Timm Cooper disc brake conversion

I heard about these being in development last fall and was excited to have a better option for braking. They finally came available thru Roam Offroad; www.roamoffroad.com So when it came out I bought the kit of brake parts from British Pacific; www.britishpacific.com and waited for the housings to become available.
During the wait I obtained a series 3 dual circuit brake master cylinder with servo from a breaker in the UK; www.CWS.co.uk it was the hardest bit to find........

I also bought from Rovah Farm the Automec dual brake pipe kit.
Since the clutch would no longer share the fluid reservoir I updated to one with the integral reservoir. Both pedal boxes have been gone thru and the brake painted as the clutch is galvanized.
Roam Offroad contacted me in January that they would be shipping and since I have a restoration in progress and live close by, 80mi, would I like to have the inventor Timm Cooper come down and install the conversion while they took pictures for "How to---". I said Hell, Yes!
So last Friday the weather was cooperating and we could all meet at my house and do the deed!
Only one glitch slowed the start, my emails weren't going thru to Brian at Roam so the directions to my house wound up being late on the morning after they were supposed to leave....
After Timm Cooper and Brian Horner arrived they quickly got to work. I had spent the morning laying out all the parts and tools that I had for the job.

Timm was quick and obviously knew what he was doing, I tried to help by providing tools and help where I could.

We ran into one issue with the steering arms, I was converting from pendant to non-pendant and the used steering arms I obtained from Daniel Rogers(Thanks Daniel!) had the small bolt holes. I drilled them out on my drill press to the proper size.

I also didn't understand that NO BEARINGS come with the kit so assembly slowed while I removed the old wheel bearings from the hubs.

It looked to me like everything else went together nicely. there was lots of talk and picture taking and Brian L from Ben Lomond stopped by to see the work and ogle Timm's 51 V8 powered Rover.

The late start and the few miscues and picture taking got a front and rear installed and the other front swivel assembled, all by Timm (Thanks Timm and Brian!!) I had been doing some painting of parts during the day and continued on the next day, Saturday. On Sunday I had finished the installation and had all the parts painted. Monday saw me getting lock nuts for the flexhose for the front brake lines. Then I put those on.

Today(Tues) I finished up the hard line installation and did some online research on tyres, the next item to install then I will have a rolling chassis.

British Wiring emailed me today and the wiring harness came in early and will ship tomorrow so by sometime next week I should have it!
My only regret was that I didn't get the parts intime to do a really good job on the painting. But I did get to see Angus, Brian Horners dog!

Here's some other pics from the day!

An update to this page; the ROAM company no longer makes the conversion, it is now being made in aluminum by Forbyn Brothers. www.forbynbros.com Still in California.

1-8-2019 update on a problem with the conversion; https://poppageno.blogspot.com/2018/12/i-have-been-chasing-noise-since-last.html

109 galvanized

OK, way back in December I got the call that the parts were dipped and ready to be picked up. So once again I rented the flatbed truck and Brian and I went up to Oakland to get the parts.

We had quite a surprise when we did though. The sandblaster, Leon's powder coating, charged me twice as much as expected! First I had to pay the bills to pick anything up and then we got the parts loaded on the truck. Then took a trip around the block to see Leon.
Leon was/is an ass**** first he told me that I was charged for sandblasting everything(even the stuff I'd had blasted before!) Then he changed his story and told me that I wasn't charged for the small stuff but only for the 2 chassis. No matter how he phrased it the amount was double what it should have been! I could see I was talking to a brick wall so rather than yelling I just left. He said he just cleaned everything on the pallets....
We went back to the galvanizers to let them know what had happened and they told us that they had told the truck driver what needed to be cleaned. I was caught in a catch 22.
Angrily some $400USD ripped off I headed home. Once there I started to remove parts from the truck while friends showed up to help with the chassis. When I got to the bulkhead I could see it had been damaged by the galvanizer or

blaster. I was brokenhearted especially after being ripped off earlier. I mean the bulkhead is the heart of the restoration and the main reason to go to the galvanizers. But I took pictures, as it was too late to call Oakland.

Andy, Bob and Brian and I all unloaded the chassis and I took the truck back to the rental place. It gave me time to cool off and think. I decided to take the bulkhead back to the galvanizers the next day.

So the next morning I was up and headed to Pacific Galvanizing by 0900 as to beat the morning commute. The ride up was uneventful! Upon my arrival I went into the shipping office and met Bill's eyes, after exchanging good mornings I announced we had a problem that the bulkhead was bent and unuseable.

