Travo's 76 Two-Door Project.

[travascus]

Hey Folks, I've been lurking around for a while keenly following the threads, especially Phil's project. Last year I purchased a project of my own and have been collecting some major parts and now have it in reasonably close proximity to work on it.

I certainly don't want to trigger anyone, but I have planned an engine / driveline swap; LS (L77) + 6L80E + LT230 (via a Marks 4WD adaptor*). To handle the extra power and torque, I've chosen late Disco diff/axle/hub/brake assemblies front and rear. I also plan to use same era Disco 1 Brake booster and equipment to the brakes (which appear to be single line).

I have spoken to an engineer and nothing at this stage has given them the heebie-jeebies, simply asked that I be mindful about brake balance (propotioning) front and rear and use as much off the shelf parts as possible rather than boutique nonsense.

I really welcome all feedback and guidance as I begin my journey. I'm really excited to be a part of the community (saw a Defender on the weekend with and AURLO rear tyre cover).

I have some questions;
- I'm attempting to freshen the diffs / axles, should I go the whole hog and do the swivel hub bearings and seals on each side as well?
- Where to folks prefer to get their repair kits from?
- You can see the discs are a bit meh; skim or fresh? Caliper repair kit too?

Thanks in advance.

195165 195166 195167195168195169195170

[loanrangie]

I would be looking to fit vented front rotors with matching calipers that will bolt straight onto the D1 hubs, i think they are from the same era defender.
Yeah do the full swivel rebuild while you can , bearings are off the shelf at any bearing shop but seals are LR parts supplier only usually.

[travascus]

I would be looking to fit vented front rotors with matching calipers that will bolt straight onto the D1 hubs, i think they are from the same era defender.
Yeah do the full swivel rebuild while you can , bearings are off the shelf at any bearing shop but seals are LR parts supplier only usually.

I think that these brakes are ABS (because of the sensor hanging out of them), and I think that determines some of the repair kits that I can use.

[Tins]

I think the Range Rover first got ABS in 1989. Nothing to say that modifications have not occurred in the years before you got your car though.

[chuck]

Les Richmond did a great 2 door restomod "Avalanche"

Great watch, particularly liked the auto gear shift that looked like a manual

Might be a good watch for inspiration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9X90ktxd14

[travascus]

Might be a good watch for inspiration.

It is absolutely an inspiration! Thanks for calling it out. I have watched it a bunch of times for clues into the build. Even called LRA and spoke to Andrew to clarify some aspects of the build, he was gracious but not too forthcoming because doing great builds is there business. That Lokar shifter is definitely something I'm planning to include in mine.

[350RRC]

Hi Trav,

I have a 74 with a 350 and fitted a C9 Ritters conversion to it some years ago.

Ritters did these conversions in the early 80's for the Saudi market before LR were doing autos in RRC's. Custom bell housing and adaptor to the TC section of an LT94............stock mounts and prop shafts. Was a JLR option in Oz at the time, i.e. 'stock'.

Brakes.............went 'metric' around '81, meaning that the threads on the pipe glands and in the calipers and MC are metric instead of imperial.

Piston diameter was 43mm till around '93 in RRC's then went to 46mm and single line front system.

My set up is stock metric with 43mm pistons and solid calipers. I don't view vented as any real benefit for me and they are more prone to warping where water is involved.

I do have a D1 pedal box (double brake vac diaphragm) and a brand new stock twin line MC to suit ready to instal. This will require the later proportioning valve, all stock LR parts from slightly later models. The twin line MC is for a very specific D! from memory. I will have the P/N somewhere.

This is the same set up as a toy 76 2 door RRC I had for awhile that was on 35's and the brakes were really good.

Some years ago an engineer from NZ called Dougal came up with the idea of fitting 46mm Def front calipers to his 91 (ish) RRC, which was a huge improvement. Deleted the prop valve to achieve a nice balance F&R.

Wrote it all up (with part numbers) on the now defunct Outer Limits website. Dougal was his username on here so there is a bit of info available.

I think Vern from this site went down this path for his RRC and deleted the prop valve like Dougal and got engineer approval for the mod.

46mm front Defender calipers are available for solid or vented discs and in twin line and single line.

Any combination of the above could be fitted to D1 diffs. ABS is just a distraction IMO.

D1 pedal box and 46mm fronts could be great.

It's just a question of what is going to work for you.

cheers, David L

[travascus]

Any combination of the above could be fitted to D1 diffs. ABS is just a distraction IMO. D1 pedal box and 46mm fronts could be great. It's just a question of what is going to work for you.

That is really helpful information, thanks David!

[350RRC]

That is really helpful information, thanks David!

Just a slight correction..............

RRC's had 41.2mm piston callipers all round, not 43mm.

Defenders had the front 48mm piston callipers from roughly mid 80's onwards.

