Hard Rangie - Black Label Edition

[PaulP38a]

Some of you will know that I have been patiently waiting for a black on black P38 Rangie.

My first P38 was black with grey interior, but it got wet and the insurance company wouldn't let me drive it again. :twisted:

My current P38 (aka the Hard Rangie) is a 99 4.0 "pov pack" which is Oxford Blue under the dirt and scratches. I love it, but I do miss some of the creature comforts of the HSE and I want to build a new Hard Rangie from scratch.

Yesterday, Bundalene went to the auctions and won the vehicle I've been wanting, and at a price within my budget :D

Today, Bundalene and Andrew E collected it from the auctions and took it to Casa de Bundalene for further inspection. :D:D See photo below. That is not a large mark or fading on the bonnet... it is the reflection of trees... shiny...

Unfortunately I have an immovable client engagement on Friday or I'd be driving up the Hume Hwy at a safe steady pace. I'll do it Saturday instead :D:D:D

What we know about it so far:


2000 model 4.6 HSE with 147k
Black exterior and Ash Grey leather interior
full service history
a couple of scratches on the body, but no fading on the bonnet or roof - looks like it has always been garaged
carpets look like new, rear seats perfect, front pretty good except:

has had a side-front impact and the driver's seat airbag deployed. Don't think the pre-tensioner has gone off.


Michelin tyres are about 80%
new looking air springs at rear, one of the fronts is popped... no problem, I still have my old front Gen III's here
steering arm is bent and the power steering box split... I know a guy ;)

We'll know more on Saturday when we get more time with it, but we think the biggest roadblock to getting it on the road again is going to be the SRS airbag.

So, does anyone out there have a driver's seat airbag they want to sell me, or suggest a place I can get one fairly quickly and at a reasonable price please?

What of the current Hard Rangie? Dunno yet. I offered the black one to my wife but she is happy with her TD4 Freelander :eek: and I really can't afford to keep 2 Rangies for myself, so I have some tough decisions ahead of me:


fix up the black Rangie, put some basic Hard Range bits (EAS Bypass, Gen III's etc) and sell it - pretty damn unlikely
fix up the black Rangie, and turn it in to Hard Rangie Mk2 "Black Label Edition" :p
sell the current Hard Rangie as is and hope to recover some of my costs (front and rear bars, new shocks and Gen III's, $2k stereo etc)
strip out some of the more expensive bits on the current Hard Rangie (front bar, UHF, stereo etc) and transplant them to the new one. Leave the 33"s, lift kit, 4.1 diffs, air locker and snorkel (Raised Air Intake) for someone who wants to use it as an off-road weapon
strip out all the "cool bits" from the current Hard Rangie and transplant them to the new one... but then I'd just be selling a scratched and dirty 1999 4.0 :(

Stay tuned if you are interested to see what develops.

Cheers
Paul.

[wayneg]

2 and 4

Even then some one will get a good reliable sorted car and you wont have to shell out to much to make the new toy a keeper.
Some cars have a perfect colour and a Black p38 somehow is just right.
Looking forward to your updates and even more some trip reports.
I have said this before and you may now confirm ... point a Thor 4.6 at a hill up or down, Sand or mud, let it do its stuff and you cant not be impressed. Its never going to be a full on extreme machine but I am sure you will push the boundary`s. ,. Enjoy the sound system air con and leather
I wish you well

[996TURBO]

5 :cool:
I enjoy the HSE extras every week end

[PeterH]

Congrats on the new beast Paul, you'll be happy when you finally get to climb in!
I concur with wayneg, optios 2&4 are the way to go.
Cheers, Pete.

[wayneg]

Dont want to appear a Vulture but you say its had a front impact, I cant see any damage on the N/S from the pic so whats the damage on the O/S. If the Brush bar is Bent can you think of me for the N/S brush bar wing.

[Remy]

I had heard that this was on the cards. Well done boys and good shopping Andy! Looking forward to seeing it.

PS Keep the Hard Range for your off road work and keep the pretty one for your daily driver. Scratches on black mmmmm and its only rego and 3rd party on the off roader. The wife doesn't need to know :)
Cheers,
Remy

[andrew e]

what a bomb.

chuck it in the bin and stop wasting time. :banana:

[DT-P38]

This is gonna sound a little devious in part, but anyway...

Get the black one prettied up and do something "temporary" to the freelander to disable it... this then forces your Mrs to drive the new p38 for some time. I would be pretty surprised if she wasn't won over within the space of a week or two... (mine only took just over a week!).

