rrclassicbt550
Farmer Jon
Replacing Vent Door Foam/Cleaning/Re-assembly
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The Rolling Restoration & Customization Of My 88' Range Rover Classic
- Thread starter rrclassicbt550
- Start date
rrclassicbt550
Farmer Jon
Replacing Vent Door Foam/Cleaning/Re-assembly
Last edited:
rrclassicbt550
Farmer Jon
Replacing Vent Door Foam/Cleaning/Re-assembly
rrclassicbt550
Farmer Jon
Busy, Busy, Busy! I am so close to having it back together! I have been working on the Rover nearly round the clock for the last three weeks to get it done. I didn't quite make the end of the month but I am about a hard day away or a couple easier days away from having it back together. I am really worried about the motor firing and being dependable....its been like seven months now since I last started it and in my experience the worst thing to do with a British vehicle is let it sit unused for long periods of time.
So if anyone has any advice on things to do or check before or after start up/test drive PLEASE let me know. It ran perfectly when I started all of this those many months ago and I would rather try to not mess up something unnecessarily. I am out of time and very nearly out of money to put into the Rover for awhile, so I am REALLY trying to avoid motor or transmission problems right now. I am doing a tune up on the motor (oil, oil filter, plugs, plug wires, rotor, distributor cap, air filter, and cleaning the air intake plenum) and a fluid & filter change on the transmission, as well as a fluid change of the the transfer case and diffs too. Is there anything else I should do to help keep from having problems with the drivetrain?
So if anyone has any advice on things to do or check before or after start up/test drive PLEASE let me know. It ran perfectly when I started all of this those many months ago and I would rather try to not mess up something unnecessarily. I am out of time and very nearly out of money to put into the Rover for awhile, so I am REALLY trying to avoid motor or transmission problems right now. I am doing a tune up on the motor (oil, oil filter, plugs, plug wires, rotor, distributor cap, air filter, and cleaning the air intake plenum) and a fluid & filter change on the transmission, as well as a fluid change of the the transfer case and diffs too. Is there anything else I should do to help keep from having problems with the drivetrain?
rrclassicbt550
Farmer Jon
I know I usually post pictures when I update this thread so......
Here are the pictures of the engine bay fuse panel being cleaned up, bead blasted, and repainted.
Here are the pictures of the engine bay fuse panel being cleaned up, bead blasted, and repainted.
rrclassicbt550
Farmer Jon
Then when I was re-installing the fuse panel I found another issue which turned out to be annoying, time consuming, and EXPENSIVE. No good job goes unpunished right? lol Oh well, there are highs and lows with everything right?
The problem I found was that the Brake proportioning valve had apparently passed its serviceable life and had been leaking, which caused the paint around there to start coming off. As I was scraping off the dead paint/rust....I found that the passenger side body mount was where most of the brake fluid had gone to rest. Upon closer inspection I also found that the drain tube for the air conditioner came out right above the body mount. With all of these unhappy factors teaming up to rust my body mount I decided I couldn't just leave it be so I cleaned it up as best I could, covered it in seam sealer, and painted it. I know its not the perfect fix but someday when I do the redo the engine, I will redo all of the engine bay. For now though it should slow down any rust that is there and protect against rust in the future.
As far as the expensive bit...the brake proportioning valve was around $150. For something so small....I haven't felt a sting to my wallet like that since I purchased a new throttle position sensor for $150. lol Oh well...one less part to worry about failing off-road and besides "stopping" is VERY IMPORTANT to me. I still have to install it, so the old one is still in place in the pictures.
Here are the pictures...
The problem I found was that the Brake proportioning valve had apparently passed its serviceable life and had been leaking, which caused the paint around there to start coming off. As I was scraping off the dead paint/rust....I found that the passenger side body mount was where most of the brake fluid had gone to rest. Upon closer inspection I also found that the drain tube for the air conditioner came out right above the body mount. With all of these unhappy factors teaming up to rust my body mount I decided I couldn't just leave it be so I cleaned it up as best I could, covered it in seam sealer, and painted it. I know its not the perfect fix but someday when I do the redo the engine, I will redo all of the engine bay. For now though it should slow down any rust that is there and protect against rust in the future.
As far as the expensive bit...the brake proportioning valve was around $150. For something so small....I haven't felt a sting to my wallet like that since I purchased a new throttle position sensor for $150. lol Oh well...one less part to worry about failing off-road and besides "stopping" is VERY IMPORTANT to me. I still have to install it, so the old one is still in place in the pictures.
Here are the pictures...
rrclassicbt550
Farmer Jon
Here is another repair that I am trying out....
