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Project Bertha - 95' RRC

28K views 16 replies 5 participants last post by  jawn_wong 
#1 · (Edited)
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 hope to learn from everyone here.

To give a little background, the previous owner purchased it 6 years ago from Falconworks 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.













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. By the end of the day I was amazed how well his dad's RRC performed and I loved the Classic look. Other than clearance issues (high centering on mud-ruts) it had no issues throughout the trails.











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.






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.











I'll be sure to share more details as my build progresses. Hope everyone could provide some valuable insight!
 
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#2 ·
Great looking RRC. Love the classics.
 
#3 ·
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 am debating on purchasing a 1" coil spacer and adding it on top of the new coils. Thoughts?















 
#4 ·
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.







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








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.








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.

 
#5 ·
The rugged trail is a decent, tire nothing extreme, fairly quiet and soft.

Nice looking truck! Keep us updated.
Are the other 2 in the pictures yours also.
Nice looking disco2
 
#7 ·
Looks great with the new tires. Any updates with the spacers?
 
#9 ·
I like the yellow lights. I will probably go with yellow fog lights if I ever replace my bumper.
 
#11 ·
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.


















 
#12 ·
Looks awesome. No idea about the seat and mirrors other than checking the fuses. Hope you get it working, and hope you keep it and continue to post updates.
 
#13 ·
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:





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






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.






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!





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











Still waiting on my front & rear brakes from Lucky8. Apparently there are issues from customs, which held the shipment.
 
#15 ·
Tardy to the party, but did you ever figure out your power seats? I had a devil of a time with mine on my old '93 LWB until, through the help of several veterans on the boards, found that it was a dead battery in the power seat ECU (located under the driver's seat) and some corrosion on the board to boot. Took it to Batteries + and for $40 they soldered and repaired. Seats worked fine after that, FWIW. Also great name choice - went with "Bertha" for my first Rover as well, just seems such a fitting name for their nature. Best of luck with your continued build!
 
#17 ·
Hey all! It's been awhile since I've updated this thread so I rather not leave everyone high and dry. :wave:

I ended up purchasing a condo back in August in Chicago and got caught up on the move. Unfortunately, I had to sell my 95 Classic since I have limited space for a secondary vehicle. Good news is the new owner is a fellow LR enthusiast and has two SWB Classic's so rest easy know its in good hands.

After months of remorse I ended up picking up a new primary vehicle which I plan on keeping as my daily driver and converting into an overland vehicle for light/moderate off-roading.

Here's a photo of my 2008 LR3!




Anyone else here have an LR3? If so, let's see them!
 
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