Project Kermit 29: A Series Land Rover Full Restoration

In this epic instalment I fit the turbo and alternator in the engine bay, have a go at the handbrake and steering box then it's outside for some work on the rear tub.
Chapters:
0:00 Turbo
14:51 Welding up the floor supports
20:39 Alternator fitting
34:02 Handbrake fitting
37:53 Steering box
45:41 Rear tub
Project Kermit is a 1978 Land Rover Series 3 109 (long wheel base) which is being stripped right down and rebuilt with a 200tdi engine and a few other improvements. The other videos in the series can be found in this playlist: • Project Kermit: A Seri...
If you want to join those supporting my channel (starting at £1!) you can check out my Patreon page here:
www.patreon.com/user?u=37285132
Patrons get lots of exclusive videos and updates on myself and my projects. Thanks to the support of Patrons I am able to make videos almost full-time, but without needing any corporate sponsors.
If you would rather make a one-off donation you can do that via paypal here: www.paypal.me/MaximusIronthumper
All Paypal donations are now going straight to Project Awesome and will be credited on those episodes. Many many thanks to all those that have supported me and the channel but please only send money if you have it to spare!
My website: maximusironthumper.co.uk/

[@MrMannakin]

Always amazes me how you turn parts that look like they are only fit for scrap back into good working parts!

[@flatmoon6359]

That's nothing, I can do the opposite in half the time.

[@jankedmediagroup6784]

It's because most things folk chuck out is still usable, always remember the 3 Rs, reuse, repurpose and repair

[@rustandoil]

A refreshing change from most Land Rover refurbishment videos..... Repair rather than replace, this is the true spirt of Land Rover

[@martinberry4315]

I remember cleaning Hammerite off the barrel of a Matchless 350 in the late '80s with a shot blaster. Very therapeutic. My friend who it belongs to still hasn't got the fecking thing back on the road though. Words will be had. 😀

[@edgeeffect]

You wicked, wicked man! That thumbnail has given me the most ferocious earworm of all time.

[@TheNapalmFTW]

ME TOO lol

[@danbrazil2405]

Nice to hear the birds outside, spring has arrived finally!!

[@davros517]

Your fabrication skills............Fitzie would be proud !

[@nickboylen6873]

Good progress there. When it comes to aligning the alternator pulley, be careful using a double pulley or pulley spacer on the alternator spindle - the extra length between bearings position and pulley groove increases the leverage of the belt on the spindle and bearings, so will wear the alternator faster. It’s best if you can keep the pulley as close to the alternator as possible and move the whole thing forward. Solid spacer blocks are available, as you said, for a price. I initially used tubing much like you, but found the tube walls peened over a little at their ends with engine vibration, and once they shrink a little, then you get movement that rapidly wears the tubes and causes bolt shearing. I later went with stacks of washers which gives a large surface area, which stops the wear. The block would be neater, but the washers have been faultless over 15 years and offer a simple and cheap solution that is adjustable should a new alternator have subtly different dimensions (unlikely, but worth mitigating against). The steering box is a sod to assemble, but simple in principle. Replacing the bush for the output shaft isn’t much fun, though. If it does leak through the output seal (o-ring, if I remember correctly) and a replacement doesn’t work, then using 1-shot grease for coiler axle swivels works really well.

[@normanrussell5526]

I have to say I watch all your doings, but this one has been fascinating. You to me are working in a little bit of paradise, your music is all the song birds entertaining you as you progress along. Your workmanship is really good. The land rover will be one of the best I am thinking.

[@Chr.U.Cas2216]

Dear Norman Russell 👍👌👏 Very well said, Sir, very well indeed. I wanted to comment similar but fortunately you already did all the writing work. 😁 ;-) Best regards, luck and health in particular.

[@BrizzleRocker]

Having been driving along a Welsh country lane in my Series 1 when the hi/lo selector popped into "neutral" I can safely say you definitely DON'T want any play in that one! Proper brown-trouser moment!

