D1 Build in High School Shop Class

J

jeepeater

Well-known member
Dec 20, 2005
128
1
39
kentucky
Alright guys.
I was a Land Rover/Jaguar technician in the early 2000's in KY. I left the dealer, went to another for a few years and then started teaching high school automotive technology class. each year we find a project to do. we have, in the past, found a beater, got a church to support the repairs and donate it to a local person in dire need of a car. we do not get into body work, just the mechanical aspect. last year we brought a 1974 FJ-40 back to life in all of it's rusted glory. this year is a D1. I am financing the build of a 1994 D1 my self as i plan to do some overlanding next summer. the Trans American Trail is on my list, but it may be a year or two away.

A local D1 owner has traded with me for labor on his D1, a set of RTE rock sliders and RTE rear dislocation cones. another D1 owner has supplied me with medium duty coil springs from his truck as he was upgrading. i did purchase a 1998 D1 (it is listed for parting out in the parts section) and have stripped it from the rear diff, 2' TF spacers and OME shocks and steering damper.

I am looking for advice from the board as to what else we may need to acquire for the build. we plan on finding a roof rack, rear diff protector (i have a TF front diff protector) snorkel, and 32" tires.

We have to date, replace the exhaust by fabricating and welding a new one, replaced all brake lines in the truck and added 4' longer braided stainless steel hoses. a new windshield, k&n filter, new wheels, rock sliders, front diff guard, rear differential with upgraded u joint drive shaft from our 1998 donor truck, 4' total lift, tie rod ends, removed ABS harness from axles as ABS does not function nor are we interested in having it on our trail rig,

The truck runs very well and handles nicely. we plan on replacing the head gaskets as a precaution and it gives us the ability to reseal the upper half of the engine in the process to solve the slow valve cover gasket leak.

Any suggestions on the build would be great for us, as the students have some extremely wild ideas in regards to modifications. car stereos, 20" rock star wheels, and tv's have all been axed by me from our build sheet.

in the attached photo, ours is the white 1994 in the center, the green one on the right is our donor truck from CL and the silver one on the left is a local guy that was letting us look at his set up and giving us advice.
 

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fishEH

fishEH

Well-known member
Jan 26, 2009
6,929
203
Lake Villa, IL
Nice!!! 4" of lift could get you into some suspension geometry problems and will make short work of your ujoints on stock driveshafts.
If you're looking for diff guards check out sewer caps. An 8" weld on cap fits perfectly over the axle housing, but you have to cut off the old thin cover. It might be a cool project for your students.

 
Tugela

Tugela

Well-known member
May 21, 2007
4,760
563
Seattle
Sounds like a fun project. Something I just did this afternoon on my D1 was to install D-ring lash points in the floor of the cargo area. If you are going to do "overlanding" it is nice to have a way to secure your boxes of spare parts, camping gear, etc. in the back so they don't bounce around. I think I paid about $20 for 4 D-rings and hardware. It was a piece of cake to do and now my gear will be safely lashed down. Plus it will be quiet - nothing like driving 500 miles with stuff rattling around in the back of the truck.
 
D

discostew

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2010
7,725
1,022
Northern Illinois
That's awsome. Most of us have parts trucks so post up if you guys need anything. Do you have access to the rave disc and any schematics you might need? Let us know.
 
J

jeepeater

Well-known member
Dec 20, 2005
128
1
39
kentucky
The rear diff cover is a cool idea. i do have an old housing that has rusted which i s why we replaced the complete housing. we may give the sewer cap trick a try. we do have a full welding shop with a cnc plasma torch at our disposal.

D ring lash points are an awesome idea. ill have to do a search and see what we can find online.

i do have the rave disc down loaded, lt230 and engine rebuild manuals as well. i have access to alldatapro.com and identifix.com as we already pay for those web pages.
 
J

jeepeater

Well-known member
Dec 20, 2005
128
1
39
kentucky
i have been to many class rooms over the years. it seems that each instructor has their own thing they do, or don't do. i just happen to have 5 acres behind the school that is not developed and am allowed to tread lightly on. no mud or rocks, but some nice inclines and uneven terrain. there is a creek crossing that is fun to go through as well.
 
