A Landy is reborn

[tractorman]

I've got the alternator in place, though there is severely limited space between it and the exhaust manifold. I'm hoping that an aluminium heat shield will be adequate to stop the alternator frying! I did have a look at the Marelli one, which is shorter, but the nut holding the (double) pulley on won't move and the through bolts and nuts are of similar fashion, so it's a job for a really boring day! Thinking of bolts: I nearly bought a few M8x25 bolts the other day, but couldn't remember why I wanted them, so saved my money - I remember now! Another job that needs doing is to sort the engine mounting brackets - they are even worse than they look: the one in the picture is only held to the rubber by 2/3 of a hole!



I threw some more cash into the blown budget and bought a proper S3 brake pedal mount, servo and new master cylinder (all in one lot) and have spent a happy hour or several cleaning them up and getting them painted and ready to fit. I had a bit of a session with some primer and a brush on the bulkhead and the "parcel shelf" (the plate that covers the heater duct in the lower dash), but the lower dash needs some repairing:



The next job is to make a new cover-come lower bulkhead over the gearbox/clutch housing. I don't know why the "conversion expert" cut the bulkhead back: all the bolts are visible and there's nothing fouling the bulkhead - except the clutch hose. The only thing I can think of is the induction hose to the turbo - the turbo's inlet points back from the engine and wasn't exactly easy to remove. I suspect putting it back on will be a real pain!



Once the cover is sorted, I might get on with the next major job and sort the cooling system out! Apart from not knowing how old the (weak) anti-freeze is, there are some iffy-looking hoses; the heater needs to be rubbed down and painted; it needs a new radiator fan switch and a new temperature sensor and I'm not too happy about the radiator mounting (a piece of heavy angle iron). Of course, removing the radiator is a simple job of taking one more bit off:

[JPB]

These ACRs don't like being that close to an exhaust manifold, the regulator is just under the vents in the end cover and that's the nearest part of the alternator to the manifold in your image. When Reliant brought in their 4 into 1 tubular exhaust manifold a few decades too late, in 1997, it wasn't about the extra 4bhp or the nicer noise, it was because finally, after 20 years of it being the norm they'd acknowledged that the regulator would inevitably fail as a result of being baked by the original, cast iron manifold's more forward placement of the downpipe - this usually happening at around 8,000 to 10,000 miles from new - the irony there being that by then, they'd also switched from ACR types to the later A127 bodies which were shorter by just enough to save the innards.

Over the years, many owners tried fitting heat shields but at that sort of distance from the mnanifold, all that would achieve would be to radiate much more heat in the direction of the regulator and that's before the annoying "WTF is that?" rattles started.
Run it for now, but expect to see an overcharge on the voltmeter accompanied by the smell of battery overspill at some arbitrary point in the near future. It will give you long enough to seek an alternative. Probably.

[kstrutt1]

The ACR on my lotus is close tot he front branch of the exhaust and I have not ahd problems with the regulator (appart from when I connected the batery the wrong way round a few years ago), the wiring insulation did sufer though and go very brittleand crack , the plastic multi plug also did much the same, it now has new wiring and heat protection. I think you could be Ok though diesels generaly have much cooler exhausts then petrol engines and landies have more space around the engine which means more cool air blowing around.

[tractorman]

The photo is slightly misleading, though I do reckon the alternator is too close (for the reasons John said). Mind you, Kevin's experience gives me a bit more confidence and, as the Landy won't be a racing machine, the temperature may never get really hot (unlike the tractors when they get worked properly!)

This picture makes things look a lot better:



I can just get my fingers between the alternator and the manifold at the narrowest point. Of course, it's just about the hottest part of the manifold, after the turbo and just before the downpipe (note the lock nut on the stud as the Halfords M8 tap is slightly over 8mm).

I had hoped to be able to put a longer fan belt on and lift the alternator up a bit more. There is a snag though: the fan belt is pretty close to the pipe that goes above the water pump (that I won't be using after I've sorted the cooling mods). The other answer is to replace the 25mm angle iron brackets for some 40mm stuff and move the alternator away from the engine. I think that would look a bit daft though, so I'll either get the old one modified to RH (it looks as if it should "turn" like the Lucas one - as John suggested earlier) or see if I can get something a little more compact at a sensible price. I suppose, in real terms, a new alternator is a lot cheaper these days - I remember Father getting one for his Maxi in the early 80's and it was quite expensive!

Nothing done today - apart from cutting the back hedge! I doubt tomorrow will be better either: I have to go shopping and mow the lawn. I might remember to get some M8 x 25 bolts though!

[Richard Moss]

A bit of lateral thinking but......is it possible to lengthen that adjustable bottom bracket and use a longer drive belt to lift the alternator a little further up? Or does the bonnet create a problem? Of course, then you might have to put that water hose through the middle of the belt but if it was good enough for a Costello MGB V8 it may be good enough for a Landrover.

