Land Rover Bug bites again....

[adelatoa]

Hello all. I've been a long time member and reader (looking to contribute more to the forum as time is a bit more available nowadays) of the Expo but not a newbie to LR's I've owned the following:

1991 Range Rover Classic with a newly lift back in 2006:

Classic Wrenching in Baja:

2001 Discovery II traded for 1966 a series IIA:

Rear Kitchen Build:

1966 Series IIA 109 Station Wagon (with many mall and Lowes adventures and now sold):

1988 RangeRover Classic 40th Anniversary edition(saved this one from the crusher and currently rebuilding front end and rear top link shock):

Rostyle Wheels acquired from Paul K's D90 from Oregon (1988 RRC donor truck to the left of the picture):

Those were my past and current builds and now looking into getting into adding another member a P38 Range Rover. Narrowing it down to a 1999-2002 P38 RRs models and currently searching for the correct Rover to pull the trigger on and bring her on home for yet another adventure.... the LR bug continues to bite on the sanity area of brain and further spreading the insane virus.

Range Rover P38 Tire size question. I am picking up a set of 7" wide p38 steel wheels (without even having the p38 home yet). I have a new set of BFGs 235/85/r16 and had them ready for my Rostyle wheels for my RR Classic but I am wondering should instead fit these skinny and tall tires on a P38 RR. I am assuming I will have to recalibrate the EAS to accommodate them. Anyone have any experience with this size? I've read on many boards and many are opting to a more standard size of 265/75/r16 but I find them to look to thick and wide. I always regretted buying that size for my DII as they are so heavy that they would eat up brake pads periodically fast.

Looking forward to hearing on your thoughts on that size tire.

 

[sedat]

I ran 235/85s on my p38 a long time ago, It handled quite scary with them. It was much much better with 255/85s or 285/75s.

 

[adelatoa]

Yeah I figured. So I was leaning towards putting these 235's on my Rostyles on my RR classic and I might just do that since you've had the experience. Thanks.


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[adelatoa]

Here is my latest project. 2001 RR P38. I really enjoy the ride of this LR. Surpasses the feel and experience behind the wheel of my Disco II. Love the EAS. End goal of this rig and all my rigs is to have the set up to sustain themselves with proper equipment for short trips but for long distances I build a proper overland trailer for camping equipment.

First project is the suspension and tires:







I scored a set of four Arnott Gen III from CL for less than the price of one of oem air bag. Swapped out the KYB schocks for a set of Terrafirma shocks That will provide a 2" lift over the oem and KYB shocks. Still haven't calibrated the airbags to evaluate the current set up to be able to compare to the original stance throughout each height(I did document all height values and measurements prior to any parts swap).

I am testing the feel and experience of my BFG All Terrain 235/75/16s. I had these new tires already and were going to go on my classic but since my classic is on Non-op status at DMV I decided to try them on here. So far the ride is just a bit stiffer due to the E rated tire characteristic. There is a very slight shudder on potholes. All ball joints are good condition and were changed by PO. I suspect the steering damper is the culprit. Back ordered a Terrafirma damper will be in stock in Feb from British Pacific.

Wheels were powder coated as two wheels had light rust around the bead area where the tire mounted. Had all of them sand blasted and while I was there already I did all five to match in color. Since the spare won't longer fit in the spare compartment I will mount on roof rack and use the compartment for spares and tools storage.





Next post. Power Tank install.

 

[adelatoa]

My previous install 11 yrs ago on my 91 RR classic was done terribly without any safety in mind and not functional either for use. NAIVE AND STUPID I WAS BACK THEN. It was laid horizontal across and bolted to the plastic rear shelf. With a 10 month old son riding with me I thought I'd add a bit of common sense to this install and securing it to not let it become a 20-ish pound projectile in the case of an accident. Took a bit of figuring out but now it sits nicely secured and it is functional for use from its location and not have to take out all the time for usage.

 

[Fivespddisco]

Nice work on the tank install. Looks very clean

 

[adelatoa]

Nice work on the tank install. Looks very clean

Thanks. I try to maintain a clean look as much as possible. Wasn't thrilled about cutting into panel but I managed to get a replacement panel to replace in the future should I change my mind about my set up.

 

[spikemd]

Nice work. Always like to see P38 projects.