[@samrodian919]

Max a little bit of advice when punching gaskets or leather or even just card. Don't punch onto a particle board or any other type of board for that matter, even with crappy punches ( and you do have a lathe to improve them lol ) use only end grain of a bit of timber, preferably a hard wood and when you have buggered up the surface just use a chop saw to restore a pristine surface again. It makes all the difference mate.

[@johnsavage248]

33:16 "yes, that'll work" < I belive you 100%. Brilliant!!

[@maxwiz71]

You're heaping love in to this rebuild. It's very enjoyable to watch. Great balance between reusing/refurbing/repurposing and a few new parts. You're going to end up with a unique and beautiful Landy!

[@SteveeCee]

Hey Max, can't believe I fell asleep watching this, but it was after muchos vino collapso and a spag bol. So I've 'rewatched' it tonight - basically watched for 1st time whilst conscious 😂 Nice job on all fronts, such a pleasure to view (sober) thanks mate!!

[@apollorobb]

Only issue i can see is with that stud on the alternator Adjustment bracket it sticking out that far will allow it to flex and stress crack the stud. Ive seen it before .I would make a tube spacer to put between the bracket and block and get rid of the double nut setup .Great progress Max

[@paulriggers1558]

good job we are not in america, all utubers disconnecting EGR etc are getting $100k fines when you are tapping out a circlip, tap the ends inwards, [the opposite way to you] this helps the circlip reduce in diameter, helping it to come out maufacturer's use an electromagnet to hold the balls in place, high strength magnets may help you. excellent video, lots of good progress, well done young man !

[@highdownmartin]

Egr not legally required on an old Landy. Same here tho, can’t bypass a cat or an egr on a new car

[@mceajc]

Surprised to discover that even the engine bay of a Land Rover with the fenders removed still manages to be "fiddly in the extreme"! Great work smartening up all these bits and pieces. Amazing how long things can last.

[@maximusironthumper]

Probs just me making a meal of it!

[@brendanrobertson551]

@@maximusironthumper That most certainly is not the case, your dedication, natural skill and personality to do things right is an inspiration and lesson to us all. Thank you for all your incredible video content. Seeing your new content appear is always a true joy.

[@Ragnar8504]

@@maximusironthumper I'd say re-designing the whole thing to accept parts from multiple different engines is bound to create some unique challenges.

[@highdownmartin]

Probably too late, just started watching. I clocked my turbo about twenty degrees, all I could do without messing with the waste gate actuator. And chopped the leading bit off that chassis bulkhead bracket: leaving the steering box hole and reinforcing the metal left behind it. No problems in five years Edit. Used a blue silicone bend( free with other leftovers from a mate) trimmed back as much as possible engine side and it clears the support. Piece of rag folded to prevent chafing just in case.

[@maximusironthumper]

Good to know, cheers.

[@tehklevster]

That was excellent. I love the magic bush of things you manage to pull stuff out of. It's like reaching into another dimension full of bits.

[@MarktheOddJob]

Wow, that hour flew by. Thanks for sharing Max.

[@burlatsdemontaigne6147]

Going to be better than new! You'll be taking it to shows I hope!

[@celynjones4958]

AKA Maximus Alu-Thumper. She's coming along nicely.

[@PhilEvansOnline]

This is a true labour of love and beautiful to watch. Thanks for sharing. 👍

[@michaelrck]

Iron thumper, Alloy thumper, and Ecky thumper. You got it all goin on Man! 😄

[@jrevillug]

I get knocked down But I get up again You ain't never gonna keep me down

[@Lutonbodyhome]

That's a lot of work in one episode!

[@davidbrodie5044]

I reckon that steering box will last for a fair while probably. Good ones are hard to find now for sure.

[@maximusironthumper]

I will drag out my other one and check that too.

[@twentysevenlitres]

I always wondered how recirculating ball steering worked!

[@gbentley8176]

Excellent work as always, thanks. Glad to see Rye Oil product; always been first class from them.

[@bittertruth6575]

Max I bet you could easily forge yourself some new surclip pliers. They'd be a 100 x better than anything you could buy and they'd last longer and I think they'd be a doddle for you to make as well.

