keeley75 Posted January 6, 2019 Author Share Posted January 6, 2019 To get it to fit with the rear bulkhead you have to cut this much out. I wanted to keep the bulkhead. I like the cramped driving position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedLineMike Posted January 6, 2019 Share Posted January 6, 2019 1 hour ago, keeley75 said: Point to note here is the fuel tank vent tubes all got replaced as the standard ones crack and you end up seeping fluid out of the cracks. I got some silicon ones which should last a bit longer. as a side note, unless you use the lined silicone hoses, fuel will make them disintegrate very quickly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeley75 Posted January 6, 2019 Author Share Posted January 6, 2019 Thats a fair point. I'd better check as the body is currently propped up for painting and I can still get to the hoses. Ta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quagmire Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 Looks very nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 It's looking fantastic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeley75 Posted January 7, 2019 Author Share Posted January 7, 2019 Fitting the Shifter mount is relatively easy. Its just a question of fitting the Ashcroft glove box and cover and working out where the selector/shift bracket will sit. When I Mounted mine it was about 10 mm high on the drivers side. I fiddled and fiddled and in the end I just belted the bracket with a soft hammer to bend it down. It takes a few attempts at trimming but once in it looks perfect. Also when fitting the Plastic selector housing trim which illuminates and shows what gear you are in. Ensure it is perfectly central throughout the levers travel. Even if its 1mm out it will start to shove the delicate film out of line and crease or pinch it. This Item is becoming scarce and the film is no longer available as a separate part. By enlarging the holes in the Ashcroft mount will enable you to tune it throughout its travel. My knob (car) has a cut in it and can only been seen in park. The Selector handle/knob is no longer available. So look after yours. The cable is easily separated from the selector mechanism. I made up my own grommet and plate using a High/Low dust cover and some Ali. In Pic 1 You can the the OBD port. I have a nano com for Defender and 10AS. Need to experiment to see what I can do through this port with the 10AS unit (prob nothing without a TD5 ECU) Pic three I have screwed on the High Low lever with an extension piece from Fourby 4x4. The Lever sits very low and it prefer is at this height. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeley75 Posted January 7, 2019 Author Share Posted January 7, 2019 At this stage the gap between the selector housing and the Ashcroft transmission tunnel is about 6-8 mm. When the Wright off road matting goes in this should close up. I also installed LED's in the shifter unit as the incandescent bulbs give off heat which can make the shifter film brittle over time. we shall see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeley75 Posted January 7, 2019 Author Share Posted January 7, 2019 (edited) Although Exmoor Trim sell the matting system. Drew at Wright Off Road will sort you out exactly the same stuff. I purchased a set from him when he first made them for series trucks. The set I bought is still going strong in a Series 2 some 15yrs on. There is tons of stuff round on how to fit it. If I can give any advise take your time and measure and check the witness marks. I didn't use stanley blades. I used a good quality pocket knife and bent the rubber as I cut it. It peels along the cut nicely and doesn't leave that jagged stanley blade cut you can sometimes get. The fit and finish is superb and the handbrake was a complete beach to fit. The moulding makes it a very tight fit but its manageable. The front of the Ashcroft transmission cover needs a bracket and screw to pull it forward. Also the gap is gone in the shifter. Edited January 7, 2019 by keeley75 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeley75 Posted January 7, 2019 Author Share Posted January 7, 2019 Whats in the Box ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeley75 Posted January 7, 2019 Author Share Posted January 7, 2019 Safety Devices L188 cage. I have found very little information on this cage. Excuse me if I go on a bit here, it will help others if they go this route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeley75 Posted January 8, 2019 Author Share Posted January 8, 2019 (edited) This is about Sept last year. It was a toss up between the L188 cage and the L236 cage. This is the L188 version it has the loop and support bar across the bulkhead. I call it a cage loosely. Yes It will provide some roll over protection and stop the door tops from folding over. But it's not a cage in the terms of competition motorsport. This is the L236 Safety Devices cage I was also considering, the Heavy Duty Hood Stick replacement. Edited January 