Author Topic: Alfred the 109  (Read 1270 times)

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Offline a twig

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Alfred the 109
« on: November 03, 2014, 09:26:53 pm »
Updates since April:

1)

Alfred's saga continues!   :giddy:

So, after 7 months of arguing with the DVLA, everything finally came good last week!

So Saturday morning saw me hopping onto a very early train to Suffolk, where after a gentle 4 hour journey, I met up with another member of this parish, Mr Lightweight Nat, who has kindly been storing Alfred and re-submitting endless rounds of paperwork until the DVLA saw sense!

Some tea was drunk, some bollocks was talked, the new number plates were fitted, and I saddled up for the 260 mile trundle back to Somerset! Having faithfully promised my missus that it would only take 4 hours, and I would be home at 4pm, she was less then impressed when at 3:54 I was only at Reading services - still some 80 miles away! Overall journey time ended up 5:45 - oops!

To be honest I had valid excuses - firstly the speedo under reading by ~15mph didn't help - it took me a while to figure out why so many people were getting angry behind me! I've also never driven a land rover with an overdrive before, was very out of practice at non-power steering etc etc.

Anyhow, so Alfred now has a new guardian - plans, photos and more adventures to follow, though first off, fitting some soundproofing and adjusting the idle revs is in order!

In the meantime - I shall continue with my ringing ears, popeye arms and big **** eating grin as I trundle round everywhere!  >rock<

2)

So, some small updates:

Fitted a cubby box instead of the middle seat, and knocked up a removable sleeping platform out of 2" x 4" and plywood so the missus and I could go camping last Bank Holiday weekend:


Weather closed in a bit, so makeshift awning time!


All worked well, and missus is now sold on the "camper landy" idea, so hopefully Euroleafing next year!

In the meantime Alfred has been my daily drive to work. A couple of slightly sketchy moments when braking heavily on wet tarmac (even though I was only doing 30) led to a purchase of 5 new tubeless steels with Michelins, comparison below:


So today I fitted them, here's a halfway through photo for comparison:

The post with flowerpot is so I know where the sharp rocks are when reversing!

My brake pedal was also pretty spongey, and Alfred had developed a sharp dive to the left when braking. In a rare attach of CBA I dropped into my local independant garage on the way home from work on Friday, who for £10 bled the whole system. While definitely a DIY job, its a bit of a ballache so defo £10 well spent!

While Alfred was up on the ramp, I had a bit of a nose around, the front swivel is pissing oil, as is either the transfer box or gearbox (or maybe both, there was so much is was hard to tell).

So after payday I shall be investing in these:



Any recommendations for a swivel seal kit and some idiot proof instructions would be appreciated?

Next small job today is to apply some bitumen flashing tape to the doors, as the vibration is horrendous, some buggering around with the fuel injection pump has improved things, but still ear defenders the whole time when driving!

Motorway speeds are actually when Alfred is quietest, which is a bit odd! Anyhow, my war on vibration and engine noise is about to begin. I have a dB app on my phone - which while not calibrated, will give good relative readings so I can see how much of a difference things are making!

I have a 2A tropical roof off a station wagon and a gentleman from this parish is providing some hard top sides, so around September time the preparations for winter can begin! I do love the rag top, however I really need a bit more security than it can provide - often having to leave Alfred in an airport carpark etc. :(
« Last Edit: August 10, 2017, 09:45:18 pm by a twig »

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Offline a twig

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Re: Alfred the 109
« Reply #1 on: November 03, 2014, 09:31:24 pm »
Quote from: a twig
Well, after a week of faffing around with the brakes and getting nowhere I've given in.

So this morning, with close to no brakes at all, I very cautiously trundled the 8 miles to my local indy LR specialist to sort it all out, and adjust the engine timing/replace the engine mounts in an effort to reduce the teeth rattling vibrations at tickover.

My credit card will probably take a hammering but I need it back on the road for the weekend. Will post up the full damage report later!

Quote from: a twig
So - report so far, Master Cylinder was shot, now replaced. This had made some improvement.

Also the adjusters on the front axle (both sides) were seized, both cylinders on RH side front were leaking badly (what I thought was oil from the hub seal turned out not to be) thus the pads are also badly contaminated, and now need replacement... Joy...

Parts now on order, I may get Fredo back by Friday...

Quote from: a twig
Right, week and a half later - finally got the 109 back from the garage with a fairly decent pedal, which I hope will improve as the brakes bed in.

