Project Bertha - 1995 Range Rover Classic LWB

jawn_wong

New member
Hello everyone, I just picked up a 1995 Range Rover Classic from Wisconsin with 182k miles and I wanted to share my future project, Bertha. This is my first Range Rover and I am planning to make it into an expedition vehicle for overlanding.

To give a little background, the previous owner purchased it 6 years ago from Falcon Works and drove it back from Arizona to Wisconsin. Luckily, I found his posting on Craigslist and the only flaws I noticed were CEL light, SRS light, minor fuel cut issue, and your normal cosmetic wear & tear. Being an Arizona truck the underbody only had some surface rust.


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I decided to pick up a RRC since my buddy took me wheeling with the Chicago Land Rover Club at the Cliffs Insane Terrain in Marsailes, IL. My friend owns the black DII in the photos below and his dad owns the white 95' RRC. I was amazed how well his dad's RRC performed and I loved the Classic look. This thing was a beast on and off road!




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After I bought my RRC, I started project Bertha by replacing the spark plugs and wires.
As you can see the old plugs were rusted and corroded.

I ended up buying NGK Platinum plugs and Duralast wires from AutoZone. As soon as I finished, I noticed throttle response was much better and my fuel cut issue had gone away.


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Next, I got a new fuel pump from eBay for $60. Unfortunately, the pump didn't come with the fuel feed ring or union nut so I had to go on a wild goose chase between Home Depot & Pep Boys to find the right size fuel feed ring, which happens to be 5/16 (8mm).

I ended up reusing the OEM union nut by cutting the OEM fuel feed with bolt cutters and pulling it through the back end.



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I'll be sure to share more details as my build progresses. Hope everyone could provide some valuable insight!
 

jawn_wong

New member
This weekend my buddy and I installed my 2" Terrafirma medium load coil springs on Bertha.

We discovered that my RRC already had OME shocks and 2" springs so the new springs did not provide much lift. The front height remained the same but the rear gained 1/4" of lift.

I purchased 1" coil spacers to even out the rake in the front end.


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jawn_wong

New member
I recently ordered 31.5" BFGoodrich Rugged Trail tires (265/75r16) from ebay. I got 4 of them for a good price and figured they were an All Terrain tires like my old Goodyear Duratracs based on the photos of the aggressive sidewall.

Once I got them I realized the were more of an All season tire and found out it would cost $200 to ship them back to the vendor for a refund.

I ended up mounting them and will see how the hold up on the trails aired down.

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Once the weather permitted, I got the chance to spray my ugly chrome bumpers with rustoleum matte black paint


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After mounting the wheels are tires I figured I would clean up the curb rash and spray the wheels matte black. I found rustoleum makes a matte textured paint and decided to do all the lower panels with it (not sure if I like it yet)


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I just ordered 1" coil spacers to give the front some added clearance with the larger tires. These should fix my rake as well.


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Ordered 2 Hella 500FF driving lights to mount on my front bumper. I am planning on reusing my factory fog light harness and switch in the cab. I may switch to 100W bulb for off-road use in the future..We will see how the 50W looks.

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jawn_wong

New member
Spacers will be installed this weekend!

I got the Hella's wired to the factory fog light harness though. The yellow might not be everyone's cup of tea but I like them.


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sydneyman

Observer
fogs look good! shame about the tires not being what you wanted. a little big for my taste as well. But thats just personal preference! love the color on the truck too.
 

DougG

New member
Yellow fogs look good, but the tires look too big, and maybe it's just me, but OWL makes me cringe on a Land Rover. I'm not feeling the paint on the lower half either. Kudos for bringing a RRC back to life though! Love the RRC.
 

mpinco

Expedition Leader
RRC's like 245/75-16's with 2" lift. More than that and you will be working through suspension issues.
 

jawn_wong

New member
This weekend I got the 1" coil spacers installed on the front to even out the rake! The rear measured 35.75" and front is 35.5". No driveline vibrations from the 3" lift. I think I will eventually swap out the front drive shaft for tom wood's.

Unfortunately, my driver and passenger seat stopped working with the controls along with the side mirrors. Anyone know how to manually move the passenger seat back? It's current stuck in the position farthest up to the dashboard.

I think I might take the for sale post down. I've had a few inquires but I am really enjoying Project Bertha! Hope you are all too.




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jawn_wong

New member
5/18/16 Updates:

As mentioned before my side mirrors and power seats stopped working. I also discovered my cig outlet was not working either. I checked all the fuses and noticed one was blown. Replacing the fuse solved the side mirror and cig outlet issue however it did not fix my power seat issue.

I learned the cig outlet was working the hard way :campfire:

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I added a larger cup holder and can source power for my Cobra handheld CB:


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I found an old futon that lays perfectly in the trunk by removing the rear seats. Going camping and off-roading this weekend in Attica, IN (The Badlands). When I have time I am going to build a false floor with flip up storage doors and two roll out drawers for tools. This way I can lay the futon over the fake floor and have adequate storage for over-landing.


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Got some great decals from Forge Overland and Overland Textile Company. If you haven't heard of the check them out from the links I posted!

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Last thing I ordered for Project Bertha are 16 x 7 American Racing steel wheels. The 4.25" backspacing will solve my tire rubbing I am experiencing with the radius arms. Let me just say finding 5 on 6.5 bolt pattern wheels are near impossible! I checked with Lucky8, OKoffroading, Summit Racing, and 4wheelparts.com and nobody had them in stock due to low demand. Luckily I was able to source these wheels through Gulf Coast Rovers. I am praying these wheels and lugs come in before Friday so I can have them for my weekend adventure to the Badlands


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Still waiting on my front & rear brakes from Lucky8. Apparently there are issues from customs, which held the shipment.
 

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