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Rrc 2 door engine swap


hector-boy

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Hi.

I have a 1978 rrc 2 door and have separated the body from the chassis so that I can galvanise the chassis and fix the tin worm on the body. Sills,a pilars, footwells, wings etc....

I am also putting an om606/6 speed manual/lt230 into it.

Now my enthusiasm to dismantle got the better of me and I need to fabricate new engine mounts. The only problem is I don't have an accurate measurement from the underside of the bonnet in a closed position, to a fixed point on the chassis. This would enable me to position the engine as high as possible so as to gain maximum clearance from the axle.

Reference points from the top on the dampers to the underside of the bonnet would also work.

May I ask if someone here would take that measurement. I would be very grateful.

Thanks.

Paul

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I've got vent holes cut in the sides of my bonnet, so I could poke a ruler up next to one of the shock towers and see inside. I got a measurement of 7.5" from the top of the shock mount towers - not the actual shocks - straight up to the inside of the bonnet.

Personally, if I were you I'd mock up the whole car to check for the usual odd and unexpected snags, but I appreciate that may not be possible.

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I have a load of photos taken so I will collate them into some sort of time line and put them up here.

Purchased a clarke 150te mig welder. Arriving on Tuesday. I purchased new body mounts from Froggatt. Very helpful and equally pleased with quality.

I have next week off work so want to get the chassis all sorted in terms of new engine mounts, soda blasting and then off to get a galvanising and painted. I was very lucky with the chassis. It was waxoiled before being stored over 14yrs ago. The body is not to bad but since it's all apart I will do a proper job on it.

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Oh dear God, be careful with the galvanisers. Check for knuckles dragging on the ground and strange questions such as "Why do you want to galvanise a chassis? We normally only do guard rails and stairs." A chassis can be pretty complicated for some of these places.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Alright hector-boy, I've a bit of info for you.

I rang around the galvanisers a few years back for the very same thing (mine's a '73) and found a guy in the Limerick area. Iirc it was Shannonside Galv. Anyway the guy was confidence inspiring to the point that I decided he was the man for the job despite being 2.5hrs away. He explained the process and pitfalls to me, and said that there must be enough entry and exits points in the chassis to let the liquid/gases escape in good time, that means the earlyeir chassis like yours will probably need to have the end caps cut out, or at least some decent sized holes cut in the ends. Someone with experience might chime in on that. He said preheating is important, but moreso the process directly after dipping is the most critical to ensure a good result without distortion (or in some cases as little as possible). The chassis must be rinsed directly after dipping (don't ask me with what, i don't remember) but this process has a natural cooling effect which is the real point of concern where warping is likely to happen. It's also important that the chassis is in good condition - i.e. that the metal is even in thickness all over, as differing thicknesses will heat/cool at different rates, another factor contributing to warping.

Anyway, to put it into perspective I called him to talk to him about galvanising the inner body as well! Hence him talking to me at length about the process. He didn't think it would be possible, but he was keen on experimenting and asked me to bring him the shell to inspect. I'm still waiting to get to that stage :D The chassis was by comparison a walk in the park for him, although he was specific about the exit holes - and also the prep. I said I'd prep it and he said that it should really be blasted or dipped rather than grinders/wire wheels, the reason being that those methods leave traces of paint/underseal at a tiny level that results in a poor adhesion/finish.

He seemed to have a lifetime of experience both here an abroad and made an argument for Irish galvanisers (to his mind) being the best in Europe. I wish I remember how he backed that up, I only remember thinking it was a strong case he made for the assertion.

I'd still love to have the shell done if it was possible. I spoke to spray galvanisers and cold galvanisers about it too but came to the conclusion that the best process (albeit the most dangerous) was hot dip. RE the chassis though, having lived with a later LR too I've really come to appreciate how much better the older chassis are. Mine's in really nice nick because it was waxoyled and I'm now thinking given my car is pushing 44 years old it'd be a bit of a shame to galv it at this stage. So I'm leaning back towards an acid dip and then paint inside and out before cavity waxing and underseal.

hope thats of some use to you

George

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I've still got an old LRO magazine where somebody had their entire two-door Range Rover galvanised, so it is possible. Mind you, he appeared to be running a Land-Rover workshop. If you can get some old body parts to experiment on, that would be good.

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I've still got an old LRO magazine where somebody had their entire two-door Range Rover galvanised, so it is possible. Mind you, he appeared to be running a Land-Rover workshop. If you can get some old body parts to experiment on, that would be good.

Would love to see that Davo, any chance of a scan? Jesus I just got really excited :D

Edit: see I have a lot of replacement parts to go onto mine, like the rear cross and goal posts, so even to have those galv'd prior to fitting would be something.

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George.

Thank you for a great reply. Really informative. Fortunately my chassis had plenty of treatment during its life so the only rust is surface rust. I hope that the thickness is uniform and not rusted to bad on the inside. Again the waxoil treatment should gave helped in this regard.

My wish as is every vehicle restorer,is to do the best job as is possible within ones budget. And to do the job once in my life time. With the amount of salt we see on the roads each year the best chance my range rover will have will be a galvanised chassis with a coat of two pack paint and the some waxoil for the belt and braces approach. Now I am only doing this because the chassis has been removed. Otherwise more paint and waxoil would have been my best option.

Not sure about galvanising the body. Warping is an issue. I think the paint treatments today are better and more robust and liberal treatment of the exposed areas on an annual basis should give you peace of mind for the future.

I am happy the chassis should survive the process but not so about the body. And after all the hard work, I think I would kick myself if it did warp.

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