Steering column surround (plastic)

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Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

Well done!!! The outside of that one looks perfect (if the screw holes are broken away, you can still work with that :) ). Decent range rover classic plastic dash parts are impossible to find!

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I should have learned from previous experiences that the interior of the now 'farm truck' was fragile, but it is also a bit "too nice" for a farm truck - if you know what I mean... So you can imagine how gutted I was whilst being as careful as one can be with RRC interior plastics - and for it to literally crumble in my hands as I removed it from the column..... and all because the one in the LSE was totally munted, missing the switch escutcheon for the rear wiper and half the key surround.

The more I look at it, the more I am convinced that I had seriously undervalued the farm truck, and could have sold it about 5 times over for (conservatively more than double) what I paid for the LSE - even with the problems (which are relatively easy to repair, but not cheap- if one had time).

I stumbled upon a d2 locally which could possibly be an engine/trans donor for the farm truck - the thor v8 literally just had it's heads off and top end redone, so that would keep the old fella rolling for a good while longer, and give me more time to get the interior of the LSE up to my liking...
Since I now have two RRC's with what feels like equally fragile and partially destroyed interiors, I am not opposed to the thought of returning all the good bits I took from the farm truck back into it and maybe doing a soft dash conversion on the LSE.... but ahhh.... time, money.... and getting the LSE sorted is my primary goal here.
Thinking about purchasing a parts car for driveline bits - for a car that I will use around the paddocks... when I should be thinking 'priorities' and taking smaller steps and just getting the LSE sorted electrically and the interior acceptably clean... but then I went tangential and thought about soft dash swapping it... That would put even less stress on the interior parts pillaging... Plus the electrics could be tackled in more serious deep ways with the whole dash and ancillaries out.... ugh. It's briniging back memories of 2015 when I did it to the farm truck and half wish I had done it that way back then....

But today I have a slasher gearbox to rebuild - needs a new input shaft and gear, as well as replace the blades and new blade beams to install. That's not a small or particularly easy job, and the wind is positively glacial today. the august weather has come a few weeks early...

first world problems eh? [bigwhistle]

A couple of pix of the interior before I post it to you.

Note the U-shaped moulding in the bottom left corner. It's complete.
Attachment 186320

Note the matching one in the bottom right corner. It's broken.

Attachment 186319

Also note the steel bars that join the two halves. One has been cut off. I hope you still have at least one of the bars left over from yours. They are tapped at both ends.

If you don't want it any more, I won't post it tomorrow.

Ron your a legend and how do you find parts so cheap [thumbsupbig]

I need to take Shane's advice and not pull things apart and end up with a big project which just sits in the shed for years causing more grief.....

So far I have shown much restraint into ripping into my LSE. Careful - there's a bunch of people out there who will tell you there were only ever 50, or 50 per year, or some rubbish......

It's a pretty big job to fit the softdash into the hard dash without some decent fabrication, it's a big project if you're a diy'er like me.

I have picked up a few parts cars over the years, interiors are just hard to get in good condition. So many people drill holes in everything, add switches, put bigger stereos and speakers in, put in more dials.....

Am keen on your comments about carpet kits for the LSE, I have failed in ordering plush mat sets for mine, luckily, they have found homes in other cars but I am close to having a local trimmer custom make some for a price I am still not at the point of paying....but its growing on me...

I am still working out how to get all the silastic of my paint work where the previous owner (who absolutely loved the car) stuck the license plate off center on the tailgate and a few other accessories.

I am also a vote for ABS and EAS - both painful if not looked after. I keep an eye on my local wreckers' yards and have scavenged a few ABS pumps from P38's so hopefully when the time comes I will have a working spare.

You can always give Ron a call - he seems to know where all the rocking horse poo is sold [wink11]

Hi John. I just happened to see the shroud on Sunday at the LR Expo. I was going to get the seller’s details so I could pass them on when he said he only wanted $5 for it. I thought I’d take a punt on it.

I’m sorry I didn’t think of you when I gave away a P38A EAS valve block on Sunday. 🙁

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Originally Posted by jsp

Ron your a legend and how do you find parts so cheap [thumbsupbig]

I need to take Shane's advice and not pull things apart and end up with a big project which just sits in the shed for years causing more grief.....