He asked "what do you want me to do?' I replied "make me whole, either repair or replace." To which he replied "send me an invoice." I said OK do you want to see it or take any pictures? so he came out and we discussed Rover galvanizing and he took a few pics. Then I came home and dropped the bulkhead off at The Professional Touch, www.proftouch.com . a body shop in Scotts Valley. After consulting with the worker it was agreed that he would attempt to straighten the damage.
I was worrisome for the week waiting to hear from them. I was also trying to get ready for the Death Valley trip over Christmas. I decided to take down an old bulkhead so they could have a reference point to work from. Finally they called and I went down to look at it.
It was much improved around the vent opening but still I don't think a windscreen would have sealed/fit. So I told them to work on it some more. I went back the next day and they had been able to straighten it out so that it would be useable, he had also brought the feet into alignment too. I picked it up that day, it was Friday and Saturday am I left for Death Valley.
Once I came back I attended to some of the issues with my 88 from DV and finished mounting the axles and springs to the 109 as the missing parts had come in from Rocky Mtn.

I took upon myself to start mounting the brake lines that I obtained from Trevor at Rovah Farm. I got them done as far as I could and turned my attention to the bulkhead.

I needed to prep it for paint so I started by removing the bolts I had put into the threaded holes and retapping them. These would be the ones for the door hinges and the windscreen holddown. I then did the ones for the dash mount and reamed the holes in the feet for the chassis mount. It took a little bit of heat to get a few of the bolts to turn but that is what I expected. At the same time I freed up the captive nuts for the door hinges as they were frozen by the zinc.

As I was doing the chassis holes I noticed that the footwell was out of plumb. Of course it was the one that had been streched, the drivers side. I looked it over and decided that I might be able to straighten it as I had already sent the invoice to the galvanizer(PG). I just need to bolt it up to my 88 frame and push on it with my foot......simple!
Not! Brian came over to help me the next day, So many thanks for having Brian around!!! We put the 88 frame on the ground and first tried to bolt in the damaged foot, WOW that showed us how bad the thing was out of alignment! Next we bolted in the good side(passenger). That at least went in.
Next I got out my come-a-long and hooked one end to the frame rail and the other to the bad foot. This pulled the hole into position with the chassis it had been some 3/4 inch too wide. From there we could put in the mounting bolts and the bulkhead would stand on its own. Next up was the 20 ton bottle jack! I braced it on the outrigger and had a piece of 3/16 flat sheet steel and a piece of wood to spread the load up into the top of the inside of the footwell. Using a 4ft straightedge I lifted the footwell up until it was aligned with the top and front of the other side.
Then came the tricky part, I used a propane torch to heat all the stressed parts carefull to not get the zinc too hot. I made care to heat the parts that had been bent in the dipping tank. I let that cool naturally for about 4 hours and loosened the jack. It only dropped back down about 1/4 inch so I repeated the process and jacked the footwell top up higher than before. I let it sit overnight. When I released the jack in the morning it settled right nicely into position! A few hits with the hammer to straighten up the tunnel sides and I think it will work just fine. Boy am I relieved!
Ater that I returned to the mundane, I put the galvanized frame in and painted the bonnet, flat black and put some sound deadening material on the inside.

I've had some issues with the brake lines as I received metric lines not SAE so I had to source

some new connectors. I did this from George at Rovers Down South, www.roversdownsouth.com
That's were I am right now waiting for the rain to end and hopefully get my disc brake conversion on next week. I bought the Timm Cooper conversion supplied by Roam Offroad www.roamoffroad.com I chose the 4wheel conversion, I don't want drum brakes.
I also have been working on my 88. As you might remember the four wheel drive in the front wasn't working in Death Valley over Christmas.
I took off the free wheeling hubs(FWH) and checked them out. I found that the LH drivers side was not moving and allowing the engagement of the wheel. So I cleaned it up and got it rotating. The closest place to go(legaly) fourwheeling to my home is 80mi at Hollister Hills SRVA. So I took awhile trying to figure out how I could stress my 4x4 and see if it is working. I finally decided to try to drive up this steep grassy hill across the street from my house. So I locked it in 4hi and tried to go up. When I backed down I could see that only the rear wheel had spun. This meant the front was still not working.
So since I had "fixed" the FWH it must have been something else, right!? In DV I had thought it was a u-joint in the front halfshaft. So early one day I tore the entire front end apart, end to end and took off the front prop shaft and removed the diff. Nothing was broken!!!...So I went back to the FWH I had "fixed". Sure enough it was frozen again. This time I really inspected it.
I have old M.A.P. hubs that are nolonger produced. They work by; on the outside you turn a hex and it rotates a cam. This cam moves 4 dimetrically opposed spring-loaded keys out of a central gear hub in the free mode. In fixed position is simply allows the keys to fall into place in the slots of the gear hub.

The action of the keys in the slots while fourwheeling caused the ends of the slots to mushroom out and not allow the gearhub to rotate. I took the body and the gear hub to a machine shop and had them clean it up so it would operate, $20USD. I have yet to test it but it turns smooth as silk now!

