Project Kermit 33: A Series Land Rover Full Restoration

Into the midsection of the truck this time!
Chapters
00:00 Seatbox
15:06 Bonnet catches
17:43 Oil cooler pipes
22:00 Mud shields
23:11 Engine plumbing and seats
28:49 Trying to start the engine
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...
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[@philthorpe4549]

And suddenly it's not a project, it's a vehicle. Well done Max, really chuffed for you, what a marvellous bit of work. Be very proud, it's going to be a truck for life. Just make sure it never gets nicked, they're magnets for thieving toe rags...

[@oooru5tynailooo]

It's alive!

[@diogenes1815]

Nice feeling breathing life back into the old girl.

[@alangarratt7421]

Thumping, drilling, cutting, screwing, welding, grinding, painting... 38:05 minutes of magic Max.

[@paulmartin6397]

One of the sweetest sounds known to man: a 200 Tdi starting up for the first time towards the end of a restoration project 😊

[@deadmeat6563]

Was that a Jay supervising the project?

[@grenvillephillips6998]

The blue jay of happiness was a very positive sign!

[@stu2290]

Max, super pleased for you bringing the beast back to life! The grin on your face said it all! Well done!

[@stevewilson6390]

Growing up I used to watch a programme called HOW! And out of town A clever chap called Jack Hargreaves presented it , you're the modern day version of that man.

[@gwiz1307]

Igor! it lives!

[@Mike.Howard]

I think the cat knew you were going to use the seats, so applied a furry (and anti-mouse) protective layer 👍👍

[@garrigproductions]

We had a gathering of over 250 Landrovers at Clonoulty Vintage Show of Sep 3rd, we parked them in a manner that made up the words 'Land Rover 75' when viewed from a drone above. We're likely to do it next year too so hope you can come with Kermit...

[@michaelrck]

Another success for the engine whisperer 👍

[@davidyendoll5903]

Happy for you too , brilliant feeling eh ! I watch Mike over on Britannica Restorations , religiously . On one of his videos he determined that the diesel pump ran best and would have a longer life with three standard gaskets fitted .... And fit a filter if you have not done so !

[@dbowl7983]

The smile on your face when you got behind the wheel made the journey so far worth it. thankyou for taking us all along.

[@mikeroutledge6929]

That grin when she fired up

[@sarto7bellys]

If only you could've seen the smile on your face when you jumped into the drivers seat and tapped the pedal !😃

[@alwynvanwyk1851]

Nice work Mike... Missed a few episodes, can't believe it's the same Landy... Will have to back track 🇿🇦 👊🏻 ✌🏻 👍🏻 🇿🇦

[@ShedTV]

I really like your approach of soaking up masses of information and then making up your own mind which way to. This is going to be such a fantastic, well thought out workhorse.

[@deepheight]

Congratulations Max great achievement and you made it very entertaining for us armchair mechanics

[@davidbrodie5044]

Project Jay 2 🙂

[@jonbarnett4591]

Absolutely brilliant! The litter smile to the camera says it all! Well done.

[@jonbarnett4591]

*little

[@nickboylen6873]

Great progress, @maximusironthumper . I think I recommended the transmission longitudinal tie to you around six months ago. As I said then, it doesn’t just save the engine and transmission mounting rubbers from the shear force every time you apply the hand brake, but it massively increases hand brake efficiency - you will be amazed at how far the assembly moved forward when you pull the brake lever, and how much more clamping force you get when that movement is restricted. It was fitted to 4-cylinder models by the MoD, especially on FFR variants with the big cooling fan - they wanted to prevent the fan hitting he back of the radiator. Keep an eye on the condition of your transmission oil using that noise blanket. The transmission gets very hot and burns the oil if you prevent airflow cooling the casings while driving. Synthetic W75 might withstand the heat better, but I didn’t like it and removed the noise proofing I had installed under the tunnel and went back to EP90. I don’t think W75 has anywhere near the protective benefits of EP90.

[@taiwaneil]

You certainly earned your name thumper in this episode.

