MattMatt Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 If you've been on the D2boys forum you will have seen this. Lets say it is "different" Fellow club member's old Disco (which he rolled) cut about and the rear replaced with a box section frame covered by LongRanger GRP panels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattMatt Posted December 1, 2017 Author Share Posted December 1, 2017 Sorry - posted this in completely the wrong section - ADMIN please delete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve200TDi Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 where have you posted it in then, I can't find it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattMatt Posted December 5, 2017 Author Share Posted December 5, 2017 Lol - I haven't yet. Not sure where it should go but if it's ok here I leave it and post some more info up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 Just keep posting here, and they can move it to the Disco section if you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 Moved... I do quite like the updated Longranger panels, with rear light pods Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattMatt Posted December 5, 2017 Author Share Posted December 5, 2017 Ok so here we go - ( due to time issues this going to come in lots of posts I've always liked the LongRanger but I couldn't find a decent D2 V8 that had a crunched rear until my friend Rob rolled his at an RTV event. The deal was done and I drove this back home A little battered especially around the roof but some good ATs, steering guard and diff guards were already fitted together with a CDL conversion. And of course it;s a V8 with LPG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattMatt Posted December 5, 2017 Author Share Posted December 5, 2017 Shortly after that I collected the panels from Clinton at LongRanger. Roof, Cab rear, Wings, Light Pods and some other small bits of trim. At the same time I tried to remember everything Clinton told me about how to fit it up - and failed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattMatt Posted December 8, 2017 Author Share Posted December 8, 2017 Next - fun with the disc cutter. Basically I tried to follow the pics on the LongRanger website only to find out that the RRC they are converting is very different to a D2. To cut a long story short I was trying to leave the inner wings in place but ended up cutting the whole of the rear body off. The roof is cut behind the b pillars and the floor just in front of the rear seats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattMatt Posted December 8, 2017 Author Share Posted December 8, 2017 (edited) Once the body was removed I discovered terminal rot in the rear of the chassis so in a fit of madness I took the disc cutter to it. After some lots of trial fits of the new panels and messing around with Photoshop I eventually decided on a medium length for the bed which gave the length of the chassis etc. Edited December 8, 2017 by MattMatt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattMatt Posted December 8, 2017 Author Share Posted December 8, 2017 (edited) The whole of the rear bed is supported by a box section frame which I drew up in Draftsight to get some idea of how it would all fit. First came the floor section which was tacked to the top of the floor of the rear footwell. After that the cab support bars and the side bars were built up from the base and new chassis rails welded in to support it all. It sounds easy - it wasn't. Getting the whole thing square and level with the cab was a nightmare and involved lots to cutting, tacking and rethinks. Edited December 8, 2017 by MattMatt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattMatt Posted December 8, 2017 Author Share Posted December 8, 2017 Once I was happy with all that everything was filled with Corroless and the roof secton together with the rear of the cab could all be fastened down before I set about extending the wiring loom back for the lights, fueld tank etc.. The next bit involved cutting panels out of aluminium tread plate sheets to form the floor and sides. Really tedious work and very heavy on slitting/cutting discs. However the result if ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattMatt Posted December 8, 2017 Author Share Posted December 8, 2017 The tail gate is from an RRC and and rear light pods are made to match the contours etc. Getting all this to line up is a work of are in my opinon and my attempt is not perfect however it isn't bad either. The light pods are filled with round LED units, top and bottom are indicators while the two middle ones are stop/tail. The fog and reverse go into the rear bumper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattMatt Posted December 8, 2017 Author Share Posted December 8, 2017 So to the final sprint - getting all the panels on. The wings are bolted to the front using the rear door fixings but the rest involves the use of a a great deal of Sikaflex. To be honest I wasn't too sure about this but I have been really impressed so far. Nothing has come apart and it has stayed waterproof. I must have used 15 tubes though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattMatt Posted December 8, 2017 Author Share Posted December 8, 2017 (edited) As I had round lights at the rear, the square D2 headlights looked a bit strange. I found a complete new front end via Boltonbits and though eye wateringly expensive I ordered it anyway. Not too impressed with the fit either as the light pods didn't match up to the headlight fixings and the whole thing has to be messed with (cut about) before it would sit right. I'm still not happy with it but I like the look Edited December 8, 2017 by MattMatt typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattMatt Posted December 8, 2017 Author Share Posted December 8, 2017 So to paint. I was in the USA and saw a truck that had been sprayed with Upol Raptor which is a bed liner. The owner told me it was really easy to apply (just an underseal gun) so I duly watched the videos. read the instructions and took the plunge. It was fairly easy to mix and apply producing a great finish on a surface that was not perfect to start with. The effect is fairly military but that fits right in the off road look I wanted. Not quite finished but I have had other concerns for the last 12 months but here are some more pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattMatt Posted December 8, 2017 Author Share Posted December 8, 2017 Oh - and it does go off-road - Salisbury Plain with a few mates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finnarne Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 Nice build. I sometimes thinking of selling my D1, and start to convert the D2 that my wife think is hers. If i do the build once more, then I would go for LongRanger. How long time did it take ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattMatt Posted December 8, 2017 Author Share Posted December 8, 2017 9 hours ago, finnarne said: How long time did it take ? Off and on about 6 mths but in hours I would say you could do it in 7 days. If I did a 2nd one it wouldn't take long as I won't be making the same mistakes............ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finnarne Posted December 11, 2017 Share Posted December 11, 2017 I guess the kit from LongRanger saves some time, yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave88sw Posted December 11, 2017 Share Posted December 11, 2017 I do like the full body kit all the way to the back as you've done, it definitely looks better proportioned, but if you're building one to use as a truck, i prefer the cab kit without the rear body. I built this one in 3 days and it was painted and back on the road within 5. It's a much easier build, just cut away what you don't need and the rear of the cab goes straight on followed by the roof panel. I'll be starting another one soon and think we'll lengthen the chassis this time to give it better proportions and possibly a tipper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finnarne Posted December 11, 2017 Share Posted December 11, 2017 One question for those who has done a LongRanger build, Do you add any reinforcement between the B-post ? I had to add a small bar in the rear of the cab, whenm I did mine, and I had already added the structure from the side of the root to the rear. Here is what I needed to add Sorry for disturbing your thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave88sw Posted December 11, 2017 Share Posted December 11, 2017 The roof is cut just behind a strengthening rib that runs side to side so theoretically there's no need. I guess you could add one if you felt the need. It's a very well designed kit that's made to be as simple as possible to fit. I did type up a full set of instructions for the cab kit i used for Clinton to give with the kits. If i can find it i'll post it up. Sorry to the OP for the thread hijack. Looks like a really good job on that build, how did you find painting it with the bed liner? We had a body shop spray ours but they did moan about painting the fibreglass. Cheers Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddy Posted December 12, 2017 Share Posted December 12, 2017 Can you get the drivers seat all the way back in these? Is there a blind spot at junctions? will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave88sw Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 Yes you can put the drivers seat all the way back, the rear cab section goes on where the front edge of the rear seat would be (so it keeps the rear footwell). Haven't found any issue with a blindspot at junctions, the rear cab window is very big and there isn't a big area behind the front door. They make really useful pick ups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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