6-Wheel Drive Discovery II - Am I totally mad ?

dave658

Active member
May 26, 2013
39
1
Hampshire
A few pics of the interior, you can see from these pics that there is still a LOT of work to do, but you can see the L322 seats clearly here
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This shows a view of the dash, although the actual dash is out right now while I sort out some wiring, you can see the L322 steering wheel here too and VIP - The LCD instrument panel
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And finally a close up of the instrument panel through the steering wheel
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dave658

Active member
May 26, 2013
39
1
Hampshire
I haven't done an update for a while, and as I finally got glass in the monster today, I thought I would add some pics

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All the back windows are blacked-out limo glass, which I think looks good in the colour scheme, the fronts are of course a much gentler shade which looks a little odd, but keeps the police happy ! :)

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The windscreen is of course not tinted, but is heated - must get around to painting the headlight trim and bumper caps at some point ! I have a new and rather special grille to go on at some point too, but I'll save that for a later update :)

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Another side view, there are new wheels to come of course, but again, more on that later

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And the back, the registration is not valid any more of course as DVLA have deemed that she is going to be Q reg, and the rear light clusters are out, as they are currently being modded, again something really special coming in a future update !

So now she is water-tight ! this is a major milestone and means I can work on the interior even if it's raining ! I'm expecting to seriously accelerate progress now !
 

Tugela

Well-known member
May 21, 2007
4,754
561
Seattle
How close is it to being driveable? I'm curious to know how it handles with the extra wheelbase and second rear drive axle.
 

Dangeruss

Well-known member
Mar 28, 2007
104
1
Ontario, Canada
I think you need Safety Devices to build you 1.5 racks to go with the ladder, it would make it. You could have a roof top patio. Looking forward to road test updates, please post video when you actually get it driving.
 

dave658

Active member
May 26, 2013
39
1
Hampshire
Any progress? Did they lock you up for cheating emissions at Bosch?

Lol, don't blame me for the scandal !

I have done some very short tests this weekend and there is a major vibration coming from the drivetrain almost as soon as you pull off. Myself and a mechanic friend of mine have had a good look and the conclusion is that the spacer between the gearbox and transfer box is not correct resulting in a small but critical misalignment of the two boxes.

We have taken them off the car right now and my friend will take a closer look tomorrow to see how bad we are talking, and if it can be modified, or if we need to fabricate a new one

More as it happens !
 
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dave658

Active member
May 26, 2013
39
1
Hampshire
Well, couple of new updates :-

The new transfer box adapter plate is in

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A good solid lump of aluminium
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And here it is on the gearbox
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Hopefully this will sort out my misalignment problem

The second item of news is that the rear light clusters are back

This is the lights on view
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And brakes too
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I can't show you the indicators yet, as it needs some new software on the REC which I haven't got round to writing yet, but the indicator is a 19x8 bitmap array, so I can do animations (like the new Audis, only better and 2D !) and I can do images - I kind of see indication as being a running chevron > > >, you know the kind of thing, but I can always change it later if I get bored

I will post indicator images once I get them up and running.

The centre high-level brake light is also LED, but I hadn't wired it up yet for these photos, I'll post an update on this at a later date too.

I also have the reversing/fog light units, which are also LED, but as you can see, I don't have a rear bumper yet - so nowhere to mount them !
 

dave658

Active member
May 26, 2013
39
1
Hampshire
Headlights are wired up, but surprisingly hard to photograph !

These are the sidelights on
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This is dipped beam
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Main beam
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Main beam at twighlight
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I have programmed the FEC to switch off the angel-eye sidelights once the headlights are on right now, but I may change my mind on that at some point.
 

WaltNYC

Well-known member
Mar 3, 2010
707
135
NYC
As stated earlier in this thread, this project is impressive in the level of thought and execution going into it. I'd bet many around here thought you were just gonna hack some thing together, but you sir are really working this thing well.
 

dave658

Active member
May 26, 2013
39
1
Hampshire
Yes you're right, it has and has always had the front axle and air suspension from the P38a, that was originally designed in when I was using the rover V8 engine with the box and Borg warner transfer box, this results in the front prop shaft and front differential being on the left side of the vehicle rather than the right as is more common on the discovery. Happily, the Range Rover sport gearbox and NV225 transfer box continue this trend of driving on the left, so I'm all set ! ��
 

dave658

Active member
May 26, 2013
39
1
Hampshire
As stated earlier in this thread, this project is impressive in the level of thought and execution going into it. I'd bet many around here thought you were just gonna hack some thing together, but you sir are really working this thing well.

Thanks Walt, I appreciate that - to be honest there is too much money and too much time invested in this project now to abandon it, I will have to finish it if it kills me :banghead:
 

Dangeruss

Well-known member
Mar 28, 2007
104
1
Ontario, Canada
A troubleshooting suggestion if your vibration returns, you can mount a GoPro almost anywhere. I have used them to track down problems in complex industrial automation equipment that you otherwise can't get close to when it is running.