[@stephenswirles8555]

[@terryphelan]

Love your channel. It’s the opposite of the vacuous shite that seems to permeate these days. Keep it up. Thank you.

[@leenewton8090]

The funny thing is sometimes when I see this channel name it makes me think of Chumbawamba i.e. "Maxiumus Tubthumper" 😂

[@vlota]

Ha. Ha! Me too. In our gaff we nickname Max "Tubby" as in short for "Tubthumper". It works better than "Irony"

[@Chr.U.Cas2216]

Dear Maximus I. 👍👌👏 Extremely well done, Sir, very well indeed! I absolutely love that you repair, modify and reuse old parts. And that you mix and modify parts from different series until they fit and work. I'm nevertheless astounded, how much time consuming work all this necessary fiddling around needs. But it's always the same if restoring and improving something. It usually takes more effort and time than thought in the beginning. But it all will work out in the end because you will proudly own a great, sturdy, reliable daily driver and workhorse. Thanks a lot for making teaching explaining recording editing uploading and sharing. Best regards, luck and especially health to all of you. Post Scriptum: The quality of those special pliers is a bad joke. I bet that they are coming from China or something similar.

[@pauljenkins2501]

Thank you, Max, for another wonderful video. You probably don't have a lot of time to watch other people's KZbin, but if you do, there is a U.S. channel "Farm Craft 101" where the guy restores and repairs a lot of older tractors, diggers and machines to use on his farm. Currently a cherry picker boom lift with an 80 foot reach, which he has taken to bits and is about to start rebuilding. Like with your videos, he explains things well, services a lot of parts himself, and sometimes manufactures jigs or tools to help with projects. It's well worth a watch.....

[@maximusironthumper]

That's a new one on me, I'll check it out. Thanks!

[@Rugbyman269]

Fill the steering box up with grease instead of oil as I believe the army did , it won't leak.

[@HenryOCarmichaelSmith]

Excellent work. I liked the part where you pour milkshake onto the steering box.

[@jamonit7169]

I've got the identical Pyrex jug, I use it for making scrambled eggs though.....

[@marcduthie4327]

Getting there. Looking great.

[@oomwat6101]

Personally, I really rate left hand drill bits for getting bolts out ... if they don't pull it out themselves, you can mash a torx or hex bit into the hole and often wind them out using that ;)

[@timlarcombe9096]

Really enjoyed this one, thanks for sharing.

[@mobiousenigma]

you get knocked down and you get up again..lol good title sir thanks for the video ...turbo is an exhaust gas driven intake air compressor a tad more accurate than a pair of impellers lol

[@gillie-monger3394]

As for progress - "The devil is in the detail" Max. Another great video. I really enjoy the longer length vids. All to often these rebuild videos are basically a 'before and after' snapshot, giving little or no insight into the work required to achieve the results. With your videos we get to actually see and appreciate the effort you go to to turn a sow's ear into a silk purse. Well, I've run out of metaphors so thanks for sharing and can't wait for the next one!

[@oikkuoek]

If you can't find a good shaft gear, you can always weld more material on the pitted one and grind/polish it smooth.

[@ShedTV]

There's a great video on the sixtyfiveford channel where Moe slips a bit of thin copper pipe into a casting with a snapped off bolt in to protect the thread while he fills it up with weld to be able to turn it out.

[@dragontattooee]

When you eyed down the piece it reminded me of my dad and after decades as a carpenter he had the talent of being able to tell how straight something was just by eye . Fantastic video once again

[@mikeb5556]

If you ask Mr Hedge very nicely, he might get you the other steering box, eh?

[@richardhasler6718]

Nice work Mr Ironthumper, as ever! I'm sure Steam wally would be pleased with your steering box overhaul too.

[@jonathanrobson3549]

Normally on a turbo they spin the impella up and grind a small bit of the fin to balance it like a wheel. You just beat it up and we all know it's going to be fine . Love it

[@MrDanTrials]

I like the way you say "this is going to be fascinating, isn't it" but actually it is! Always learn something from your videos.

[@stu2290]

Another cracking video Max !! That aluminium played nicely didn't it :)

[@georgeclements2742]

I think that you made rather more progress than you appreciate. Excellent. Thank you.

