Project Bertha - 95' RRC LWB
 

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.



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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. 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.




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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!

I saw that thing on Craigslist. Lookin forward to seeing the progress

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?



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Looks awesome. Love the color. Van I have your old Springs? :)

LOL beat me to it Shifty!

Nice looking RR - 2" lift and slightly bigger wheels just looks "right" for the classic IMO.

Others are better placed to comment than I am, but I think above 2" lift, you have the potential for driveline issues... personally I'd stick with 2".

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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I would sell them to either of you. Shoot me a text 908-279-5110.

Go with the 100w bulbs in the Hellas. I'd also recommend putting in a relay for em too. Just use the stock fog light wiring as the trigger

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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I dig it.