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

[rrclassicbt550]

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.

Thank you very much for looking into that for me. It's sucks that I won't be able to have a heated windscreen in my 88' RRC but at least I found out beforehand. You saved me a lot of time and a lot of money. Thank you very much for your help and advice! I genuinely appreciate it!

 

[rrclassicbt550]

Steering Column test fit....

The doctor cleared me to use my hand again a little over a week ago and since then I have been trying to get some work done on the rover. I finally got the steering column in for its first real test fitment and other than a few things needing to be moved around a bit and trimmed a little, it all seems to fit very well. I am over 6' 2" nearer to 6' 3" actually and with the seat now lowered 3 inches it is an extremely comfortable seating position. I might even go as far as to say that seat might even be a little low for someone my height (which is not something often said about a Classic by someone over 6' tall). Hopefully I will be able to get some time to work on it a little bit more and get those last four pieces for the steering column welded in later this week. For now, here are some pictures of the test fit...

 

[zenithj]

That is really taking shape. I want to sit in it to see how it feels. I am envious.

 

[Series1Rangie]

I am over 6' 2" nearer to 6' 3" actually and with the seat now lowered 3 inches it is an extremely comfortable seating position. I might even go as far as to say that seat might even be a little low for someone my height (which is not something often said about a Classic by someone over 6' tall).

Its amazing how big that hood gets when you lower the seat. Its easy to go to far, w/o realizing it.

Looking good... How do the back seats feel?

Mike and Myles

 

[rrclassicbt550]

That is really taking shape. I want to sit in it to see how it feels. I am envious.

Thank you! Once it is back together I will definitely bring it by Green Oval so you can check it out.

 

[rrclassicbt550]

Its amazing how big that hood gets when you lower the seat. Its easy to go to far, w/o realizing it.

Looking good... How do the back seats feel?

Mike and Myles

Yeah your definitely right about that. I think two inches would have been just fine for someone my height. Three inches would be great for someone that is 6' 4" to 6' 7". That being said though all I have to do is bump the seat switch up if I want to be a little higher and my brother who is 6' 5" can bump it back down if he wants to be lower. Its is definitely nice to have the choice of being a little too low after driving for three years with the seat being way too high.
The whole feeling of the vehicle has changed now. I am sitting down in it, instead of feeling like I am perched on top of it. I am really looking forward to the first drive.

The back seats feel very comfortable, almost more comfortable than the front seats. The head room is similar, but just a little bit better than the stock seating position of the front seats. My head is close to the headliner but much MUCH better than the seating position of the original back seats and with quite a bit more leg room too I might add.
The only down side is that by lowering the drivers side front seat three inches, it kind of closed off the rear foot room when the driver seat is sitting further back. The bottom of the drivers seat is only about an inch and a half off of the floor which isn't enough for the rear passenger to put their feet underneath. So when someone sits behind the driver, the seat needs to be adjusted a little bit to make room for their feet. Other than that little snag, I really like it. Especially because it sacrifices very little storage space and since the seat back now detach, I can still have a sleeping platform in there.

 

[rrclassicbt550]

Status Update...

All of the steering columns structural pieces have been final fit and final welded. Now the only thing left having to do with the steering column modification is to make the late model wiring harness of the steering column work with the earlier model wiring harness of the RRC, which is something I will have to do when I put the interior back in.

I have also done a couple other modifications to the interior of the Rover while I was doing all the welding for the column. I will post the write ups and pictures for those mods once I put the interior back in and get the final install pics of them.

Right now the current status is….I have sanded down the entire interior (including the whole inside of the roof, all of the pillars, all four doors, and the lower tailgate) and I am getting ready to prime and seam seal the interior. Then I will move on to spraying in the LizardSkin Sound Control and the LizardSkin Ceramic insulation. After all that is done I will finally be able to put the interior back in and get down to the wiring.

Here are the pictures of the final fitment and final weld in of the steering column structural pieces.

If you have any questions, advice, or comments, please feel free to ask they are always appreciated.

Thanks for hanging in there with me and staying tuned to this thread.

