Corvette powered Defender
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davew
- Chairman
- Posts: 2242
- Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2007 8:54 pm
- Location: Knaresborough
- Full Name: Dave White
It's been a while since the last update, mainly because, since getting it back on the road, I've spent most of my spare time either tuning the engine or preparing the vehicle for it's first real off road outing since the transplant - the Steve Maddison 3 Peaks Challenge in Ireland.
It was a bit of a stressful time during the run up to the event as there seemed to be so many things to do, I had to cut a few corners here and there to get the motor into a position where it was capable of driving to the event and wouldn't let me down during the event. Silly things like making a mounting system for the new ground anchor, covering in all the fuel pump/filter/regulator, all took a lot of time but I made it, just
Ireland went really well, the whole vehicle performed well and did everything asked of it with the only problems all weekend being a snapped winch rope and a blown fuse on the ARB compressor. The winches and electrics behaved themselves with the new model of alternator coping much better with the loads. The only cause for concern was a particularly deep water section where, with no snorkel fitted as yet, I was getting very twitchy - driving along with one hand on the ignition switch trying to visualise where the air intake/filter was in relation to the water level as the water reached bonnet height. Fortunately the water, helped by the bow wave, was just shallow enough to avoid disaster and the engine never missed a beat despite the coil packs being immersed in water.
One interesting result of the weekend is that, as the engine topped the 1000 mile mark I started to open it up a bit more and I now know what a spinning Simex sounds like on Tarmac
I can now spin the wheels on dry tarmac at 30 MPH and, now I've got used to it, it's not as scary as it was the first few times I did it ! Driving my Range Rover now seems really pedestrian and I find myself missing the overtaking power of the Defender... maybe when I'm rich and famous I'll put an LS1 into my Range Rover.
Fuel consumption is difficult to peg atm because the transfer box is way too low geared so "cruising" at 70-80 mph was a steady 3000-3500 rpm. Once I get a higher ratio box in I'll do a proper MPG test so I can calculate the required fuel tank size for Australia. In Ireland it managed an average of around 12 MPG including some "enthusiastic" off road driving which didn't seem much different from the 3.9.
The engine has a couple of niggles at the moment, The rear crank oil seal is leaking oil and, especially when cold, the engine has a really bad case of piston slap. The oil seal is a bit of a pain but is easy enough to fix but I had been a bit worried about the piston slap so had done some research on t'internet and it seems to be a characterisic of the engine...
See: http://www.pistonslap.com/ No, really !
I was a bit miffed if this was due to a manufacturing tolerance thing, especially as the engine is stripped and tolerances checked by the supplier when they add all the LS6 mods to it. The other LS1 has no sign of it at all and the consensus seemed to be they either do it or they don't...
Anyway, spoke to the engine builder last night and he's sending the parts for the oil seal and explained a) why I get piston slap and b) why the older engine doesn't... seems that they change the pistons anyway (so it's not a manufacturing thing) but they changed the type of piston they are fitting this summer and mine uses the new piston whilst the other engine uses the older style. The new pistons are forged molysomethingorother which are lighter and stronger than the old ones but are quite slack fitting until they get some heat into them. When you see a picture of the piston you suddenly realise why they may be prone to a bit of slap... (this is a factory version)
Anyway, good news is that it's normal for this type of performance piston and won't do any harm, bad news is I'll have to put up with the noise when it's cold.
Hoping to get the new transfer box in this weekend and do an MPG test on Sunday... fingers crossed !
It was a bit of a stressful time during the run up to the event as there seemed to be so many things to do, I had to cut a few corners here and there to get the motor into a position where it was capable of driving to the event and wouldn't let me down during the event. Silly things like making a mounting system for the new ground anchor, covering in all the fuel pump/filter/regulator, all took a lot of time but I made it, just
Ireland went really well, the whole vehicle performed well and did everything asked of it with the only problems all weekend being a snapped winch rope and a blown fuse on the ARB compressor. The winches and electrics behaved themselves with the new model of alternator coping much better with the loads. The only cause for concern was a particularly deep water section where, with no snorkel fitted as yet, I was getting very twitchy - driving along with one hand on the ignition switch trying to visualise where the air intake/filter was in relation to the water level as the water reached bonnet height. Fortunately the water, helped by the bow wave, was just shallow enough to avoid disaster and the engine never missed a beat despite the coil packs being immersed in water.
