Spring 2019

Back in the UK in February for a few months I was able to pick up where I had left off with the rebuild last summer.

The first thing to do was to finish refitting the parts that I had had to remove to withdraw and replace the gearbox just before I returned to work. With everything refitted I could make a start on the bit that I was looking forward to least - the electrics.

I am not sure what the full history of the Land Rover is before I bought it, but somewhere along the way someone had decided to hack the wiring up - cutting wires, fitting hidden in line fuses and leaving lots of loose ends for me to deal with. 

My first thought was simply to replace the wiring harness (s) with a new ones, but after pricing the sections that I needed up I decided that this was too expensive an option. Of the 5 separate wiring harnesses that make up the complete wiring loom of the ambulance, three of them had been cut into in the past and needed significant repairs. The potentially biggest problem was the fuse box as this showed signs  of having melted in places and had a lot of the fuse holders missing, which probably explained the numerous in line fuses that had been fitted behind the dashboard.

Grabbing the bull by the horns I purchased a replacement fuse box and started the process of reinstating the wiring, removing circuits that I no longer needed such as the convoy light switch and the wiring for the siren and emergency lights. I also wanted to add a number of 24 volt circuits including -  

• twin engine cooling fans; 
• Reversing camera;
• split charge system (to charge the two auxiliary batteries in the ambulance / camper body);
• front spot lights;
• secondary air horn;
• under bonnet work lights; 
• external work lights;
• awning light;
• auxiliary reversing lights;
• reversing camera;
• air conditioning; 
• Internal cab LED lights

Some of the additional circuits had to be a 12 volt (the Land Rover has a 24 volt supply) which will be fed from three Durite voltage droppers. These include:-

• heated seats (12 volts)
• radio
• auxiliary fuel tank gauge 
• fuel transfer pump (Facet 60106)
• Auxiliary sockets / USB etc

I also had to make provision for the wiring that would go into the camper back which would also have a 240 volt hook up facility and a 300 watt 24volt roof mounted solar panel. 

• 24 / 12 volt ARB fridge freezer
• 12 volt Whale water pump
• 12/24 volt Durite LED lighting Cabin)
• 12/24 volt Internal lighting for the external storage lockers
• 12/24 volt external step light
• 12 volt internal fan
• Split charge system for the domestic batteries

Getting the basic electrics reinstated took me all the time that I spent working on the Land Rover for a period of two weeks. Wiring was complicated by the fact that the colour of the wiring in the harness and the number of wires did not appear to match either the Land Rover workshop manual or the Haynes manual. The MOD (green book) was pretty useless - does the army simply replace a section of the harness if a fault develops? 

One of the challenges was to replace the convoy light switch with a standard light switch which I managed to do using a wiring diagram that I obtained from Neil "Overland Birds" as the Internet had nothing that I could find relating to the wiring of the Pulse. Thanks Neil!

To allow the auxiliary electrical equipment to be switched through the ignition (both 12V and 24V) I installed two 60 amp relays. One relay is switched via the ignition switch and powers the 24 volt auxiliary circuits that I added. It also switches the second relay which in turn switches the 12V circuits.

With the basic circuitry  functioning I set the completion of the wiring aside until such time as the vehicle body was back on the chassis.

New Main Fuse box - minus all connectors

Splicing in the new fuse box

Earlier in the build I had installed a Durite battery isolation switch between the batteries and the starter motor which would isolate all the electrical components. To avoid overloading the existing harness I opted to supply the auxiliary equipment via a separate fused supply from the batteries. I installed as second Durite isolator switch below the passenger seat to allow this to be isolated separately. A third isolator will be fitted in the rear body which will isolate the two domestic batteries. 

Batteries fitted and secured

Facet fuel transfer pump.

At the risk of jumping about a bit, but keeping with the theme of electrics, within the ambulance body there is a power distribution / switch panel for the heater and rear body ventilation fan system. The panel also contains a small voltage step down transformer which feeds a couple of MOD type 12 volt sockets. Unfortunately the panel was located within the area where I wanted to form the new toilet and as I was moving the diesel space heater that was fixed to the floor below it I decided just to move it as well. 

