Escape

After a quick look, my 2 cents: - second alternator: no real reason to use a relay for the charge light. In general it is a good idea to have an ignition relay to provide an ignition switched feed to all the items that need it, so all the current doesn't pass through the ignition switch. - air horn: you’ve mixed terminals 85 and 87, 87 needs to go to the air horn, 85 to ground (as you drew for the heated seats for example) - CB: OK, but best make sure there are no other big loads on that fuse box to avoid interference. - heated seats: OK, with one switch and relay per seat. You don’t need to connect everything to the same earth bar, the seats will probably have a good ground through the mounting bolts, that will keep wiring runs as short as possible. - 12V socket: OK, earth only needed if the switch has a tell tale light. - rear work light: OK, you don’t need a 30A switch as it’s only powering the relay, so more like 50mA. A 5A fuse allows for 2x 30W lights, upgrade as necessary (make sure the wiring can handle it!). - strobe lights and side working lights: OK, again a lower rated switch will suffice. 30A switches are hard to find, a Carling will safely handle 10-20A which is enough for most, otherwise use a relay as for the heated seats. - heater fan: OK, apart from the type (writo?), 87 goes to the blower - LED light bar: for a 300W LED light you need at least a 25A fuse, better 30A. As for the switch, I think you want the LED to come on with main beam or separately? For that you need to connect the common input for the switch to the relay, output 1 to main beam (fuse not really needed) and output 2 to either ignition switched or permanent 12V (depending on if you want to be able to use the LED with or without ignition on, I’d use permanent 12V). As above, a switch for a relay hardly takes any current. - spot/marker lights: not sure what you’re trying to do, but the fuse needs to be at least 3A for 2x 15W lights - Volt gauge: no switch needed, but if left connected permanently the gauge will drain the auxiliary battery. Piggy back from an ignition switched feed from the aux battery or provide an ignition switched earth (very useful for dashboard accessoiries). - interior lights: OK - cooling fan: as the air horn, terminals 85 and 87 are the wrong way round. What are you trying to do with the switch? In this circuit, it will only prevent the fan from coming on. You probably want a switch in parallel with the X-eng temp switch, powered from ignition 12V. And as above, a small switch will do for the relay. - diesel heater: OK, if the heater isn’t more than 100W (depends on the fan fitted). Otherwise better to use a relay. It’s good that you’re being methodical, this will prevent mistakes and will make life easier. But I suggest you try and talk things over with someone who’s good with elektrickery, to iron out the details. Filip

If you can access individual cells or groups to get to 12V, you should be able to use the CTek to recondition them. In theory you don't even need to disconnect the cells being charged, as long as the battery is isolated from the forklift so no current can flow. I would do a health check on each 12V or 6V group to verify you don't have any bad cells and they're all in more or less the same state of health. Chances are one or more cells are causing the problem, maybe beyond the recon capabilities of even the CTek.

That looks like pretty good value for occasional use. I would have considered something like that if it had been available when I got my big second hand one. I do wonder how efficient the heating can be. On mine the water heating chamber is about 80cm long so a very large surface for heat transfer.

The early P38 doesn't use CANbus, but you'll still need the ECU and all the inputs it expects (including from the diesel engine) to get the box to work properly. At the engine side, there is a different torque converter, though you might be able to reuse the one from the V8 along with the bellhousing. At the rear, the transfer box of the P38 sits on the other side, not sure the bolting pattern and output shaft are compatible with the older transfer box. Certainly not a straight fit.

As above, the P38 parts will be very hard to fit to a RRC chassis. The axles are wider and the arms are spaced further apart as well. Springs (airbags) and dampers are mounted differently as well. And the rear axle uses a panhard rod instead of an A-frame. Anything is possible, but it would definitely be the hard way to do things.

When we were setting up the Workshop again, I bought an old industrial steam cleaner at about a 10th of the price. New ones are ludicrously expensive if you don't use them every week or so. I did struggle with the heater cutting out and little or no information or support as the brand no longer exists. In the end I got a friend who does residential HVAC to have a look. He replaced the fuel pump and after some fiddling it's now running better than ever. And if it's working, it's a joy to use! On a car in use, pretty much all the oil and muck will come off easily, just one or two passes. Only if it's really caked on, from sitting a long time or such, will I need to use brushes and elbow grease to get a good result. I really don't use it enough, I should make it a point of cleaning as much as possible before starting a big job. Not only will it make work a lot easier/ less messy, it will also lead to better results and certainly look better. I failed to steam clean the engine and gearbox of my Elan, as I was to anxious to get the spanners out. Now that it's mostly back together, I either have a lot of manual cleaning to do or risk getting water into the newly rebuilt parts... If it's just the one time, I agree with the comments above, find someone who can do it for you or who will let you use their cleaner. Those with tractors and earth moving equipment will have a good steam cleaner and usually don't mind making a few extra quid from it.

