How Do I Start Land Rover Restoration?

Car Restoration can be a long and complicated process, even for an experienced mechanic. Not only do you need all the right parts and accessories for your particular vehicle, you’ll also need the right know-how – which can be difficult to acquire if the car you’re working on is rare or old.

Luckily for Land Rover owners, you have John Craddock to support you. With a little bit of preparation and some thought, all that complication and difficulty goes away. In this article, we’ll be going over the key fundamentals that are common to all car restorations – whether you’re restoring a 90s era Volkswagen Beetle or a Range Rover L322. Our goal will be to give you an indication of what to expect during the preparation process.

It must be emphasised that this article is not a definite How To Guide. Every Land Rover model is different – some radically different to the others – and you will need to do some more research on your specific model of Land Rover before undertaking any kind of major restoration project. Instead, it’s best to think of this article as a general road map. We’ll be giving you the right direction to go, but you’ve got to choose the roads yourself.

Preparation

Find The Right Place

Assuming that you’re doing this restoration yourself, you want to find the ideal place to get the work done. Ideally, this will be in an enclosed garage – somewhere you’ll have access to electricity and be out of the rain, whilst also offering a measure of security.

Once you’ve found the right place for your restoration, you’ll want to think about how you’re going to arrange your shop. You’ll want to arrange your Land Rover carefully, making sure that you have enough space to work. Likewise, you want to make sure that your Land Rover is facing the right way.

Take Stock

Once you’ve prepared your space, you’ll want to go over your Land Rover and take a lot of photographs, paying particular attention to the chassis and engine. There are two reasons for this:

1. The first is that it will give you a record of which of your Land Rover’s parts will need replacing after you’ve started the disassembly process.
2. The second reason is that it will give you an indication of how much you’ve accomplished as you make progress on your car.

The Disassembly process

Now that you’ve prepared your space and started the documentation process, it’s time to start the disassembly process. This is a precise procedure, which needs to be done in a specific order.

Once again, we want to emphasise that this is not a specific how-to article. The advice contained within is meant to give you an idea of what to expect.

• For safety reasons, you’ll start with the battery and any petrol you have left in your engine. If you have other cars or Land Rovers, feel free to transfuse the spare petrol into those providing it’s still usable. If, however, you only have the single vehicle, you should dispose of the leftover petrol responsibly. Likewise, assuming that your battery is old, you’ll want to replace it at this stage, too – again, making sure that it has been disposed of responsibly.
• Next, take off your bumpers and all the chrome and stainless steel pieces from your vehicle – including your Land Rover’s Wheels. This includes all the trim pieces, such as windshield and window mouldings, too. You’ll want to place these somewhere where they can hang. Separate them based on whether they need re-plating, polishing, or replacing.
• Once all of the bumpers etc have been removed, remove the windscreen from your car, as well as any other piece of glass.
• Remove the seats from your Land Rover.
• Remove your land rover’s door trim, interior trim, headliner and carpet.
• Remove hood and boot lid and then doors.
• Remove your land rover’s engine and transmission.
• Remove suspension.

The Right Tools For The Job

As you can imagine, this process is a long and involved one, and you’ll need the right tools to get it done. These tools are:

Hand Tools

Regardless of the job, a good set of hand tools is not something that a true craftsman should do nothing without. For this job, you’re going to need:

• Tin Cutters
• Putty
• Patch pieces for rust holes
• Sheet metal for big repairs

At the very least.

Transmission Stand

A transmission stand will allow you to properly store and move the transmission once it has been removed from your Land Rover.

Dent Puller

If your Land Rover has any dents that can’t be fixed with body filler, you can use a dent puller to pull your Land Rover back into its original shape.

There are two types of dent puller available. The first is one which is hand operated. The second is used in conjunction with an air compressor. From our experience,  the hand operated version is more ideal for most people, as it allows for more control.

Lift

To pull and carry your engine, you’re going to need a good, sturdy lift  – ideally one with an A frame, so that you can move the lift around as needed.

Air Compressor

An air compressor is a great investment, especially for this project. An air compressor power such tools as paint spray guns, hammers, grinders and impact wrenches.

Impact Wrench

Impact Wrenches are used to remove lug nuts, nuts and bolts – making them very important pieces of equipment for vehicle restoration.

Angle Grinder

Angle grinders help you to grind through oxidation and are an invaluable tool when repairing older Land Rovers, particularly if they’ve been left out in the open air for long periods.

Creeper

Creepers allow you manoeuvre under your Land Rover and make repairs as needed. They’re a great addition to any garage and a mechanic’s best friend.

Paint Stripper

Paint strippers will be required if you’re planning on changing the colour of your Land Rover’s chassis or if you want to remove rust.

Visit John Craddock Today For Land Rover Spares and Parts

Founded in 1970, John Craddock has grown into the largest independent supplier of Land Rover parts and accessories in the world. Our catalogue has over 100,000 parts and accessories in stock, for every make and model of Land Rover. So, if you’re looking for Lazer light bar for a L405 Range Rover, a Torx Seatbelt for a Land Rover Discovery 5, or anything in between, get in touch with John Craddock today!