Fuel Tank for a 1971 88" Series III Landy

BeardyGit

Good evenin',

I'm in need of a replacement for the rusted out diesel fuel tank in my 1971 hybrid landy. I can get a spurious one in from the UK for around £180 plus shipping but would ideally like a stainless one instead. Does anyone know of someone who'd make one up for me out of 14 gauge stainless using my old one as a pattern? Alternatively, what's involved with stainless welding? I'm fairly handy with the SIP migmate 170 I have already but that's only been for mild steel work so far and I'd imagine SS requires a much different equipment set.

Any pointers appreciated!

Gil

BeardyGit

Not to worry....Picked up some stainless this morning and knocked one together this evening myself. Nice and solid. A good sealer coat and it'll be good to go.

Gil

franksm

Hi Gil - well done

I'm in the same boat - have a smelly petrol tank. Where did you buy your sheets of stainless ? I take it all you needed to do was to use different wire and gas in your welder.

Santa didn't bring me a MIG welder so I have to drop lots more hints pre-birthday

Gil_Dub wrote:

Not to worry....Picked up some stainless this morning and knocked one together this evening myself. Nice and solid. A good sealer coat and it'll be good to go.

Gil

adam01

franksm wrote:

Hi Gil - well done

I'm in the same boat - have a smelly petrol tank. Where did you buy your sheets of stainless ? I take it all you needed to do was to use different wire and gas in your welder.

Santa didn't bring me a MIG welder so I have to drop lots more hints pre-birthday

Hello frank.
hope you are having a great xmas.anyway can you tell me how you renewd the KNUCKLE JOINT on my Stag has i want to do the top one now~pls see picture....ADs

BeardyGit

Hey,

I use a SiP Migmate 170 Turbo so I just loaded up a small reel of .5mm stainless wire, a new ARGON mini-cylinder and took my time, welding using a lap-seam. 'Tack' weld approx 1/2" welds, 3-4" apart to get everything laid out and secure and then take your time joining up your earlier 'tacks'. I was dropping the lot into a yard-basin of tepid water every so often to help move things along and surprisingly it's suffered no buckles that I can see. I'll probably knock up another tank as an auxiliary so I'll get my workshop buddy to take some photos along the way if you'd like.

As for the materials - Donations from a friend. As far as I recall, he picked them up in Heighton Buckleys. Don't know how much they cost but I know he bitched about the cost at the time which was around 3 months ago. My brother mentioned that S/S by weight has a very high value so I'd expect to pay quite a bit for it if you've to buy a sheet. Might be worth contacting a company who supply catering hot counters to see if they've offcuts that would be of no use to them.

Best of luck anyway,

Gil

JohnBoy

good work gil, if i'd seen this sooner I could've offered you a second hand tank.

tell us more about your hybrid, I want pics.

NOW

BeardyGit

Alrighty then,

I've only recently bought it from a guy who brought it in from the UK. The original left landrover on the 29th December '71 so was registered in '72. It was a 2.25 petrol with a Truck/Pickup cab and from what I can make out was subjected to a tough working life.

In 1998 she was rebuilt from the ground up with the following modifications:

Replacement Richards galvanised chassis - Coil spring variant
New galvanised bulkhead - Not a patch job - Still in excellent condition.
Replacement 'tub' body with a hard top roof fitted with county SW type rear and side windows.
2.5 "Diesel Turbo" (1989 so should be free of casting defects on pre-88 blocks), fully rebuilt with an overhauled Garrett T2 turbo, rad, Kenlowe thermo controlled fan etc - Rover claim 85 bhp.
Reconditioned 4 speed gearbox and a rebuilt fairy overdrive
Early Defender axles front and rear, disk brakes front and larger drums rear with dual line servo assist etc. - Massive difference compared with the series braking systems.

Recently, it's had a sealed heavy duty battery fitted, new seats front and rear, full set of Michelin mixed A/T tyres and exhaust.

Add to that the other goodies which I'm trying desperately to find the time to install and this will be very, very nice. Examples include a head liner, soundproofing kit, 3" harnesses, President CB, 130AH leisure battery with a split charger, roof rack, moving the spare onto the roof rack, light rail and a front roll cage......

Ah, if only the holliers lasted longer. I've just finished installing some security mods and am just about finished a full rewire (I like simple cars) with only the extra battery and auxiliary lighting circuit to run. I'm on the lookout for a pair of 'fairy/superwinch' locking hubs for the front end if any of ye happen to know of some laying about? Of course, the tank has to be replaced but I'm still looking for a suitable sealant if anyone can recommend something?

JohnBoy, if you've any bits and pieces that might be of interest to me, drop me a line and we'll organise a swap/trade/flog-meet or something. Likewise, if anyone comes across any old landrovers that are slowly sinking into the bog, drop me a PM with a location.

I've included some photos - Excuse the Jaguar green - Not my choice at all but will be coming off as soon as I fix my big compressor.

Cheerio!

Gil

JohnBoy

Nice,

tidy job, I'd say the chassis is actually a designa chassis, not a richards, richard doesn't do coilers, but maybe he did back then.

You won't be able to find fairy/superwinch hubs for those axles too easily as they were from a full-time four wheel drive vehicle, if it had FWHs it wouldn't move except with diff-lock engaged.

However, there are conversion kits available, sold by bearmach, aschrofts and AVM, I know nowt about the bearmach kit, but I'd assume it's the same as ashcrofts, ie made by AVM.

The kit is intended to convert an LT230 transfer case from a defender/disco into part time four wheel drive, and then the hubs will work.

I want to buy one of these kits as I want to mate an LT230 t-case to a series front axle, but was wondering what I'd do with the hubs. the kit contains two defender FWHs a small spacer, and a bearing to go inside the transfer case. I just want the bearing and the spacer, but no-one will sell em separate.

Ashcrofts want 140+shipping+vat for the kit, comes to in or around 250 euro unfortunatley.

Would you have an interest in two brand new AVM hubs? Say 150 euro?

My heap is a 64 IIA 109, been doing it up for the last two and a bit years, mostly done, but I came upon a 200tdi discovery engine and a suitable defender gearbox for small money so that's put the whole thing back a bit again. you can see pics of it on www.johnlanigan.com

Scattered around my yard are another 88 SIII which has loads of parts available, a SIII 109 chassis (in almost perfect nick) and If you fancy a nice project I am also selling on behalf of a friend who has bough one landy too many a very nice SIIA 6 cyl safari station wagon, overdrive, FWHs, Servo brakes, a real high spec machine in her day, but with a rotten chassis, the SIII chassis would be fine for a swap though.

oh and I also have a 91 disco rolling shell, if that's of interest


edit: I knew i saw a pic of em somewhere else