 | Home > Maintenance & Modifications > A day in the life of Miffy the 110... |
 
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| L110CDL Member Since: 31 Oct 2015 Location: Devon Posts: 10476  
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Nice one geobloke
 tis a great feeling when that happens  1996 Golf Blue 300Tdi 110 Pick up. Keeper.
Clayton. |
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2nd Nov 2018 9:41pm |
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| geobloke Member Since: 06 Nov 2012 Location: Nottinghamshire Posts: 4389 
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So I am getting mightily excited about actually having a space to work on the various Land Rovers in various stages of refurbishment, but good lord it is a fabulous looking workshop/garage...
Only have the top skim of the floor to go before the fun of fitting the shelving, work benches, compressor, etc. can get under way. Oh and a little landscaping outside, plus removing all the construction tyres shredders that are lying about everywhere. The doors bays are designed to allow Miffy with roof rack to park up, be jacked up and worked on out of the rain. Whilst she is not in residence there will be a 135 and two 90s being stripped down and rebuilt. So darned exciting I cannot begin to describe it... Local vicar for scale... 
It also has "facilities" but is missing a kettle at the moment 
 Click image to enlarge No Miffy for scale as we have a new member of the Green Oval family join us this week; introducing Phoebe the Freelander... Click image to enlarge I couldn't help myself, just had to try out the terrain selection and HDC earlier. Surprising amount of suspension droop on the old girl, but she does enjoy lifting a wheel or two  Needs some better tyres, thinking the new General Grabber AT3s (with added snow flakes) and a slightly updated stereo that allows for bluetooth music. This is a super car to drive a real mile cruncher. Could do with a roof rack though, looks bald... plus there really isn't a lot of spare storage space in a Freelander, so looking to remove the rear seats and semi-commercialise her. Still working on how that will work at the minute.
Definitely looking forward to the Christmas break, thinking I might christen the place what an LOF clutch change... |
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11th Nov 2018 5:18pm |
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| L110CDL Member Since: 31 Oct 2015 Location: Devon Posts: 10476
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Very very nice garage/workshop
1996 Golf Blue 300Tdi 110 Pick up. Keeper.
Clayton. |
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13th Nov 2018 10:26pm |
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| geobloke Member Since: 06 Nov 2012 Location: Nottinghamshire Posts: 4389
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It's been a while since this has been updated... So here's what I got up to yesterday...
Well it's the weekend, well my weekend anyway and yesterday after the usual chores I got to sorting out some of the electrics I have been planning on doing this winter. Didn't get to them due to a house move and the fact that it just didn't stop raining... Anyway, the first job was to create a mount for the winch solenoid under the bonnet and I have chosen to utilise the EGR solenoid bracket with a spacer so the solenoid sits below the wing level but importantly as close to the winch as possible. Should work well. I also managed to source some snazzy colour coded rubber terminal covers to protect from shorts and water ingress. It'll be better than sitting on-top of the winch in my mind. Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Associated with this is the remote fuse and connection box that will be under the wing and the plan is that it tidies up the moderate nest of wiring that resides under there and reduces the amount of wires heading all the was back to the battery box. The wiring nest includes the headlight loom (prevents LED flicker of the headlights by circumnavigating the old LR loom and light switch), DRL/Fog light loom and space for the roof and camp lighting that will follow. Click image to enlarge I also finally managed to get the drivers side 2nd row door open, it's been stuck shut since December. A crappy job that involved removing the door card from the inside. Not fun. But the job really highlighted how much the doors have deteriorated in the last five years of living near the coast. Believe it or not these were waxoyled too. Such a bad design allowing the water (and salt spray) to run down the inside of the door frame. The silent door killer... I have known this would need sorting out for a year or two now and have opted for replacement doors rather than repair these ones. I no longer have the space or garage to do the repair which sucks. The new doors are being painted at the moment so hopefully by the end of the summer they will be fitted and then doors that don't rattle and won't rust  Plus at least I can now open and close the door.
Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Damn I love these vehicles... 
