hector-boy

A very interesting read. Still no sure I would go down that avenue. I will get the chassis galvanised because I believe it will stand up to the lowest possible standard of galvanising practices. The body however I fear would not be so lucky. Now I might be over cautious but after spending hours in the garage this last winter,I don't want to see all that work wasted because some idiot promised the sun moon and star's,and could not deliver. I don't want to bad mouth the galvanising companies either. I am just making an educated and gut feeling decision on what is best for my two door. Any feedback from that process and dealing with the company will be feedback here in detail. And best of luck to any who do galvanise the body. I really hope it works out for you.

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.

Thanks Eightpot. That was my next concern. As usual life and work got in the way so not much progress. Hb

Sounds like your speaking from experience Davo. I must admit I hate having to leave my chassis to someone else to work on but needs must....

Check if your dampers are facing in the same or opposite directions. The discovery face the same way.

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.

Davo That's great. Thank you. I have the inner wings removed so it was not posible. The body mounts are gone so replacing those and will try a temporary body/ chassis fit to see what needs modifying Thanks again Paul

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

I will. Thank you crazywabit

Hi all. I am in the process of making new engine mounts for my om606 to fit my rrc chassis. The body is removed from the chassis and the wings are removed from the body. Now in my enthusiasm to separate body and chassis, I now find that I don't know what the max height i can place the engine in the chassis before it touches the underside of the bonnet in the closed position. The only measurement I need is the distance from the top of the damper to the underside of the bonnet where the engine will be positioned. If anyone here has that information I would be very grateful. Regards Paul

Braith. Only one picture came through. But when I clicked it, it open a link to photobucket and 50 odd photos opened up. There was a video too. Sounds very good.

Thanks for all the photos. Guess the alternator will need to be moved to miss the steering box. And a notch taken out of the front cross member. Do you think you would have got away without changing the sump if a two inch suspension lift was used. Great job. Hb

Defender. Thanks again for your experience with the om606/r380 setup. My engine will not be much more than standard. Gearbox and drive shaft being the limiting factor. More to think about. Every time I think I have covered all the angles in relation to gearbox,a new element to the equation is presented. All part of the fun. Thanks. Hb

Defender. Thank you for the reply. May I enquire what you received in the kit. Also I think Boyt stated that a Mitsubishi clutch amongst other parts would be required. Was it for an r380. Not in uk anymore. In Ireland. Just outside Dublin. Thanks. Hb

Anyone used Scandinavian marine trading for the adapter plate between om606 and r380. Any comments on quality and correct fit would be greatly appreciated. Hb

Hoss. Is the engine idle running better now the fuel lines have been fitted correctly. Great read. Hb

Proud owner of an average mile 150k e300 '98. 550 euro. Bit more than I wanted to pay but wheels are good condition and scraping the car once I am finished should recoup half the the initial cost. Now the question is the gearbox. Use the auto with standalone controller with divorced lt230. Or 6 speed manual from a clk merc. Or adapter plate and r380/lt230. I am not particularly pushed with auto box but its a smooth ride in the car and would handle the increased bhp that the mods might bring. Also I don't have a v8 r380 box. So that would be a recon box from ashcroft. A bit pricey given the exchange rate but piece of mind knowing what you get will work as advertised. This is all going into a 2 door range rover.

Thanks for the reply. After more research I think I will wait for a turbo om606. Cheers

Quick question and hopefully an easy answer. I have the chance of getting a e300 '96 non turbo for very little money the w210 model. Standard it's 140 bhp approx. Is it much of a job to modify it to accept a turbo. Also is the pump mechanical or the more modern electronic. The only reason I am looking at it is because it's very cheap and only 140k miles. I have not seen the car yet as its a 2 hr drive so just want to make sure of my facts before i buy it.It's going into rrc 2 door. Thanks

Any further progress with the refurbishment of these units.

For someone with very little electronic experience a detailed version of mbz460 description would be great. It's the little bits that are left out that would have me in a swearing mess pulling out what little hair I have left.....

Hoss, Would you have the length from fwd on engine to aft of gearbox. I know very little about auto gearbox and ecu's. So was discounting them from the very beginning. If I can make the unit fit with a remote transfer box, what exactly would be needed to get the auto box from the merc working. Currently stripping the rrc 2door to the chassis. So decision time in terms of transmission. ... cheers hb

Thanks guys. I had my doubts but needed to check. Can you recommend a manual gearbox that would take the load. Did land rover make a manual gearbox for the v8 of the early 90's. I guess they did but not too common. Thanks Hb

Hi, My idea of getting a late model rrc has not worked out. So sticking with my two door. Would a manual gearbox from a td5 discovery take the pounding from an om606. Its just auto box are not to common around my neck of the woods. Thanks Hb

Thanks for the replies guys. Have a donor car/engine lined up and just wanted to be sure that the swap would really benefit me the way I had hoped. My better half will have use of this aswell and if was slower, a permanent ear ache would have been inevitable. Thanks again