Although we are 2years into the project and nearing completion I thought I would start a thread about my 90 V8 Project.

The project, shared between myself and a colleague, started with a reasonably unmolested but unloved 1984 90:


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It had been off the road for a while but was complete at least. It had in the past been fitted with a Perkins Prima (Montego) engine. I had one of these in my old 109" S3 years ago and it was a great engine but an odd choice for a coil sprung model in my opinion. I assume it was a cheap engine upgrade over the original 2.25 petrol at the time when tdi engines were still quite expensive.

So the strip down started:


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We had already bought the Discovery donor vehicle previously which had been a run-around for the duration of its MOT. It was one of the last Discovery 1s V8s without A/C or LPG and with a manual gearbox. This was a really well looked after car which had never seen any offroad use but was showing the usual inner wing and sill rot.

The plan originally was to put a cheap V8 90 together as a bit of a toy but as usual we both got a bit carried away with the spec of various parts so it is now a little more pricey than first thought...everyone needs a hobby though.

The only parts of the original 90 which we retained was the body and chassis, the discovery provided the engine, gearbox and axles.

Steve 02' 110 TD5 Double Cab
84' 90 3.9 V8 Caged Pickup Build Thread

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Initially we thought that the somewhat fetching yellow chassis was in reasonable condition but as we got it stripped down it needed a few repairs. Cue much wire brush/grinder work to remove all of the yellow paint and the following:
- Custom Blacksheep rear crossmember;
- Bulkhead Outrigger with chassis beneath the old ones patched;
- Tubular Outriggers;
- Front dumbirons;
- Custom made gearbox crossmember.


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We also fitted some new V8 engine mounts from Richards Chassis who are local.

The bulkhead had previously had some questionable repairs done so we fitted a pair of new footwells, a pair of feet and a new a-pillar. We also blanked the central hole which the wiring used to pass through as it will not be required with a TD5 bulkhead loom. 02' 110 TD5 Double Cab
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Last edited by rallysteve on 16th Oct 2018 1:31pm. Edited 1 time in total

Also decided upon a full CDS North Offroad Roll Cage now we had decided to go the truckcab route so this was collected and assembled with all chassis mounts strengthened using laser cut S355 plate and section (complying with full AWDC regs). The chassis was then primed and painted with Buzzweld products:


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Click image to enlarge 02' 110 TD5 Double Cab
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Suspension arms and axle casings were shot blasted and painted with buzzweld/quora paints. The 24spline diffs were dismantled cleaned and reassembled along with swivel rebuilds and new genuine springs/shocks. Superpro bushes were used throughout:


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New trackrod ends fitted to the steering arms and the discovery PAS box fitted. 02' 110 TD5 Double Cab
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We wanted to make up a custom exhaust (hence the special rear crossmember) so we bought a pair of 4-1 tubular headers from V8 tuner and made up a y-piece which brings both headers together and sends a single 3" pipe rearwards. We then made up a y-splitter which passes through the suspension a-frame into two custom made stainless silencers with polished 3" outlets which sit within the crossmember holes. The intention of this system was that it would sit within the confines of the chassis throughout so is fully protected from damage by it (it also sounds amazing )

It uses polyurethane mountings, a stainless flex joint and some home made bracketary at the back from the a-frame crossmember and between the rear cage feet.


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Click image to enlarge 02' 110 TD5 Double Cab
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TIDY  instagram @v8_scumbag

Very, very nice. Drooling, here!

S

Fitted a chequerplate tub liner kit to tidy up the back:


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Got really carried away with the pipework on the vehicle. As a result ended up with the following:
- Original V8 discovery pump modified to fit into 90 side fuel tank;
- Sytec 044 fuel pump mounted in the tub;
- 1.5litre Catch tank
- Original EFI filter unit

All plumbed with braided hoses and aero fittings.


