Thread: Grommet becomes a Utility, Gone the days of a hard top

Well i was thinking about making this part of the Members rides, but there is so much to do so it gets pride in the projects area....

So what have we and what are we trying to achieve?

We have a 1994 Landrover Defender Hardtop, 300Tdi R380 with about 320k on the clock.

We are trying to achive a conversion from the Hardtop to a Utility, Not a Tray, but a Tub. Simple really, i just need $$$$$$

Along the way i will be buying stuff and selling stuff, when i get a good deal i'll tell you where i got it from and how much. When i get ripped off i say nothing................

So far i have this..................


And i want it to become this


Well not exactly, i will keep mine White and i will have my own touches.
Alot of idea's i have have been tried and tested on Camila (old Fender)


Sliders, rear bar and other internal car will be the same......
I miss Camila, But Grommet will be far more fun and turn heads.

So here is what i will be doing over the next 3-1000 months (money permitting)
Convert to a Single Cab ute like the Green one.
Sliders and rear protection bars
Doors may become Series 3 doors due to rust in the Defender doors, but i'll try to fix the defender ones 1st.
Suspension will remain OEM, 130 coils in the front and the rear will remain 110, Shocks will be Koni as i have some in the shed.
Tyres............ for the bush 35" Simex, Street will be 235/85/16 BFG AT's
Rear ARB Diff lock with 130 housing (allready have it) i'll put my Maxi shafts from Grommets Std diff into it.
Endless air and tank from the existing AC compressor
Water tank into the rear, Stainless tank.
And all the normal stuff, GPS, UHF, RFDS radio ect....
Ohh and one day when it becomes avail at the right price... Warn 8274 Himount Winch.
Rear Tailgate will be a custom made swing door, like a Defender and not a Series.


OK, so apart from all the jabbering i have just done. Here is what i have found and started on.

RUST
Grommet has not had a nice time in the anti corrosion stakes.... due to poor design and living near the ocean, grommet has suffered from "Rooted Under Some Tar" Yep good old fashioned Rust. I spotted most of it when i bought him, and knew it would be bad, but like most things you dont know untill you poke around.
I took the Drivers door trim off 1st to try to fix a broken weld on the door frame to find Rust and a bit of it.... Not as bad as the Pass door, its ****ed.
Pix of the Broken frame and Rust...



I will weld this up today and then finish treating the rust (with disrespect)






What did it look like with the door trim on i hear you ask?????? OK, looked not that bad. If your door has some small bubbles on the outside and you look underneith the door and can see some rust...... Dont pull the trim off you will freak.....

they rust here from 2 reasons...... water gets in when it rains and it then starts electrolosis. The frame is steel and the skin is alloy..... 1 big battery with water and acid......
To stop this, well slow it down i have drilled 5x 10mm holes in the bottom of each door, helping with the drains

I then poked around the Firewall/bulkhead



More rust...... that will have to be treated and cut out when i put the Ute roof on it and pull the screen out.

Ok, so i'll keep you all updated on the rust fixing process......

What else have i done.....
I washed it.......

And i bought a Single Cab utility Roof and Rear panel with Glass.

Rear panel with glass is from a Series 3, why??? Stronger than a Defender and a better style of sliding Window.
I have pulled all the glass and runners out and its getting stripped back as the paint is stuffed and someone painted it in hammertone with no preperation...... Grrrr




So when the roof turns up i'll show you pix of it then i can start stripping Grommet.

Saturday morning i got very excited............
LRH was coming down to take posession of the Roof and the roof rack was going for a Trip to Sydney also.

So out with the 10mm and 13mm sockets and ring spanners.

3/4 hour later i had the roof unbolted.

Barney turned up just in time to give me a lift.

Now it looks like this..............






I'm going to go out now and see if its cooled down enough to paint the Rear cab panel in etch.

Updated 2 hours later

I went out and etch primed the rear cab. then thought what the hell and primed it at the same time. i need to fix a few things on the cab, and i will reprime those area's later. Here is the finished cab and i fitted it just to make it look more like a Ute.






Clarkie