yes it will absolutely fit.