The other interesting find of late that may be of interest are these Andersson Powerpole connectors, basically mini versions of the usual ones you see. I am going to use them for the removable accessories (fridge, inverter and tyre pump). Not seen them before but they look perfect and robust, plus rated to 30A too which will be more than enough. They will replace the Hella style DIN plugs I currently use that aren't rated that high and well... melt... The other find is a panel mount for the connectors, it's a 3D printed item and will go on to the back of the cubby box. I think it will look tidy, adaptable and be convenient too. Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge ...to be continued today |
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27th Apr 2021 10:54am |
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| donmacn Member Since: 07 Nov 2017 Location: Nth Scotland Posts: 1829 |
Hey, nice to see you back! And with some good ideas as before.
I can sympathise with the doors. That's pretty close to what mine looked like at the end. My car also spent 7 years VERY close to the sea... and I suspect probably IN it on at least one occasion. Prior to my ownership I must stress. Donald 1994 Defender 300Tdi 110 SW - owned since 2002 - 230k miles and going strong (The 'rolling restoration' or tinkering thread: http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic58538.html ) 2000 Range Rover P38 4.0L V8 in the past.. RR classic - fitted with 200Tdi 1984 RR classic - V8 with ZF auto box 1993 Discovery 300Tdi not to mention the minis and the Type 2 VW camper... |
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27th Apr 2021 11:54am |
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| geobloke Member Since: 06 Nov 2012 Location: Nottinghamshire Posts: 4389
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Hello Don. I fear many a Defender door goes the same way. In hindsight I wish I had payed more attention to them and perhaps I could have caught them earlier. Funny thing is it's always the mechanicals that keep me awake, never the doors
Todays little challenge and I only had a few hours before the rain came down, goodness I miss having a garage, was to start wiring up the winch to the solenoid. I think it's turned out pretty tidy and I just had enough cable to do the job, just... One evening this week I will tidy up the cables and finish the job off. Also decided on positioning the wander-lead on the blanked wing top vent cover. I will add a wireless remote, just got to find it amongst all the house moved stuff... it's there somewhere. Click image to enlarge |
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27th Apr 2021 5:32pm |
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| geobloke Member Since: 06 Nov 2012 Location: Nottinghamshire Posts: 4389
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No...!
The folks got an offer they couldn't refuse At least I got the use of it during the first lockdown and it allowed me to strip and rebuild the R380 gearbox in comfort... and I am grateful for that.
Now it is back to dodging the showers and using an old picnic table as a work bench Oh you've gotta laugh... |
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29th Apr 2021 9:55am |
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| L110CDL Member Since: 31 Oct 2015 Location: Devon Posts: 10476
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O no
At least you got to use it to do the gearbox anyway
Hopefully you have got the " summer " to do all the jobs before winter sets in 1996 Golf Blue 300Tdi 110 Pick up. Keeper.
Clayton. |
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30th Apr 2021 9:44pm |
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| geobloke Member Since: 06 Nov 2012 Location: Nottinghamshire Posts: 4389
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Not today but yesterday evening. I finished the winch wiring and put the nose back on the ol' girl. I am pretty happy with the way this turned out, always disliked the solenoid box sitting out front and low down. Like the clean understated look. Next jobs are the under wing wiring and the Anderson power pole socket/plugs for ancillaries.
Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge |
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3rd May 2021 7:43pm |
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| geobloke Member Since: 06 Nov 2012 Location: Nottinghamshire Posts: 4389
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Little wiring trick that may be of use to someone.
If you ever come across heavily corroded copper wire and need to solder to it (splice or connector) then you can clean it up using a mixture of vinegar and salt. Leave the end of the wire in the mixture for a while and hey-presto clean copper to shoulder to. If the buildup is significant then warm the solution a little and if it is really tough then gently brush it with a copper wire brush. Incidentally if you live in an region that suffers from limescale in your taps etc then this trick works well de-scaling the threads and components. Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Works a treat... |
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3rd May 2021 7:55pm |
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| geobloke Member Since: 06 Nov 2012 Location: Nottinghamshire Posts: 4389
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My MSS cubby has done exceptionally well, 15 years or so worth of hard life and after that amount use the armrest cushion was beginning to look and be utterly useless
So, I searched for a replacement cushion and couldn't find anything that would suit as a replacement. I even contacted an upholstery company of two and both said this was too small a job to bother with. Fair enough. Plan B.... Do It Yourself lad...
