Axle stands...

Not much I can do in this deep snow, but today I removed a 50 cm layer of snow from the top of the Land Rover. I also put it up on axle stands to save the tires.

Power steering it is!

I want to keep it simple, but as I need to change the steering box anyway it would be stupid not get a PAS box instead. It might even be cheaper as the LHD manual steering box is quite hard to get, at least here in Sweden. I will try to get a complete kit with box, pump, hoses and reservoir from an old Discovery. The Discoverys are much more common than Defenders here in Sweden.

Project is going slow...

Due to lack of funds (during my paternity leave) the project is (almost) at a standstill right now :-( Right now I am mostly surfing, googling and reading forums to gain as much teoretical knowledge as possible about the LHD conversion.

I think my first job will be to change the left hand swivel housing. I need a housing with a connecting arm for the draglink. Newer axles are "unisex", but early ones like mine is not. As soon as the weather permits I will remove the existing housing so that I can see exactly what it is I need to order. I will of course change all the gaskets, seals and bearings when I have it apart.

Got rags!

Got a whole sack of cotton rags from a commercial cleaning supply store. They will come in handy when I start on the engine. Its very dirty!

RHD => LHD conversion, parts

I have started collecting the parts for the LHD conversion. I got this Panhard Rod, Panhard rod bracket and steering box tie bar from a salvage yard. I payed 1000 SEK (€95) for it, which I think was good value. It is off a 1997 Discovery I.

Wing damage, step 1

Today I began to dismantle the damaged wing. The wing is pressed in at the front and bulges out on the side, making the headlight shine into the woods... My plan is to remove the fender extension to that I can hammer from the backside.

First job done :-)

The fuses are of an odd size, about 18x5 mm. The previous owner had already tried to find replacements without any luck. He also said that the standard 20x5 fuses won't fit. At first I thought I might have to change the whole fusebox, but after mulling the problem for a while I found a simple solution. Using a Stanley blade carefully shaved the inside of the fusebox at the ends of the fuses, maybe 0,5 mm at each side. That was enough for the 20x5 fuses to fit :-D

First inspection

Accident damage on the front wing:


The engine is VERY dirty...


From the back

It's home!

After checking all the options, all too expensive, I finally decided to tow it with my VW Golf. I drove the Golf and my father-in-law the Landy. Its about 65 km from Uppsala to my house and the Golf was really struggling. We took the motorway and was doing an average of 65 km/h (30 km/h is the legal top speed when towing in Sweden). I was really relieved when we arrived at home with both the Golf and our driving licences intact...

Transport...

First thing to sort out is the transportation from Uppsala to my home, about 80 km. A bit far to tow after another car, and professional car transporters are too expensive :-(

I bought a Land Rover today!

Once again I am a Land Rover owner :-) Today I bought a 1985 Land Rover Ninety Ex-MOD. I has some kind of engine failure, don't know exactly what yet.