Once SWMBO is on side, fiddle with the new one to give it some "harden the rangie up" attitude but retain it's principle role as "Toorak". Continue to "Tractor" the blue beast and have 2 "Hard Range" demo vehicles representing the two varying P38 customer bases... on and off road.

Hey thinking about it... the black could become a go fast, on road, P38 (hasn't there been some talk of superchargers round here lately?) while the blue retains the go slow(ish), off road role... and really, who wouldn't one want a pair of P38 (black & blue) bruisers?

No offence, but whats a freelander good for anyway?

[33chinacars]

Hi Paul

Options 2 & 5 for me

Or maybe as dave said :wasntme: Ha Ha

Gary

[Junosi]

5 ! If you ever plan on having 33's again you'll kick yourself if you have to replace those diffs and lockers etc again too.

Then I reckon you and Andy should see how you can get a gen 3 V8 to drop in there :D

[LavisLane]

"...any colour you like, as long as it's black" :cool:

[Hoges]

major decision by 'virtual' consensus... is that a Canberra thing? :p:twisted::wasntme:

Like the Thredbo bumper sticker used to say "Just Do It!!" [tonguewink]

[PaulP38a]

major decision by 'virtual' consensus... is that a Canberra thing? :p:twisted::wasntme:


must be... my day job for almost 2 years has been deploying virtual meeting rooms around the country for hi def videoconferencing/TelePresence... I guess the notion of decision by committee is starting to rub off ;)

Still looking for a driver seat airbag... best deal so far seems to be TR Spares. about $200 so Andy tells me.

Will post a few pics up later after the weekend works on the Black Label.

Cheers, Paul.

[andrew e]

Paul, what do you think about L322 headlights? I have a pair laying around thanks to a nice fellow who can remain nameless [wink11]

People have a winge about the blinkers not fitting the curve of the bonnet, so i was thinking of modifying the origional blinkers to suit (i have spare orange ones to cut up first!)

The lower trim would be cut to suit......

Grill modified... somehow. mabe like the 2011 autobiography black :twisted:


Ideas, ideas....

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

[PaulP38a]

Might work, sure let's check it out. Do I lose the headlight wipers?

L322 lights are HID's aren't they? Think I saw a custom wiring loom on a site somewhere for the P38 to L322 light conversion.

Happy to go with a black grille :cool:

[996TURBO]

Paul, what do you think about L322 headlights? I have a pair laying around thanks to a nice fellow who can remain nameless [wink11]

People have a winge about the blinkers not fitting the curve of the bonnet, so i was thinking of modifying the origional blinkers to suit (i have spare orange ones to cut up first!)

The lower trim would be cut to suit......

Grill modified... somehow. mabe like the 2011 autobiography black :twisted:


Ideas, ideas....

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment.php?attachmentid=30907&stc=1&d=1289301181
I like that assy

[Keithy P38]

I say swap the awesome bits from your to the black label edition, and sell the 4.0 as a stocko with scratches and dents! You won't recover your hard-earned if you sell it with all the gear on it! And now you've got an extra 600cc and more HSE goodness to enjoy when recovering lesser vehicles!

[Fish78]

I photo-shopped a couple of pictures to show how the updated lights/grill could possibly look, they're are a bit rough but you get the idea.

http://tmitchell.smugmug.com/photos/1086467628_GHZxb-XL.jpg

http://tmitchell.smugmug.com/photos/1086467632_5PH2c-XL.jpg

[PaulP38a]

That actually looks pretty good. I could be very tempted except I think Andy has found a new application for them ;)

Fish - you are a Photoshop wizard :D

[andrew e]

I found a drivers seat airbag yesterday.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment.php?attachmentid=30954&stc=1&d=1289469870

Unfortunately i had to get the rest of the 01 HSE to match.

The really really unfortunate bit is that it is the cleanest imaculate p38 i have ever seen. It has had a light tap to the front - chassis appears to be straight, and i have most parts to repair. Will this be ANOTHER hard rangie, or stripped out and chucked on ebay....



http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment.php?attachmentid=30956&stc=1&d=1289470336

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment.php?attachmentid=30957&stc=1&d=1289470408


Jury is still out.

ps

The hard range stickers have also been made. This is the censored version. The other one will have the forum filter going off :D Paul should be giving them away at the rangies 40th in melbourne.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment.php?attachmentid=30955&stc=1&d=1289470270

Andy

[Scouse]

Right, you have enough now - stay away from the red one next week !!!
:D:D

[andrew e]

Right, you have enough now - stay away from the red one next week !!!
:D:D

and how many do you have????:D



you can have the red one, too many kms for me.