Off to my local haberdashery (yes I got some odd looks from the shop staff and usual customers) and 20 minutes later I came away with a metre squared of black faux leather material, foam and some strong black thread. Price was £11.50. I realise this is not the usual hammering and grease gun sort of post, but I like to give things a go and learn a bit along the way... The first step was to remove the cushion pad from the cubby box lid, 4 screws and to remove the foam and material from the wooden base (glue and staples) and then to carefully pick the old cushion apart to use the panels as templates for the new material. Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge The foam was cut to size (long sharp knife works the best for this) and glued (using vehicle trim contact glue) on to the base board. Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Now for the time consuming part. I chose a slightly thicker piece of foam as I am a tall bloke, so drawing out the net of panels included additional depth. The best way to do this is turn the fabric over and using a soft pencil draw out the panels, cut lines and sewing lines. Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Now for the fiddly part, the sewing... First job is to tack together the piping (white nylon strands and thin long strips), then tack that to the main armrest panel to hold it in place. You could use pins if you want to here. I started with a single running stitch and after a while realised that it was not going to be robust enough, nor tidy enough. So un-picked it all and started again with a running back stitch. Single running stitch on the right and running back stitch on the left: Click image to enlarge For those who don't know what that is you create a looping stitch that goes forward 1 stitch then loops backwards through the previous stitch (1/2 the distance away), then forward one stitch, backwards half and stitch, etc etc... This way you get a double line of stitches that are strong and any stress on the material is spread across multiple stitches. I learnt something with this. Super stitch for this sort of work. Thirty minutes later and another learning curve (pun intended...) I have sewn one half of this armrest pad and done my first corner. Quite chuffed with this: Click image to enlarge Obviously there is some way to go yet, but do not fear I will post up when the sewing is done and the armrest is back in Miffy |
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4th May 2021 3:56pm |
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| Co1 Member Since: 19 Aug 2018 Location: North Yorkshire Posts: 3610 
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That’s really impressive stuff!
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4th May 2021 4:20pm |
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| geobloke Member Since: 06 Nov 2012 Location: Nottinghamshire Posts: 4389
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Done and dusted.... The armrest has (if I may say so myself) turned out superbly.
Having done one half of one side of the armrest there is nothing to do but carry on. In total the sewing took an hour or two with coffee breaks. After which: Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Even Indy is moderately chuffed with the way this one turned out. On to a trial fit: Click image to enlarge Snug as a bug in a rug... Thank goodness
At this point I had a look back through the disassembly photos and realised that the original foam pad was covered with a fleece and I presume to smooth the curves in the foam and protect it from pointy elbows. So, a quick search around the house came up trumps with a length of fleece. This was cut to size, glued tot he top of the foam to prevent movement and stapled to the wooden back board. Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Then siting the pad in to the covering, seat it and stretch the material over the back board, working from one of the curved ends, staple and then stretch over the opposite end and staple. Repeat for the sides leaving about an inch free around the corners. The corners are tricky, but trim the nylon piping back to the edge of the wooden board and then fold the corner in-line with the sides of the pad. Not along the curved ends. The staple, staple and staple some more. Click image to enlarge Remember to trim back the material covering the captive nut holes... Lastly fit the rectangular covering over the underneath of the armrest and staple in to place. Give the pad a good thump to shape it and the job is almost complete: Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge For those who are interested these are the measurements: Click image to enlarge And finally fit the armrest back on to the cubby box and remember to fit the lid check-strap: Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge The only thing that immediately comes to mind is blimey those seats need a damn good clean/refurb now... Oh and that net on the side of the cubby box has become flaccid... Huh...! Anyway I hope that some of you found that interesting and perhaps might DIY one day. |
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5th May 2021 2:27pm |
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| geobloke Member Since: 06 Nov 2012 Location: Nottinghamshire Posts: 4389
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Thanks Co1 |
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5th May 2021 2:28pm |
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