Also, how about some exhaust wrap just around that area of the manifold close to the alternator?

[tractorman]

The longer adjuster was my intention, but the "pipe" on the water pump is too close: it runs parallel to the fan belt as the belt is at the moment. I suppose I could try a Sherpa water pump - I don't think it has the pipe on it. The pipe is a Montego thing to take the water from the thermostat to the other side of the engine without using long lengths of hose. It's a legacy from the 'O' series engine, where the thermostat is on the right of the block (ie the "back" of the engine in the Montego) and the radiator is at the "other side".

The idea of exhaust rap is something I had considered and, after thinking of your post, I remembered that I have some left-over Vermiculite sheet in the garage that may be suitable - I think it's about 10mm. Knowing my luck, the lad who fitted the stove in the sitting room will have got a non-waterproof version of it and it will blow like MDF when it gets wet!

I won't be using the connector block though - I reckon the "Flag" terminals are more like fuses than something that can carry a reasonable current! Whoever fitted the "original" alternator used crimp connectors and they seemed to do the job a lot better and took a bit of getting off. I'll use "non-insulated" crimps with plastic covers (though probably a mix of sleeves and heat-shrink in this application) and solder the cables to the connectors (which I do with all connectors!).

[tractorman]

Though some work has been done, there seems little sign of progress!

One advantage of having photos is that you see things that haven't registered properly when looking at them in "real life". The clutch slave cylinder is a prime example. If you go up three pictures or so, you may notice two nuts between the slave cylinder and the mounting bracket. I only "noticed" them when looking for reasons why the new bulkhead "extension" fouled the hose. I have no idea why the slave cylinder was held in by two M8 x 50mm bolts fitted upside down - the "spacer nuts" being locknuts to stop the bolts from falling down when fitting the cylinder. The way the bulkhead had been chopped made it incredibly easy to get at the slave cylinder, so it was a simple matter of changing the bolts for two 5/16 x1" ones! Result: the hose now clears the covers etc without problems!





It looks as if the floor and seat box have been fitted, but no: the photo is showing test fitting for the various covers for the transmission. Of course, it's a Land Rover: nothing fits! However, it is pretty well there now in spite of having been stripped off again this afternoon so that I could spray some etch primer about. The only fabricating needed is for a patch to cover the RH back corner of the bulkhead - I still haven't worked out why it was cut away, though fitting the induction hose onto the turbo wasn't exactly easy.

You may also spot the live battery cable in the bottom picture. Don't worry - this was before I adjusted the new panels!

I mentioned doing some housekeeping in arceye's Mini topic:



This is the office - note the Landy's instrument panel on the bench! Yes the two computers are fairly ancient (Nos 3 & 5). I spent the early hours this morning updating the desktop PC as it hasn't been switched on for a few months! 640-odd Mb of downloads in the first session, then three more sets of downloads to get it to close without finding more updates! The carpet looks better in the photos than it does in real life. I suspect more aggressive cleaning may be needed (and a decent mat over the carpet would be wise!). Note that it is only 2/3 of the office: there's a lot of clutter to the left of the photo!

The "new" dashboard top is in the "workshop" too. It's a wet day job but the instrument panel took priority yesterday (the first really wet day for ages). It isn't as bad as I remembered it and I have some repair stuff (in the plastic box beside the paper towel in the last photo) that should make it look a bit better. It's certainly better than the large gash just beside the instruments on the original top!



Finally, the "new" brake pedal, mounting and servo have been rubbed down, treated and repainted. The master cylinder is brand new, so the brakes should be up to S3 standard. I still fancy trying the Defender servo on the "new" mounting, though I suspect it wont fit.



I have bought a new front propshaft as the splines were somewhat worn on the old one. I found the old-fashioned gaiter "clips" in a drawer and will take the jubilee clip off at the gearbox end and see if I can get the clip fitted properly. The clip should clear the back of the engine, the jubilee clip won't - I think that's what split the last gaiter! I want the propshaft fitted and the wiring harness (that I made up the other day) and battery leads clipped to the chassis before I make a proper job of fitting the floors etc. Then it's a simple matter of sorting the seat box and putting the "scuttle" back together.

And yes, I did buy some M8x25 bolts, so I can tidy up the alternator mountings later on. I have also ordered £100+ worth of wire, connectors, fuse boxes etc etc, so there's a chance I will get some wiring up done soon.