DL

[travascus]

Had a great day pulling down the front axle. Glad I did, the hub bearings were quite worn and the swivel hub seals were cactus. On inspection the axles seem to be in pretty good order, the splines are not damaged or worn and the hub axle bearing surfaces look pretty good.

As always, really happy to get feedback or insight from the community.

195398195399195400

Next jobs;
- clean up and order a couple of swivel hub overhaul kit (https://www.british4wd.com.au/swivel-hub-overhaul-kit-93-98)s.
- perhaps order a couple of caliper seal kits too
- remove discs and see if I can get them skimmed / cleaned up
- clean and refinish everything that makes sense
- reassemble

I'm thinking the best / easiest way to reinstall (given my work area) is to remove the existing axle and hang the reconditioned housing in place and rebuild / reassemble in place. That's should be a lot easier to manage and lift parts into place (I think).


Fun!

[travascus]

How do I determine the health of the CV joint and axle? I have cleaned some of the old grease out and I'm not sure how to determine how much play is acceptable in these units.

Any recommendations for a place in Melbourne for a second opinion?

[350RRC]

Had a great day pulling down the front axle. Glad I did, the hub bearings were quite worn and the swivel hub seals were cactus. On inspection the axles seem to be in pretty good order, the splines are not damaged or worn and the hub axle bearing surfaces look pretty good.

As always, really happy to get feedback or insight from the community.

195398195399195400

Next jobs;
- clean up and order a couple of swivel hub overhaul kit (https://www.british4wd.com.au/swivel-hub-overhaul-kit-93-98)s.
- perhaps order a couple of caliper seal kits too
- remove discs and see if I can get them skimmed / cleaned up
- clean and refinish everything that makes sense
- reassemble

I'm thinking the best / easiest way to reinstall (given my work area) is to remove the existing axle and hang the reconditioned housing in place and rebuild / reassemble in place. That's should be a lot easier to manage and lift parts into place (I think).


Fun!

76 would have had oil filled hubs. Do the hubs (bits with the steering arms) have a fill hole, level hole and drain hole? I dunno whether D1 did or not.

If they have those three holes and you want to go back to using oil there is a double lip seal that must be used. Oil is way better than using liquid grease IMO.

I'll have the specs for Def hubs if you want the wear limits........they should be very similar to RRC which I've possibly got as well.

Most people get new pistons with a seal kit for the callipers. It's all pretty straightforward except for the wiper seal retainers.

There is a thread on here somewhere that shows the best way to install those and genuine Lockheed are the way to go.

You don't need to split the callipers to put new seals in. I used a smear of rubber grease on the pistons when I did mine. If you don't know what that is don't do it.

76 is moist likely going to have imperial gland nuts on the ends of the metal brake lines. These will be incompatible with the metric threads on hoses for D1 callipers and any D1 master cylinder if that's what you're going to use. This will need to be sorted.

cheers, DL

[travascus]

76 would have had oil filled hubs. Do the hubs (bits with the steering arms) have a fill hole, level hole and drain hole? I dunno whether D1 did or not.

If they have those three holes and you want to go back to using oil there is a double lip seal that must be used. Oil is way better than using liquid grease IMO.

I'll have the specs for Def hubs if you want the wear limits........they should be very similar to RRC which I've possibly got as well.

Most people get new pistons with a seal kit for the callipers. It's all pretty straightforward except for the wiper seal retainers.

There is a thread on here somewhere that shows the best way to install those and genuine Lockheed are the way to go.

You don't need to split the callipers to put new seals in. I used a smear of rubber grease on the pistons when I did mine. If you don't know what that is don't do it.

76 is moist likely going to have imperial gland nuts on the ends of the metal brake lines. These will be incompatible with the metric threads on hoses for D1 callipers and any D1 master cylinder if that's what you're going to use. This will need to be sorted.

cheers, DL

Fantastic information DL — really appreciate it. The hubs do have three holes, but I will go with the liquid grease on mine and see how it fares, it'll probably be okay for what I'm doing.

Keeping an eye on the metric / imperial fasteners will definitely drive me nuts (see what I did there ;-) — it's definitely on my mind.

[travascus]

I've been working on restoring the D1 axles that I have to use, and it's coming up to time to install them, but I am having a hell of a time trying to remove the alloy wheels that are fitted. Tried some RP7 / CRC / WD40, long levers and dead hammers but they're not budging (weak! too much office work).

Any thoughts / suggestions?
Anyone want these wheels?

195666

[350RRC]

[QUOTE=travascus;3262683]I've been working on restoring the D1 axles that I have to use, and it's coming up to time to install them, but I am having a hell of a time trying to remove the alloy wheels that are fitted. Tried some RP7 / CRC / WD40, long levers and dead hammers but they're not budging (weak! too much office work).

Any thoughts / suggestions?
Anyone want these wheels? [QUOTE]

Are the nuts seized? Are they solid nuts, i.e. no metal covers?

If so I'd be using a pin torch on the visible end of the nut so it swells slightly before the stud gets time to expand from the heat.