After stripping the panel I rebuilt it with new components to suit my future needs. The fan controls were moved to the cab as the roof fan had been moved to the drivers cab to provide fresh air when the ambulance was on the move (with the new Puma bulkhead we no longer had the external vents on the scuttle panel). The heater controls and alarm were retained while the 12 volt transformer and the connector block for the old wiring within the ambulance body were removed as I had new Durite ones to install.

In place of the controls that were removed I installed a marine type fused switch panel, a NASA (BM1 Clipper) battery monitor that can be used to monitor both the engine and domestic batteries, a CBE fresh and waste water tank level guage.

The wiring of the camper body is far from complete and will be covered in more detail in a future post.

Removing the heater and control unit as the toilet is going there -
the heater will be relocated at the rear of the body

Heater control unit

Rear of the electrical panel in the ambulance

Panel stripped and rebuilt to suit camper application -
NASA battery monitor still to be fitted

Before mounting the rear body back on the chassis I wanted to fit a new exhaust. To keep with the standard of build I planned to fit a stainless steel exhaust system. After a good bit of on line research and speaking to a number of suppliers I concluded that a complete off the shelf stainless steel system to fit the 130 chassis was not available.

I did manage to source a stainless steel down pipe and silencer replacement pipe on line, but the rest of the system was going to have to be fabricated.

As no matter who was going to make the pipes for me the Land Rover would have to be taken to their premises as I could not find anyone who would simply copy the old exhaust.

The nearest place that I found that could make the pipes was only a couple of miles away in Kirkintilloch. To get the Land Rover there I decided to simply tow it as it is too heavy to legally trail on a car transporter trailer.

I have an "A" frame that I have used in the past to move cars, but when towing a friend's lighter Defender 90 we found that the frame is over stressed when turning sharp corners. As the Pulse is much heavier than the 90, I opted to make up a longer fixed tow bar which would pick upon the bumper mounted tow pin and the rear ball hitch on my Land Cruiser.

The tow hitch and eye were sourced on line. Given the weight of the eye, the thickness of the metal and the importance of getting good weld impregnation, I got a local fabrication shop to weld the eye to a length of 40 x 40 x 5mm box section. The hitch was bolted to the other end after stiffeners were fitted inside the box section.

Tow bar made up to move the Land Rover on the road.

Heavy duty towing eye - welding by Jones Engineering

Bradley tow hitch

Before the Land Rover could be towed it needed a light board (borrowed from my boat trailer as I needed 7m of cable), a drivers seat and some doors (possibly not needed, but I wanted to avoid the police having cause to stop me).

Light board fitted ready for towing

New bumper securing bolts as I managed to misplace the old ones.

First outing on the road - a friend drove the Toyota while I steered the Land Rover

The fitting of the exhaust did not go quite as easy as I had hoped. Having booked the Land Rover in for a day to have the exhaust fabricated we towed it down only to find that the garage only wanted to look at it to see what bits they needed to order (Day 1). We took it back two days later and left it with them. Unfortunately they did not manage to do anything to it that day and asked that I leave it overnight (Day 2). Returning the next day I found that the exhaust had been fitted and it looked to be a good job (and a good price), but the pipe was not bent high enough over the rear axle (it was much lower than the suspension stops) (Day 3). This was a pretty basic mistake which the garage undertook to fix at their cost, but I would have to bring the Land Rover back again at a later date (Day 4).

Exhaust will need to be adjusted over rear axle

New stainless steel exhaust

With most of the mechanical and a large part of the electrical works now complete it was time to mount the body!

For the last two years the body has sat on blocks at the bottom of my Mother's garden. Removing it from the chassis and transporting it on my trailer two years ago had gone pretty well, but there had been a few instances where it could have gone better. With lessons previously learned and with the trailer hitched to the back of the car it was time to bring the body back round to my house so that it could be prepared for remounting.

Despite what many people may think the ambulance body is not light and is not something that can be easily lifted. To get the trailer back under it I used a hydraulic jack to lift each end in increments until I had it sitting high enough on concrete blocks to give the required clearance.