One thing to keep in mind when you raise the suspension is that you may get shudder in the front driveshaft. I put on RTE3 springs to fit my 33 inch 255/85 16s and the driveline vibration was terrible. Ordered up the Tom Woods P38 driveshaft from Lucky8 and it works great. In addition, I made the panhard rods adjustable as the body shifts a bit with lift. If you are only raising it off road while keeping the EAS, it may not be a big deal. But be aware that anything over 31 (maybe 32) may be undriveable if you drop to bump stops.

The stock ride from the P38 with EAS is awesome. My EAS was tossed after a GenIII spring burst o my buddy's truck. It had a bad crimp, so check your springs and be sure they are straight. As a backup plan, you can keep an air compressor with you and install some bypass Schrader valves to manually inflate the air springs. Changing an air spring takes like 15 min when you know what you are doing.

Check your valve block and be sure your compressor is working well I rebuilt both of mine, but the compressor failed again after 8 months. Since my P38 is my main overland vehicle, I ditched the whole system after a few years.

Good to hear you got a 99+ vehicle with 4 wheel traction control and Bosch electronics. Much more reliable and the traction control is great.

 

[adelatoa]

Nice work. Always like to see P38 projects.

One thing to keep in mind when you raise the suspension is that you may get shudder in the front driveshaft. I put on RTE3 springs to fit my 33 inch 255/85 16s and the driveline vibration was terrible. Ordered up the Tom Woods P38 driveshaft from Lucky8 and it works great. In addition, I made the panhard rods adjustable as the body shifts a bit with lift. If you are only raising it off road while keeping the EAS, it may not be a big deal. But be aware that anything over 31 (maybe 32) may be undriveable if you drop to bump stops.

The stock ride from the P38 with EAS is awesome. My EAS was tossed after a GenIII spring burst o my buddy's truck. It had a bad crimp, so check your springs and be sure they are straight. As a backup plan, you can keep an air compressor with you and install some bypass Schrader valves to manually inflate the air springs. Changing an air spring takes like 15 min when you know what you are doing.

Check your valve block and be sure your compressor is working well I rebuilt both of mine, but the compressor failed again after 8 months. Since my P38 is my main overland vehicle, I ditched the whole system after a few years.

Good to hear you got a 99+ vehicle with 4 wheel traction control and Bosch electronics. Much more reliable and the traction control is great.

Thanks for the tips. I am enjoying the ride on this truck much better.

Currently I am redoing the entire front end. Ball Joints, track bar, tie bar, ordered a steering new damper. Project I am pita but I hope it removes that slight judder.

There is a slight vibration at around 45mph that it sounds like wheel bearings but so far I've removed the hubs and both do not feel or sound bad. I am thinking it might be more drive shaft related. I'm searching for a front used driveshaft and I'm going to start by swaping it. I like carrying two driveshafts on long trips anyways as spares so I'll start gathering my trail spares.

The EAS system has improved the quality of ride tremendously with the GEN III airbags. Especially the ride on the highway. I have my stock air bags as spares and I carry a Blackbox kicker fault scanner. I can recalibrate heights in the case of an emergency situation in the field.

I just love the EAS SYSTEM. If one stays on top of the system it's a great system. With my older mother and mother in law it's great to bring down to access mode. Even my wife and I benefit from access mode when we board with our little one. On my DII modified my airbags with quick disconnects and could change the bags in 10 mins. The front bags on p38 are a bit hard to access with the inner fender well in place. Other than that it's a straight forward system. Will do on the schrader valves.

 

[adelatoa]

Poser shot!!

 

[adelatoa]

Take that tree huggers

 

[99Discovery]

I'll be watching this build. Looks great!! I'm currently using my D2 as a daily driver, and I love it except knowing that I'm putting over 10k highway miles a year and will essentially run it dead. I'd rather have a P38 project/light duty 4wd as a commuter vs. a boring FWD econobox.

You can get P38s for fairly cheep. Much better pricing and availability than say a Classic. It's just the fear of the maintenance, plus trying to find one around here that has EAS and hasn't already been converted to coils..

 

[UnfrozenCaveman]

"Clean Air Vehicle"

You're hilarious

 

[spikemd]

Any updates?

 

[adelatoa]

Any updates?

No. Just regular maintenance and on top of all systems and having fun. Looking to find a few trail spares and install a cb radio soon. Will up date the build then.

Don't you just hate 1993 Classics tailgating:



My latest acquisition(trailered her home with the p38 and my son snoozing in the back seat):