So far I have shown much restraint into ripping into my LSE. Careful - there's a bunch of people out there who will tell you there were only ever 50, or 50 per year, or some rubbish......

It's a pretty big job to fit the softdash into the hard dash without some decent fabrication, it's a big project if you're a diy'er like me.

I have picked up a few parts cars over the years, interiors are just hard to get in good condition. So many people drill holes in everything, add switches, put bigger stereos and speakers in, put in more dials.....

Am keen on your comments about carpet kits for the LSE, I have failed in ordering plush mat sets for mine, luckily, they have found homes in other cars but I am close to having a local trimmer custom make some for a price I am still not at the point of paying....but its growing on me...

I am still working out how to get all the silastic of my paint work where the previous owner (who absolutely loved the car) stuck the license plate off center on the tailgate and a few other accessories.

I am also a vote for ABS and EAS - both painful if not looked after. I keep an eye on my local wreckers' yards and have scavenged a few ABS pumps from P38's so hopefully when the time comes I will have a working spare.

You can always give Ron a call - he seems to know where all the rocking horse poo is sold [wink11]

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I'm going to look at a D2 this afternoon. It may be the donor vehicle of desire, or it may not be... we'll see.

I'm told by seller that it has a good v8 drivetrain (thor) and the LT was recently reco'd and has the CDL. So that's quite possibly a useful donor - in that the RRC will get a replacement engine and box, while the LSE may get a softdash and centre console... maybe.. we will see.

The D2 needs some things for rego - like bumpers and other bits, but it looks ok in pics. I know the guy selling, so it's not misrepresented, I saw the engine with it's heads off a couple months ago, to fix the usual head gasket dilemma. Now has arp studs as well so that's a bonus.

Anyway, not counting chickens. If this comes off, I may be able to rescue both RRC's with the donor D2 and someone else might benefit from the leftover parts.

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Originally Posted by p38arover

Hi John. I just happened to see the shroud on Sunday at the LR Expo. I was going to get the seller’s details so I could pass them on when he said he only wanted $5 for it. I thought I’d take a punt on it.

I’m sorry I didn’t think of you when I gave away a P38A EAS valve block on Sunday. 🙁

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Hey Ron all good and thanks for thinking of me at all :) I have enough spare valve blocks as long as it went to helping someone out :) If you come across end caps for classic air springs I am interested in making a few new springs up with new bellows :)

And back to the original post, I would encourage putting the LSE back on air :)

Are the Classic end caps different to the P38A?

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Originally Posted by p38arover

Are the Classic end caps different to the P38A?

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That I do not know.
It's been a long time since I was up close and personal with a P.

There's a guy in Cairns with three of them that he's parting out (in various dishevelled stages of canniballization)

He has them advertised on marketplace: Log in to Facebook

Is there anything you want me to look for when I'm down there next? I can always ring him and ask if he's got bits laying around - he does work at an independent LR workshop. There's a couple of guys up on the tablelands who accumulate landies, mostly for parts donors and their own projects but I don't think they have any p38's. I'll ask around.

Thanks again Ron for the steering column surround, It's most graciously appreciated.

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Originally Posted by Mercguy

That I do not know.
It's been a long time since I was up close and personal with a P.

There's a guy in Cairns with three of them that he's parting out (in various dishevelled stages of canniballization)

He has them advertised on marketplace: Log in to Facebook

Is there anything you want me to look for when I'm down there next? I can always ring him and ask if he's got bits laying around - he does work at an independent LR workshop. There's a couple of guys up on the tablelands who accumulate landies, mostly for parts donors and their own projects but I don't think they have any p38's. I'll ask around.

Thanks again Ron for the steering column surround, It's most graciously appreciated.

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Soft dash for sale. It looks like the dash doesn't hold up well either :(

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I think that was Grimace's old POS that he flipped ages ago. he did have a couple - I can't remember if that is the exact one, but it was floating around BrisVegas for a bit.

Looks like current owner has performed a few additional "modifications" in the interim... [biggrin][bigwhistle]