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Have also got a mocal cooler for the gearbox with braided hoses and aero fittings and the same hose and fittings for the engine oil cooler. Brake lines are plumbed using braided hoses at the rear with stainless AN3 fittings.

Even plumbed the clutch hose with stainless AN fittings and AN4 braided hose!


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Steve 02' 110 TD5 Double Cab
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Last edited by rallysteve on 16th Oct 2018 12:56pm. Edited 2 times in total

Cheers both , plenty more pictures to come. We have taken over 1000 photos between us so have plenty of info on the build if anyone is interested in anything particular.

We used the Ashcroft conversion piece to turn the short stick R380 to a defender long stick version and used the original LT77 top housing with a new turret and bush. This set up gives an absolutely amazing gear lever feel. It seems even better than the R380 with slickshift in my TD5 which is nice!

For some reason we decided to fit 4pot rear calipers (an likely fiddle brakes eventually) so cue adaptor kits and new calipers. The front calipers are new genuine TDCI items and the rears are AP discovery 1 non vented calipers:



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Click image to enlarge 02' 110 TD5 Double Cab
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Last edited by rallysteve on 16th Oct 2018 12:58pm. Edited 2 times in total

Taking a bit of a jump forward here as photos of dusty bodywork sanding etc are a little dull. Had the body sprayed in pieces by a local backstreet spray shop as we decided the unit we are in is too dusty and damp to do a half reasonable job. The paint job isnt amazing but it perfectly adequate for the vehicle (and i think great for £450). It is all painted in Land Rover Caledonian Blue with a Fuji white roof. All of the brackets, cappings etc were all sent off to Humber galvanising and refitted.

Also fitted Wipac LED lights at the rear (front to follow when the wings are fitted), a one off rear towing eye from Clive at Blacksheep and some proper rear mud flaps:



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The penultimate picture was just before it was collected by a local recovery company as we are moving lock-ups. That is pretty much the stage we are at currently.

Have started on the wiring though and as wiring and electrics is my passion it will also be over the top. The correct waterproof connectors will be used throughout (i.e. Econoseal, Superseal and Sumitomo).

The rear wiring loom is made up from scratch using the correct cable colours and including the wiring for both of the new fuel pumps and fuel sender. This will plug into a modified TD5 bulkhead loom which I am currently working on. Front wing looms will be made up from scratch to suit. The engine loom from the discovery is already a stand alone unit but I have removed all of the unneccessary wiring from it and been over every inch of it to check for damage. Am just adding the last few wires into if for oil pressure and temp gauges and electric fan switch before I re wrap it and install it.

We are using a YRM under seat tool tray for the ECU and relays with the original TD5 under seat distribution box relocated to the passenger side with the battery.

Some other bits that have been done before this point are:
Pedal boxes dismantled, cleaned and painted with Buzzweld CIO;
Heater box dismantled, cleaned and painted with Buzzweld CIO;
New heater matrix fitted.

We have also made some brackets to hold twin electric fans onto the radiator which is a new one originally intended for the 2.5 Turbo Diesel which has the thickest core and the oil cooler built in. We have an x-eng twin stage fan switch installed in the top hose. Coolant pipes are made using a combination of modified 50th Anniversary heater hoses, Discovery top hose and a combination of Discovery and 300TDi bottom hoses. The throttle cable is 50th Anniversary one.

Steve 02' 110 TD5 Double Cab
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Hi Steve
really enjoying this thread. Hope you keep posting as jobs get done
Tommo

😮 wow! Awesome work.

Awesome work done there and loving the colour  1996 Golf Blue 300Tdi 110 Pick up. Keeper.

Clayton.

I love this so much what V8?

I love the exhaust set up, so neat, unique and tidy! Shame it cant be done on a TD5! Instagram @defender_ventures
Empire Tuning - Agent

That looks the part! are you going to be tuning the V8? Defender TD5 90 ---/--- Peugeot 306 HDI hatch back

Success is 90% Inspiration and 4 minutes Preparation # you can make it!