Final tally:
New master cylinder - seals were shot on old one.
New shoes all round - a lot were contaminated from leaking brake cylinders so needed replacing.
Two new cylinders - drivers side front top and bottom were shot.
New adjusters - 3 were completely knackered.

Deep joy and a large labour bill to match, but hey ho, back on the round again at last. At least Alfred should fly through the MOT in October now!

On the plus side, also changed over the engine mount rubbers to the ones from Glencyone, huge difference! Cab is a much nicer place to be now, vibrations completely go at ~900rpm, rather than the 1200rpm of before!

So next on the list:
1) Getting to the bottom of the over-reading temp gauge, fuel gauge and speedo issues
2) Wright Off-road soundproofing kit
3) Ordering new rubber seals so I can convert to a hard top for winter.

First up though, clearing the couple of tons of rubble form the back garden that have been waiting for Alfred's return!  :smile1


Quote from: a twig
Once again, the motoring gods have had their wicked way, and Alfred is back off the road. Driving home on Friday, the exhaust downpipe decided to part company with the flange that was attaching it to the exhaust manifold. While the engine did sound great, it's not really an ideal way to motor!

As the downpipe was a custom cut and shut job, I've decided to bite the bullet and ordered a full Steve Parker system, and while I'm there order the series temp sender adaptor kit as well, so hopefully two birds with one stone! Once again though all the other jobs are shunted back down the list - although I have received delivery of some LEDs, so I can have some lighting on my gauges, as driving with a red fishing head torch at night isn't ideal!

Further investigation of the speedo over-reading issue is proving confusing, as most people with engine conversions etc tend to have speedos that under read afterwards! Planning to check the part numbers when I whip it out, but the only thing I can think of is that I have a 1-Ton speedo in there which would have a different ratio? I have a spare dash and gauges, so opportunities to play about there.

Will post photos etc of the Steve Parker exhaust when I fit it, hopefully one evening this week, although it's going to be tricky getting access to the manifold studs to bolt the thing up! Joy...

Onwards and upwards...

Quote from: a twig
Well so far not so impressed with the Steve Parker exhaust. The routing is nicely tucked up under the chassis but this makes it a right PITA to get lined up. 4 and a half hours of buggering about last night, working in the rain and dark with a head torch, and still the fucker doesn't clear everything properly. On finishing my third attempt at 11:45pm last night and it still clanging either the cooling fins on the bottom of the transmission plate, or various bits of rear chassis, I threw my toys out the pram and went to bed.   FRSsml

Plus, despite it stating on the website "Designed to hang on the standard chassis mountings", upon opening up the kit and reading the instructions it merrily states that you will probably have to make up the rear exhaust hanger as many chassis do not have it. Added to the fact that the silencer has a big blue Britpart label, I'm starting to regret not just taking it to an exhaust specialist and getting a custom set up done.

So far this exhaust has taken me around 7 hours to sort out, and probably will need another couple at least over the weekend.

I am getting increasingly confused about the chassis underneath. As well as a removable gearbox crossmember, the rear exhaust mount is for the "in front of rear shackle" route, and it has a rear fuel tank. Any suggestions? Or just someone getting carried away with the Richards' options list?

Quote from: a twig
Well, this has been a busy month!

Despite my best efforts I could not get the Steve Parker exhaust to sit properly. I spoke to Steve on the phone, he was very helpful, and we went through everything. Turns out that my aftermarket galv chassis has extra bracing around the front cross member which is a lot wider than the norm. I personally still felt that the downpipe wasn't quite right, but hey ho. Some photos...
SP Downpipe


Fitted without rest of system, in full contact with all of the front crossmember.


Even with the rest of the system fitted so the weight would pull it down, still clashed and only ~3mm clearance in other places:



After much cocking around, I scrapped the Steve Parker exhaust and went a got a very shiny custom stainless job from Infinity Exhausts just off the M4...

Pipe being fabbed:


Almost finished fitment:


Super shiny back box:


Very very happy with the new exhaust, drives a lot better and less vibration! Although the fitters obviously didn't believe in locking washers or tightening up bolts properly, as stoppoing for fuel the other night I noticed all the mount bolts had gone, apart from the rearmost which had lost its nut and about to go! So very glad I noticed that in time! Trusty in car tub of random bolts and buts and 5 minutes of rolling around the forecourt later - all good!

On to more productive things - a bit of a dash refurb and the idea from the "Speedo illumination" thread lead to this!