Loading the body on to the trailer was easy enough and just a matter of taking time and care to make sure it was stable at all times.

Loading the body before bringing it back to the workshop

Body and trailer levelled on concrete blocks

One of the reasons for buying this particular "Pulse" ambulance (apart from the price) was the condition of the body which was straight and had virtually no visible damage. When the Land Rover chassis was shot blasted before galvanising, there was no rust damage at all - the chassis was good as new. It was a surprise therefore to find that the underside of the body had oxidised where it normally sits on the chassis to the extent that in places there was no alloy left and the weight of the body was being taken by the foam inner filling of the floor panel. This damage was completely invisible when the body was on the chassis.

The floor above the chassis was paper thin or not there at all

This was what was left of the floor of the ambulance body

Access to the underside of the body was fairly limited as it was still sitting on the trailer (but it was well supported). removing all the damaged alloy, I fixed oversized 3mm aluminium plate over the full extent of the area that would sit on the chassis allowing an additional 80mm of plate on each side of the damage area to ensure that the load of the body was properly transferred into the floor.

With the body off this was a easy fix but for other Pulse bodied Land Rovers?

The other structural components - cross members and webbed sections were in pretty good condition and only needed to be cleaned and then given two coats of primer and two top coats of paint.

Outrigger support cleaned back before priming

Bulkhead cross member with first coat of primer

Reconfiguring the body.

At the start of the project our general idea was that the Land Rover will be a place to sleep, a method of carrying our gear and somewhere we can get out of the weather if it is wet or cold. We do not plan to spend all our time in it and see it more as something that can facilitate outdoor living rather than being a motor home.

So sticking with this our plan for the fit out is basically - a fixed bed with external storage lockers underneath, a toilet with a hand basin,  a fridge freezer  and internal storage for clothes etc. Additional secure storage will take the form of 2 or or possibly three strong boxes for cameras, laptop and documents. 

There may be a micro wave, but that is not been finally decided yet.

The three existing non opening ambulance windows will be removed and three new sliding windows positioned elsewhere. The sliding windows will be  of a shape and design that will make them reasonably secure.

The rear doors will be reconfigured to have fixed bottoms and opening tops which will allow plenty of light and fresh air when the weather permits. Access to the camper will be via a single side door set into the nearside of the body.

The existing roof vents will be removed and a single skylight installed.

The diesel heater will be relocated to allow the toilet to be positioned in the front corner of the body and the electrical distribution / switch box also will be relocated.

A fixed water tank and a waste tank will be accommodated internally as will two domestic batteries

Externally two external locker doors will give access to storage lockers under the bed area. 

A 300 Watt roof mounted solar panel will charge the domestic batteries although there will be provision to charge them also from the engine (split charge system) or from a mains hook up.

The two spare wheels will be relocated from the bonnet and roof to new carriers fixed to the rear of the vehicle.

A roof rack or roof rails will be fitted to allow kayaks etc to be carried and also to provide some protection to the solar panel from low branches etc.

Well that is the plan, but as with all plans it might undergo some changes along the way.

The first thing I had to do was  empty the body of all the stretcher racking and fittings. I had previously removed these in 2016 when I bought the ambulance, but with no where to put them I had ended up storing them back inside the body. There is a fair weight in all the different components all of which are extremely well fabricated and probably a large part of the overall cost of the vehicle when new.

Rather than dispose of racking and fitting I will keep them as a lot of useful bits of alloy can be cut from them for future use on this and other projects.

The mass of the stretcher racking was pretty impressive when removed.

The racking was not junk, but a useful source of material once cut up.

With the body empty I could start closing up the existing openings for doors and windows and make some new ones.

Original ambulance doors

Open plan!

Disassembling rear door as the locks would be reused

Lower door sections secured in place to an internal frame
and sealed against water ingress

Rear doors - bottom halves fixed, top halves can be opened from inside

New openings were required for a side door and two external locker doors. I had purchased a couple of new (old stock) motor home doors which I had planned to use in the build, but after further consideration I decided not to use them as while probably ideal for a motor home, they were pretty flimsy and would be difficult to make as secure as I wanted the body to be.

