I got Degsy back on Friday 4th February at 9.30am. I drove him home and all seems well. I had a few hours to myself on Sunday and decided to clean the interior and fit the decking in the tub. I went to Wickes to buy some angle iron and plywood. After having swept out the tub I put the old wood shelf frame back in to see what it looked like. I decided to have a double thickness of decking. Having done some measuring I ended up taking out the rubber matting that I had just fitted which was enough to give me the spacing I needed. I glued up the wood frame as I fitted it. It was a tight fit. I put the rubber matting back in the cut to it to fit round the framework.
I cut the angle iron to length. I had bought a 2400mm x 1200mm sheet of 9mm plywood. I cut it to size to fit ethe wheel wells. I drilled through the decking and the angle iron making sure I did not go into the framing. I then put a screw through the decking, angle iron and into the framing. The angle iron was sandwiched between the frame the decking. I had three iron reinforced cross members. When the screws were all home a cut a second piece of ply for the decking. Then screwed the second decking ply to the first. The decking is solid. It takes my weight without excessive flexing. Having finished climbing in and out of the back of Degsy I fitted the tow hook and step. Not smart thinking really.
After that I got the seats out of the garage and washed then down. I gave the dash a wipe down whilst I was at it. I found the wheel braces and starting handle and fitted them behind the seats as re-fitted them. Next up was to load up the back of Degsy with allotment stuff. I made a difference to the garage as did tidying up the garage and taking a load of stuff to the tip. Whilst tiding up the garage I found a box with Land Rover spares such as fog and reverse lights, some tuning parts and an inner tube which was nice. The spare wheel has been bolted to the bonnet for the full landy effect.
Sunday, 6 February 2011
Monday, 31 January 2011
Soon v soon
I went to see the Land Rover people in their new premises. I was very pleased to see Degsy on the lift. The bonnet was up. A chap was fettling with the spark plugs. Apparently they could not get it running. Degsy might have had a colander for a chassis but it ran beautifully. I figure they will get it running. Then down for a MOT.
The mechanics asked if a wanted inner wing mud guards. I have been looking for them for ages so I said yes. They keep the worst of the mud out of the engine bay. Friday so what time should I go for Degsy?
The mechanics asked if a wanted inner wing mud guards. I have been looking for them for ages so I said yes. They keep the worst of the mud out of the engine bay. Friday so what time should I go for Degsy?
Thursday, 18 November 2010
Committed
The rebuild is started. The old chassis is chopped up in three bits so that means there are pile of bits that are Degsy. There is no way back from here. The pictures below show the state of the old chassis. It does mean that the new chassis was the right and probably the cheaper option. The new chassis is at the paint shop. The new chassis is galvanised so is a bright Zinc silver in colour. Since you can see the chassis peaking out under the bodywork I thought it would look wrong. I have opted to have it painted black. The paint a special concoction that adheres to Zinc and it lends another layer of corrosion protection.
So the fist picture is what a new galvanised chassis looks like.
Then this is what mine looks like.
This picture is the top of the chassis half way between the rear spring hangers right where the damper is fitted. The chassis is box section but as you can see it is "U" shaped now. The other side of the chassis was almost as bad.
This picture is the underside of the front end of the chassis. At the top you can see the crap welding just where the side rail meets the cross member. This is also the point where the steering box is situated so there is a lot of mechanical stress in the area. On the lower rail you can see a big split along the upper edge of the rail. This a high stress area so a solid box section is a good idea.
I have been promised a new bumper because the chassis round the bolts that hold the bumper on is so badly bodged that the bolt cannot be got at.
So the fist picture is what a new galvanised chassis looks like.
Then this is what mine looks like.
This picture is the top of the chassis half way between the rear spring hangers right where the damper is fitted. The chassis is box section but as you can see it is "U" shaped now. The other side of the chassis was almost as bad.
This picture is the underside of the front end of the chassis. At the top you can see the crap welding just where the side rail meets the cross member. This is also the point where the steering box is situated so there is a lot of mechanical stress in the area. On the lower rail you can see a big split along the upper edge of the rail. This a high stress area so a solid box section is a good idea.
I have been promised a new bumper because the chassis round the bolts that hold the bumper on is so badly bodged that the bolt cannot be got at.
Monday, 11 October 2010
About time
Finally today I found out that my chassis is to be delivered on Wednesday. About time I have been waiting for the chassis since 31st July. Apparently Richard's chassis had a vital piece of machinery breakdown so I could get a chassis. My buddy Steve has lent me his lightweight but it is a bit too late. I could have done with it a few months ago. It is a nice gesture. Ta Steve.
