bulkhead templates

On Sunday, I spent some time making these templates to replace the door hinge/pillar on the bulkhead. Again these are readily available parts, but they would be fairly easy to make too and I've got the sheet steel to do it. I know it would go faster if I just purchased the parts, but I can put that money into other parts if I make these from scratch. School is starting back up so all my progress in the last few weeks will come to a screeching halt.

 

drivers side bulkhead mount

The drivers side bulkhead mount where it bolts to the frame was damaged in the collision I mentioned earlier. I heated it up and beat it into shape, but I may need to be rebuilt. This is a common replacement part though. 

 

bulkhead

I started on the bulkhead. Everything connects to this steel bulkhead. It's the core of the vehicle. As I started stripping the wiring, brake tubes, etc. I start to see the problem areas. I'll have some repair to do in the footwells and in the windshield hinge area on the passenger side.  Wire-brushing the bulkhead has made me feel better about its condition though. Some of the areas that looked rusty were just stains and the metal is strong. There are bad sections, but it's all rebuildable. This is the next step to getting this vehicle built back up.

 

body on frame

I had to mock it up once I got the frame straight. I popped the upper window frames out of the doors and just sat everything in place. I think I'll run this as an open vehicle when I get it running. It looks like a Land Rover!!!

This entire time, I've been thinking about what engine to put in this. I've been looking at older Mercedes diesels and for a while I thought I was settled on a 240D 4 cylinder or a OM617 turbo diesel. As it turns out my neighbor has a 240D engine he said I could probably have.  While I'm thinking through this, the guy that I bought this from puts an original Land Rover petrol engine up for sale. I do a little research and these can be rebuilt pretty easily. Supposedly the cams never wear out regardless of mileage. I may have to look into this. He also has the transmission up for sale as he doesn't want the non synchro trans in his Series. AND now I'm wonder, how bad could it be to double clutch all the time. We'll have to see about this...

I'm just thinking it's a whole lot easier to keep something bone stock than it is to start modifying something... and that's experience talking there. Projects can drag on forever when you're reinventing the wheel. I've already see how fast O can move on something when I'm dealing with stock stuff. I remember Eric and I finding this out when we rebuilt of singlecab VWs vs working on the VW hotrod beetles (as you can see my beetle sitting here next to the Land Rover). So embarrassing...

 

tweaked frame fix

I sat on the bent front frame for a a few days so I could think about what to do while I was working on other things. I started by getting the frame level in the shop and then I started taking measurements to see where the bend started. I found the spot and then proceeded to cut out the rest of the rusty sections because I knew this would allow me to clamp the frame into the correct location. I figured that I could then bend it, clamp it, and weld in new repair sections. I did end up having to cut the drivers side frame rail and the front crossmember so I could get things pulled into alignment. It took longer to measure, level, measure, cut, clamp, measure, then it did to weld it slowly to prevent warping. I was able to get all of the bend out and the frame is now straight. All the frame measurements match the service manual measurements now. I'll still need to weld some fishplates into the areas where I had to cut, but it's strong and back together. I feel like I have a good foundation to build on now.

 

rear tub mounts on crossmember

I made these rear tub mounts that are just like the originals. I got the tub centered up and these welded in place. I also did the layout for the rear hitch mounting holes and the PTO hole. It's starting to look like the real deal.