Welding up the Floor Supports on my Range Rover Classic (Post #690) 2/9/2024

In this update I begin attaching the supports to the floor pan. Also in this update I tried to get carbon monoxide poison and avoided getting bit by a fiddleback spider.

I started on the supports and the first one was the strap across the back portion of the floor bed. When I removed the strap during my tear down I drilled out the welds. I did a decent job and only punched through on one weld. This allowed me to plug weld the strap back into place.

This was fortuitous. The other support beams are drilled through. That’s gonna make reattaching …difficult.

Since it was a bit chilly in the shoppe, I fired up the kerosene heater. I done this several times in the past. Before I closed the overhead door a little exhaust from the Big White Bus managed to get in. The heater must have added to a substantial amount of carbon monoxide. This set off the sensor. So I opened up the door to let the monoxides out.

I also moved the alarm, under the alarm was a damn fiddleback spider. The cold didn’t allow for the damn thing to scurry away. I ended it right there with a tap. When it twitched, I gave it a SMASH. One less brown recluse spider is a good thing.

I now have one of the three supports into place. The other two will not be as fun.

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Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

https://youtu.be/n2oFRhvDRRs

Does the Repaired Floor Pan Fit on my Range Rover Classic (Post #688) 1/19/2024

In this video, Part 4 of 12? (I’ve stopped counting), I dry fit the repaired floor pan and contemplate how I’m going to get the braces welded up.

Well…it fits. It’s not great, but I think it will work. There are going to be gaps and those will need some seam sealer to make them water-tight.

The holes in the panel will present a welding challenge. The holes will likely need to be filled prior to welding on either the brace or the panel. I’m not sure which will be the best.

So there are some decisions need and I’ll have to fix it to get this project completed.

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Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

https://youtu.be/99KY8okKVuo

Patching and Painting the Floor Pan on my Range Rover Classic (Post #687) 1/12/2024

In this week’s post I continue my work on the floor pan. This time it’s patching the panel wear rust munched it’s way through. I patched a roughly 4″ x 5″ piece and three holes. One was about the size of a quarter the other about the size of a nickel.

I made up a template cut it out for the 4×5 hole. For the smaller holes I drilled them out to make them uniformly round. This helped greatly with making the patches. The third hole I just welded shut by building up the weld to bridge the hole.

I had a bit of trouble getting the welder dialed in. I haven’t changed the setting but for some reason it the welder was being difficult. Once dialed in (set back to the original settings) I managed to get good penetrating welds.

Once it was all patched up I got some paint on every thing. I was also able to get some rattle-can rhino-liner/stone chip sealer on the Z bar. I still believe this is crucial to keeping the rust at bay for a few more years. I will likely put a bunch of seal sealer in there as well. Belt and suspenders if you know what I mean.

My next episode will be getting the cross beams installed. This will be a challenge I can assure you.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

https://youtu.be/uoWbYqQfFh0

Diagnosing a non-starting Range Rover Classic and Painting the Floor Pan (Post #686) 1/4/2024

Happy New Year!

In this episode I diagnose a non-starting Range Rover. Turns out it was actually pretty simple. I do some mostly-questionable things in this video. When working with gasoline (petrol for those of you in the “other English” speaking countries) you need to be VERY careful. More careful than I am in this video.

First, I try to catch fuel from the return line, which would not have come out of that line, it would come out of the rail on top the engine. In itself not terribly dangerous on a cold engine. The second is opening the fuel lines from the fuel pump. Again not terribly dangerous in itself, but not smart either. A little static electricity and this may have been my last video. So don’t be stupid.

SPOILER ALERT: Don’t read the next paragraph if you haven’t watched the video and still want to be surprised by the cause of my non-starting Range Rover Classic.

Ever run out of gas? Well, I have now for my second time in 44 years of driving. I ran out once when I was 18 years old. I was 2 miles from the gas station and just forgot to fill up the FIRST time I passed the station. My dad was cool, and came and got me, chastised me the 2 miles to the gas station and was kind enough to drive me back to my 1973 Ford Maverick.

The second time I ran out of gas…was apparently last week after I parked the Big White Bus. I guess I had just enough gas to get her back into the garage.

Yeah, my non-starting was due to an empty fuel tank. I put 8 gallons in and she started right up. LOL.

I took the rest of the day and finished welding the Z bar on to the rear floor pan. Then I painted it. I spend a little extra time spraying paint into the gap between the Z bar and the floor pan. The idea here was the liquid paint would go between the metals and hopefully coat between the two pieces. I will also file the space with rattle-can rhino-liner, chip sealer, or whatever you want to call it. Then I will fill the gap with seam sealer.

I got to some length about perhaps melting some wax and making it run in there. Sounds like a great idea, but probably not a great idea. I’ll stick to seam sealer.

That’s about it, Like and subscribe.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

Replacing the Fuel Filter on a Range Rover Classic (Post #685) 12/29/2024

In this episode, I replace the fuel filter on the Range Rover Classic.

I had a premonition that I might have a dirty fuel filter. I had decided I was going to change it and was planning when I might do that. Then I went out to the Big White Bus this weekend and she wouldn’t start.

Fuel blockage was on my mind already, and I locked in on that. You need four things to start a Range Rover:

  • Fuel
  • Air
  • Spark
  • Hope

I threw in that last one, better safe than sorry. I know I have air. I don’t know if any fuel is getting up there. When I spray with starter fluid it tries to run. I know spark has been an issue for me in the past, so this is why I didn’t have any hope.

The fuel filter was corroded on the fuel tank side. I finally managed to get some PB Blaster in there to break up the rust. The steel fitting had been in the filter TOO LONG. So once I got it off I installed the new one.

Unfortunately this wasn’t the issue. So I have to diagnose if fuel is getting to the rail, and I have to check if I have yet again destroyed a coil and or an ignition module. I don’t have spares, or I don’t think I do. So playing the Easter egg swap game hoping I find a bad component is probably not going to happen.

If I determine the spark is the issue, I’m going to move to a fully electronic distributor from D.U.I. Performance Distributors.

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Thanks for readying and Happy Rovering.

https://youtu.be/3xMBmw3om0U