[@andrewk6844]

You could do the spring bonnet clamps like the series 1 and have the spring end on the guard and catch on bonnet. Its really looking great ,you should be proud of your self. Max you have done a great job. The county Defender seats fit better , you can remove seat base to get to battery and box under drivers side

[@paulriggers1558]

excellent progress young man if you ever get stuck, shove an airline into the tank + blow the fuel through, they will normally keep running from then on the stop solenoid is the weak link in the thieves handbook, make an armour plate around it, then run the wire inside a steel meshed fuel line, back to a hidden kill switch, they are looking for wires, not fuel lines...

[@roberthayes9842]

Zero interest on vehicles yet fascinating series, looking great, extremely impressed Max

[@davejones9010]

3 gaskets on the lift pump max, ideal distance from the cam👍

[@samrodian919]

Max great strides sir! If you are going to use those Disco seats, getting to the battery in a hurry will be problematic. I'd suggest putting a battery kill switch into the front of the seat box in case of an electrical emergency. You are quite correct Sir Terrance Conran did design the seats. In fact he designed the whole series one Disco interior. I had a 1991 3.5V8i Disco with the beautiful blue interior and I loved it!

[@KeiteiVentures]

The Jay is so cheeky 😁🐦 Yay for Kermits milestone! 👍 Well done Max, awesome work! ✨

[@mumblbeebee6546]

I love jays and have not seen one this comfortable near humans - is it just that they grow up near you, Max - or did you treat it for injury or abandonment before?

[@KeiteiVentures]

@@mumblbeebee6546 I think the Jay is friendly as he has been observing Max feed his chickens and probably built up the courage and curiousity to approach him for snacks 🥜 that way.

[@orb505]

Woo-hoo!

[@brotherkith]

Excellent job Max!

[@Chr.U.Cas2216]

Dear Maximus I. 👍👌👏 Congratulations 🎉 for the successful first start. Additionally a lot of progress happened in this video. The vehicle is really coming together now. The colour looks great. Thanks a lot for making teaching explaining recording editing uploading and sharing. Best regards luck and health in particular.

[@Ragnar8504]

That reminds me of the night we desperately tried to restart a 1976 Unimog with a knackered lift pump in sub-freezing temperatures! We ended up rigging a gravity feed from a temporary mini-tank cable-tied to the door mirror to the injection pump. The lift pump on that type of vehicle is accessed through the offside (on an LHD vehicle) wheel arch, sticking your entire arm up past the wheel and bodywork so just figuring out the pump was knackered was a massive task.

[@mikeroutledge6929]

That Jay seems very tame

[@user-tq9vk4vt5p]

Quality craftmanship in Champions League!

[@paulkornegay]

Kermit went back together great. Well done from Texas.

[@chrissmith7655]

Hi Max, really enjoyed that episode. Many thanks from Nr Chester.

[@sarkybugger5009]

I've never seen such a tame Jay.

[@alanhawken8471]

Awesome 😎 it’s so satisfying when you get this far , and it’s alive again 👍🇦🇺

[@twotone3070]

So we watch a few minutes out of the hours and hours of work that go into every episode and it all looks so easy. My hat goes off to you for for just the dedication alone.

[@cissysprinkle8005]

well done Max

[@gbentley8176]

Well done, all that work and she starts on the button. Pity your Fancy Fowl were away on their hols but stand in Mr Jay said OK and away you go. Thank you for posting such excellent videos. My LR V8 LWB is still in the brambles unbolted from the chassis. Its on the list though.! Stay safe from a lad just younger than Grandpa.

[@peterh1386]

It's less Kermit and more Desert Rat now! :-D Love the colour!

[@jjt1093]

Best thing I have found and use for this is a 12v pump from the tank to the lift pump, Switich that on and bleeds itself as the 200tdi bleeds itself as well but the 12v ump is just an extra help/backup

[@TheDinnermoney]

Win! I hope you re-upholster those seats with something cool, maybe a nice cream pleather.

[@mactruck1882]

Can confirm as a hydraulic hose supplier 90% or automotive hoses are not compatible to use with our machines, and they are all different to each other most of the time.

[@bonoff3369]

Well done that man.

