Yet another 109 build Thread

[Alaska Mike]

I gotta say, every time I'm over at aka rover's house I see something else I want to copy.

 

[repete]

They sure look good together!

 

[rustyjames]

Wow!! Thats a great looking 109 Ed.

 

[aka rover]

Thanks guys here is a few more pics of how its looking now! I have installed a 12 gal water tank under body in the side mount fuel tank location. I installed my battery under body as well and have done a ton of other items to get ready for the MAYA end of the world trip.

the webasto airtop 2000 will cook you out ! We have stickered it up for the trip for fun my GF loves decals so we have been having fun with them and will collect more as we go. Nice thing is they come off real easy for the clean look after we return from our trip. Kathryn has done most of the interior work includeing the color combos :sombrero:. It has been a fun build and we are looking forward to the 15k mile journey we have planned.
I built a propane tank mount so we didnt have to use a bunch of those little 1 pound bottles.

We have a TON! more work to do but it feels good to be so close and to see things come togather over a years time, the roof rack and drive train upgrades are next.

Cheers Ed

 

[aka rover]

And here is some ROAM OFFROAD axles along with a set of 4.75 gears and a detroit locker to give the Rover the strength it needs for its future journeys:sombrero:

I have to say after driving this rover and comparing it to my other series rovers the power of the OM617 is far better than the best running 2.25 I have been around and the stopping power of the ROAM OFFROAD disc brakes is far better than I could have imagined.

I will keep the updates comming over the next few weeks as our journey starts NOV. 10th :smiley_drive:

 

[Alaska Mike]

Remind me to give you the ExPo stickers next time I'm at the house. I stuck them in the box with the vent seals I just got in.

 

[aka rover]

Thanks Mike I got them on this afternoon, Kathryn got the curtains made as well as finished packing all the cook ware etc. We are getting close to being ready for the trip to Mexico.

We have been busy and will post up some pics in the next few days.

Cheers Ed

 

[aka rover]

I determined I needed steps to be able to access a roof rack and what better way to do this that a pair of rock sliders! So this afternoon I called the guys down at Steel Fab one of the local steel suppliers and had them cut me a 12 ft stick of 2x3 rectangle tubing and a few sticks of angle flat bar needed to build the brackets and mounts to hang the sliders.

117.00 dollors latter and 4 hours I have a set of sliders ready for install. I have cut all mounts and pre cut the brackets and painted everything but the rear of the sliders where I will weld on the mounts.

I will take a few pics tomorrow afternoon when they are on the rover, I also am getting ready to install a roof rack from a 110 that will need some leg extensions to clear the series roof.

I am getting close departing for the Maya End of the World rally, we leave on Nov. 10th and plan to travel around the PNW untill we need to head towards the boarder. I will take a few more photos of the rest of the Rig in a few days, it is really starting to become the vision I had almost a year ago when this Rover was drug into the garage.

So the cut out on one of the sliders is for my Tail pipe which comes out the side, I was going to move the tail pipe but due to time constraints I just notched the slider for now. And besides this isnt a rock crawler and most likely wont need a slider but just in case they are there and the tailpipe is still pretty tucked up out of the way. I may put a gaurd or skid under the tailpipe to protect it, but thats for another day.

 

[aka rover]

The roof top tent came in today so I will be getting the roof rack on soon. I wasen't going to do a RTT but with my 17 year old son flying in to mexico to meet us for the MAYA rally we will need the extra space. Plus it will be nice in the warmer climate to be in the open air listening to the ocean etc.

I took the Rover on its first 100 mile run and ran the heck out of it, faster than I will be going most of the time. I ran it up to 75 and held 70 for a while ran it hard up the hills and pulled 17 miles per gallon. When I slow down to 58-62 MPH the EGTs drop to around 600 and the motor settles in for a relaxing cruise. I think around 55-60 I can pull around 20 MPG, but only time will tell.