And red bumpers and mirrors :eek: looks like a used tampon.

[Scouse]

red bumpers and mirrors :eek: Hey, it's a very rare Rioja Red Autobiography ;).

[andrew e]

Hey, it's a very rare Rioja Red Autobiography ;).

Soneone has forgot to put the forrest on the dash, and paint the side skirts.

It must be a very very early autobiography (prototype???) being jan 97 build, before the minor 97 update.

This is a collector car, should go for 10-15k easy :D

I have a customer who lives up newcastle way with a real red autobiography. Its a private import and there were a few little differences beteen the aus ones and the pommy ones. (apart from only being available in gold and green).

Andy

[Keithy P38]

Are there any P38's left on the market after you lads whipped them up ;-p

Your making me jealous!

[LOVEMYRANGIE]

This is gonna sound a little devious in part, but anyway...

Get the black one prettied up and do something "temporary" to the freelander to disable it... this then forces your Mrs to drive the new p38 for some time. I would be pretty surprised if she wasn't won over within the space of a week or two... (mine only took just over a week!).

Once SWMBO is on side, fiddle with the new one to give it some "harden the rangie up" attitude but retain it's principle role as "Toorak". Continue to "Tractor" the blue beast and have 2 "Hard Range" demo vehicles representing the two varying P38 customer bases... on and off road.

Hey thinking about it... the black could become a go fast, on road, P38 (hasn't there been some talk of superchargers round here lately?) while the blue retains the go slow(ish), off road role... and really, who wouldn't one want a pair of P38 (black & blue) bruisers?

No offence, but whats a freelander good for anyway?

Gotta agree with this. Black P38 with some Rangie Sport big rims on it, rehash the suspension heights and give it bit more of a uber refined supersport look.
Might even open up a new range of goodies for the store!!

Cheers

Andrew.

[PaulP38a]

Gotta agree with this. Black P38 with some Rangie Sport big rims on it, rehash the suspension heights and give it bit more of a uber refined supersport look.
Might even open up a new range of goodies for the store!!


:eek:
I won't be so arrogant as to say "not ever"... I'll just say "not for now" ;)
... we're in the business of "HTFU my Rangie" rather than "pimp my Rangie" but maybe that will change one day...

The Black Rangie is going the way of the current blue Hard Rangie if SWMBO doesn't want it. Maybe the blue one will become a stock-ish 4.0 for SWMBO and it's goodies go to the black one?
Or I might just sell the blue one... too many decisions. Wish I could afford to keep all of them :(

Cheers, Paul.

[PaulP38a]

My Black Beauty is back from the body shop and looking "loverly".

Next we do the radius arm bushes, swap the grille for a black one, replace the driver seat airbag and go for rego.

Then it will be the fun stuff... swapping the cool bits from the Blue Hard Rangie to the Black Hard Rangie :cool:

I think Mr and Mrs Bundalene will be within their rights to charge me rent as I suspect I may be camping in their shed over Christmas, and Andrew e's better half will probably take out a contract on me (if she has not already) :D

Cheers, Paul.

[Scouse]

Woo hoo !!
:):)

[Keithy P38]

Sounds like it's gonna be a good one! I look forward to (hopefully) making a Dark Blue version of your Black Label Edition one day!

[RickP38]

Looking good Paul, can't wait to see the build!!!

[PaulP38a]

Thanks Rick... nor can I.

Need to catch up for a chat sometime and you can tell me about your trip.

BTW: does that Roo Bar on my blue Rangie look familiar? ;)

Cheers, Paul.

[RickP38]

Thanks Rick... nor can I.

Need to catch up for a chat sometime and you can tell me about your trip.

BTW: does that Roo Bar on my blue Rangie look familiar? ;)

Cheers, Paul.

For sure, trip was great, as you can see by my profile pic I made it across and onto the top of Big Red :D Highlight was the Rangie getting a certain 100 series out after going down to its diffs :cool:

Thought that was the bar on your blue one, looks good!!