Instead I had bought some more robust doors second hand from a company that were dismantling a large horse box. The quality of the doors was very good and they would be easier to make secure having welded aluminium inner and outer frames.

Given the height of the ambulance body above the ground a step would be necessary to get in and out. In the back there was a perfectly good step that could be used with the rear doors open. Rather than waste this step, a simple modification allowed it to be used with the new side door. It is now demountable and sits securely inside the new door when not in use.

Cutting the opening for the new side access door.

A length of 40 x 40mm box section adds strength to the body sides
 - this will be useful for fixing on to in the future

Instead of reusing the original ambulance windows I opted to fit three number Dometic Seitz S4 windows. These double glazed windows which came complete with blackout blinds and insect screens. I deliberately chose sizes that were wide and short as I hoped that these  would allow some ventilation while offering a degree of security as the opening part on each was too small to let all but the smallest child get through it.

Cutting holes for the new windows- external locker door already installed
and original step relocated (demountable) to the new side door

Toilet window

The roof of the ambulance body need some attention. When I started to cut out the new openings in the body I found that the two side walls were wet internally due to water coming down from above. Outwardly there was no sign that the body leaked as the water within the walls presumably just made its way down into the floor. Again this is possibly an unknown defect on other ambulances that will go un noticed unless the existing walls are cut into.

On the roof there are a number of openings - 2 air vents and an air intake box for the ventilation system. there are also fittings for emergency lights, holding down straps, a spare wheel and an aerial (I think). All of these were potential water ingress points and all had to go. I had no plans to mount a spare wheel on the roof and the fan system was being relocated anyway.

The cowls over the two roof vents were rusted through allowing rainwater into drip out of the internal vents on to the body floor.

All the fittings were easy enough to remove and once I had done so I cleaned the  surrounding area back to bare alloy before riveting an oversized aluminium plate over each opening. Each plate was sealed by a generous layer of silicon between it and the roof. Once each plate was secured down the external edges were sealed with two layers of Granville panel car panel sealant.

After sealing all the openings in the roof I was dismayed to find that water was still getting in - further investigation was required. The only other penetrations in the roof are the rivets that hold the body together. On closer inspection (after cleaning off the paint, dirt and moss) I discovered that a number of the rivets had oxidised away to nothing while other had unsealed holes through them where the metal shanks had once been. I replaced all of damaged rivets and then sealed all the rivet heads on the roof with panel sealant - so far the water ingress appears to have stopped.

I removed all the roof fittings

Removed fittings covered over with new aluminium sheet
- sealed with silicon and secured by rivets.
Edges have also been sealed with body panel sealant although not shown in this photo

Removing the roof air intake for the rear body ventilation fans

Roof vent - rotted through - removed and opening sealed 

Toilet waste access door

Cutting hole in rear panel for water tank filler cap 

Air conditioning unit - to be mounted in the roof space
of the cab above the crawl through door 

Fitting mounting brackets for air conditioning unit

Storage space above drivers seat closed in - new opening cut in from camper body side.
Black box is a small safe. Holes in top RHS are for AC pipework

Original roof fan housing reconfigured and fans reversed to allow mounting in the front of the
high roof space between front seats. New air intake formed with twin 100mm diameter ducts
from tapered external panel behind drivers door. 

Cutting trim panel that will box in roof fan unit

Roof fan unit mounted in cab - front of high roof section between seats.

Fitting a level sensor to the water tank before fitting it in the body.

In parallel with working on the body I was able to make good use of the surprisingly warm spring weather to progress the bodywork on the Land Rover itself. Having decided that the colour that I had sprayed the underside of the wings, the bulkhead and the seat box last year was not really what I wanted, I decided to change the external colour to a slightly lighter shade of "stone". While it was my intention to have everything the same colour, the seat box will be eventually covered in soundproofing and then by a carpet or mat, the underside of the wheel arches will be covered by the plastic "eyebrow" wheel arches, leaving only the bulkhead in the engine bay as a slightly different shade.

New door hinges as the original ones were missing or in poor condition

Aero Catch - bonnet

Mocking up chequered plate cover for the wings

Trial fit of light pod to determine fit line on the bonnet.

