Paint Engine Bay

Today we painted the engine bay. Had some brown paint sitting around doing nothing so it was drafted. Note the hoses for power steering hoses and air conditioning.

2" receiver tubes

I was thinking that maybe one day I would want to take a trip longer than the batteries could sustain. Perhaps a trailer with either a generator or more batteries could be the answer. How to attach the trailer....?
A 2" receiver tube (150mm long) and some 6mm steel plate cut to the shape of the rear cross member was welded on. Later I cut some more 6mm steel into triangles and welded them on as gussets.



Later, I realized that it was much more likely that I would need to tow the Discovery, rather than it towing something. As there were no good hard-points on the front, I welded a 450mm long 2" receiver tube, along with 50mm angle iron braces, to the front cross member.


It is fortunate that height was just right to protrude through the front plastic bumper cover.

Suspension

Put the car up on the stacked tires to work on the suspension. Mainly changing all the bushings, but also to put in the air springs, which are essentially tough balloons that go inside the coil springs.

Battery Wire and Lugs

Today I ordered 50ft of 4/0 (AWG 0000) welding wire from EWS Welding Supply; total just under $200.
I also ordered 50 copper lugs for 4/0 wire from Ryder Fleet Products (go figure) for $52 total.

Finsh Battery Box Assembly

Finished welding the sheet metal bottom and sides of the lower rear battery box.

More Rust Remediation

More body rust to patch.

Rear driver side door:


There left rear wheel well:


This is where the original battery was located. Before...

and after...

Motor and Controller

Today I ordered the motor and controller. I chose a used Solectria AC55 motor with UMOC445 controller for sale from EVComponents. (EVComponents had quite a bit of trouble not long after my purchase and I believe it is now in bankruptcy.)
It was priced right at $3500, and shipping to Atlanta was $500. The plan is for the motor, controller, and batteries to come in the container of a friend who is moving here from Atlanta.
I think the newer version of motor and controller (from Azure Dynamics, Solectria died a long time ago) is around $10k. I chose this combination because:
1. good price
2. matched motor/controller
3. able to handle the power to move this vehicle, which I think will weigh around 5500lbs when all done.

Air Conditioning

A few days ago I ordered a Masterflux Sierra 05 air conditioning compressor with controller and wiring from ReVolt. Total is around $1200, but this is Africa and summers are real hot.
This should connect to the factory LR evaporator and condenser.

update1: This turned out to be a pain. Hoses to connect the tow did not exist. I had to take the LR original hoses and have the ends cut from them and welded (pewter, I was told) to new hoses that connect to the compressor.

update2: I went to install the hoses and fill the system only to discover that the hoses I had made were stolen. (A few other things were stolen too) No, the hoses will not be useful for anyone else on this continent, but they were new-looking and thought valuable by the thief. No luck so far in finding ANYONE who can fabricate new hoses.

Passenger Floor Panel Repair

The rust on the passenger floor panel was extensive.


First I cut away the useless, and cleaned what was left.


Then I made cut and folder a new replacement piece.


Last I welded, ground, and primed the repair.