Talk soon

[PaulP38a]

Finally! The Black Label Hard Rangie is legal. Good news is that NSW RTA told me it was not actually written off, just de-registered :)

Passed it's NSW Blue Slip with flying colours, NSW CTP Green Slip, Comprehensive Insurance and NSW Rego all sorted. For now it has a rego plate that looks/sounds like "Black Boxes" (BK 80 XS).

Photo below next to the "Blue Thunder Hard Rangie".

http://paulp38a.com/gallery/d/5121-1/IMG-20110531-00167.jpg

Going up to Bundalene's on Saturday to bring it home and see if it passes the "Wife Acceptance Factor" test. If it does, it will remain a "town car" and I will be selling a lovely 2001 TD4 Freelander. If not, it will become a black version of the blue "Hard Rangie" and the blue one will be sold, with or without all the "hard" bits.

Looking forward to the weekend ;)

Oh yeah, we are picking up another black one on Saturday for spare parts to share between Dave, Martin, Andy and me.

Cheers, Paul.

[RR P38]

Ooh now come on thats just showing off......2 P38s!
You must have plenty of spare time to work on the sodding things............... i do too.

A second P38 tricked up a little is almost appealing to me.
White not Black though:p

[DT-P38]

A second P38 tricked up a little is almost appealing to me.
White not Black though:p

A White Hard Rangie is coming to VIC very soon...

HRA Lift kit
33" Simex Jungle Trekker 2's
Tigerz11 12000lb winch on "Junosi style" discreet winch mount
Factory Roof rails, Rhino cage & Hella roof lights
Most of the "plastic fantastic" factory accessories
HRA Snorkel (one day!)
HRA Sliders (another day!)
Ron's Kaymar rear bar/wheel carrier (after ebay auction end day!)

[DT-P38]

ooops!

[PaulP38a]

The "Black Box" is home :cool: but the "Blue Box" is still in Sydney until I figure out what to do with it, or find a way of getting back up there to collect it.

Got pretty good fuel economy coming home, approx 13L/100Km sitting on cruise at approx 110kph. That's better than what I get with the "Blue Box". I expect that to change if/when the "Black Box" gets bigger tyres, diff ratios, front and rear bars etc.

Got a bit of a scare while adjusting the steering column... "SRS Airbag Fault"... which cleared after I stopped for petrol. I can feel a new rotary coupling coming on...

Love the HK sound system. An iPod adapter kit is on it's way from the UK. I kept looking at the stereo expecting to see my 7" touch screen Kenwood/GPS screen... wrong Rangie! Burnt CD's of Sting's live concerts worked a treat in the stacker :D

Heater works... temp dropped to 0 degC as I turned on to the Sutton Rd, approx 25Km from home.

Off to the car wash in the morning, and then perhaps a bit of a clean up inside and out before SWMBO gets a drive.

Cheers, Paul.

[rrturboD]

Paul,
You WILL be bringing it to the LRC-ACT meeting on Monday!

[PaulP38a]

Paul,
You WILL be bringing it to the LRC-ACT meeting on Monday!

Yes I will Michael, it is the Black Box or the Freelander... so it will be the Black Box ;)

Below is a pic from today after taking it through the car wash, fitting the bonnet protector, front mud flaps and roof racks. Not too shabby :cool:

http://paulp38a.com/gallery/d/5160-2/IMG-20110605-00186.jpg

[redandy3575]

Did you say your selling or will be selling the Blue one Paul??

[PaulP38a]

Did you say your selling or will be selling the Blue one Paul??

Sorta up to my wife at this stage what happens:


if she decides she wants the black one, I get to keep the blue one and we will sell the Freelander;
if she decides to stick with her Freelander, I will sell or part-out the blue one and turn the black one in to a Hard Rangie
hadn't though about selling the black one. If someone offered me an obscene amount of money I'd take it and buy Andy's grey 2001 P38 :p

[wanglemoose]

you need to get these decals tho
36567

[Hoges]

The "Black Box" is home :cool: but the "Blue Box" is still in Sydney until I figure out what to do with it, or find a way of getting back up there to collect it.......

Love the HK sound system. An iPod adapter kit is on it's way from the UK.

Cheers, Paul.

G'day Paul, which ipod adaptor did you end up getting? Do you have a model no. for it? what sort of cost to get it to Aus.?
cheers& TIA
Hoges

[PaulP38a]

G'day Paul, which ipod adaptor did you end up getting? Do you have a model no. for it? what sort of cost to get it to Aus.?

