Project 90

The 90 starts !!! Yay !!

Well, it's been a lot of faffing about to get to this point, but finally the 90 has started !

We had a couple of issues to sort out with the ignition module not being quite the same, but a bit of inventive wiring and it fired up first time :-)

It's loud (GRIN)

There's still plenty to do... but we're finally getting closer to getting it driving and on the road... 

Yippee !

The 90 gets a new water pump

Following the transplant of a replacement engine in the 90, we found a few bits which needed replacing.  A new water pump had to go in first of all, and whilst Daz battled to get the pulley off the old pump, I set about fitting the new unit.   The new engine came without an alternator, so we spent some time trying combinations of alternator and pulley until we got one then fit properly.

The rest of the afternoon was spent making up the hoses for the oil cooler, and cooling system and fitting the radiator.   These jobs always take far too much time, but that's the price you pay for these oddball conversions !

A new engine for the 90

By the time the engine made its way down to Dorset, I'd already got the engine out.  So the plan was that it should be a reasonably simple fitment.  FIrst job was to swap a few bits and pieces over such as the flex plate and adaptor and then get the thing hoisted up and into the engine bay.

After a few minutes of heaving and jiggling, the engine and box were mated....  and then, as I was underneath the gearbox fitting the bellhousing bolts,  I noticed a small faux-pas !   I'd put the ring gear onto the engine back to front...   Some expletives were uttered, and then we pulled the engine out once again, fixed the problem and refitted !

With the engine mated properly, we set about connecting up the engine loom and fitting various things like the throttle linkages, kickdown, etc.etc.

We knew there were a couple of bits missing from the engine, but as I was working at the front end, I noticed that the water pump was really sloppy...  looked like the bearings were on their way out.   So, the usual tense procedure of undoing ridiculously long steel bolts, stuck through an aluminium housing began...   Thankfully with a bit of heat and a lot of good luck all the bolts came out leavijng the way clear for a new pump.

So.. fingers crossed, the new engine will fire up on the first attempt... and we'll be back on track !

The engine goes chugga-chugga

OK.. spent a bit more time today sorting out all the final wiring.  Got the coil connections all sorted, and chopped away all the rubbish from the engine / ECU harness.   I spliced the two relays into the new relay box I installed during the build and fitted everything together.

With everything connected as it should be, the ECU behaved perfectly...  it cycled the fuel pump, operated the bypass valve, etc. etc. 

After checking the levels of the oil and fluids, it was finally time to give it a few tests.    The multimeter showed voltages in all the right places, and a timing strobe showed a spark where it should be.

Tomorrow, I'll try to bleed the fuel system properly, and with any luck, it might even start !   Yay !

Under pressure...

After a long day at work, I decided to spend half an hour in the workshop.   I gave the fuel tank one last flush through, connected up the remaining fuel lines and powered up the fuel pump.   I wasn't entirely sure what was going to happen... the pump has been sitting for ages with no fuel in, so I was a bit worried about the seals...  the pipes were all routed OK and were new, but the fuel rail, injectors, etc. have all been on the car for ages doing nothing.

Still..  there was one way to find out !  

Whirr, whirr...  rumble, gurgle... and hey presto...  fuel started to flow.  The pump changed tone as the fuel line pressurised and slowly the fuel made its way back to the tank via the spill line.  So...  it seems like a success !

Another box ticked.

Maybe the ECU isn't duff after all !

Well...  sod's law strikes again !    Following my previous problems when testing the ECU, I've been looking around for a replacement so I can test the theory.   Well, yesterday I won a suitable unit on eBay...    So I went out to the workshop earlier to finish off a few more bits...    I added an earth strap directly to the engine block, connected up the radiator hoses and tidied up a bit more wiring.  I also fitted a new ignition coil.

Whilst I was doing this, and I don't know why, I thought I'd give the relays in the ECU harness a quick check.  It turns out that the main relay is faulty !   One of the terminals wasn't making properly...   now, being new relays, I figured that they should be OK..    they weren't !

So... I've got a spare ECU on the way...  and hopefully a perfectly good unit in the vehicle.    So, next job will be to flush the fuel tank through properly to make sure there's no grit in there and then try to start it !   Wouldn't that be nice :-)

Fitting the sills and a few other jobs

Dashboard wiring

Got a bit more wiring completed today and managed to put some decent parts of the dashboard in place.  The alternator wiring was put in with the wiring back to the dash and the feed down to the battery. I also managed to get the column switches all wired up which got all the lights, wipers, washers and horn working, and got the feeds in for the heater motor.

Found a couple more faulty bits as the day went on... the stop light switch was playing up, but thankfully I had a spare one to hand, which got the brake lights working !   The brake fluid loss switch was faulty, but hopefully the spare I've fitted should work OK as well. I even managed to get the engine turning over on the key, which, although the engine won't run at the moment, was a good feeling. It's progress, still not as much as I'd have liked, but progress none the less.

Wiring fun

With things moving on with the project, it was time to try and finalise the wiring.  Most of the infrastructure had been put in place some time ago, so this should have been quite straightforward.... Hmmmmm...   After a lot of messing around, testign, checking, testing again...  I have come to the conclusion that I have a duff ECU.   The fuel pump feed won't energise at all and the main control relay was making some very strange noises !