One interesting result of the weekend is that, as the engine topped the 1000 mile mark I started to open it up a bit more and I now know what a spinning Simex sounds like on Tarmac
I can now spin the wheels on dry tarmac at 30 MPH and, now I've got used to it, it's not as scary as it was the first few times I did it ! Driving my Range Rover now seems really pedestrian and I find myself missing the overtaking power of the Defender... maybe when I'm rich and famous I'll put an LS1 into my Range Rover.
Fuel consumption is difficult to peg atm because the transfer box is way too low geared so "cruising" at 70-80 mph was a steady 3000-3500 rpm. Once I get a higher ratio box in I'll do a proper MPG test so I can calculate the required fuel tank size for Australia. In Ireland it managed an average of around 12 MPG including some "enthusiastic" off road driving which didn't seem much different from the 3.9.
The engine has a couple of niggles at the moment, The rear crank oil seal is leaking oil and, especially when cold, the engine has a really bad case of piston slap. The oil seal is a bit of a pain but is easy enough to fix but I had been a bit worried about the piston slap so had done some research on t'internet and it seems to be a characterisic of the engine...
See: http://www.pistonslap.com/ No, really !
I was a bit miffed if this was due to a manufacturing tolerance thing, especially as the engine is stripped and tolerances checked by the supplier when they add all the LS6 mods to it. The other LS1 has no sign of it at all and the consensus seemed to be they either do it or they don't...
Anyway, spoke to the engine builder last night and he's sending the parts for the oil seal and explained a) why I get piston slap and b) why the older engine doesn't... seems that they change the pistons anyway (so it's not a manufacturing thing) but they changed the type of piston they are fitting this summer and mine uses the new piston whilst the other engine uses the older style. The new pistons are forged molysomethingorother which are lighter and stronger than the old ones but are quite slack fitting until they get some heat into them. When you see a picture of the piston you suddenly realise why they may be prone to a bit of slap... (this is a factory version)
Anyway, good news is that it's normal for this type of performance piston and won't do any harm, bad news is I'll have to put up with the noise when it's cold.
Hoping to get the new transfer box in this weekend and do an MPG test on Sunday... fingers crossed !
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davew
- Chairman
- Posts: 2242
- Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2007 8:54 pm
- Location: Knaresborough
- Full Name: Dave White
Just an update on progress so far...
We have a shipping date of March 11th so all the outstanding work needs to come together pretty quick now. One of the OBC competitors who lives and works in Sydney has been volunteered to get the vehicles sorted for us before we arrive. Hopefully he'll manage to get all the paperwork done too so we don't have to waste a day at the local vehicle office like last time. It looks like New South Wales authorities have even agreed to let us run on our UK MOTs rather than having to have an Australian test which makes things a bit less stressful.
The 1.4 transfer box has been in a while now and works well, nice and quiet ! I upgraded the X-Brake to the latest back plate and it seems a lot quieter too without the rubbing noise I sometimes got with the old plate.
The rear crossmember I made when I first shortened the motor has been cut off and replaced with a Devon 4x4 version with an integrated winch mount. This would have been a much simpler job on a standard motor but, on mine, the part of the chassis that the cross member is designed to weld to isn't there ! I ended up having to rebuild the rear of the chassis to a standard profile and then welded the cross member to that. The end result is worth it though and the rear roll cage stays are now braced right through to the cross member.
Dan Evans was really helpful in supplying all the parts and materials I needed to make the bracing and he also came up with a solution and parts for the rear harness mounts too - these are now integrated into the roll cage and are fully adjustable.
With the new cross member came another problem - routing the exhaust. After much deliberation I plumped for a side exit exhaust at the back and have fabricated a new section to go above the chassis and out. This works wuite well but is going to need some more support/locating mounts adding to keep it in position.
The new fuel tank is made and ready for the fittings to be added. I've reinforced the seat box supports with additional brackets to the chassis so I can now cut a hole through the existing brace for the snorkel pipe to pass through.