8, 2019 by keeley75 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeley75 Posted January 8, 2019 Author Share Posted January 8, 2019 (edited) The L188 has the NAS look. But I like the cleaner lines of non caged Defender. What to do...... Cost yes that could swing it. However there was another consideration, and not one I noticed until I emailed Safety Devices. I was considering on fitting the L236 and then having the Front hoop added later on if I really, really wanted it. Here is the email from SD. Hi Andy,It is possible to modify the L236 roll cage and achieve a similar look as the L188 with adding a front cage by welding and finishing as you suggest.It will not be the exact same roll cage though because the 'B' hoop on the L236 and L188 cages doesn't sit on the same place. The L188 roll cage was developed form our L169 hood stick set replacement(see link). Effectively the 'B' hoop on the L188 roll cage sits further back as this is mounted to the bulkhead bar whereas the L236 hood stick replacement sits right behind the first row of seats, see attached photos.Kind regards,Lili The addition of the front hoop and its design would enable me to provide extra support to the bulkhead which in turn would stop the weight of the door pulling the bulkhead out of alignment. So I Ordered the L188 Cage. which is stocked and distributed by BRITPART. Due to this if you shop around you can get substantial savings on these cages from Britpart retailers. Carriage is reasonable as well. What I didn't know was that I would also need the front skinny original canvas hood stick as well. At the end of last summer knowing I would need the screen rail and drainage channels I tried to order them from Exmoor. They were out of stock. They did however have a complete hood stick set, drain channels and rail in their ebay shop on clearance offer and in black. This was cheaper than the bits I was trying to get from Exmoor over the phone. This was a bit of luck as I will learn later on that I need the front hoop to fix the drain channel kit. Once you see the L188 and L236 together you immediately realise why. You need one of the original hood sticks as well Edited January 8, 2019 by keeley75 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeley75 Posted January 8, 2019 Author Share Posted January 8, 2019 So this is what you get in your box. A lot of air mainly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeley75 Posted January 8, 2019 Author Share Posted January 8, 2019 Unpacked A box full of nuts bolts washers Rivets and brackets and some generic instructions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeley75 Posted January 10, 2019 Author Share Posted January 10, 2019 The instructions suggest starting withe the B pilar hoop. Obviously I started with the rear hoop The rear hoop brackets fit over the original welded tubes in the body capping. The two rivets are drilled out and simply a nut and bolt inserted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeley75 Posted January 10, 2019 Author Share Posted January 10, 2019 The B pillar hoop next. The instructions suggest drilling a series of holes around the tube and then filing as necessary. I opted to use a hole saw. The hole saw was centralised without a pilot drill. The saw located itself on the welded tube. I used a round sanding wheel to clean and open up the hole and it produces a clean jag free hole. The second use for a right angled drill.. A large and substantial bracket sits under this hole and it rivets and bolts into the seat box, bulkhead and wing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeley75 Posted January 10, 2019 Author Share Posted January 10, 2019 The B pillar hoop next. The instructions suggest drilling a series of holes around the tube and then filing as necessary. I opted to use a hole saw. The hole saw was centralised without a pilot drill. The saw located itself on the welded tube. I used a round sanding wheel to clean and open up the hole and it produces a clean jag free hole. The second use for a right angled drill.. A large and substantial bracket sits under this hole and it rivets and bolts into the seat box, bulkhead and wing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeley75 Posted January 10, 2019 Author Share Posted January 10, 2019 (edited) Support Bars and cross brace all very self explanatory. Edited January 10, 2019 by keeley75 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeley75 Posted January 10, 2019 Author Share Posted January 10, 2019 Front hoop and extensions then slide on.. Very easy when you don't have front wings attached.