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mikeh501



Member Since: 07 Jan 2013
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 1142

United Kingdom 
GREENI wrote:
I'll have to take you for a spin, you'll see how nice a big 4.6 hauls !!!


ill take you up on that!
Post #671142 15th Dec 2017 9:30pm
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ian series 1



Member Since: 17 Nov 2014
Location: south
Posts: 3127

United Kingdom 2008 Defender 90 Puma 2.4 CSW Bonatti Grey
This is really making me think a v8 90 will be the next project now ....... Mr. Green 80" 80" 86" 88" 90"

Wanted, Forward Control Anything considered.
Post #671144 15th Dec 2017 9:33pm
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GREENI



Member Since: 22 Aug 2010
Location: staffs
Posts: 10354

United Kingdom 
Yes Ian Thumbs Up

I'll pm you for a dry weekend Mike Very Happy
Post #671149 15th Dec 2017 10:04pm
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mikeh501



Member Since: 07 Jan 2013
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 1142

United Kingdom 
First things first…. A rolling chassis

So yeah, I knew enough that I had to get this thing built up onto its wheels, at which point I could then drop in the engine and transmission. Sounds easy when you say it quick.

I decided fairly early on that I wanted some bigger tyres, so using the existing ones was out. My landie is a 200tdi so it has the earlier axles on it with the narrow radius arms etc. It was at this point I decided to get some new axle cases, and basically transplant my diffs into those cases. I had a nice ATB and HD half shafts at the rear already and wanted to retain them. It also meant that the new suspension kit could be ordered on the later axles type which provided lots of options given they were used from 1994 onwards.

Its amazing what you can get through the post these days Very Happy and Id say most of the chassis came via royal mail which is amazing when you think about it lol

I bought 2 NOS axle cases from parts suppliers on eBay. No tom dick and harries and they were obviously bran new. Didnt cost as much as you think, and gave me a perfect start point.


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The first extravagant decision! I decided to get the bling D44 axle protectors. This meant I could ditch the wraparound type I had been using up to then, which would give me an extra inch of clearance. It was an expensive inch!

I had the original axle pans cut off and these welded on in place.


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Then ground off the existing suspension cups which was recommended as part of the suspension install to give more articulation.


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Paint!

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A tip. Dont use an engine lift as a hoist….. I came back the next day to see how they were drying and they were lying on the floor. The lift slowly came down overnight!

The paint I used and would highly highly recommend is this stuff


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Expoy mastic 1-2-1. This stuff sets rock hard. Its like sikaflex paint if you like. Is a 2part paint, so goes off even when its cold out and doesn’t take hours.

The bling!

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Post #671222 16th Dec 2017 1:58pm
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L110CDL



Member Since: 31 Oct 2015
Location: Devon
Posts: 10420

England 
Just caught up on this thread as i remembered seeing some pic's of your 90 before, as said before keep the pic's and info coming Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy its going to be awesome Wink 1996 Golf Blue 300Tdi 110 Pick up. Keeper.


Clayton.
Post #671317 16th Dec 2017 8:59pm
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mikeh501



Member Since: 07 Jan 2013
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 1142

United Kingdom 
Thanks all. Hope your enjoying this so far, I know I am. Kinda therapeutic to write it all down tbh. I should be able to post an update tomorrow Thumbs Up
Post #671560 17th Dec 2017 9:00pm
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mk1collector



Member Since: 17 Sep 2009
Location: West Yorkshire
Posts: 6769

England 2004 Defender 110 Td5 CSW Bonatti Grey
Loving it Thumbs Up Ray
My build thread
http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic17615.html
Post #671603 17th Dec 2017 10:32pm
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mikeh501



Member Since: 07 Jan 2013
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 1142

United Kingdom 
Suspension, so much choice.

Like most of us you will have seen the huge amount of choice out there for defender suspension; from fast road, to britpart to extreme lifts. Up to this point, I was using standard height springs coupled with koni +2 dampers, and in all honesty it worked. I usually got stuck due to cross axling or because my diff had turned into a plow Smile I also knew I wasn’t using my old suspension, nor any of the linkages in this build, given I was running later axles.

I had a look at all kinds of options, from fox shocks to king shocks, terrafirma extreme etc etc. I eventually went with a name who is hugely respected in defender circles and knew I would get the backup from - gwyn lewis.

I went with the Gwyn Lewis Extreme kit in the end. Everything is galvanised and chunky, has the build quality of OME dampers and springs and has all been tested by Gwyn and im sure many others. Should be good for some pretty extreme articulation, coupled with the +11” dampers!

Springs from OME come in all kinds of ratings, and IIRC I went in the end for a progressive springs all round, with a similar poundage as standard, but ramping up to a mid-weight (not HD) poundage, and all in +2” from standard. Im hoping given the v8 weighs slightly less than the diesel that ill get a very slight body lift. We shall see…. more later.