I am really pleased with the performance of the om617 it really moves this thing along better than I thought, The disc brakes are better than I could have expected I can bring this thing to a stop way faster than I could have hoped for, they really brings this thing into the 20th century. With the addition of the power steering close ratio 4spd it allmost makes you forget your in a series truck.. untill you get to 60 MPH and you get the road noise and drivetrain sound coming up through the chassis that you just cant get rid of in a series truck.

PICS to come.

Ed

 

[Series1Rangie]

Sounds like success!

 

[Snagger]

I took the Rover on its first 100 mile run and ran the heck out of it, faster than I will be going most of the time. I ran it up to 75 and held 70 for a while ran it hard up the hills and pulled 17 miles per gallon. When I slow down to 58-62 MPH the EGTs drop to around 600 and the motor settles in for a relaxing cruise. I think around 55-60 I can pull around 20 MPG, but only time will tell.

I am really pleased with the performance of the om617 it really moves this thing along better than I thought, The disc brakes are better than I could have expected I can bring this thing to a stop way faster than I could have hoped for, they really brings this thing into the 20th century. With the addition of the power steering close ratio 4spd it allmost makes you forget your in a series truck.. untill you get to 60 MPH and you get the road noise and drivetrain sound coming up through the chassis that you just cant get rid of in a series truck.

Ed

The whole project is looking great. I have always fancied the idea of a roof tent, but with a family of four, I'd need two 1.4m tenst, and that'd be a hell of a weight and would eliminate all stroage capacity of my rack for camping chairs, tables, clothes bags and so on. I saw it done on a 110SW that did the alps trip with us, which with three kids on the second row, left them just the back of the interior to pack all their kit and a small one man tent of the eldest kid. It was a very heavy vehicle. Once the kids are older, I might go for a Magiolina or Columbus type, though, as I'll be able to remove the rear seats and use the whole interior for storage, or (more likely) I'll fit interior sleeping arrangements.

I know what you mean about the road and transmission noise of a Series vehicle being hard to eradicate. I'm a bit surprised by your figures, though. Just by way of comparison (and meant entirely as food for thought before others make conversions, not as a peeing contest), my 109 managed 27mpg at 60mph with a 200Tdi engine and completely standard transmission and axles witht he addition of an overdrive. It managed a touch over 80mph balls out, but the noise increased rapidly over 60 mph and became very uncomfortable above 65 - 60 was a good cruising speed. However, fitting the Defender axles has raised mpg to 30, and raised the comfortable cruising speed to 75mph, albeit at the cost of the previously excellent (for a LR) acceleration; it now accelerates like a standard unladen 2.25 petrol 88" because 3.54 diffs are a bit too tall. 4.1 diffs would have been ideal with the overdrive, I think.

The disc brakes (Discovery I system) give a reduced brake pedal force requirement, but don't seem to help with braking distances over the the origninal dual circuit drums. They will be much easier to maintain, though, and will be less of a concern on long, winding mountain descents with their better cooling capacity. I haven't changed the steering system other than extending the drag link for the longer axles, but the steering lock is greatly improved and I won't get any steering kick from the swivels in 4wd because of the CV joints.

 

[aka rover]

Wow thats great 30 mpg!

I will would happy with a consistant 20mpg, but only time will tell I plan to keep very close watch on the MPGs and have a log book to keep track of all expenses on the journey.

Im thinking that 4,10 would be a good ratio for my rig as well, but it is nice to have the power with the laden Rover.

Ed

 

[Snagger]

Yep, and that's a combined cycle (urban as well as open road), lots of junctions and so on, with the big roof rack and all those lights acting like a braking chute! But that's using Imperial, not US gallons... (an odditity where a US item is smaller! )

 

[ShearPin]

Awesome and inspiring build. I don't usually make this type of post, but, given the frequency with which I have checked the progress of your build I figured I owed you something . Keep the photos coming..

Henry

 

[aka rover]

Thanks Henry

Its that kinda post that keeps me modivated to keep going on it! I will get some more picks up in the next few days.


Cheers Ed