Saturday, 26 June 2010
Prep
Degsy is off to the garage on Monday for the new chassis. It was too hot for allotmenting today, so after I had done the muck run and the bees, I set about the dual tasks of tidying up the garage and prepping Degsy for Monday. I emptied the back of Degsy of all the gardening paraphernalia. By tidying up the garage I managed to find a new home for everything. I then took the decking, that makes the shelf in the tub, to bits and stowed it in the garage.
Next job was to remove the spot lights from the bumper. A squirt of oil and a bit of spannering and they where free. I pulled the feed wire back into the engine bay and taped it up. I was a little apprehensive doing the next job, fitting the new bonnet. The hinges for the bonnet are not subtle. On the body there is a tube with a slot in it. The other part of the hinge is on the bonnet and it is just a plate with a slot cut in it. You just open the bonnet until it is 90 degrees to the floor. The slot in the body part of the hinge lines up with the bonnet part and simply lifts out. Fitting the new bonnet is the reverse. Dead easy. The manual says you need two people. I did it on my own. However the manual does not suggest you stand on the engine! I closed the bonnet and to my relief the hinges ran smoothly and the bonnet catch engaged perfectly. Then it was small job the fit the bonnet stay. To do the bonnet job from start to finish took less than ten minutes.
The last thing to do was take out the passenger seats and stow them in the garage. Having finished all the job and tidied up. The very last thing to was run over to the tip and dump the out bonnet and other bits of rubbish.
Next job was to remove the spot lights from the bumper. A squirt of oil and a bit of spannering and they where free. I pulled the feed wire back into the engine bay and taped it up. I was a little apprehensive doing the next job, fitting the new bonnet. The hinges for the bonnet are not subtle. On the body there is a tube with a slot in it. The other part of the hinge is on the bonnet and it is just a plate with a slot cut in it. You just open the bonnet until it is 90 degrees to the floor. The slot in the body part of the hinge lines up with the bonnet part and simply lifts out. Fitting the new bonnet is the reverse. Dead easy. The manual says you need two people. I did it on my own. However the manual does not suggest you stand on the engine! I closed the bonnet and to my relief the hinges ran smoothly and the bonnet catch engaged perfectly. Then it was small job the fit the bonnet stay. To do the bonnet job from start to finish took less than ten minutes.
The last thing to do was take out the passenger seats and stow them in the garage. Having finished all the job and tidied up. The very last thing to was run over to the tip and dump the out bonnet and other bits of rubbish.
Thursday, 10 June 2010
A big decision
A very big decision has been taken. It is one that I knew had to made the day I parted with cash for Degsy, do up or do away with. I have decided to to "do up". I found a Land Rover specialist a couple of miles from home. I cannot believe what he is to charge me. It sounds a bit cheap but folks tell me that his pricing is a bit random since it depends what he thinks he can get away with. He must have though me a deserving case....I am!
Degsy is to have a new chassis, footwells, passenger seat well, windscreen, petrol tank, track rods ends, heater matrix [I have had that in a box for a year], the gearbox seals renewed, and I get an MOT thrown in. I am thinking I will the whole hog and have the clutch renewed whilst the gearbox is out. I am having the chassis painted black. I do not fancy a shiny chassis beaming out from under the shabby panel work.
I have had a few results on Ebay. I got a full windscreen for a tenner, a petrol tank for £15 and the passenger seat well for £16 and the sellers were within a couple of miles of each other. Result all round.
Degsy is to have a new chassis, footwells, passenger seat well, windscreen, petrol tank, track rods ends, heater matrix [I have had that in a box for a year], the gearbox seals renewed, and I get an MOT thrown in. I am thinking I will the whole hog and have the clutch renewed whilst the gearbox is out. I am having the chassis painted black. I do not fancy a shiny chassis beaming out from under the shabby panel work.
I have had a few results on Ebay. I got a full windscreen for a tenner, a petrol tank for £15 and the passenger seat well for £16 and the sellers were within a couple of miles of each other. Result all round.
Monday, 31 May 2010
Door line
The driver door line has looked a bit bigger than usual. I had a little look and found that the bolts securing door catch were loose. I just need to find some time to fix it. The exhaust is still blowing. The nuts on the bolts securing the exhaust pipe to the exhaust header are rounded off so won't tightened anymore. So that is something else to deal with.
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