The few bits that I didnt source from Gwyn were the radius arms, trailing arms and A-frame. I get all these from Adrenalin 4x4. Beefed up and cranked radius/trailing arms ensure the correct geo with the longer springs, and the A-frame with rose jointed coupling allows the full travel of the shocks.

Last thing was an upgrade to polyurethane bushes across the board.

Pretty much the ultimate setup really unless I went with a king setup and major body mods to accommodate. Gotta remember that visually I want it to look pretty stock and I wasn’t going mad on the tyre size.


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Post #671744 18th Dec 2017 4:22pm
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L110CDL



Member Since: 31 Oct 2015
Location: Devon
Posts: 10420

England 
Many thanks for that update Very Happy Thumbs Up 1996 Golf Blue 300Tdi 110 Pick up. Keeper.


Clayton.
Post #671883 18th Dec 2017 9:20pm
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mikeh501



Member Since: 07 Jan 2013
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 1142

United Kingdom 
Progress… felt like a lot, but looking back this was the big mechanno stage which makes you feel like you’ve accomplished a lot!

Now that the axle cases were painted, I did consider building them up first, but instead decided to fit the axles to the vehicle and then later jack up the axle one side at a time and build up the stub axles etc. This doesn’t seem to be the way most people do it, usually building up the entire axle and then fitting it in one go, usually with the wheels on. Worked for me anyhow, and was quite a bit easier to haul the parts around.

Started with the rear end, and all the bracketery fitment was straight forward. The Gwyn Lewis stuff comes optionally galv’ed as i’ve not had much luck in the past with powder coat, galv is always the way imho, and it nicely matches the chassis. Just a big silver truck lol.


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Fasteners! a hot topic around these parts, but I knew I wanted as much SS in this build as I could. The plain steel stuff just rusts before your eyes in the winter. I used a variety of bolts depending upon the application. On the load bearing side, I generally went with normal steel bolts of 10.9 or 12.9 strength, then for those areas where there are larger number of bolts like the suspension turrets or rear damper or spring brackets I used A4-80 stainless fasteners. For general construction stuff I just went with normal A2-70 stainless bolts and screws.

One of the big ball aches was fitting the poly bushes. These either went in easy, or were a total nightmare. The vice or LR tool #1 persuaded it eventually Smile


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One of the things I thought would be cool, would be an aftermarket A-frame. For a coupe of reasons, really. I didnt have one! it was still on the landie, and secondly I thought the adrenalin a-frame would nicely match the arms I had. Apparently the rose joint will also allow even more articulation but that wasn’t my primary motivation.


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Now onto the front end, I started using duralac to protect the surfaces between the stainless bolts and the zinc coating. Probably overkill, but why not; and I read it helps with stainless galling which I encountered a few times. Strange thing when the bolt just seizes itself up and welds together if you do it up too fast.


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So, serious progress! I was pretty happy with how far it had come by this point, and it didnt really take much more than a couple of weekend sessions.
Post #672060 19th Dec 2017 5:54pm
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Sulisuli



Member Since: 30 Oct 2016
Location: South west
Posts: 4788

United Kingdom 2015 Defender 90 Puma 2.2 HT Corris Grey
Very impressive with great attention to detail, brilliant read. 2015 HT XS 90
2008 SVX 90
2000 XS TD5 90
Post #672067 19th Dec 2017 6:10pm
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Mash



Member Since: 09 Feb 2015
Location: Guernsey
Posts: 1674

Guernsey 1998 Defender 90 300 Tdi HT Nato Green
Sooo many shinny things Thumbs Up looks like a great base to a V8 can’t wait for the finished article, I will be keeping up to date via this thread. Thumbs Up 90 wolf - Jasmin http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic39408.html
90 V8 - Maggie http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic42564.html
110 TD5 - Buggsy http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic59029.html
52HG25 lightweight https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic72342.html
D3 Hse - Fiona
Capri 2l S - Anna

Think I might have a problem............
Post #672087 19th Dec 2017 7:19pm
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Pickles



Member Since: 26 May 2013
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 3748

Australia 2013 Defender 90 Puma 2.2 CSW Keswick Green
Lots of great work there Mike.
Looking good, Pickles.
Post #672119 19th Dec 2017 8:58pm
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Romadog



Member Since: 07 Jul 2011
Location: Powys
Posts: 1746

Excellent job Thumbs Up
Didnt notice the Aframe chassis mounts before Shocked

Must go and clean my workbenches Embarassed Whistle
Post #672186 20th Dec 2017 9:19am
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GREENI



Member Since: 22 Aug 2010
Location: staffs
Posts: 10354

United Kingdom 
I have a press for next time!!!
Post #672235 20th Dec 2017 2:22pm
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