The log book was sent off and updated with the new details, including the new colour, so there's no backing out now ! Thanks to the generous assistance of Andy and Wayne, I've just got back from Andy's garage where we've made a major dent in the prep work. With a bit of luck the respray will happen on Saturday, I'll spend Sunday putting all the bits back on that we've taken off and drive it home Sunday night.... we'll see
There's some interesting layers of paint and it looks like the aerial mounts on the wings were a late addition as the paint layers are under the boxes. So far we've found a white layer, a pink/brown layer, a green and black camo layer and then the green layer it had when it left service.
Next week sometime it's due in at Maddison 4x4 where Patrick and myself will be pulling the engine forward/up and replacing the rear crank oil seal. Ideally some of the rear panelling and the tunnel will get done too but I'm not holding my breath.
I need to get the new fuel tank installed so I can put the spare wheel bar in as that will need to be braced to the chassis to take the weight of the spare.
I still have the front winch to rebuild from Greenhow, I've bought an upgraded brake shaft and their new retaining system from Gigglepin 4x4 so will fit that and the upgraded brake material to the front winch, the rear winch will be upgraded with an XP motor so, in the event that the front fails, it can be swapped complete with housing. The crappy Superwinch motor that's currently on the rear winch can go in as an emergency spare.
There's still a lot to do but it's getting there slowly but surely, if it's been resprayed and has the oil seal sorted in the next week or so i can work around everything else.
We have a shipping date of March 11th so all the outstanding work needs to come together pretty quick now. One of the OBC competitors who lives and works in Sydney has been volunteered to get the vehicles sorted for us before we arrive. Hopefully he'll manage to get all the paperwork done too so we don't have to waste a day at the local vehicle office like last time. It looks like New South Wales authorities have even agreed to let us run on our UK MOTs rather than having to have an Australian test which makes things a bit less stressful.
The 1.4 transfer box has been in a while now and works well, nice and quiet ! I upgraded the X-Brake to the latest back plate and it seems a lot quieter too without the rubbing noise I sometimes got with the old plate.
The rear crossmember I made when I first shortened the motor has been cut off and replaced with a Devon 4x4 version with an integrated winch mount. This would have been a much simpler job on a standard motor but, on mine, the part of the chassis that the cross member is designed to weld to isn't there ! I ended up having to rebuild the rear of the chassis to a standard profile and then welded the cross member to that. The end result is worth it though and the rear roll cage stays are now braced right through to the cross member.
Dan Evans was really helpful in supplying all the parts and materials I needed to make the bracing and he also came up with a solution and parts for the rear harness mounts too - these are now integrated into the roll cage and are fully adjustable.
With the new cross member came another problem - routing the exhaust. After much deliberation I plumped for a side exit exhaust at the back and have fabricated a new section to go above the chassis and out. This works wuite well but is going to need some more support/locating mounts adding to keep it in position.
The new fuel tank is made and ready for the fittings to be added. I've reinforced the seat box supports with additional brackets to the chassis so I can now cut a hole through the existing brace for the snorkel pipe to pass through.
The log book was sent off and updated with the new details, including the new colour, so there's no backing out now ! Thanks to the generous assistance of Andy and Wayne, I've just got back from Andy's garage where we've made a major dent in the prep work. With a bit of luck the respray will happen on Saturday, I'll spend Sunday putting all the bits back on that we've taken off and drive it home Sunday night.... we'll see
There's some interesting layers of paint and it looks like the aerial mounts on the wings were a late addition as the paint layers are under the boxes. So far we've found a white layer, a pink/brown layer, a green and black camo layer and then the green layer it had when it left service.
Next week sometime it's due in at Maddison 4x4 where Patrick and myself will be pulling the engine forward/up and replacing the rear crank oil seal. Ideally some of the rear panelling and the tunnel will get done too but I'm not holding my breath.
I need to get the new fuel tank installed so I can put the spare wheel bar in as that will need to be braced to the chassis to take the weight of the spare.
I still have the front winch to rebuild from Greenhow, I've bought an upgraded brake shaft and their new retaining system from Gigglepin 4x4 so will fit that and the upgraded brake material to the front winch, the rear winch will be upgraded with an XP motor so, in the event that the front fails, it can be swapped complete with housing. The crappy Superwinch motor that's currently on the rear winch can go in as an emergency spare.