I'd had no illumination on any gauges since I bought Alfred. The speedo was just a blown bulb, but the other was a weird fitting and a bit knackered. So, I had picked up a spare dash from ebay, and pulled out the gauge from that, fitted the LEDs and whacked it in. While in there, a new solid state voltage stabiliser went in as well.

I can now see both Fuel and Temp at night, and, due to the voltage stabiliser, the gauge will now read below 1/4! :) While red LEDs may seem a bit chavvy to some, I picked them purely as they don't knacker your night vision as much, which until I can improve the current state of the original headlights is a must!

Finally resolved long running engine temp issues as per separate thread in Tech section. New gauge, new voltage stabiliser, new temp sender, and it turned out just to be the thermostat! At least it's sorted out now!

So, in the last 31 days, Alfred has been off the road for over half of them, but MOT time next week, so fingers crossed everything is peaking at just the right time!
« Last Edit: August 10, 2017, 09:52:12 pm by a twig »

Offline lozzaboy

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Re: Alfred the 109
« Reply #2 on: November 03, 2014, 09:55:46 pm »
Ref the speedo, take it Ruud and Nat told ya we fitted 3:54 diff to Alfred along with the Tdi?
Can I combine 24 volts, 9.00's and an Tdi!!!!

Offline a twig

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Re: Alfred the 109
« Reply #3 on: November 03, 2014, 10:01:49 pm »
So that is just about up to date, MOT this Friday arvo, reckon the "excess play" on the steering might be a pickle, but other than that...

lozza - yeah, Nat mentioned it, but that should make it under read, whereas it currently over reads by about 10mph!? Confused...

Offline lozzaboy

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Re: Alfred the 109
« Reply #4 on: November 03, 2014, 10:25:31 pm »
Yep your right should under read, just had to pop out and check Ralphs speedo as we put stickers on that after fitting 3:54 diffs lol
Can I combine 24 volts, 9.00's and an Tdi!!!!

Offline a twig

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Re: Alfred the 109
« Reply #5 on: November 07, 2014, 05:27:25 pm »
 bdcing bdcing Rock Rock Alfred passed the MOT! Clean bill - no advisories!  RCK thsh Rock Celbrt

Usual last minute panic this morning when I went to indicate, and both hazards were flashing, in between which the dash was lighting up like a christmas tree! So a frantic plough through the wiring diagram and attacking terminals with a multimeter diagnosed a fault in the dash switch for the lights - which was causing the indicators to partially earth back up through the dash!

After much panicking and messing about with a soldering iron, I remembered I had a old genuine jobby knocking around inside, tested it and all good. Quick clean of the terminals,  in it went, and happy days!

Genuinely can't remember the last time I had a clean MOT so seriously happy! Fireworks and beer time methinks!

Offline a twig

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Re: Alfred the 109
« Reply #6 on: November 14, 2016, 01:04:58 am »
Wow - so I haven't updated this in a very long time!

Not a huge amount of work has been done though - which explains it. However, to make up for the lack of attention, there has been a few goodies more recently.

At the start of this year I fitted a Wright Offroad Soundproofing kit. Absolutely brilliant, and something I wish I had fitted sooner! The matting at the back was trapping a lot of moisture against the rear tub - leading to some rustalicious ruin - so I binned that and bought some playground mats - like this

This has drastically reduced drumming in the rear, but the handy knobbly design allows the back to be hosed out and doesn't trap water, no more rustico and improved sound deadening!
I'll take a photo of the back next time it is all empty!

EDIT: Finally had a nearly empty truck - so photo!


Biggest change was completed this weekend though as I finally fitted LED headlights (something I have wanted to do for ages):

My headlights had been an MOT advisory for a while - the adjusters were corroded, and as the chap had had to ram cardboard in there to get the height right at the last time, I thought I would replace the whole headlight assemblies as well as switch to LEDs.

So - these arrived:

Upon opening,



Bin the instructions which tell you how to fit them to a jeep, and you bin the leads provided which allow you to fit them to a boingy...


Start taking apart the seized and knackered old jobbies:




All the wires are black and theres a funky spring-style socket...


Bin all of that, fit new genuine Lucas housings, metal work (to get the decent adjusters) and shiny chromed retaining ring:


Then fire up the first to compare:




Decide its getting too dark and cold - come back the next day and fit the other - take it out for a test drive and get your passenger to take a photo of the dipped beam:



Difference is unbelievable. The sharp cut off from the LED units mean that despite there being a lot more light output, there is much less glare to dazzle other drivers, as the beam pattern is much more tightly controlled. As a result the vision is so much better - driving at night is actually enjoyable again, as I'm not peering through the darkness, trying to guess the upcoming road direction and conditions.

