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.

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.

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.

Door Card Refurbishing (Post #605) 3/21/2023

Door cards

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness. – Oscar Wilde.

I’ve put together a video of me assembling the refurbished door cards for the Range Rover Classic. I didn’t record an intro nor did I record an outro. It’s just me assembling the cards. If you watch the Working Axle YouTube channel [YouTube.com] you will see some of the prettiest videos. If you aren’t watching him, you are missing out. His videos are simple, cinematic, and yet informative, and he doesn’t say a lot. So this is my homage to his brilliant work. Unfortunately for you, my videos aren’t as pretty or well shot, suck to be you, never-the-less I appreciate you visiting me and sincerely hope this content assists you.

So there’s no pithy commentary. I had to stop at one point and run to the hardware store to get more nuts and bolts. Just some assembling of door cards.

Brown is back!!! I think these door cards look great now with a new coat of paint. The dark brown is very similar to some of the interiors of modern cars today. I seriously looked at getting dark brown seat covers. But in the end I went with the Knightsbridge seat covers so they ain’t going to be brown.

You can support me on Patreon.

Thanks for visiting and Happy Rovering.

Transfer Case Knob Repair (Post #604) 3/14/2023

Shift Knob

Looking for the thread specification was pretty easy with a Google search. I stumbled on this thread on Rangerovers.net. “Tex” from Italy states its a M10x1.5. “LanceL” had a novel idea to use a M10 Rivnut.

https://www.rangerovers.net/threads/transfer-case-knob-thread-pitch.345708/

I decided to use a M10x1.5 nyloc nut. I also bought a bolt to go with it which provides a clean threaded path to the nyloc nut. I also used some of my supply of Dr. Crafty Clear Epoxy Resin [Amazon.com]. As you will see in the video. I cleaned out the shift knob. I also carved “channels” in the knob to provide “keys” to keep the resin from someday rotating inside the perfectly cylindrical knob.

I then placed the bolt with the nyloc nut on it down inside the knob. Mixed up my resin and poured it in. It took 72 hours to cure. I let it sit for a full week, due to work, and a living history camping trip I had planned at Ft. Towson [Oklahoma Historical Society].

This project turned out great. It was easy, didn’t require any tools that most Land Rover owners don’t already own. I was genuinely surprised this actually work as I had hoped it would. Now I can turn to the rest of the 3000+ things I need to do to the Big Whit Bus to get her back on the trail.

This project was a 1 on the Difficulty Scale.

Support me on Patreon if you feel moved.

Thanks for visiting and Happy Rovering.

Fender Rust (Post #597) 4/5/2022

Big shocker!

I found some rust under the left rear fender wheel well. I know! you are probably as surprised as I am!! (/sarcasm).

There were some signs of rust under the wheel well. I pointed them out in another video. So I decided to investigate. I found a lot of rust.

I’ve watched a bunch of videos where guys fix the rusted body panels and sub-structures. I guess it is my turn. I took a welding class a few months back and this was exactly why I took the class. However, I don’t have the tools I need to do most of these repairs. Not yet, anyway.

I will need:

  • A welder ($400 to How much do you want to spend amount of dollars)
    • Welding hood (already own it)
    • Welding gloves (already own it)
    • Fancy pliers (already own it)
    • Training (already done did it)
  • Metal break ($50 to I’ll probably borrow JagGuy’s)
  • A bunch of wire wheels to remove rust ($6 to $15+ for the fancy name brand ones)

I’m going to take a couple week break. I need to do some remodeling on the house’s master bathroom (Mrs. Okierover will be happy when I get this done.) I’m going to the Midwest Overlanding and Off-Road Expo (aka MOORE EXPO).

If you are thinking, “when will you get the Big White Bus back out on the backroads?” Well, I don’t know. At this pace…probably in the Fall. Trust me when I say…I really want to get her fixed and reliable again. Funding does matter, so hopefully that won’t be too big a constraint.

There will be more on this rust issue as I get back in the shoppe and start to sort out this mess.

Thanks for reading/watching and Happy Rovering.