PAS pumps are (typically) low flow and relatively low pressure. It's common to have them share a single V-belt with the water pump and/or alternator. Just look at a V-belt V8. So their power is limited, resulting in low speed as you do want a good pull. From what I can find power draw is around 1 hp under load at around 1000rpm. With a polybelt a lot more is possible, an AC compressor does take some power (several hp), usually enough to change the idle or to warrant the ECM to up the idle when turning on AC. I'm assuming the polybelt is far from maxed out by the AX compressor, so 5-6 hp to drive an hydraulic pump should be no problem. Which is what the 12cc pump I chose will take at a typical load and low to mid rpm. Time will tell if the maths are right, the previous smaller pump never seemed to stress the belt and certainly never slipped.

You will need my all-relays replacement for the ECU though (patent pending 😉 ).

The pumps I've used are happy from 500 to 3000rpm up to 5000rpm for the smaller ones. So the same rpm range as a V8 when using a pulley of similar size as the crank pulley. I usually had the engine idling, except on hard pulls when I'd feather the throttle to around 1000rpm. Having MS do that automatically would be sweet! It does allow you to control the speed with your right foot, something we're all used to anyway. 🙂 I remember one occasion where I was winching a Freelander 2 up a sandy slope. One of the bystanders commented the winch was pretty slow. I didn't hear it, but my co gave me a nod to speed up. Going from 600 to 2000rpm silenced the critics, the Milemarker didn't break a sweat. 😁 Filip

As I've been mentioned a couple of times, I should probably chime in. 🙂 I'm a big fan of hydraulic winches, I had one on my 90, that was transferred to the P38 when I sold it and of course Mouse had front and rear hydraulic winches. I always used an engine driven pump. It took some effort to get it right on the 90. First we tried a V-belt with an electromagnetic clutch. Work OK, as long as the belt was dry. Otherwise it would slip, despite decent tension. We then upgraded to a chain drive. The run on the TD5 was quite long and finding a suitable tensioner was a problem. I ended up using a roller from an AC belt, it worked but wouldn't last long. The clutch never worked properly after the V-pulley was replaced by a chain sprocket. So we tried to design a dog clutch ourselves. It wasn't pretty, but did the job. Until halfway through the first stage in Ladoga, when it failed while I was winching a Russian crew out of a river. They did give me a very nice bottle of wodka the next year, but it meant struggling through the rest of the tour as we weren't able to fix it. In hindsight we should have had a backup plan to just tun the pump continuously or take off the belt when needed. When I transferred the winch to the P38 I used a smaller pump, again with an electromagnetic clutch but this time with a poly V belt. That never gave me any trouble, with the smaller pump it was a bit slower (still fast enough) and required less power. For my project P38 I've chosen a pump size in between, 14cc. If I remember correctly the Defender had a 26cc pump and the other P38 only 8 or 10cc. Time will tell how good it performs, I'm pretty confident about the belt drive and a little more speed will mean I can keep the engine at idle. I've always went for an engine driven pump as opposed to PTO driven to allow drive assist. I've found having the wheels turning helps a lot to get over obstacles or break suction when stuck in the mud. And just dip the clutch when it's not helping or not needed. Not so easy with a PTO drive. If you have the room for a direct crank drive, that sounds like the best plan, no belts to worry about. And a dogclutch is probably more robust than an electric one. I too have mused about variable displacement pumps, but it never seemed worth it for such a small install. Also, if the pump automatically increases displacement if the load lightens, you'd have something similar to an electric winch. That could diminish the control (of feeling of control) hydraulics normally offer if speed is independent of load. The practical side, hydraulic plumbing gets expensive quickly, so it's worth putting some effort in the design to minimize hose lengths (and make sure you get things first time right). I've used smallish tanks and never had the feeling the oil was getting hot, even without a cooler. A metal tank exposed to some airflow will get rid of some heat anyway. And while I appreciate the advantage of manual valves for fine control, the price and complexity of fitting them always kept me off. Solenoid valves are typically on/off but can easily be operated by wireless remote. I think that will prove very useful when loading a non-running car on the trailer without assistance. Whatever you decide, I'll be following this thread with great interest! Filip Edited to add I've used a Milemarker winch on all installs except Mouse. The high speed did get used often enough, both for quick respooling and for light duty pulls. What I'd really like to add is a remote freespool, to allow the winchbitch to take out line easily and not having to return to engage the gears to start winching, as that can be done from the driver's seat.

Thanks for the pics JU! We used the spare wheel like that trying to get Mouse out of a swamp in Ladoga. A tip from the local recovery crew I think, worked pretty well.

I gave Tommy some attention yesterday, few niggles sorted and I had a play with the carb. After finding a manual...I really should have done my homework before 7S, that way I could have tinkered on the site and hopefully avoid the annoying stalling issue. Not taken him for a longer run yet, so I don't know if the power issue is solved as well, but idle is definitely more stable. I'll replace the fuel screen as well, just to be sure. And I've put up some extra decoration as a reminder of a great weekend.