[@willtricks9432]

Thumping Iron again. Cheers

[@pcaunceuk]

Great video installment as always. Your technical presentation and editing is spot on. You're more enjoyable to watch than than any of the recent "Wheeler Dealer" programs. Try swapping the bonnet catches around. They'll work fine as you have them but you might find that you start to scratch the wings every time you put the bonnet down. Plus without knowing the exact type they may also hold water when it rains. Keep up the great work though and your thoroughly enjoyable videos. Phil...

[@nicholasviney5975]

Kermit is looking very snazzy, you should look at britannica restorations he advises using 3 gaskets on fuel pumps or they fail he's done a series on them and how the arm position is quite crucial.

[@markdebcam]

Max brilliant: chuffed for you. Great content well done.

[@KHGrinderboy]

Awesome, anyone else cheer when it started? Ha Ha. Bloody brilliant Max!

[@mickpospiech1363]

Brilliant to watch, as always.

[@alicraigmile]

She lives! Amazing. Well done Max.

[@jonathangriffiths5364]

That started smoother than warm butter on hot toast!

[@highdownmartin]

200 tdi s do. Never needed heater plugs in five years and down to minus ten

[@Wheelloader__]

Pretty cool Max. The Land Rover will soon be roving the land again.

[@simonwilson8911]

Congratulations! Always a good moment.

[@richardford4570]

Wow she looks and sounds great. Cheers mate from Rick in Sydney Australia 🇦🇺 👍

[@paulburroughs1313]

Absolutely wonderful! Not only does Max accomplish anything he puts his mind to, he does so brilliantly. You should have your own Land Rover reman shop.

[@adamap2796]

Well done mate, not long now. It will be finished before the winter weather sets in.

[@peteblack50]

Might need to swap the seats side to side, the seatbelt receivers are on the outside rather than the inside

[@Rugbyman269]

The seats though presumably more comfy than the ones I had in my landy look way too big ?

[@icba4907]

When fitting the mudshields put spacers between the mudshields and the back of the footwells (I used nylon) it will make a gap that will stop the build up of crap that will rot your footwells out. Nice work Max 👍

[@gerardvandermerwe6293]

Wow Max We now have Kermit the Bumble Bee you will be buzzing along the hedgerows in short time. These videos are motivating me to rebuild one myself. Well done mate.

[@TheJamesandmary]

Think you may have you bonnet latches upside down??? My 1950 S1 they are the other way up , this keeps the water out of the spring. Lovely job 👍

[@maximusironthumper]

Yes I've seen them both ways, the way I have it seems to be the most common for the military and Camel Trophy Land Rovers.

[@jncg2311]

The 1949 ex military 80" we had was fitted with them the other way up too but I've seen them more recently as installed on Kermit. I wonder if it vame down to the decision made by the folk fitting them at the time. I'm tickled to see they are still available, and pretty much identical to the ones installed 74 years ago.

[@BrianM0OAB]

Yeah the spring rusts out quickly and fails.

[@chasleask8533]

No better moment than when they fire up . Well done .

[@goeroetje]

Loving the Kermit series!

[@Melripley48]

What a great start up even if it did take 3 or 4 used fuel pumps! Well done.

[@stephenhankey688]

Thumper that was great, watched all of the build, so far,real good, from Steve near Chester England 🇬🇧 where the Roman's once lived.

[@normanrussell5526]

Nearly there Max. Looking forward to see it under it's own steam.

[@Vandog_Offgrid]

If your worried about sound then it's best to dynamat everything before fitting 😉 👍

[@koolkats724]

Gotta love it. Like watching a kid on Christmas! Lol. Congratulations, great work!

[@davemc4015]

It's alive.Good job Max😉

[@sallywest5634]

Dad and I are thoroughly enjoying watching you work on kermit and both agree that you should be very proud of what you have done. When dad was a lot younger he done something similar to an old series so he is really reliving it watching you. Kermot is a credit to your craftsmanship Max.

[@guesswhotoo6]

Great restoration! Not a big fan of any rubber hoses on the oil cooler. Have a D90 and had the one of those break open doing 70mph on the highway. Dumped 7 quarts of brand new oil everywhere behind me and all over the exhaust system in about 7 seconds. Saved the engine by shut down almost instantly and coasted off the road. After that, everything was changed to stainless steel braided aircraft hoses, no leaks, no problems. A guy near Cleveland OH makes kits which are less expensive than the OEM crap assemblies.

