 | Home > My Defender > V8 90 Soft top thread! at last! |
 
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| ian series 1 Member Since: 17 Nov 2014 Location: south Posts: 3127   
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This is really making me think a v8 90 will be the next project now .......
 80" 80" 86" 88" 90"
Wanted, Forward Control Anything considered. |
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15th Dec 2017 9:33pm |
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| GREENI Member Since: 22 Aug 2010 Location: staffs Posts: 10382
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Yes Ian
I'll pm you for a dry weekend Mike  |
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15th Dec 2017 10:04pm |
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| mikeh501 Member Since: 07 Jan 2013 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 1142
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First things first…. A rolling chassis
So yeah, I knew enough that I had to get this thing built up onto its wheels, at which point I could then drop in the engine and transmission. Sounds easy when you say it quick. I decided fairly early on that I wanted some bigger tyres, so using the existing ones was out. My landie is a 200tdi so it has the earlier axles on it with the narrow radius arms etc. It was at this point I decided to get some new axle cases, and basically transplant my diffs into those cases. I had a nice ATB and HD half shafts at the rear already and wanted to retain them. It also meant that the new suspension kit could be ordered on the later axles type which provided lots of options given they were used from 1994 onwards. Its amazing what you can get through the post these days and Id say most of the chassis came via royal mail which is amazing when you think about it lol
I bought 2 NOS axle cases from parts suppliers on eBay. No tom dick and harries and they were obviously bran new. Didnt cost as much as you think, and gave me a perfect start point.  Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge The first extravagant decision! I decided to get the bling D44 axle protectors. This meant I could ditch the wraparound type I had been using up to then, which would give me an extra inch of clearance. It was an expensive inch! I had the original axle pans cut off and these welded on in place. Click image to enlarge Then ground off the existing suspension cups which was recommended as part of the suspension install to give more articulation. Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Paint! Click image to enlarge A tip. Dont use an engine lift as a hoist….. I came back the next day to see how they were drying and they were lying on the floor. The lift slowly came down overnight! The paint I used and would highly highly recommend is this stuff Click image to enlarge Expoy mastic 1-2-1. This stuff sets rock hard. Its like sikaflex paint if you like. Is a 2part paint, so goes off even when its cold out and doesn’t take hours. The bling! Click image to enlarge |
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16th Dec 2017 1:58pm |
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| L110CDL Member Since: 31 Oct 2015 Location: Devon Posts: 10756 
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Just caught up on this thread as i remembered seeing some pic's of your 90 before, as said before keep the pic's and info coming
its going to be awesome  1996 Golf Blue 300Tdi 110 Pick up.
Keeper. Clayton. |
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16th Dec 2017 8:59pm |
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| mikeh501 Member Since: 07 Jan 2013 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 1142
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Thanks all. Hope your enjoying this so far, I know I am. Kinda therapeutic to write it all down tbh. I should be able to post an update tomorrow
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17th Dec 2017 9:00pm |
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| mk1collector Member Since: 17 Sep 2009 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 6769 
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Loving it
Ray
My build thread http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic17615.html |
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17th Dec 2017 10:32pm |
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| mikeh501 Member Since: 07 Jan 2013 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 1142
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Suspension, so much choice.
Like most of us you will have seen the huge amount of choice out there for defender suspension; from fast road, to britpart to extreme lifts. Up to this point, I was using standard height springs coupled with koni +2 dampers, and in all honesty it worked. I usually got stuck due to cross axling or because my diff had turned into a plow  I also knew I wasn’t using my old suspension, nor any of the linkages in this build, given I was running later axles.