Have a good one!
Jon

 

[Snagger]

Given the complexity of the other work you're doing, I can't see why you can't fit e later heated screen. They're bonded to the frame lip rather than held in by a seal, just like the Discoverys' screen. If the lip on your body shell isn't compatible, I'm sure you could alter or replace it simply enough. As for the electrical side of it, an illuminated switch with a big timer relay (or timer relay controlling a big relay) and some 60A wiring would be all you need. Don't be defeatist!

 

[Funrover]

WOW, Just Wow! I am going to follow this one.

 

[rrclassicbt550]

Quick status update...

Alright the interior is primed and ready to go for the LizardSkin. I have a really busy schedule this week so hopefully I will be able to to get the LizardSkin in sometime in the next few days. I will post pics of that when its all sprayed in. For now though here are the pics of the primed interior.

However, when I went to go buy the primer, they did have enough of the type of primer I needed but just not all in the same color. So the interior is primed in the same type of primer but is two different colors. Thankfully, thats where the LizardSkin comes in...

Thanks again for staying tuned to this thread.

Have a good one!
Jon

 

[rrclassicbt550]

Now you have me thinking about it again....you do have a point. I am gonna have to check into that a little more, because there is room for the late model windshield to over hang that extra .7 of an inch and i could modify the surrounding frame fairly easily. I know they are bonded on but they do still have a gasket and I am just not sure how the the late model gasket will fit with the cowl/scuttle panel. I guess thats my only real unknown now...is whether the newer windshield and gasket will fit with the older cowl/scuttle panel.

It will have to wait until another time though. I have to have the Rover back together and running by the end of the month. So many of the mods and stuff that I had planned will now become weekend jobs for whenever they fit in to my increasingly busy schedule. Right now I am just going to be focusing on getting it back together. Once it is back together then I will worry about the extra mods if there is time.

Thank you for the wiring information, very interesting and useful. Although I will have to think about this mod for a while longer before possibly choosing to do it.

Given the complexity of the other work you're doing, I can't see why you can't fit e later heated screen. They're bonded to the frame lip rather than held in by a seal, just like the Discoverys' screen. If the lip on your body shell isn't compatible, I'm sure you could alter or replace it simply enough. As for the electrical side of it, an illuminated switch with a big timer relay (or timer relay controlling a big relay) and some 60A wiring would be all you need. Don't be defeatist!

 

[rrclassicbt550]

Thanks! I am glad to hear it. Hopefully you will enjoy the future posts.

WOW, Just Wow! I am going to follow this one.

 

[rrclassicbt550]

Forgot there was one more thing to do before the LizardSkin can go in...

Forgot there was one more thing to do before the LizardSkin can go in...the seam sealer. So thats what I did tonight. Here are the pictures...

Have a good one.
Jon

 

[Snagger]

I'm pretty sure there is no difference between the scuttle panels of any RRCs other than the bonnet hinge apertures on the early ones. The "gasket" is just a piece of cosmetic rubber trim that is self adhesively bonded over the glass edge to help reduce wind noise over panel gaps, the bottom edge of which sits over the back edge of the scuttle panel. When my screen was replaced, the trim was misaligned and left a 6" long, 1/8" gap along the left end of the scuttle joint. It didn't do any harm other than look untidy, and was remedied with the next screen replacement.

 

[rrclassicbt550]

You have definitely got me thinking about doing that mod...I am having the new windscreen professionally put in so it wouldn't be difficult to just order a later model windscreen and gasket. I am on a super tight schedule at this point though so I can't plan on the later model windscreen being fitted unless the modifications are fairly quick. What do you think all of the modifications would be?

I'm pretty sure there is no difference between the scuttle panels of any RRCs other than the bonnet hinge apertures on the early ones. The "gasket" is just a piece of cosmetic rubber trim that is self adhesively bonded over the glass edge to help reduce wind noise over panel gaps, the bottom edge of which sits over the back edge of the scuttle panel. When my screen was replaced, the trim was misaligned and left a 6" long, 1/8" gap along the left end of the scuttle joint. It didn't do any harm other than look untidy, and was remedied with the next screen replacement.