Thread: 1985 County "Upgrade"

I thought you were going to cut it up and use it as spare bits for the county... ( I would have)

you're closer to the people who needed the bits than I am and while I could get them I thought it would be easier from your end.

No biggie, good luck with the sale.

I cut a length of aluminium as a base for the cabin extension and jury rigged to get the correct clearances. Luckily one of the rear panels is straight enough to provide the infill.
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Nice work keep the pics coming !!
Got a defender I want to do that to...
Jeff

Originally Posted by jbell110

Nice work keep the pics coming !!
Got a defender I want to do that to...
Jeff

Well it may slow down over Chrissy, BTW I've never done anything this radical, so bear that in mind, if there are any mistakes you will see em here.!!
This pic shows the infill and the rear quarter panel it was cut from. There is just enough panel to do the job. Another way would be to use a LWB tub, but I'm on a budget. Also I decided to remove the series 3 filler as the newer 'fenders dont have them and the reason just might be an ADR that prevents fuel passing thru or communicating within the cabin. I'll either relocate it off the cab rear or continue to fill the under seat secondary tank via under the driver seat. Now that I'm thinking it will probably be running 95% on LPG anyway.

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Infill has gone into Driver side. Some bog and we are done. The same will happen to the passenger side and then I'll do the cabin upper sides from the series 3. The interesting bit will be the roof grafting at the front to a County windscreen.

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I've found a good spot for some secure storage behind the seats. I'll fit a toolbox thats just the right size and re use one of the lockable hatches that came with the white County. Maybe a job for later as i want to get this roadworthy as a priority.

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David

A bit more progress, despite Chrissy. The tray is on and brackets done, it may be sitting a bit high, as I allowed for the swampers to fit. After some serious offroading I will know better. The cabin was a bit wobbly because its extended 150mm so I re used the lower rear verticle panel from the station wagon - the one the front seatbelts fit to, cut off the ends and used it as a brace.Solid as a rock now and also will provide a good point to fit the seat belts. No need to drill any holes as they were already there. I've decided to hold off on lp tanks, winch, rollover protection and sunroof fitting till this thing is engineered and registered.

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This is the support bracket. The yellow aluminium panel at the top is the extension.

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David

How did you attach the Infill panel??? Weld, rivet??? Clag??

Love to know... this is a good conversion.

Originally Posted by sclarke

How did you attach the Infill panel??? Weld, rivet??? Clag??

Love to know... this is a good conversion.

Glue.
I put a panel in behind the "outer" or existing panel that overlaps the sides as much as possible and then made a "infill" panel flush with the existing panels and used glue on both, then just bogged it up. I'm relying on there being minimal stresses and if there are any I hope they go elsewhere- fingers crossed .
I've tried about 3 different glues and they all take 3 bloody days to dry and dry like sealastic. I reckon liquid nails would be as good as any, probably better and 25% of the cost..
I took your tip from the Grommet tutorial about needing more room. Thanks.
David