[@blacksquirrel4008]

I think twisting the steering box by hand is a lot different than having the leverage of the wheel and the friction of all the steering bits when it is in place.

[@maximusironthumper]

True! I'll see what the other box is like though and pick the best one.

[@keiths-teeth]

Must be a good thing to know Kermit top to bottom. Exciting to finally get to drive it fully painted and renovated

[@richardmaxfield8339]

Brilliant video many thanks..... stay safe.

[@Jack-tx2ve]

I have been drinking far to much rum to comment. But I will anyway, well done mukka. It looks good.

[@selfsufficientsandy977]

The welding glove in the vice is such a great hack, cheers!

[@stephenswirles8555]

i envy you fella, wish i had the room, i wud be doing a simalar thing, ar well.

[@chrissmith7655]

Hi , well done Max that was a hell of a lot of work, very impressed,. Many thanks from Nr Chester.

[@spoplehughes]

It may be psychosomatic but every time you drive kermit you will feel that roughness in the box and it will drive you mad lol

[@andydawkins9640]

Brilliant as always max , always look forward to your vids . Can't wait for next instalment 🇬🇧👍🇬🇧👍

[@chrissmith7655]

Yes me to, can't wait.

[@lyntonprescott3412]

Such tenacity! I am in awe of your efforts. I have in the past welded floors into cars (oxy acetylene), rebuilt engines, and turned vans into campers, plus several motorbikes along the way. In addition to all the other things for normal home life. Cannot wait for the completion of such a splendid project. Best wishes. Lynton

[@simonbartlett5]

🎼 I get knocked down but, I get up again, y never gonna keep me down🎼 ……….repeat etc……..

[@discovolante2585]

Cheers from Finland! I am an owner of a couple of classics, two 80's/90's Maseratis and a Jaguar x308 and I've always fancied a Range Rover classic or a series Land Rover as a daily driver. The Finnish winter is very long, cold and snowy, and this has, year after year, made me re-think but someday I will make this happen. The roads here are in terrible condition so what could be a better alround vehicle than a classic Rangie or a suitably modified Series with massive amounts of ground clearance, easy maintenance for a DIY-person and above all, style! Enjoying great deal of this restoration and have been a subscriber for a good while now. Keep the videos coming!!

[@alangarratt7421]

Another hour of great content. Please keep it coming.

[@caahacky]

Impressive. Thanks.

[@stevewoodw]

Making your own studs for the engine might be ok if they don't get too hot. I think the reason they're more expensive than ordinary bolts is because they have heat resistant properties. You might want to buy some.....good luck - and good video. Nylock threaded nuts might have been better rather than those with the ridges on the flat face - I hope you remembered threadlocker...

[@johnshaw4140]

Fantastic work as always , fascinating

[@MartsGarage]

Excellent methodical progress, Mr Thumper. Great quick cut editing. Thanks for putting this all together, the truck and the video. Mart in Solihull.

[@johncochrane2707]

Fantastic progress Max really enjoyed the video.

[@USAAFLANGFORDLODGEHC]

Cheers Max, really enjoyed this, a way I was told of seeing how many shims are required for the bearing preload, is to tighten everything up and measure the gap you have, without shims in place, then you can check what combination of shims are required for correct preload. This process worked well in a number of places on my wwii jeep, also on the axle kingpins bearing preload.

[@lrdisco2005]

I love the smell of WD40 in the morning, it smells of victory.

[@drsocrates3]

Great to see the half hundred weight make an appearance! Keep up the great work, you will be a very happy man when the day comes to drive out of the shed

[@Shady-Shane]

Great series, but is there a reason why you didn't bitumen the entire inner wing of the tub?. i know it's not necessary with it being aluminium.

[@FOOKYOUTUBENUMBERS]

Full Restoration over 30 year period 😂Great vid glad yeah back on Kermit

[@daveb7999]

Great restoration work on the tub! Excellent video as well, Thank You for that. Hope you get the steering box sorted.