Feeling a bit dejected, I turned to the vehicle wiring...   after hooking up the battery feeds, I started to check the circuits and thankfully eveything seems to be OK...   all the lights work properly, the horn, washer feed, etc. etc. Now, all I have to do is get the dashboard wired in....

Fun for all the family !!

Putting the front together

A bit of a mammoth photo update this time... Daz, Heather and I have been busy on the 90, so I thought I'd add a few photos of the progress Having fabricated new copper-nickel brake lines, we installed braided stainless flexi hoses all round and bled the system...

Next, the front bumper was offered up properly, and the panels were trimmed to tuck up nicely......

We added clear Td5 side repeaters and a nice D44 grille

With everything done, the D44 steering guard and bumper are all bolted up giving a superb front-end.

Whilst we were doing all this, we also took the opportunity to fit the wing tops...

Down under, a new Old Man Emu steering damper was fitted along with a set of heavy duty steering links

So... there we go.. a nice, solid front end all ready to take a winch when the time comes....

I found a few more photos

I knew I had them somewhere, and came across them over the weekend. You can find a few more photos of the vehicle build so far for the 90 project in the gallery

A couple of snaps

Just thought I'd add a couple of snaps.. nothing too exciting at the moment..  but it shows that I'm not making up the progress !

First off, the exhaust...  it runs up to the nearside wing, tucked nicely out of the way.  Still needs an exhaust finisher but that is a simple addition.

On the other side, the new fuel filler at the back of the tub to feed the relocated tank

That's it... a short and sweet update.

Little by Little

Sunday, wrote Mr Kipling.... Daz came over today to do a bit of work on the 90 project.  We're at the stage where there are lots of silly little jobs to be done before we can hit a decent milestone (like getting it running).

We decided to change the fuel filter from the motorsport type that I had fitted to a more standard inline Efi type.  Mostly for cost reasons, and also because I was worried there may be some dirt in the fuel tank and I'd rather sacrifice a standard part than an expensive one !   With that done, we ran the fuel feed line in and clipped it all in place.

We made up a couple of the power cables next, including the main feed to the new fuseboards and the feed to the starter motor.  With those in place, we turned our attention to the dash wiring.  Now, I put the 'first fix' wiring in place about 2 years ago (yes, really) so it took about half an hour of messing about with a test meter to work out what was already there and label up a few wires which were mysteries.   Once we had some idea, we put in the feeds for the alternator sensing, coolant and oil pressure and connected up some of the dash indicators.

It's these seemingly silly little jobs which take forever to do properly, but need to be done.   We need a couple of little bits, but we're getting perilously close to getting the engine running and the vehicle driving.   I'll try and get some photo updates on here as well shortly.

I discovered a couple of other disturbing truths today as well concerning Daz's fiancee.   She is officially weird....     I've known her for a few years now, but the level of crazy is just starting to become apparent....    to be fair, it's probably why she and Darren will make a perfect couple ;-)

More to follow.....

Fuelling around

OK... so the puns are getting worse, but the work is progressing OK. Due to the desire to make the vehicle comfortable, we used Discovery 2 seats in the build and to get them in the right place and safely mounted it was necessary to build a custom seat box which was lower than the original.

The seating position and comfort works really well, but to achieve what we needed, we knew we had to relocate the fuel tank.   As luck would have it, I had a spare fuel tank in the shed :-) The tank in question was designed as a secondary fuel tank, made by Allisport.  It gives 40 litres of capacity and fits in the same place that the Td5 tank would usually occupy.

With the tank fitted, I cut into the offside wing and fitted the new fuel filler and plumbed in the feed lines. There is still plenty to do, but it's another step closer to getting us running

It's exhausting...

Well, had a bit of a blitz on a couple of areas of the build today.   First of all I wanted to get the exhaust sorted out.  

The basic system uses standard manifolds and downpipes, with a modified y-piece. It then joins into D44 stainless silencer and high exit stainless tailpipe.  They were designed for a Td5, but with a little bit of modification on the mounts, they fit the 90 really well, and give a superb looking side exiting exhaust. I know from experience that the system will sound really tasty behind a V8 as well...  it certainly has a "presence" !!

One I haven't mentioned

A few years back, Darren (a friend of mine) and I started building him a 90.  It was destined to be a bit of a street cruiser, with a V8, Auto and soft-top. We made a good start, but then, like so many other things, the project get a bit bogged down and stalled. Well, with a bit more time and determination, the project has been resurrected and we're working on it again. I have a load of pictures which I'll get uploaded here shortly, but there is a little gallery of photos available.

A quick run-down of the project :

• Based on a 1987 LR 90 (originally a 2/5td)
• 3.9 V8 efi
• 4 Speed Auto
• Discovery 2 seats and centre console on bespoke seatbox
• Mobile storage systems locker
• Mudstuff dash console
• Old Man Emu suspension for a 2" lift
• D44 winch bumper
• Odyssey PC1500 Battery
• NAS style rear step
• 285/75 R 16 BFG mud terrain on Freestyle alloys

Watch this space for more info !