Before the naysayers say "Ah yes, thats unfair as they're tired old sealed beams, new sealed beams would have been fine," Bollocks :) The ones I took out were fairly modern Wipac jobbies (>6 years old), so there :P

Another bonus - the current draw of these LED lights is a darn sight lower as well (only 3A!!!), so no more need to worry about relays and wiring. Less current going through the stalk which is always good as well.

I bought mine from SP Global via their ebay shop (spglobalparts) - other providers are available, however these were the cheapest decent ones that I found - £145 for the pair.
« Last Edit: March 23, 2017, 03:41:18 pm by a twig »

Offline blenky

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Re: Alfred the 109
« Reply #7 on: November 25, 2016, 10:20:57 am »
have you got a pic of the outside. im interested to see what it looks like.

Offline a twig

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Re: Alfred the 109
« Reply #8 on: November 25, 2016, 04:52:00 pm »
have you got a pic of the outside. im interested to see what it looks like.

Day time or night time?

Offline blenky

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Re: Alfred the 109
« Reply #9 on: November 25, 2016, 06:17:20 pm »
day time. I like the idea and just wondered what they look like. I know its not going to have the standard look but there only a bolt on bit and I'm not a rivet counter. cheers and great 109.

Offline a twig

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Re: Alfred the 109
« Reply #10 on: November 30, 2016, 06:08:09 pm »
day time. I like the idea and just wondered what they look like. I know its not going to have the standard look but there only a bolt on bit and I'm not a rivet counter. cheers and great 109.

Ta-da, only noticed after uploading the pic that there's still a bit of moisture/frost on the bottom of the lenses, but it gives the general idea:


Offline roga

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Re: Alfred the 109
« Reply #11 on: March 25, 2017, 11:41:28 am »
Sorry, post in wrong threat.
« Last Edit: March 25, 2017, 11:47:45 am by roga »

Offline a twig

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Re: Alfred the 109
« Reply #12 on: April 05, 2017, 06:09:17 pm »
Alfred was collected today by orkneydave - who now starts his epic road trip back to the Orkneys. Fair play to him, an epic undertaking! Will miss Alfred but look forward to seeing his future exploits on here.

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Offline orkneydave

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Re: Alfred the 109
« Reply #13 on: April 10, 2017, 11:28:37 am »
Sorry for the delay in posting on here but Alfred and I made it safely and in once peice to Orkney!

I flew from Orkney to Bristol on Wednesday and was met at the airport by a twig.  After a sort out of paperwork and spares and a cuppa to keep me going Alfred and I were on our way north.

I stopped for fuel about 20 miles north of a twig's and had my first 'mishap'!  In an effort to ensure I didn't run out of fuel on the way up I overfilled the tank.  I didn't realise that it would overflow at the front of the tank so it looked like I had a fuel leak.  With daylight hours starting to fade, I called the AA to check and make sure all was okay.



Once I got the all clear, it was a rather tiring drive in the dark up to friends in Cumbria.  With various closures on the M5 and M6, the fuse for the lights rattling loose and a broken indicator stalk, I eventually arrived in Cumbria at around 1am (shortly after being flashed by a speed camera  whstle).

My view on Thursday morning:


After a good sleep and breakfast I set off for Aberdeen to catch ferry home to Orkney.  The drive was pretty uneventful with only a high temperature gauge causing concern (this turned out to be a air lock in the cooling system caused by a loose hose).

Anyway, made it to Aberdeen in time for the ferry.  I stupidly left the fan on though during the crossing (6 hours from Aberdeen) so the battery was flat on arrival in Orkney.  A quick push by the stevedors and I was on my way for the last 18 miles our journey home  whoo




Alfred now has his own Instagram page (@alfredthe109) for those that do but I will keep posting our adventures on here with detail of any work I do.
« Last Edit: April 10, 2017, 11:56:18 am by orkneydave »
Dave Neil
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@alfredthe109 on Instagram
@orkneydave on Instagram

1972 Land Rover Series 3 109 "Alfred"
2018 Mitsubishi Outlanded PHEV
1972 MGB GT (mostly in bits!)

Offline Gossamer

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Re: Alfred the 109
« Reply #14 on: April 10, 2017, 12:14:06 pm »
Well done, Dave. Loosebearings17 was sorry to have missed you.
All the right bits, but not necessarily in the right order.