At the beginning of this round of things I have done I found that water was coming in through fresh air vent. Along with replacing all the foam in the heater box assembly, I thought i would try using a new product called Sugru which is a formable air curing rubber that will stick to almost anything. I used it to form ridge/barrier underneath the fresh air intake opening. Eventually I would like to make a snorkel which attach and seal this hole so I won't have to worry about water coming in and causing problems. This fix with the Sugru should work well, will hold up for a long time, and was very easy to do.
At the beginning of this round of things I have done I found that water was coming in through fresh air vent. Along with replacing all the foam in the heater box assembly, I thought i would try using a new product called Sugru which is a formable air curing rubber that will stick to almost anything. I used it to form ridge/barrier underneath the fresh air intake opening. Eventually I would like to make a snorkel which attach and seal this hole so I won't have to worry about water coming in and causing problems. This fix with the Sugru should work well, will hold up for a long time, and was very easy to do.
rrclassicbt550
Farmer Jon
The main thing I have been spending many hours pouring over is the wiring harness. I have been inspecting, UNTANGLING, making sense of, organizing, and putting split loom wire shielding on the wiring harness. I have also run all new 12ga speaker wire, wires for other modifications, wires future modifications, and a few spare wires for just in case moments. The stereos wiring harness was...well pretty much done for (it had at least 10 knicks and cuts plus a ton of hard kinks). I have been having quite a few issues with it before all of this so I re-made that part of the wiring harness too.
I still have to wire in the new steering column, do final placement on all of the relays (because I still have to route the duct work through it all), find a new place for the interia switch (because lowering the seat means there isn't room for it anymore), change the power seat connector on the passenger side, and wire in the a different hazard light switch (because the later models had the hazard switch in the dash, not the column).
Here are some pics of the wiring harness along the way...
I still have to wire in the new steering column, do final placement on all of the relays (because I still have to route the duct work through it all), find a new place for the interia switch (because lowering the seat means there isn't room for it anymore), change the power seat connector on the passenger side, and wire in the a different hazard light switch (because the later models had the hazard switch in the dash, not the column).
Here are some pics of the wiring harness along the way...
rrclassicbt550
Farmer Jon
Here is the wiring of underneath the front seats. Some are before pictures and the rest are after pictures.
rrclassicbt550
Farmer Jon
As i continue to look for a good classic I will be sure to print this thread and keep it as a scrap book. Very nice work I cant wait to see it finished.
colvere,
Thank you for the wonderful compliment! Please, keep checking back because I have a many more updates still to post. I just need to finish taking the "final install" pictures.
Such an amazingly epic thread and restoration!! Want to sell it when it's done?
jdholder,
Thank you very much I really appreciate it! Lol...hmm sell it...I have a WHOLE LOT of money into it and easily 1200 hours of my time into it too. You might say I am kind of attached to it.
I really don't think I could ever sell it. However, if you are in the market for a really nice Range Rover Classic, my brother is thinking of selling his Classic, which has had quite a bit of my time, his time, and the Rover garages time invested into it. I would really like to see it go to a good home because it will be a very good Rover to someone who can appreciate it. It has had so much done on it that there is not much else that could be done to it. We have worked very hard on it to get into its current condition. He has over $12k into it right now and there is at least 200-300 hours of his and my time into it. Here is a picture of it if you or anyone else is interested. I am not quite sure about the price but if someone is interested in what all has been done, feel free to ask. As for the price, I will have to ask him.
Sorry its the only picture I have of it at the moment.
craig,
I am glad to know you like it and I thank you for the shining review! Your compliments are very much appreciated!
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rrclassicbt550
Farmer Jon
Status update...
Hello everyone,
I am sorry for the long absence again. Its been another extremely busy month in which many things have happened so to keep things short and sweet I will skip to the highlights. My girlfriend has returned from her deployment, we adopted a puppy (our second dog) from a rescue facility, and I have made some more progress on the Rover. Its a little frustrating to not have the thing done yet when I am so close to being finished, but due to the busy schedule I haven't had very much time to work on it. I have still made some progress and I was finally able to take some more pictures. Sooo....there will be another BIG update with many pictures. I hope you will all like it.
Hello everyone,
I am sorry for the long absence again. Its been another extremely busy month in which many things have happened so to keep things short and sweet I will skip to the highlights. My girlfriend has returned from her deployment, we adopted a puppy (our second dog) from a rescue facility, and I have made some more progress on the Rover. Its a little frustrating to not have the thing done yet when I am so close to being finished, but due to the busy schedule I haven't had very much time to work on it. I have still made some progress and I was finally able to take some more pictures. Sooo....there will be another BIG update with many pictures. I hope you will all like it.
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DoKarider16
Observer
Looking at the shots of that wiring harness are what my nightmares are made of. You are a brave and thorough man! Beautiful work. I am just out in White Salmon, WA. It would be great to get to see this rig in person some day.
Another Craig from WA
Another Craig from WA