There's still a lot to do but it's getting there slowly but surely, if it's been resprayed and has the oil seal sorted in the next week or so i can work around everything else.
With all that work to do it makes me wonder how you found time to do the write-up.. But I'm glad you did, I find it inspiring to hear about your build
Mine continues to progress slowly but I am beginning to have thoughts like "If I don't get a move on with this soon I'll be too old to drive it"
Still, I no longer have a SWMBO to worry about so I can spend a bit more time and money on it I have already spent the Valentines money on a set of ignition leads (How does a full set of made-to-measure Magnecor style leads for £41 sound? I will let you know whether they are any good when I get them...) and it's her birthday in March so there's another chunk of cash that will be available soon 
TwoSheds
Mine continues to progress slowly but I am beginning to have thoughts like "If I don't get a move on with this soon I'll be too old to drive it"
Still, I no longer have a SWMBO to worry about so I can spend a bit more time and money on it
I have already spent the Valentines money on a set of ignition leads (How does a full set of made-to-measure Magnecor style leads for £41 sound? I will let you know whether they are any good when I get them...) and it's her birthday in March so there's another chunk of cash that will be available soon
TwoSheds
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davew
- Chairman
- Posts: 2242
- Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2007 8:54 pm
- Location: Knaresborough
- Full Name: Dave White
It's Red !
You'll certainly see it coming now, I'll take some pics tomorrow when it's out in daylight and the masking has been removed. Decided that, as the wheel arches hadn't arrived in time anyway, it would be better to transport it home rather than driving it and risk damaging the paint while it's still not fully hardened off.
You'll certainly see it coming now, I'll take some pics tomorrow when it's out in daylight and the masking has been removed. Decided that, as the wheel arches hadn't arrived in time anyway, it would be better to transport it home rather than driving it and risk damaging the paint while it's still not fully hardened off.
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davew
- Chairman
- Posts: 2242
- Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2007 8:54 pm
- Location: Knaresborough
- Full Name: Dave White
If you saw a red glow on the northern horizon while you were navigating your way around map 110, don't worry, it was just my motor being transported home from Andy's place. Alec had to wear sunglasses to cut down the glare from behind him when it was on his transporter !
Once again, a big thanks to Wayne, Andy, Andy and Alec for helping us out, it's such a relief to have that job out of the way and the motor back home again.
Here's a few pics....
This is from last night, right after it had been sprayed
Here's a couple in the driveway once we'd stripped the masking off it and transported it home
I did mention it was kind of red, didn't I ?
Once again, a big thanks to Wayne, Andy, Andy and Alec for helping us out, it's such a relief to have that job out of the way and the motor back home again.
Here's a few pics....
This is from last night, right after it had been sprayed
Here's a couple in the driveway once we'd stripped the masking off it and transported it home
I did mention it was kind of red, didn't I ?
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davew
- Chairman
- Posts: 2242
- Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2007 8:54 pm
- Location: Knaresborough
- Full Name: Dave White
It's as well I'm not easily offended.... good excuse not to carry the canes around though - don't want to get done for impersonating a post man !
Got the roll cage on tonight, looks really well against the red paint and having the front light surrounds and lights in has made a big difference. Might take some more photos tomorrow. Thanks to Jim, Dave and Adam for coming over and giving me a lift with it.
The wheel arch/spat things have arrived from QT along with some of their bolted engine mounts. Need to get the rear lights, wheel arches and number plates sorted ready for a trip to Maddisons on Saturday morning when we'll be changing the rear crank oil seal.
If all goes well I'll put the new fuel tank in on Sunday... have to prepare my bank account for the first fill - 140 litres to fill it up !
Got the roll cage on tonight, looks really well against the red paint and having the front light surrounds and lights in has made a big difference. Might take some more photos tomorrow. Thanks to Jim, Dave and Adam for coming over and giving me a lift with it.
The wheel arch/spat things have arrived from QT along with some of their bolted engine mounts. Need to get the rear lights, wheel arches and number plates sorted ready for a trip to Maddisons on Saturday morning when we'll be changing the rear crank oil seal.
If all goes well I'll put the new fuel tank in on Sunday... have to prepare my bank account for the first fill - 140 litres to fill it up !
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