Part 1 of the Bumper Project. I mocked up a new bumper using cardboard. It will likely be 5×3 inch tube with rear fender protection. I got the idea from the PFab Youtube channel. You can check out his video in a link on mine.
If you remember the old bumper was damaged by an inattentive driver of a Hyundai reaching over to pick up a jar of spaghetti that had rolled off her seat [Okierover.com].
I’ll post another video when I get closer to pulling the trigger on this project. List of needs:
Welder
Plasma Cutter
Steel
I don’t have any of those things at the moment. I’ll have at least as much invested in those items as a new bumper from RTE would cost WITHOUT the tire carrier and jerry can holder. But I’ll have a welder at the minimum and maybe even a plasma cutter when I’m done.
If I hit the lottery, I’ll still buy the welder and plasma cutter, but I’d probably consider buy a RTE bumper built to spec.
In the latest installment, I chat about my current progress on getting the Big White Bus back on the road. I had to take a week off for family coming in for the holiday, and Mrs. Okierover and I both got bronchitis that decided to hang on for 3 weeks (you can hear the Stevie Nicks in my voice). That slowed work on the to-do list. This weekend I’ll probably need the new heater in the shop as it should start getting colder here on the Southern Plains.
In the video, I show the closed cell neoprene installed. I talk about a small missed part on the heater box install. Also talk about getting a new seat controller ECU and getting the seats out. A few words about adjusting the door handle for the driver’s side rear door.
Then instead of shutting up, I drone on more about my desire to have a new bumper, a storage box/bed, and installing D-rings.
I know the video work needs improvement and as I torture you as you watch them make more and more they should improve. When I’m a big interwebs video star you can say, “I remember when that bum first got started. Man those early videos sucked.”
Your feedback is always appreciated.
Thanks for reading/watching, click and subscribe, and Happy Rovering.
I discuss panhard rod bushing failure and deathwobble.
I demonstrate how knackered my panhard rod bushings were.
Removing the failed bushing requires you to use a “punch”, I used a socket which is slightly small in diameter than the bushing, to press the failed bushing out. It is similar to the process of pressing them in except when you press in new ones you used a socket that is larger in diameter than the bushing.
I demonstrate how to press in new bushings. Find the beveled side of the panhard rod and the bushings will go in easier than the side that is not beveled. I used a vise to get the bushing started. This helps with getting the bushing “square” in the hole before you apply the press to the bushing.
Getting the tool lined up correctly is 90% of the battle.
Victory is mine. The bushing is pressed in. You do this for both sides.
I had trouble with the width of the bushing sleeve and it require a bit of grinding to get it mounted. I used a bench mounted grinder. Just take off a little of the material and try to fit. If you need more, grind off a little more then refit. I went to the bench grinder four times to get both sides right before mounting with the bolts.
If you’ve been following along with my plan to eliminate my Lucas ignition system you know we’ve had some struggles. Remember the goal, to replace the expensive and moderately reliable Lucas parts with easy to source, available in nearly any auto parts store, inexpensive (sometimes with a lifetime warranty) ignition parts.
No one wants to pay 200$(US)+ for an ignition module that takes 5 days to arrive from one of the coasts or 100$(US)+ for an ignition coil when you damn well know that a similar coil and ignition module for a 1977 Chevy Nova costs 75$(US) and both have a lifetime warranty. Before I owned this Land Rover I had never experienced an ignition module or coil failure….NEVER, on a dozen cars across the entire spectrum of vehicles I have driven.
Our current issue, while we have managed to source an ignition module for 25$(US) and a coil for just under 50$(US) the ignition modules are failing at a rate a great deal worse than the Lucas setup. Think, every 2 weeks I’m replacing an ignition module. I carry TWO spares just in case.
This is in all actuality worse than the Lucas setup. A great deal of science has gone into the conditioning of the voltage and current going into the module and coil. A lot of thought by people a great deal smarter than me has gone into figuring out what is causing the failure of the GM modules we are using to replace Lucas. We’ve come down to this, we need a coil that has higher resistance than the coil we originally sourced. So to that end we now have an ignition module AND coil from a 1977 Chevy Nova with the L6 engine. Matter of fact this is the coil used on 965 different models of cars look at the list here. There’s even 32 models of Jeep on that list! Even with all the models using this coil, this is not a coil commonly stocked at your neighborhood O’Reilly’s. That is a bit disappointing but it is to be expected. The ignition module which is the more common of failure points, is a very common GM part and available in most auto parts stores.
So if you are trying to do the same to your beloved Land Rover.
I’ll be installing these this weekend and will keep you apprised of any additional failures and what we are doing to eliminate them. During a fit of frustration recently I purchased a new Lucas ignition module and official coil and I am prepared to put them back in and scrub this experiment. I was able to find them on Amazon.com below the cost of some Land Rover parts sites you have seen online and with my Prime membership they came to the house in TWO DAYS! That will work. It won’t work if I’m stuck in the middle of the Comanche National Grasslands 30 miles or more from the nearest parts store, so I guess I’ll be carrying a spare from here on out, perhaps even two spares.
I’m hoping to have a reliable rig for an Oklahoma Overland Group run to the western part of the state at the end of this month. If you think you’d like to go check out the Oklahoma Overland Group on the Facebook.
I got a wild hair this weekend and decided to see if I could get my radio reinstalled. I’ve been using the cell phone for my tunes and news for quite a while. I thought it might be nice to have tunes and my Weather Band back on-board provided by something other than my phone.