[@micklamb9942]

Sounds good healthy engine well done Starting to look really good

[@wayneevans3342]

Fantastic result!!

[@user-ro4hn1cc5v]

Love the colour 👍

[@alanargent5422]

Chuffed for you Max. I'm thoroughly enjoying this series and have to say you're doing such a good job. Not just on Kermit but on the video series. It must take a lot of extra time and effort to film and edit these videos. I find them really comprehensive without being long winded. Really thoroughly shot with some great editing choices. Keep em coming.

[@davebarton9301]

You're a talented chap Ironthumper, takes me back to when I restored my series 1 many moons ago. Only thinI'd do if I had one now is Dynamat the whole bloody thing!

[@Fintoman]

You in the driving seat with the engine running I suddenly saw the 5 year old in you. Great job, big step forward, you must be excited?

[@SteHughes90]

This has been one of the most enjoyable series I've seen on youtube, well done mate

[@rustandoil]

Nice job... I like the "old school" way of repairing and making do during this rebuild.... Hope to see you out and about in Kermit sometime wave 👋

[@gavinalmeida1994]

Nice one, ah Camel trophy, "the good old days"😂😂😂

[@stephenrobinson478]

great job you have done looking forward to episode 34 and 35

[@edgeeffect]

That's all the starter you need - just say to your passenger: "'can you just bang those two croc. clips together... yeah those two on the floor... just give 'em a quick touch" ;) Nice sheet steel bending tips you've inadvertently given us... I've been looking at sheet steel stuff recently and whenever you see other people on KZbin doing it it's all with expensive presses and sheet-steel benders and whatnot. I've been wondering if I can just clamp it against a good straight edge and belt it with a hammer and, it seems, the answer is "yes of course you can!". Thanks! What kind of bird was that, sat on the bonnet? My initial thought was wood-pigeon. But when it started moving around, I wasn't so sure. Aaah... a "Henry", a seat, and a lot of cat hair.... looks like every single Sunday afternoon to me. ;) My dad was always very dismissive of aluminium - compared to steel it was just far too effeminate and just not tough and manly at all. Looking at how well the rest of seat box has fared and how the battery box hasn't... I wish he was still here today so I could point and say "eh? eh!"

[@maximusironthumper]

The bird is a jay and yep, it's surprising how far you can get with just a hammer and a sturdy table!

[@mattthescrapwhisperer]

Great progress!

[@eddieMurphy11111]

and its nearly there Max it will not be long before it is on the road well done and thanks for the video

[@adambrinkley4014]

Jetwash the seats ,theyll come up brill

[@marcduthie4327]

Nice work. Love watching this come together

[@yako0000]

i liked the part where the wrench (spanner) vibrated off the cowling and clattered to the ground. we've all done that lol. very happy for you that Project kermit is nearing completion.

[@daviemaclean61]

SHE LIVES! Great job Max. Love the bonnet catches. I was thinking of fitting some, but with a working catch and 2 1/4 litres of throbbing power, I don't think my bonnet's in any danger of lifting. Cheers

[@bren106]

*You need a Brian Blessed voiceover when the engine started "KERMIT'S ALIVE"*

[@gedreillyhomestead6926]

Now I understand the channel name. 😂 loved seeing the Jay come up close unafraid. 👍

[@pauljones2633]

Fantastic to see! Try a little two stroke oil in the diesel, it’s quietens them down a treat

[@cedley1969]

For whatever reason Morrison's used to sell two stroke oil at about half the price of anywhere else, kept my mechanically injected Iveco happy for years.

[@mattswan7710]

Well done max … you put me to shame ! So happy it started … not long and you will be driving to an admiring audience!

[@christopherkise]

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 YES!! This is excellent. Its a dreamcar coming true

[@stevek3036]

Started and run very sweet on the first turn of the key - its all starting to happen! I do like the sand yellow colour - period correct and more interesting than the de-facto green

[@kevinisaac9139]

that's brilliant Max sounds lovely its really coming on looking forward to the first drive 😀

[@johnpullman3227]

Nice work!