I had a look at all kinds of options, from fox shocks to king shocks, terrafirma extreme etc etc. I eventually went with a name who is hugely respected in defender circles and knew I would get the backup from - gwyn lewis. I went with the Gwyn Lewis Extreme kit in the end. Everything is galvanised and chunky, has the build quality of OME dampers and springs and has all been tested by Gwyn and im sure many others. Should be good for some pretty extreme articulation, coupled with the +11” dampers! Springs from OME come in all kinds of ratings, and IIRC I went in the end for a progressive springs all round, with a similar poundage as standard, but ramping up to a mid-weight (not HD) poundage, and all in +2” from standard. Im hoping given the v8 weighs slightly less than the diesel that ill get a very slight body lift. We shall see…. more later. The few bits that I didnt source from Gwyn were the radius arms, trailing arms and A-frame. I get all these from Adrenalin 4x4. Beefed up and cranked radius/trailing arms ensure the correct geo with the longer springs, and the A-frame with rose jointed coupling allows the full travel of the shocks. Last thing was an upgrade to polyurethane bushes across the board. Pretty much the ultimate setup really unless I went with a king setup and major body mods to accommodate. Gotta remember that visually I want it to look pretty stock and I wasn’t going mad on the tyre size. Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge |
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18th Dec 2017 4:22pm |
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| L110CDL Member Since: 31 Oct 2015 Location: Devon Posts: 10756
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Many thanks for that update
1996 Golf Blue 300Tdi 110 Pick up.
Keeper. Clayton. |
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18th Dec 2017 9:20pm |
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| mikeh501 Member Since: 07 Jan 2013 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 1142
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Progress… felt like a lot, but looking back this was the big mechanno stage which makes you feel like you’ve accomplished a lot!
Now that the axle cases were painted, I did consider building them up first, but instead decided to fit the axles to the vehicle and then later jack up the axle one side at a time and build up the stub axles etc. This doesn’t seem to be the way most people do it, usually building up the entire axle and then fitting it in one go, usually with the wheels on. Worked for me anyhow, and was quite a bit easier to haul the parts around. Started with the rear end, and all the bracketery fitment was straight forward. The Gwyn Lewis stuff comes optionally galv’ed as i’ve not had much luck in the past with powder coat, galv is always the way imho, and it nicely matches the chassis. Just a big silver truck lol. Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Fasteners! a hot topic around these parts, but I knew I wanted as much SS in this build as I could. The plain steel stuff just rusts before your eyes in the winter. I used a variety of bolts depending upon the application. On the load bearing side, I generally went with normal steel bolts of 10.9 or 12.9 strength, then for those areas where there are larger number of bolts like the suspension turrets or rear damper or spring brackets I used A4-80 stainless fasteners. For general construction stuff I just went with normal A2-70 stainless bolts and screws. One of the big ball aches was fitting the poly bushes. These either went in easy, or were a total nightmare. The vice or LR tool #1 persuaded it eventually
Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge One of the things I thought would be cool, would be an aftermarket A-frame. For a coupe of reasons, really. I didnt have one! it was still on the landie, and secondly I thought the adrenalin a-frame would nicely match the arms I had. Apparently the rose joint will also allow even more articulation but that wasn’t my primary motivation. Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Now onto the front end, I started using duralac to protect the surfaces between the stainless bolts and the zinc coating. Probably overkill, but why not; and I read it helps with stainless galling which I encountered a few times. Strange thing when the bolt just seizes itself up and welds together if you do it up too fast. Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge So, serious progress! I was pretty happy with how far it had come by this point, and it didnt really take much more than a couple of weekend sessions. |
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19th Dec 2017 5:54pm |
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| Sulisuli Member Since: 30 Oct 2016 Location: South west Posts: 4795 
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Very impressive with great attention to detail, brilliant read. 2015 HT XS 90
2008 SVX 90 2000 XS TD5 90 |
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19th Dec 2017 6:10pm |
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| Mash Member Since: 09 Feb 2015 Location: Guernsey Posts: 1674  
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Sooo many shinny things
looks like a great base to a V8 can’t wait for the finished article, I will be keeping up to date via this thread. 90 wolf - Jasmin http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic39408.html
90 V8 - Maggie http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic42564.html 110 TD5 - Buggsy http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic59029.html 52HG25 lightweight https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic72342.html D3 Hse - Fiona Capri 2l S - Anna Think I might have a problem............ |
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19th Dec 2017 7:19pm |
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| Pickles Member Since: 26 May 2013 Location: Melbourne Posts: 3784  
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Lots of great work there Mike.
Looking good, Pickles. |
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19th Dec 2017 8:58pm |
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| Romadog Member Since: 07 Jul 2011 Location: Powys Posts: 1749 |
Excellent job
Didnt notice the Aframe chassis mounts before 
Must go and clean my workbenches   |
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20th Dec 2017 9:19am |
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| GREENI Member Since: 22 Aug 2010 Location: staffs Posts: 10382
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I have a press for next time!!!
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20th Dec 2017 2:22pm |
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