J

jeepeater

Well-known member
Dec 20, 2005
128
1
39
kentucky
We have been pretty busy on the build. Since last posting, we managed to score a wilderness rack, and installed perimeter lights on the rack and a 50' light bar. the install used the factory 3 button fog light/ cruise control switches under the clock and used the fuse box out of the donor D1 to make a fuse box and relay center. we cut the bracket on the donor truck and welded it to the D1 we are building. it turned out really nice and looks pretty factory.

Now we need to get proper tires and this should finish up the suspension for now, until we fabricate our rear "A" arm ball joint drop down bracket and the front and rear control arms that are caster corrected.

On another note, the students have been learning more about the suspension and drive trains of FJ60s and FJ40s.(see attached photo).

The summer project for the D1 is to install a LQ9/4L80e engine and trans combination into the truck. we have the engine and trans, and have found adapters for the LT230 to mate to the 4L80e trans. I understand this combination has been done many times into Defenders by Icon and others, but i have not found an LQ or LS series engine into a D1, (can any one correct me on this?).

We shall see how the new drive train design and install goes this summer.
any and all productive suggestions are welcome.
 

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ERover82

ERover82

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Nov 26, 2011
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Darien Gap
Project looks great. Do you plan to upgrade the diffs and axles? They're barely engineered to handle the stock engine and tires. Much less more power, bigger tires, and more weight. I also wonder about an aged LT230's ability to handle the stresses.
 
J

jeepeater

Well-known member
Dec 20, 2005
128
1
39
kentucky
It will be interesting to see how well the axles hold up. i am not worried right now about axles. i have spares that i will carry on the trail. if they break under normal to medium conditions, i will upgrade.

Any suggestions on upgraded axles or housings?

I have a donor truck. the LT230 from that one will be re-sealed and internals replaced as necessary.
 
D

discostew

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2010
7,725
1,022
Northern Illinois
I've heard about that engine/ trans combination. I don't understand why they want the 4L80 instead of the 4L60. I really don't like the 4L80 and its heavy as hell. I think that looks like an awsome class. I had a really cool shop teacher in High School too. these guys are lucky
 
mbrummal

mbrummal

Well-known member
Jan 23, 2009
2,893
22
Willow Spring, NC
The 4L60 sticks out pretty far on the right side and interferes with the driveshaft on the LT230. You can make it work but there isn't room for a double cardon joint at the transfer case and the shaft has to be the size of a pencil.
 
Buddy

Buddy

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Nov 6, 2006
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Central NC
EricTyrrell said:
Project looks great. Do you plan to upgrade the diffs and axles? They're barely engineered to handle the stock engine and tires. Much less more power, bigger tires, and more weight. I also wonder about an aged LT230's ability to handle the stresses.
Click to expand...

The LT230 will hold up a lot better than the diffs and axles will. I think Buck on Pirate pretty much found the limit of the LT230 to be 700hp with a manual gear box.
 
Buddy

Buddy

Well-known member
Nov 6, 2006
2,839
1
Central NC
jeepeater said:
It will be interesting to see how well the axles hold up. i am not worried right now about axles. i have spares that i will carry on the trail. if they break under normal to medium conditions, i will upgrade.

Any suggestions on upgraded axles or housings?

I have a donor truck. the LT230 from that one will be re-sealed and internals replaced as necessary.
Click to expand...

It looks like you're running 33's so axle breakage will be highly dependent on your use of the skinny pedal. Although I've seen far more diffs explode under wheel spin than axles break. But most of the ones I've seen break were related to heavy foot wheel spin and not treading lightly.

There are a couple alternatives for HD axles and diffs if you plan to stick with the Rover axles. But none of them are very cheap. You're probably looking at 2,500-4,500 depending on what you pick and if you end up doing gears. Alternative since you're already doing an engine swap is swapping in a set of FZJ80 axles. If you can find them.
 
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