[@highdownmartin]

I bought an alternator bracket ( like your one) quite expensive (40 quid)and reasonably hard to get. Ended up not using it. Made a homemade bracket Inch by half inch bar with two ears welded on the bottom to go on the block with one long bolt. And two ears welded on the too much more forward for the alt to bolt to. Welded nuts on the inside of those ears so the alt just needs a couple of bolts and you can get to the heads easily. Raises up the alt a bit more and brings it in a bit closer too and gives much more swing so fitting the belt and tightening the belt is easier

[@Garrett053]

Awesome project for my morning coffee. I am restoring a volvo amazon and this is very inspiring to me. Thank you, man!

[@shellez101]

What no chickens? Still a great video brother 🤟

[@twocvbloke]

That alternator spacer, it's either a very comical oversized mains socket, or, it's something a bit rude, depending on who's looking at it... :P And that bitumen, that came from the same seller I bought 40L of premium paraffin from in 2021 right before the fuel prices went insane, still have most of it as the need for using my paraffin heating didn't really arise thankfully, I recall they sent only half the order too, but they did sort that error out anyway... :)

[@Burnsie8282]

Another great video Max! I found the tub repair especially satisfying, I love what you achieved with the panel beating and reinforcement, Kermit is really coming along and will truly be something to be proud of! I hope you, and everything else is doing alright, keep up the fantastic work. I really enjoy all of your content! Thank you

[@kevinsimpson7114]

Amazing job Max. It’s all about the preparation to get the job right, so you are making a lot of progress!👍🏻👌🏻Looking forward to the next instalment. Thank you for sharing the journey.🙂

Great content as usual. I would say plusgas would work better freeing up the turbo shaft. And you can make an adapter plate for the wastegate actuator wich mounts on the existing tab. Then you can turn the turbo compressor housing more upwards

[@anuverun6762]

Excellent bumper episode, thanks.

[@peterford436]

Great stuff...

[@MrNineCherries]

Fantastic. It's amazing watching you save so many bits and not just buy new. Love it. I'm looking forward to the next installment 👍🏻

[@highdownmartin]

Lot of times a repair on a fifty year old component is better than a new pattern part. Better steel.

[@christaylor4145]

Really enjoying your restoration videos, it is marvellous how you take all these old parts and make them look smart and usable again, I can’t wait for the next one, great work, take care and all the best to you.

[@FOOKYOUTUBENUMBERS]

You'll have a long wait😂

[@richardford4570]

Your making great progress and I really enjoyed this longer video, cheers mate and keep safe and well from Rick in Sydney Australia 🇦🇺 👍 😀

[@bobbrayshaw1179]

Brilliant as always. You have a really nice manner and rhythm in your work. Currently doing a full restore inc a new chassis on one of my sons 90.

[@philhermetic]

Super work Max, steering. Boxes are a bit of s fiddly nightmare, just rebuilt my fordson major box, identical internals, much improved by the repair kit! Keep on truckin! Phil

[@splendiferouse0]

Bitumen is good stuff

[@robertgoddard565]

Loving this series of videos I’ve watched them all from the start. I love the camel trophy colour. What an Incredible life style you lead.

[@peterjohncooper]

It's always uplifting watching the project come together. Thank you.

[@nicholasviney5975]

That's the sad thing about restoring an old vehicle most of the hard work is never seen it's all hidden underneath panels, it's coming on and going to be a joy to use when it's done

[@paulwalker427]

fantastic work

[@dustymiller7758]

Great entertainment Max and fantastic progress. Proper renovation and longevity built in.

[@dairyfarmerdan]

Coming along an absolute treat

[@rogerphillips450]

Looking good, well worth watching.

[@stephenswirles8555]

yer your skills are level with nasa.

[@NatSatFat]

Well done that Man! you really know what you are doing with that engine build, i 've done bits? but certainly nowhere near the detail you do, I admire your skill & thought process, you seem to have vast experience, in lots of things? sadly, I only have a smidgin compared to you, but it is fantastic watching you complete something.

[@leomartorell939]

Un trabajo increible .....felicidades por el video ...¡¡¡¡