It might take a bit of experimenting to get the timing right.

This technique also works on removing steering box pitman arms.

DL

[Woolly]

The alloy wheel nuts on my 98 D1 have stainless metal caps , which tend to distort if a rattle gun is used to remove them. Their body is cylindrical apart from a taper at the inner end, so if they have not been undone for a while, may have corrosion on the straight steel sides where they fit into the alloy wheel. I would suggest a six sided socket and the longest breaker bar you can find, possibly with a pipe extension over it. Make sure you have no body parts ( yours or the Rangie’s) in the way if it gives suddenly.
As a quirky aside, the early Rangie owners book warns not to put alloy wheels on them. Must be some difference with the wheel studs .
Good luck, Woolly.

[scarry]

I've been working on restoring the D1 axles that I have to use, and it's coming up to time to install them, but I am having a hell of a time trying to remove the alloy wheels that are fitted. Tried some RP7 / CRC / WD40, long levers and dead hammers but they're not budging (weak! too much office work).

Any thoughts / suggestions?
Anyone want these wheels?

195666

If you can get the nuts undone,but wheel won't budge,leave nuts loose and drive vehicle up and down the driveway slowly,or where ever,and they will loosen.

common problem with alloy wheels on many brands of vehicles.

[DoubleChevron]

I ended up with another car here last week. I found the same thing with its wheels. I started with my little ozito battery impact that will usually remove the 27mm range rover nuts... but this little passenger sedan ... I moved onto a 1 meter long breakers bar and couldn't budge them (how in the hell can you get them that tight and not sheer the damn things off). In desperation I pulled out my big 3/4" impact wrench used for crank nuts and driveshaft nuts (really is designed for heavy machinary). It did remove them easily, the suprising bit is it did it without sheering all the studs off.

I should ask the previous owner what tire shop did the tires .... so I can go have a "discussion" with the nuff nuffs working there. There is no chance in this universe I would have been able to change those wheels on the side of the road!

seeya
Shane L.

[Meccles]

On mine the hub is slightly bigger diameter than these later model alloys. So the alloys have to be "trimmed" a bit to fit. My guess is yours haven't been trimmed enough so wheel hub is jammed on axle hubs. Double Chevrons idea sounds a good one to work them loose

[loanrangie]

On mine the hub is slightly bigger diameter than these later model alloys. So the alloys have to be "trimmed" a bit to fit. My guess is yours haven't been trimmed enough so wheel hub is jammed on axle hubs. Double Chevrons idea sounds a good one to work them looseI had the same issue when I put D1 steels on my 81 rrc in 1994, had to grind the hub and drive flange a little to get them on.

[350RRC]

Keeping an eye on the metric / imperial fasteners will definitely drive me nuts (see what I did there ;-) — it's definitely on my mind.

Post a pic of the brake MC, that will tell if your metal lines are metric threaded gland nuts or not.

I have a vague recollection that all the RRC callipers have a metric thread for the brake hose at the lower end, but the upper end of the hoses can be metric or imperial because there is a difference in parts catalogues for metric or imperial brake hoses.

You need to get professional advice with this.

cheers, DL

[kellen302]

The metric/imperial difference for the brakes is easiest to tell from the MC. They changed the mounting bolt orientation between the two so that they cannot be mixed up. The earlier imperial master cylinder has the bolts running vertical, the later metric MC has them horizontal. The changeover was in the early 80's but I suspect there was some bleed over between them based on supplier availability and the delay in shipping things to Australia.

[travascus]

Huge weekend. Moved the project to a mates place (legend has a hoist) and spend a full day installing the Disco 1 front axle assembly, reusing the struts and springs that were already inplace along with the rod panhard rod, tie rod and the drag link. Actually pleased with how straight forward this was; a little Land Rover LEGO?! Don't want to speak too soon and put a moz on this project. Having fun.

If anyone is keen, I will offer the old front and rear axle assemblies for sale; not sure what a reasonable asking price for these should be, any advice here would be appreicated. I was thinking $750 each? They actually have new brake assemblies and at the least the rear one has been gone through, but the front is questionable. I will pressure wash the old front axle and see how it looks.

195870195871195872195873

[travascus]

Back at again this last weekend and got the Disco 1 rear axle reassembled with new bearings and seals and then installed in the Rangie. Again, not pushing my luck here, but this is definitely some Land Rover Lego, super grateful.

Pics from the reassembly;
195967195968195969195970195971

Pics from the installation;
195972195973195974195975

Not sure any of these are super helpful, when I'm working I'm focused on "gettin' 'er done" and forget to take many pictures.

One thing I neglected to photograph was the work I did relocating the RHS shock hanger from rear mounted to front. This went pretty well and I'm happy with the location and reuse of the existing mount. I was considering upgrading to later mounts that use a nut and washer, but it occured to me that it might be possible to put at thread on the end of the existing mounts — has anyone done that (rather than the agricultural washer / split pin style)?