Original Chequered plate cut back to fit light pod -
chequered plate subsequently removed and replaced with new

Cutting out the chequered plate to reinforce the wings and bonnet.

Some 60 countersunk bolts were used to fit the chequered plate to the bonnet

Starting the bodywork

In paint

I planned to use Defender light surrounds on the wings

Obviously I got that wrong as the wings are "Series" wings!

As the original Land Rover doors were in a very poor condition I opted to buy new aftermarket door bottoms while retaining the window units, both of which appeared to be relatively new.

No not an art installation - painting the doors. (new door bottoms)

I sprayed the inside of the cab before the body was mounted on to the chassis

Re assembling the door tops

At last it was time to put the body back on the chassis. Once again I jacked the body up and supported it clear of the trailer. With the chassis once again secured to the trailer I pulled the trailer out from under the body and at the same time pulled the chassis under. 

Although this can be summarised in two sentences, it took a few hours to set everything up and get the chassis and body properly aligned, but in the end the body went back on to the chassis without any problems

Setting things up

Jacking the body up to the required height

Withdrawing the trailer

As I towed the trailer out I pulled the chassis under

Chassis attached to the trailer

Nearly there!

With the body now on the chassis the Land Rover would not fit back under the covered work area so I quickly had to make it weather proof. As it had no windscreen when I bought it a new one was required. This I bought on line along with a new seal with the intention of fitting it myself. 

On unpacking the screen and seal I quickly decided that this was a job for an expert as the seal was so stiff that I struggled to get it around the new glass let alone get the glass and seal into the window opening.  The £80 that it cost me to have someone come and fit it was £80 well spent as it took two men nearly an hour to get it in. Apparently windscreens are easier to fit if the old seal is reused but as I did not have the old seal that was not an option for me anyway.

Fitting the windscreen

Security.

I think that I can safely say without fear of contradiction that the standard Land Rover is not the hardest vehicle in the world to break into or in fact to steal. Given that we plan to take ours to some remote areas and potentially leave it parked unattended from time to time as we do other things or stay elsewhere when we are travelling, making it just that bit harder for a thief was one of my priorities. 

Of course if someone really wants to get in then they will, but hopefully some of the security measures that I have installed will deter the less determined thief.

The first thing to address was access to the drivers cab which really means the drivers and passengers doors.

The obvious weak point is the windows so on the principle that if there were no windows the vehicle would be a bit more secure I made some window covers out of 3mm aluminium sheet.

My first attempt (the Mk1) was OK but the front quarter light was still exposed, so on to the Mk2 which covers the whole window.

The covers are easily removed as they are held captive at the to by a section of 75mm x 75mm alloy angle which is riveted and bolted (headless coach bolts) to the ambulance body. The bottom of the cover is secured by padlocks and eye bolts.  I will add a third eye bolt in due course to secure the front corner.

On the Mk1 cover I strengthened the front edge of the cover with a section of 30 x 30  x 6mm alloy angle, but on the Mk2 I have used double thickness plate instead which makes the covers easier to store.

Window security - Mk 1 cover

Mk1 cover with wing mirror frame in place.

The Mk2 version - additional lock still to be added to front corner

I still plan to add an additional door lock to supplement the standard lock when required, but as yet I have not decided on which exact type of lock I am going to fit.

The second consideration was the security of the camper body (not an ambulance body anymore).

The obvious weak points are - doors, windows and roof light.

The locker doors and access door themselves are pretty robust as they have welded aluminium frames which in turn close into robust welded aluminium door frames. The weakest points are the door locks which are standard caravan type locks. The frames are held into the body by numerous self tapping screws which could possibly be undone if someone was determined enough.

To make the locks more secure I simply added some heavy duty van door security locks. these may not be the most attractive looking objects, but hopefully they will be effective.

Security lock fitted to side door

Security locks also fitted to external locker doors

So that is it for another couple of months as it is time for me to go back to work. I had hoped to have the Land Rover on the road for this summer, but there is still a good bit to do. All going well it will be going for an MOT (that will be interesting) the next time I am home and perhaps most of the internal works will be completed, but we will see!