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeley75 Posted January 10, 2019 Author Share Posted January 10, 2019 The front hoop bolts through the front wing and onto two substantial brackets. This Bracket is bolted onto the front face of the bulkhead. The spire nuts are replaced with a captive nut attached in the same manner as the original fixing.The wing and bracket is then bolted to the bulkhead with some M8 bolts. The instructions were not very clear and mentioned attaching the wing with a pop rivet. They sent me this pic to clarify. You can also see the bracket in the corner of the wing has been removed and the lower lip has been cut to clear the bulkhead bracket. I clamped this bracket to the wing to mark out cutting. I will probably bond the bracket to the wing instead of drilling and riveting. Anything to prevent rusting... . Once you have marketed out and cut a hole in the wing like so This is a plate used for assembly only. Another admission from the instructions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeley75 Posted January 10, 2019 Author Share Posted January 10, 2019 (edited) So I've ended up with the NAS look. What Im hoping is that when the cage is attached to the bulkhead it will help provide support to stop the weight of the doors pulling the bulkhead back. With everything loosened off, gapped, measured and adjusted and then tightened I reckon it will. . I've spent ages trying to decide on a hood and have looked at getting a canvas one adapted. I've contacted loads of manufacturers and the only version I really like was the Exmoor version. However I didn't want side windows. I wanted this look and fixing system. However it doesn't fit the cage. I needed this hood Exmoor trim..... I'm not saying that they are not that helpful but getting them to remove the side windows from the hood was not that easy.The hood is made to order and not held in stock. The cutter needs to be re programmed to omit window apertures. The order time is 4-6 weeks. I ordered this hood and 2 months later its still not with me. Edited January 10, 2019 by keeley75 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Bit late now, but I’ve heard lots of good things about Undercover Covers for hoods/tonneau etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeley75 Posted January 12, 2019 Author Share Posted January 12, 2019 yes spoke to them really helpful. Couple of issues though and that’s the fixing system I wanted to use. I want the solid rail and not the turnbuckle or rope on the hip of the car. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeley75 Posted January 14, 2019 Author Share Posted January 14, 2019 (edited) Lots of fiddly jobs to do. Seat belts and other things to do, so I elected to get the stereo working. Prioritising......... I quite like the Lego Brick VDO unit in Defender TD5's. It looks right at home in the Defender Td5 Dash. Not too keen on Blue Neons and flashing lights. Quite fancy a Car Play unit though with mapping. However security is always going to be an issue. So with originality in mind I managed a brand new removed from Disco 2 stereo for very little money. It did need unlocking and was sent off to https://www.dndservices.co.uk Brilliant service and 24hr turnaround. Ignore the online unlocking services it does not work with this unit. What I wanted to do was get a bluetooth adapter for it so I can stream from my phone. Bit of hunting and you need a BMW unit from Connects2 to fit the standard round pin arrangement. You need one of these http://www.connects2.co.uk/Product/ProductItem/CTABMBT007 Simple to wire in and none of the extra power leads or earths for the defender need connecting real plug and play stuff. I was missing the radio surround and in 6 yrs never got around to getting one. You could buy them for less than £15 at one stage. Today the only one I can buy is in Brunel Silver as used in the XS and cost a small fortune. So If you find a small stock of these anywhere buy them up..... That then meant I had to strip the dash down for the 400th time and paint the whole of the centre section Brunel Silver. This is easily bought from Halfords and is delivered in a nice spray can within 24 hrs. It looks fine here but there are a couple of imperfections in my spraying and will prob rub it down and give it another coat. You will also notice the addition of the headlight levelling switch. The wiring exists in the loom already so Its getting levelling headlights..... Whilst at it I removed the redundant switches. ie rear wash/wipe, rear heated screen and stuck in some blanks. The interior is at last finished. (No roof or doors) Oh also added the NAS difflock sticker and a full set of VDO gauges. Rev Counter, Water Temp and Fuel gauge. I'll do the part numbers in another post as the Fuel sender especially was 4 months of grief from VDO. Edited January 14, 2019 by keeley75 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeley75 Posted January 14, 2019 Author Share Posted January 14, 2019 Oh and the results in terms of Auditory clarity. Awful just like our 110. I will upgrade the front speakers and when I get a chance fit Mud rear pods and some speakers will go in there. As previously mentioned my chassis loom has the speaker wiring in. I have tested them as well and I get noise. At the moment it's nice just to have on as I work on the car in the cold and rain.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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