In all honesty I could care less about local radio. The “We’re OVERSTOCKED car ads” alone make me want to drive off a bridge to my certain death. I mean seriously, how is the fact you were stupid enough to become “overstocked” on automobiles make you think I need to come down and buy one? If you are that bad at managing your business I’m certainly not going to help you continue to be stupid. Darwinism isn’t just for animals, you feel me? I listen to KGOU NPR in the morning. I really hate listening in the election years because they start leaning to left so much it makes me want to yell at the radio. Our neighbor Hardluck Jim’s weekend Blues show is a true bright spot. I also like KOSU’s The Spy programming. It’s always something you are never going to hear on the other commercial stations. And how many radio shows do you know of that pair rock-n-roll with a bottle of wine?
Back to on-board tunes, I got the radio reinstalled. I scavenged some parts mainly the antenna wires from Ole’ Blackie and that made it all possible. Once I got the wires behind the radio sorted out and the rear heater tubes sorted out the radio slid right in. I turned her and the magical air waves came across the speakers but it seems my sub-woofer is not working.
The speakers in the back were never great. Also the speakers in the doors were buzzing badly. I had already replaced the door speakers once around 12 years ago or more. You can imagine how bad the rear one’s were considering they had been delivered with her from the factory.
I’ve always had a soft spot for Pioneer. My first and only “boom box” was a Pioneer (SK-210). I miss that old thing. Jack Shepard and Bill Colston borrowed it when they drove to south Texas to retrieve Jack’s stolen Honda motorcycle. Bill’s truck didn’t have a radio. I remember their comment, that sucker really eats the batteries. There is one on eBay as of this writing and at 79.99$(US) I think its more expensive than the one I bought new back in 1983. I had friends who had Pioneer car stereos. Good times…
I digress, I went to Best Buy and bought two sets of speakers.
The blue-coned speakers are the old replacement ones. The originals were already in the bin. The TS-G1045R’s will suit me fine. I’m not an “audiophile”. I know people who’ve spent more on a car sound system than I’ve paid for some cars I’ve owned. I like loud tunes as much as the next guy. But I’m not going to spend the “Gross National Product of Chad” to have them. Hell, I don’t even have air conditioning yet. I’d rather spend a thousand dollars having cold air blowing on me all summer. Maybe if I got that fixed perhaps Mrs. Okierover might even ride in the Big White Bus again? Stranger things have happened.
Some observations…
I’d really like to plug my phone into the on-board sound system. But if the sub-woofer is toast what would be the point? I know John Monahan will put an AUX input on this model of radio. I’m not sure what that would cost.
The plastic bits on the dash are starting to become terribly brittle. If only there was a warehouse somewhere that had OEM parts sitting on the shelf that I could source. Maybe there is such a thing in England, highly unlikely in the good Old United States of America.
That’s all for now except you’ve probably noticed the new format. I hope you like the new look of the blog. I thought the site needed an update and I really liked this one. I’m still messing with it so be patient with me.
An irresponsible and distracted driver decided to take their eye off the road and reach down for a bottle of spaghetti sauce that rolled off her seat. The result? She rammed the Big White Bus while it was parked on the street outside my Uncle’s retirement home. The financial damage? Of course they want to “total” my Range Rover.
The only consolation is she totaled her car as well. Her husband was pissed. Perhaps this will be a lesson to her to be more attentive when she is driving. After the cops came and took a report, the husband got in the Hyundai and drove it home. No coolant, airbags hanging, hood blocking 50% of the road in front of him.
It used to be a 2014 Hyundai something or other. She hit the BWB hard enough to deploy her airbags. My guess, 30+ miles per hour in a 25 mph zone. She said, “I didn’t expect a vehicle to be there.” Famous last words. Good thing it wasn’t someone out trying to get some exercise walking where my Range Rover was parked.
In the light of day the Range Rover doesn’t look too bad. The repair estimate was above 4900$(US). The Allstate insurance company doesn’t believe these classic Range Rovers are worth the money they are claiming off the internet. That’s just my luck.
The damage is the left rear fender, left light assembly, the bumper, and the lower tailgate. The driver’s side rear door will not open any longer. She got me hard enough to move the inner panel. I am taking her insides out this weekend to assess the damage and get her ready for repair.
I was able to get the exhaust repaired in time to go with the Oklahoma Land Rover Owner’s group “Osage Adventure”. More about that in another post. My good friend Jag Guy says we can sort this out. That didn’t stop me from looking at possibly getting another Land Rover Discovery. The money is not there at this time. I’m still looking, maybe things will work out for me. The insurance is still not settled. I could sell some bits off the Range Rover and make up the difference. A Disco is still on the table…but I’ll have to see.
So what did we learn?
This is a major inconvenience. I have to take up several weekends of my friend’s time to help me and my own time. It cost me two days of vacation to get the BWB where I could continue to drive her. I can’t afford another car payment. The financial crisis finally came home to roost last year and we are tapped out.
Insurance companies are in this for them not you. I know that is an obvious statement. Insurance companies will always try to get out of paying you what the fair market value is for your older vehicle. You can claim your pristine classic Land Rover is worth 10,000$(US), but if the insurance company thinks it’s worth 2 thousand…guess what.
These Land Rovers are TOUGH. That is all the damage a car that passes for a modern crossover SUV did going 30+ mph. Plastic bumpers and Styrofoam were no match for the Range Rover.
I’ll post more about the wreck and the repair after the insurance is settled.
Oddly enough I found this quarter on the road after the wreck.
Arches National Park. I’m taking as a sign I need to plan a trip to Moab.
If you’ve been following along with my plan to 
