Author: Okierover

I'm just your average former United States Marine, married to an awesome woman, with amazing kids...and the cutest grand kids. My Profile.
Posted on

Door Handles That Last (Post #611 ) 6/5/2023

If you were to rate the most annoying things on a Range Rover Classic at the top of that list would be the Questionable Use of Paint and Seam Sealer to Prevent Rust. I think we could all agree with that. The second item has GOT to be the Door Handles.

At some point in owning a Range Rover Classic or a Discovery 1 you will have a door handle fail. I’m not sure what specific material the door handles are made from. I’ve speculated in another post that they were made from Play-DohTM. I’m pretty sure they are made from some kind of aluminum mache’ and hope. You might as well say they were made of Unobtainium [Wikipedia] because finding a set of new/old stock (ran out decades ago) or on a rig in a breaker’s yard (aka junk yard in the USA). I haven’t seen a Range Rover in a junk yard since 2016 [Okierover.com]. The odd one may have snuck past me in that time…suffice to say they are getting rare. Spotted one in 2015 and 2011.

It was quite frankly a surprise to me that it took so long for some smart guy or girl to machine their own. I am surprised no longer. A gentleman right here in my home state of Oklahoma is making them. This is the best of all possible situations, Made in Oklahoma, Small Business, genuinely nice guy, and almost certainly better than OEM.

Chris McCune‘s [Facebook] handles are made from 6061 aluminum. I am but a simple caveman and your systems of measurements of specific metals frightens and confuses me, but when I get in my Range Rover Classic and drive to the mall through the outback, I want to open the doors with the handles and not crawl in the window like psychopath.

(Apologies to the, now deceased, genius of Phil Hartman for the paraphrase above.)

You are more likely to pull the entire handle assembly off the door, than to have one of these break like the OEM handles. He’s so confident in his design he is offering a Limited Lifetime Warranty. Basically as long as you aren’t using the handle as recovery point when you get stuck, he’ll make it right if one of his handles fail.

This is an unsponsored product recommendation. I have not been compensated in any way to promote Chris’s products. I’m just helping out a fellow Okie with his small business in this niche market.

The next time you tear your door handle remember Chris and order some handles. I would publish the price, but prices of metals change and I don’t want someone in the future who may be reading this post to get the wrong idea about what the handles cost. At the time of this post (June 2023), they are fairly priced. I’ve seen them for sale for more than this and have purchased some crappy OEM ones for this same price. Click the link above and send him a Private Message.

I looked up my previous posts on door handles, check those out too. One contains the instructions for replacing your door handles.

Why Children Should Not Drive Your Toys, Part 2 (Post #283) 1/21/2012
Weekend Repairs (Post #358) 6/21/2013
Door Handles: The Trapeze of Opening (Post #342) 5/24/2013

Thanks for Reading and Happy Rovering.

Posted on

30 Years of Sun Have Destroyed My Dash Vents (Post #610) 5/30/2023

Rocky Mountain Rover Printed Parts
Rocky Mountain Printed Rover Parts Find them on Facebook

The sun is very hard on your plastic parts. Oklahoma City (the nearest metropolis) receives an average of 235 days of sunlight every year. That means about 68% of the time the sun is shining down on our British rust buckets providing something like 3,089 hours of sun in an average year. And all that sun with its ultraviolet rays really does a number of certain kinds of plastics. This is an excerpt from “UV and its effect on plastics: an overview” [www.essentracomponents.com].

But what about plastic – how is it affected by the varying types of UV?

If plastic has been affected by ultraviolet rays, you may notice:a

  • a chalky appearance
  • the component surface becoming brittle
  • a color change on the surface of the material

In terms of the components more likely to be at risk of UV damage, automotive parts are high on the list. The effects will predominantly result in a change of the material’s surface layer – and some plastics, if damaged by UV, will ultimately lead to the component failing altogether – not good news when a project is near completion or has been finalized.

If you need to know more about the sun’s effect on plastic head over there for details.

So what did I do to slow the inevitable? I’ve painted my surfaces and given them a coat of matte finish sealer. Will it work, probably not! But at least I tried something. Only time will tell.

As you will see in the video below, my dash vents are knackered. I reached out to some vehicle-parters and wasn’t happy with the parts they offered. I mean, I’m going to buy 30 year old vents that haven’t had quite as many hours of sun on them than mine? Nah. Then I stumbled on Rocky Mountain Printed Rover Parts [Facebook]. I messaged Jordan and asked if he had the vents. He said he would need to make them and sure enough he did. I ordered 4. I painted two of them to match the new dash color and as you will see in the video got them installed.

Two things need to be adapted, no holes in the sides for the vent hose adapter and the pins for the restrictor plate were not defined enough for the plate to stay in place. So I drilled the holes and glued the plate on. I used 1/8th pop rivets so I drilled a 9/64th hole and popped them in.

