Thread: Toms 81 2 door rangie

First thing first was to get rid of as much of the dirt and lichen that has grown over the last 17 years. Not only was it hiding the car but the smell was unbearable and would give you a headache. For this I just took the pressure washer and blasted as much of it off as I could. It will get paint eventually so I wasn't too fussed with protecting the paint from the high pressure water.
After getting most if it off I found that the roof rack on the car had been tek screwed on and those tek screws had pulled out of the roof so water could get it. Luckily the dirt and debris had sealed these holes so water couldn't previously get in. More on that soon. Anyway enjoy this short little clip of me spraying the gunk off.

Looks like a great find, nice and straight and original! Drove mine for the first time to Geelong and back at the weekend. SWBO said it’s more comfortable than our Disco. You will find this forum a great help to get it going again.
Cheers,
Woolly.

Hi Tom,

Good work on the cleaning job - it's already made a big difference!

I am currently restoring a 1976 - 2 door - White... It's my twin!

Famous Four in the UK sell a lot of parts for these - but freight is always a killer.

AusClassics here in Victoria (Ballan) do interiors.

There is a guy on Ebay that lives in Frankston who wrecks old Range Rover Classics.

Some jobs are easy - others, not so easy.. I found taking out the rear windows to be a big challenge. Maybe it was just me!

Keep up the good work - mine is coming home from the painter soon..

Cheers,
GG.

Thanks for the words of encouragement guys!
I'm very fortunate to have a Rangie mechanic in my family circles so in terms of knowledge and experience there is ample there
Thank you for the suggestions too!
First thing we did when we inspected the vehicle was hook up a battery and try and get it to turn over. It didn't. Starter engages but no movement. A previous car I had looked at did the same thing but after a couple flicks miraculously turned over so I crossed my fingers and flicked the key again but nothing happened. Bummer. But for the price I got it for a cooked engine didn't do too much to dampen my spirits considering how straight the body was (from what I could see anyway), and how clean and original the interior was. This was a huge selling point for me as most of the vehicles I had looked at had incomplete or damaged interiors. Not this one though.
After getting home I pulled the plugs to try and get an idea of what I was working with, and low and behold; rust. The cylinders were full of it. This leads me to believe the head gaskets had gone and the car had say with water in the cylinders. Dropping the oil confirmed my suspicions as the first 500ml or so was the cleanest water you could imagine.
This engine won't run without a complete rebuild so in the meantime I have sourced another powerplant that will be taking its place so I can slowly work on the original engine but enjoy the car at the same time.



Moving away from the engine then I turned my attention to the interior, and cleaning it up as best I could. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dirt and grime, some parts were barely recognisable! A mate suggested I use vinegar to clean up the grime and low and behold it worked like a charm! Most of these parts I thought were beyond dead and would require replacement, but with some patience and a bottle of white vinegar they came up looking pretty damn good.

Looking forward to watching the progress as I’ve started on my 76 two door which I picked up Boxing Day, I wish mine had come up as nice after only a clean🤣 but loving it all the same.

Nice find...amazing amount of algae (or whatever it is) growing on the outside.

Keep the photos coming.

cheapest/best option IMO .... find a disco 1 with a good driveline .... and move the 3.9 -with hotwire, R380 and LT230 into the 2door

Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

cheapest/best option IMO .... find a disco 1 with a good driveline .... and move the 3.9 -with hotwire, R380 and LT230 into the 2door

I did just that with mine - except using the auto box as that's what I wanted in it. Easy enough job and you can find reasonable D1's for a steal that can still be driven to check everything before purchasing.