Put in a row of Defenders, Tommy does look small. 😉 I really had a great time with Tommy and was pretty impressed with the performance. Especially in mud and ruts, with better (softer) tyres the rocky sections should be more controlled as well. A large part of me wants to take him back, but I've made up my mind and will sell as was the plan all along. Just some more cleaning to do now... Problem is, if I keep Tommy, chances are I'll soon be busy doing all kinds of modifications. Better to keep the lightweight standard for someone else to enjoy and concentrate my efforts on the P38 project. 😉

@elbekko took some pictures, when he was not too busy navigating, spotting, driving or just being thrown around in the Lightweight. Brothers from a different mother having a good time: Getting the tools out to sort the flooded plugs after a sideslope to the wrong side: Movies to follow. 🙂 Filip

We've just arrived back home, after a long but fairly smooth trip. We had a great weekend, good to see old friends again and make new ones. 🙂 The Lightweight never got stuck, not for lack of trying. The engine and carb could use some TLC though. Thanks to all and looking forward to the pictures and videos. Filip

The Lightweight got some last minute attention and upgrades and is secured on the trailer, ready for @elbekkoto hook up his Range Rover tomorrow morning. And then a mate came by eager to pick up the spanners. And a bit disappointed I was already done (it was around 20.30h) and didn't really need his help. So we started reassembly on the Lotus twin cam, with Lemmy on the radio and a tasty beer on the bench. A great evening, only downside: it was past midnight when I started packing my stuff. 🙃 See you all tomorrow (or rather, later today). I look forward to seeing the little green thing! Filip

I expect next video you'll have it running. 🙂

That is a good size. You should be able to fit a 2-poster and have room for 2 more cars if needed. Especially with one big door.

Indeed, one big door is better than 2 smaller ones. Depending on how long the garage is, you might even be able to get 3 cars inside if the door is wide enough.

I went back yesterday, armed with the info in this thread and a wiring diagram I managed to find online. Thanks again for the help! The second connector I took off seems to be the culprit: full of green corrosion and rust. 😞 Well at least we've found the problem. I should have tried this earlier, but was a bit hesitant to rip things apart. The engine ECU is a snug fit and needs to come out to unplug. Unfortunately, both male and female connectors seem to far gone to fix with cleaning. One of the pins broke off, probably rusted half way through and stuck in the female side when I pulled the connectors apart. To get the car running again we'll need a new ECU or get the broken pin fixed and ideally a new female connector to splice into the wiring loom. Not looking forward to that, it's a lot of wires and a very little space to work in. Apparently Bosch does offer a repair service for the ECU, the connector seems to be harder to find.

Good find, both of them! Veel succes/ bonne chance with the restoration. As Fridge says, we're happy to help or have a chat. Filip

Not the one I would pick. 🙂

Not the mention the studs that are metric thread on one side and imperial on the other. 😉

They're too small. They'll never make it uphill. They're always overloaded. They're French so you need metric tools. They're aircooled so you'll need a fuel burning heater all the time. They're too top heavy and soft sprung so they'll tip over. And little kittens will die. How's that for starters? 😈 Not really a fan, don't mind seeing them around but wouldn't want to drive one.

Always nice dreaming about how to equip a workshop. 🙂 My 2cents: - I've had a garage with a pit, but hated working in it. It was smallish so felt like dungeon, but much bigger and you have to be careful driving over it and smaller cars might not fit. The same for the depth: for a Land Rover I'd need a small step, on a Lotus I'd be crouched all the time. And yes, the inevitable water ingress. - Just how limited are you for headroom? If you can fit the uprights, it easy to add a limit switch so you don't lift the car through the roof. Standard size lifts can be found cheaply either new or second hand. The budget ones I've seen are well up to occasional use, so no need to go over the top for a professional one. I paid around €1000 excl VAT for a new one a few years ago, the second lift of that type I've had and both served me well. - I have both a 4-poster and a 2-poster. The 4-poster is used most of the time, because it's so easy to get a car onto it for a quick look or a service. The 2-poster is a bit more work to safely set up, but makes work on suspension, brakes etc easier. That tends to get used for longer projects. May be the best choice as an only lift. Scissor lifts are somewhat in between, easy enough and wheels free but less well suited to vehicles like a Land Rover with chassis jacking points. Also limited height, but with limited headroom that might not be the limiting factor for you. I don't have any direct experience but fear the lifting plates could get seriously in the way when working underneath. They seem more oriented at bringing a normal car up to a comfortable height for bodywork/cleaning. I briefly considered adding a 3rd scissor type lift in one of the workbays (also limited headroom) but decided against it because of the price. I'd get a second hand 2-poster instead. - On my 2-poster it wouldn't be that hard to shorter the uprights if needed. You have to weld the end plate back on to attach the cables, but with little load directly on the welds and the built-in adjustability that not much of a problem. Not a deal breaker if you could mean being able to fit a decent cheap one. - I'd be weary of a movable 2-poster as the mounting is critical. A mate had his lift fail with a 90 on it, luckily nothing underneath at the time (he also tends to park classic cars under the lift to save space, just like I do)! The bolts on one side ripped out of the concrete... A risk that IMHO would only increase if you're regularly removing and refitting them. Do keep us posted! Filip