Brakes

As the vacuum pump went away with the engine, the brakes need a new source of vacuum to be effective. I ordered a 12V vacuum pump kit with reservoir from EVSource today, along with a 75A relay.

update: here they are installed. Works very well. One small issue is the fitting on the master cylinder is a little loose. I had to route the hose so there was no bending pressure either way on the fitting.

Rear Battery Box mounting

I made brackets for mounting the side boxes, to be welded both to the boxes and to the frame.

Battery Box construction

Today I bought steel for the battery box: 50mm and 25mm angle iron along with one sheet of 1.6mm sheet metal. Started in on the fabrication too.
The 50mm angle iron connect the three boxes. The boxes will have 6 mount points, 4 where the gas tank was attached and 2 new ones for the smaller side boxes.



Managed to weld the frame and cut the sheets for the sides.

Power Steering Pump

The land rover came with power steering, but the pump went away with the engine. So today I ordered a used Toyota electric power steering pump, designed for the MR2 sports car, via eBay. The total cost was $285.

update: One of the mounting holes was broken in transit. I was able to make a mount which sandwiches the arm with the broken end.

Thin metal welding

Found more rusted out sheet-metal. The rear-most cross member, which is enveloped in the rear bumper, had some big holes.


I use a stic welder, and I am not very good welding thin stuff. This took some time and is not very pretty, even after grinding. Maybe painting will help.

Start on Battery Box

Now I start on some EV specific work, namely the lower rear battery box.  This will sit where the gas tank once was.  Rather than make a box based on the dimensions of a particular battery brand/model, I will simply make it as big as space on the car allows.  First step is to cut out the rear deck, which is very rusted already.

Rather than one box, there will be three, arranged like saddle bags around the frame members.

The size is limited by the rear bumper, the frame cross-member, and the rear wheels.

Remove Engine

borrow hoist
remove engine
make dolly for engine
put engine on dolly
remove clutch

Remove ICE parts and comnnections

remove gas tank
remove radiator
remove wiring harnesses from engine
remove exhaust pipe/muffler/catalyitc
remove right side running board
remove diesel fuel return filter
remove bolts/nuts holding transmission to engine
loosen engine mount bolts

Strip exterior

removed LH front fender
hunted for 27mm truck wrench, borrowed a 1/2" socket
removed 2 stubborn lug nuts but needed blowotorch to do it!
removed right fender
removed front bumper
discovered radiator cools motor oil too ,making removal a little harder

Strip interior

remove rear seats, interior panels, carpets
remove center console
remove dashboard
remove front carpet
repair connector to brake fluid reservoir
remove old alarm microphones, LED, and Siren
buy jack stands, creeper, hammer

To do list

Started to examine the vehicle more closely:
-cleaned underbody with wire brushes – about 5kg of dirt
-tested lights – one tail light out
-tested wipers – one nut missing
-rear door power windows not working
-driver door open/shut plunger switch not working
-Rux Rust Converter applied to front seat bases

Baby steps

First tackle the easy stuff:
1. Ordered from Rovers North a complete set of polyurethane bushings. Not all the original rubber was bad, but given the expected additional weight from the batteries....
2. Ordered from Rovers North a new passenger (left) side mirror.
3. Found a 27mm lug wrench. One nut still on too tight, bending the wrench!
4. Removed front seats - passenger seat base is rusted (the floor is too, but not today's project) Cleaned up and welded new sheet metal on.
5. Removed dog barrier from rear cargo area.

Toe in the water

Repositioned car to where it can remain for long term work.
Ordered an air-suspension system (Firestone Coil-Rite 4121) to help with the extra weight from the anticipated batteries.

Bring it home

Today we brought the car home. I towed it (from only 2km away) as the engine was not up to the task.

It's a turbo diesel (300Tdi), which I gather is preferred over the gasoline V8. True or not, it won't be here long.