Pro Tip: Drill the holes where it will be easiest to use the pop rivet tool to install the rivets. Think about it and lay it out first.

I’m super happy I found him. I mentioned the vents in the D pillar would probably be another great item to 3d print. He agreed.

I bought these, they weren’t given to me for any publicity. I like supporting innovation and small businesses. I hope he does well in this venture. So if you are interested, give Jordan a message or email at RMRPrintedParts@gmail.com.

Thanks for visiting and Happy Rovering.

You can support this content and this website on Patreon.

Posted on

Can we HAVE any more setbacks? (Post #609) 4/30/2023

Apparently, yes, yes we can.

So if you’ve been a fan and reader for very many years you have probably heard me refer to the Okierover Rules. There are a few rules I try to live my life by, let me hit the top three:

  • I will not live where I am not the highest tertiary consumer on the food chain.
  • I don’t play with electricity.
  • Don’t date girls with dagger tattoos.
  • There are others…but lets stop there.

Unfortunately for me, I bought a welder that requires a 208 volt plug. My shop is only wired for 110 volt. You know that saying from Mr. Mom (1983) starring Michael Keaton:

Well that’s about the sum of it. I’m just about that clueless when it comes to the magic of powering our homes and shops.

According to a review on InboxQ.com:

“The Pro MIG 180’s convenient switch knob easily allows users to choose between output levels. The 120-volt option allows you to connect to any household power source and is perfect for working on light steel and thinner metals like aluminum sheets. If you want to work on thicker metals, just flick the knob opt to change to the 208-volt/230-volt option.”

I must have missed that day in shop class when they explained how to wire 110V like 208/220V. And that’s another thing…I’ve been around a few years and never have I ever heard of 208V. So again, I’m sitting here thinking, “I wish Mr. Murr would have let me take shop class like all the other kids.” In his fine evaluation of my brain power, he thought I was better suited to “go to college”. I had to get special permission to enroll in Vo-tech! Electronics never-the-less. This was before the Personal Computer revolution (think Fall of 1980). I can tell you for certain, electronics was not an “easy” class. I had to work at it. And frankly, college was unaffordable for me. I went anyway, but let’s just say, the trades probably would have been a better idea.

I asked the Evil German Dude what he thought of the wiring in the shop. He DID indeed go the trades route and worked for the electric company in Germany as a young man and understands the magic of electricity about as well as anyone. Seriously one of the smartest people I know. He did not believe the wiring from the house to the shop would support 220V. So, it looks like I need to get a professional opinion and probably get a quote to get it upgraded.

Yay! more money I don’t have today.

So I know a lot of you are keen to see SPARKS flying and welding of rust panels and fixin’ them holes. As am I, I’m ready to see some return on investment for the welding class and the welder expenses, but this is going to be put off for a little longer while I get the electricity supply sorted out.

I need to review the “just flip the switch” and use 110V. I didn’t see any of that in the user guide but that doesn’t mean its not in there. I just need to read it again and probably do more googling.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

Posted on

Site Issues (Post #608) 4/8/2023

Me sitting in the engine bay.
Back in the day when we fixed the head gasket issue.

I had some issues with the site since I upgraded to the “fancy” theme. What I have learned is this managing of a WordPress site and all the plugins to make it secure and backed up is really hard. So instead of learning how to use my new welder, today I’m working on the site.

I guess I’ll need to seek some outside assistance. I’ll probably look for one of those public support groups. Anyway, hopefully the site is back up and you can find the content you are looking for.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

Posted on

Sill Rust (Post #607) 4/4/2023

Sill rust

Rust. The ever present issue in every Land Rover. While investigating the rust in the rear floor board I found some really nasty rust on the sills. So much so in some places that additional cutting and repair will need to be planned.

The passenger side B Pillar is rusted out. This will need some major work to rebuild. I have prices for the steel and a welder. I just need to pull the trigger on them both. I also need to source about a case of zinc based primer like Seymour 20-1675 PBE Professional Primer [Amazon.com] More research is needed for this. I’ve seen and read some things that give be some doubt about this process.

For now, I’ve coated the bare metal with some primer. Now on to the video…

You can support me on Patreon.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

Posted on

Wiper blade reset (Post #606) 3/28/2023

Wiper reset

When I last repaired my windshield wiper motor I did a terrible job getting the wiper blades set in the correct position. I was pretty frustrated with myself when I finished that job and realized I did it wrong.

I lived with it for several years. When I started this recent restoration I decided I would get that sorted out. The job has a couple of benefits:

  • I get the blades set correct on their home
  • I have the cowling off so I can replace the windscreen seal when I get the windscreen replaced.

I made a video of the job and explained several of the more complicated points to getting this job right.

Hope you enjoy it and it’s helpful.

You can support me on Patreon.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

Proudly powered by WordPress