Seat Belts
The second row seat belts were suffering from the usual problem of getting trapped in the door lock mechanism. The reel housings were also looking a little worse for wear. Decided to replace them. All fitted with correct torque settings. 2 x middle row seat belts - BTR5779
Security Windows
Given that the rear side windows on a Defender 110 can be opened with a lolly pop stick, wanted to get some additional protection - window security guards. The preference was for fittings which went on the inside, allowing the windows to still be opened and did not require drilling or riveting of the body work. Mobile Storage Systems offered a product that fitted the bill.
As shown above and below, the brackets fitted onto the existing bolt fittings. That said, there is no polite way of stating it, they were a complete bitch to fit.
In order to allow the side trims to be fitted, a small notch needed to be cut. If this were not undertaken, there would have been a large bulge in the trim which would have both looked odd and prevented the screws and upper clips fitting properly.
Here's what they look like from the outside.
Also, a pair of security guards were fitted to the rear windows.
Planning on fitting a guard on the rear door window. However, all options on the market require them to be riveted in place. Will fit one in the future once certain that all the work has been carried out on the rear door first.
Rear Cross Member
Keen to have the rear cross member looking its best and sorted before the Waxoyl chassis treatment. Phoned up Dave from DBL Land Rovers and it was clear that it was beyond my capabilities and did not need to learn this one. Decided that it needed to be sanded down, condition checked, repairs made as necessary and then painted.
Before dropping off with Dave, the aerial mast bracket was taken off along with the rear step, tow hook, 7 pin two electric socket and its mount. Must be stated that this took some effort as they had been there for the best part of 20 years.
Took off the rear step too. In the process, one of the rear step bolts sheared off and could not be removed even with a bolt extractor. The remedy for this was to remove the threaded plate and weld on a replacement.
Once down at Dave's garage. the rear cross member was sanded down. Here's an image Dave sent showing the right most jack point. As can be seen there were some minor rust issues.
Here's another image from below. Looking a little more to it. This was fixed by cutting out the section and welding in a new plate.
Once under coated and painted, really pleased with the result. Hopefully will not have to replace the rear cross member for many years.
The image also shows new securing pins for the tow hooks. An aluminium spacer and bike rack bracket also fixed. See more on this below.
Side panel
The passenger side rear quarter panel behind the second row doors was showing signs of bimetallic corrosion. Decided it would look much better to have this panel replaced with a new one. Ordered spare panel part MRC6437, associated rivets 78248 (x4) and plastic rivet (MWC9918PMA). The panel was then sprayed up with the genuine Land Rover Niagara grey and a lacquer (non Land Rover - feedback suggest Land Rover's own is not long lasting).
Here's a picture below of the new panel all fitted.
Fuel filler
Before the Waxoyl treatment of the chassis, wanted to ensure all the underside jobs were completed. As such, replaced the warn hose filler pipe.
As is the norm, both jubilee clip bolts were seized. Being super careful, the clips were cut and removed successfully using a Dremel cutter. As can be seen below, there as a fairly deep crack around the bottom of the filler pipe.
Once removed, nice clean ends were revealed.
As well as a shiny fuel tank.
Driver's Seat Box
There is a fairly large seat box under the driver's seat. This needed a good clean, hoover and blast out with the air compressor. Came up well.
Once cleaned out, a rubber mat was cut to size and laid on the inside.
A bundle of tools, jump leads, tyre pump, etc... have been put in bags and stored in the seat box. Will be getting some padlocks for both of passenger and driver's seat box catches (it'll slow any thieves down a little at least). Probably rubberised padlocks so that they do not rattle. You may also notice a rubber grommet fitted to the side of the seat box.
Waxoyl Treatment
So, with all the works underneath Sluggie complete, it was off to Nene Overland for the Waxoyl treatment. It took the best part of 4 hours to drive up. An early start considering it was dropped off at 9am in the morning! Went back up to collect a few days later. Results speak for themselves. Brilliant.
On the return journey managed to clock at 33.6 mpg - impressive - wind must have been behind me all the way. Another recent trip and fuel consumption was at 28.7 mpg. All in all, happy motoring.
Front nearside wheel.
Battery box.
Rear fuel filler and chassis.
Rear driver side wheel arch.
Chassis and side bracket.
Chassis and rear suspension mount.
While Sluggie was at NeneOverland, also took the opportunity to shot blast and spray up the spare wheel. Subsequenltly have fitted this with a new spare tyre to match the same type as the other four already fitted on the main wheels.
From this
To this
Bike carrier
To get the most out of Sluggie, wanted to be able to carry all the bikes for the family. Pondered over a few options coming to the conclusion that a sturdy bracket which could be mounted onto the rear tow hook bracket would be best. The one we purchased is made and supplied by a company called Maxxraxx.
The image below shows the bike rack arm located into a support bracket housing which is attached to the rear tow hook plate. The rotating pin can be padlocked for security purposes.
The image below shows the bike rack arm located into a support bracket housing which is attached to the rear tow hook plate. The rotating pin can be padlocked for security purposes.
To ensure the clearance of the new bracket around the spare wheel, a spacer had to be introduced. This was also supplied by Maxxraxx.
The bracket for holding the bikes can accommodate up to four bikes. There is a ratchet strap which neatly holds the bike frames down firmly. Threaded through the bracket is a steel cable which can be used to for a loop through the bike frames to secure them.
This model allows the bike rack to swing down to allow access to the rear.
A hanging number plate and light board finishes off the job.
Been looking for high back second row seats in Rayleigh trim since we bought Sluggie. Numerous posts on various forums, ebay, adverts, phone calls, etc... all failed. Decided to send an email to LRO to put a plea out to their readers. A week or so later received an email suggesting that they had made contact with Sandy at Exmoor Trim who had great news. Exmoor Trim checked stocks of sewn covers and had too ran out of this material. However, there were just 3 x classic high back seats available in Rayleigh cloth left. Unbelievably lucky. Have yet to find a moment to fit them, however, they will be installed before our next family adventure.
Christopher looking forward to helping fit them!
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