Hi Hoges, I've ordered this one ICD Direct Control iPod Interface (http://www.incaripod.com/Vehicle/Range_Rover/ICD_Direct_Control_iPod_Interface) for the 99+ Alpine head unit.

Cost around $210 AUD including delivery. They don't list Australia as a destination so you have to use their contact form and ask for a price.

Depending on the quality of the instructions that come with it, I may do a photo-journal write-up of how the installation goes when it arrives.

Cheers, Paul.

[PaulP38a]

You know it is a special day when you get your first EAS fault on a "new" vehicle :eek:

Happened to me a couple of mornings ago reversing out the driveway, and almost late for an appointment...typical! Didn't have time or inclination to plug in the laptop so took a gamble and popped the EAS Kicker Lite in the OBDII port and drove off. All was fine, got to work and back ok. No faults found that night (should have used the Buddy instead!).

Next day, all seemed fine until I went out at lunchtime and noticed that the EAS kept wanting to go to high mode... that's a bit odd, thought I. Got to my destination, switched off the car and the EAS compressor kept running :eek:

Popped the bonnet and the pressure gauge on the tank was off-scale and the compressor still running. Quickly disconnected the wiring harness to the compressor, and noticed the compressor body was really hot. This can't be a good sign methinks!

Fortunately, I was only 5 minutes from home so decided to swap cars and look at it that night. Popped in the EAS Buddy this time and drove home... the Rangie had suspension like a rock and just cleared my garage door on the way in... that 150+ psi in the tank must have leaked in to the air springs on the drive home.

That night, the only EAS fault I found in the Buddy's memory was all 4 sensors out of range. I decided to check out the compressor first to see if it had been damaged. The cylinder and piston seal looked fair (this is a Nov-2007 build compressor) but I decided to change them anyway. Next thing, 2 of the 3 bolts on the end plate sheared off while undoing them :eek::eek:. No real warning, just a bit tighter than usual, and then... snap! Fortunately I had another compressor (2003 build) on hand so I used that instead.

Observations from this saga:


late model compressors may have their bolts and end plate super-glued on?
something is odd in my EAS. Either the PRV or Pressure Switch, or both, are not functioning correctly. It has been fine for the past day but I don't trust it.
I am hoping it is just a mechanical problem somewhere. I don't fancy replacing the driver unit or EAS ECU.
At a minimum, the inlet solenoid valve is not sealing properly. A full valve block rebuild will be my next step.
Even though this P38 was always serviced by Land Rover (and I have had this verified), and brand new EAS components installed, it is still prone to issues that you need to deal with yourself.

Cheers
Paul.

[PaulP38a]

I may have a small problem regarding the new black "Hard Rangie".

My better half took it for a run down to the shops yesterday to see what it was like for parking etc... and then for a run over to her work to see how it went for parking and navigating the underground car park.

Then she kept on going and ended up in Gundaroo... and then back over to Bungendore. When the orange "feed me" light came on she reluctantly decided to turn around and come home rather than continue on to Braidwood and the coast.

All this with her Boxer dog on the back seat :o At least she put a blanket down to protect the leather.

At this stage I don't think the Black P38 will be getting the full Hard Range treatment, or that her TD4 Freelander will be getting much use any more.

So, what's the problem? I was getting used to the leather, sunroof, and that great HK/Alpine stereo. So I'm now banished to my Crewman ute until I get back up to Sydney to collect my blue "Hard Rangie" or convince/bribe/beg Andy to give me his grey one in exchange :cool:

Probably won't take much convincing to ask SWMBO to drive me to Bundalene's place in "her Rangie" :)

Cheers, Paul.

[101RRS]

Life is tough in the big city :D.

Be a man and stand up for yourself - show SWMBO who is boss :o.

[DT-P38]

I knew the P38 would win her over when given the chance...

Now sell that Freeloader off quick smart before she has to fill the tank a few times and start paying V8 fuel bills!

[PaulP38a]

Be a man and stand up for yourself - show SWMBO who is boss :o.

I wear the pants in this house!... SWMBO washes and irons them, and tells me which ones I can wear :angel:

Had to do a couple of construction site visits today. With the recent rain, the mud holes looked so tempting except I was in the ute and couldn't remember where the air intake was so took the path over the ruts instead :(

Wonder if she will let me borrow her car tomorrow?

[glenhendry]

I am against stickers generally, but Ill wear a couple of the Hard Range ones on the RR if they end up in my next package...