[arceye]

All coming along very nicely, I don't like the £100 budget for wiring products though , thats probably around a third of the minis emergency get as far as the MOT station budget. I'd better hope the wiring isn't too buggered on mine, else it will end up being chocolate boxes and some flex pulled out the house

I must say your "office" is tidier than mine, I try to keep the house nice enough seeing as the missus can't do it, but my lair is in a porch I built on the back of the house, that could be described as a midden by those unkind enough. Barely a space clear enough for my baccy tin and a glass of something to warm me.

Could you find any other reason for those nuts spacing the slave cylinder away, such as reducing the travel of the clutch arm when operated? Mind its a landrover and as such they do seem to throw up many strange acts perpetrated by previous owners.

Any idea of a completion date yet?

[tractorman]

I'm hoping the £100's worth of wiring will do a bit more than just the Landy - especially as I only ordered the necessary cable to sort the battery feed to various fuse boxes, switches and plumb in the alternator (and headlights!). I think I have plenty for the side lights and front indicators and may be able to ratch up enough for wipers and washers. I still have to check through the "Montego" wiring to pick out the stuff I need to work the heaters etc (the EGR won't work, even if I found the servo somewhere). That might be an epic: the rest of the wiring was!

I will have to rewire the big tractor sometime (the only things that work are start/charge and charge/oil pressure lights) and I get the odd job to do now and then (eg tow bars and friend's problematic machinery), so I tend to keep a stock of wire and terminals!

I doubt the full photo of the workshop would be as flattering - there's a pile of stuff on the "electronics" area - from tractor fuel gauges, model railway stuff, the extension cable I was making for a mini oven (I moved the oven instead!) and the usual junk that gets dropped in a convenient place. However, the Hoover is in the room at the moment - I intend to vacuum upstairs this week and had done the dining room this afternoon while the dog was in the garden!

I checked the piston on the clutch slave cylinder before I took the nuts off and there was plenty of space either side of it - there's also a bit of adjustment on the operating rod (it's about the only bit of S2 on the Landy!) and, after altering the bolts, the pedal seems to be much the same as it was, so I'm hopeful that all will be well. Whoever "restored" the Landy had a bulk stock of M8x50 setscrews - the things were everywhere, even if a self tapper would have done the job! I reckon I could have saved a couple of hours work if the bloke had used the right sized bolts and screws - that's just the time taken to get the nuts off long rusty bolts!

I am beginning to think it will be spring before I get near an MOT. that's partly because there are still a lot of time consuming jobs (like repairing the lower dash) and partly because I want the Golf in the garage when it gets colder and I can't do that with the Landy in the garage (I can't get out of the car with the Landy in the garage!), so it will have to swap "homes" with the little tractor until the weather gets warmer! That's the reason why I want the starting and charging circuits sorted in the next week or two! I also need to finish the sitting room and kitchen: I stopped work on them when the warm weather came in May and have to use a screwdriver to open two of the kitchen cupboards (another one opens by itself) and would like to have fronts on the drawers!

[tractorman]

Hmm, everyone else is posting today, so I will follow the crowd!

I haven't made as much progress as I had hoped for various good reasons, but one little job that seems to take ages is repairing the dashboard top:



The crimp tool is there for when I make a start on rewiring the instrument panel! The filler needs sanding again (that's the third lot of filler as it shrinks quite a lot) and then some paint and sealer (in the repair kit) and it should be done. I was going to make a start this morning, but the coalman called and that meant I had to go downstairs - so the garage was nearer than the "workshop"!

So, a short session with the drill, screws, pecking hammer and vice-grips and some swearing got the bulkhead repairs done and dusted - apart from a little black paint on the white primed bit:



There's even space around the clutch slave cylinder, so all is well! Or it should be well: the new n/s floor doesn't reach the mounting hole on the back "clutch" cover for some reason and, if I had made the spacer strip wider, I couldn't get the gearbox cover on. I'd guess they used a V8 as a template - certainly not an old S2A!

So, that took until lunchtime today and, after a very short walk with the aged dog, I had lunch and a nap. I was woken by Phil (again), who was early for a job and wanted to kill a ten minutes. So an hour later, I went back to the garage and start to plan the next job, the seatbox:



This crease might come out easily (says he optimistically), the corroded hole is the one to hold the seatbox to the chassis, so needs some repair.



Both ends are much the same - so need a little work, if only because the bottom seat belt mountings go in the bottom rear "corners", so I want that to look like it is in good condition!

I want to make a dropped section in the bottom of the "storage box" under the n/s seat as the battery lives there and was almost touching the bottom of the seat when I bought the Landy. I also want to make a second "under-seat" box under the driver's seat - where the fuel tank should be. That could be made somewhat more secure and deter the would-be thieves.

Thinking of thieves, Phil was saying that his (farmer) neighbour had been burgled last night, two chainsaws and a stone cutter have disappeared. Knowing the farmer, they were all completely shot - he has no sympathy with mechanical stuff!