#66 - Back At It Again

With only 50k original miles - the effort will be worth it

You'll note my last substantial update about #66 was way back in the beginning of the year. For those getting up to speed - my post of Feb 23 does a good job of summarizing progress up to now.

Given the current global supply chain situation - things are delayed. Jaguar / Land Rover has been slow to update on the status of my replacement frame, complicating timelines significantly. We're at the six month point since it was ordered, and while I haven't given up on them completely, given our overall timeline - we need a plan B.

This weekend Jim and I began tearing down #66 in order to free the frame. We'll look to have it repaired, galvanized and powder coated - before we being re-building on it. We made some good progress, and will continue our efforts over the coming weeks. The goal is to have it ready to roll by early July.

Of note - while we were maneuvering #66 into place for us to re-start work, the fuel return line blew - spraying fresh gasoline all over Jim's driveway. We quickly shut it down, and don't anticipate it'll be running in its current state again.

This is also a good place to make a reminder that we need to drill holes in the replacement t-posts before we install them, so that we can mount the plates for the roll cage.

If an ETA for the frame from JLR pops up before we have meaningful progress, I'll have a well restored frame for - well who knows what. But I don't think I'll be much worse off, all things considered. There have been a few other delays, so contingency plans are happening all over the place. I won't be surprised if by the end of this I've got enough spare parts for a second (er, third) Defender.