On another front. While in DV I realized that I was using all my stove fuel up heating water. That was one reason for a trip to Ridgecrest to get fuel. Meanwhile both Linus and Brett were heating thier water with Kelly Kettles www.kellykettlusa.com . They heat by just using twigs and grasses, pine cones, whatever combustables are nearby. Brett Likes to take the coals out of the campfire to get his going! So I bought one and it came yesterday. I bought the large(1.5l) stainless steel one with the pot holder and grill and pot/pan. I doubt I ever use the pot and pan but who knows. Anyway it is one of those pieces of kit that I won't go camping without and should be able to pass down to my grand kids.

Death Valley 2011 page 4

As I said Brett showed up and set up camp near the firepit by me. It gets cold fast this time of the year in the desert, as soon as the sun goes behind the gigantic Inyos the temp drops 20 degrees. So we quickly had a fire going and cooked dinner.


After dinner Brett headed over to the spring to socalize and take a dip. I stayed out of the water due to my toe injury. Stoked the fire and watched the stars. Awesome.........
Later we went to bed in our own 88's In the morning it was very chilly somewhere around 28F inside my 88. I was so glad that after last years trip I had bought a new sleeping bag good to 10F. Slow breakfast and lesurely morning found Brett anxious to explore Snowflake mine road and me wanting to get and early start on the long run to Trona to meet anyone showing up for the Christmas week. So we packed up and headed out. Our first stop was a short trip out on the sand dunes. I stopped behind Brett and when we left I was stuck.

Back at the springs Brett had taken my front prop shaft off so I could at least have low range 2wheel drive. I got out my strap and Brett pulled me onto more solid ground.
Then we headed south on Saline Valley Rd and took the Northern most approach rd. About a third of a mile and I abandoned my 88 and rode with Brett until we encountered a deep washout. Brett scouted ahead and decided it too difficult to continue so we went back. I picked up my Rover and we headed to the next road.

This approach(the middle one) was more doable but still rough so once again I abandoned Ignotus. Brett drove all the way up to the Beverage Cabin where we looked around for awhile. It was COLD in the shade of the Mtns!

We took the southernly approach out and it was in much better condition. Then in to pick up Ignotus. Somewhere we had decided that it was now too late in the day to head out so we went back to the Saline springs.
This being Sunday, Christmas Day, when we arrived there was a Potluck going on and a white elephant gift exchange. We picked a different camp hopeing to get more morning sun heat. Once there we fixed Brett's dragging brake shoe and adjusted the wheel bearing.
That being done we headed off to the hot pool just as dark was hitting. This evening there was a big fire and music and plenty of socalizing. I did get in the pool as I had really bandaged up my toe and felt confident it would be OK. Brett and I were in the pool for 3 hours! With lots of stimulating talk from a gal named Rose, but that's another story unto itself.
Finally hungry and tired we went to camp and cooked, ate and went to bed.
The next morning I encouraged Brett to visit the Sunrise pool. I didn't go because I had rebandaged my toe after last night and did not want to get it wet again. Upon his return we packed up and split, it being Monday morning and I needed to get to Trona Pinnacles.
Another bumpy ride over South Pass and into Panamint Springs.

Then we headed down Panamint Valley, Brett to Trona Pinnacles and I to Ridgecrest. At Trona I took Brett's 2 MT nato cans(petrol) and gave him my 2 full ones(diesel). As I headed into Ridgecrest I chanced upon Paul VKD going to the Briggs Cabin with his son Curt in his 109 Zambese. A brief chat and I was off to town.
I got about 5 miles from town when I notice my fuel guage on MT. I thought I had more in it? I pulled over to put more fuel in and realized I had given all my fuel to Brett! Well, I made it into town and kept waiting for it to die especially at the left turn light.....But I did make it to the gas station! I put in 10.6 gallons and filled Brett's with petrol.
Albertson's was my next stop as I needed to resupply for another week. I also stopped in at Walmart and bought a camping chair reluctantly, as it was made in China.
Chores finished I headed the 22 miles back to Brett only to get to Trona in the dark. Somewhere in the dark I made a wrong turn and luckily Brett was on the radio and talked me in and 2 other vehicles were leaving so I could see what road I should have been on.
For dinner I had stopped at Subway and took advantage of my warm car to eat it in. Yumm fresh vegis! Followed by another cold, beautiful, starry night!
The next morning we were going to wait until 1000 for anyone to arrive but while cooking breakfast I realize I would not have enough camp fuel to last the week. So I packed up and made a mad dash back to Ridgecrest and Walmart where I had espied fuel bottles to fit my Snow Peak giga stove. I also picked up more beer!
I managed to get back to the pinnacles by 0940 and Brett met me at the entrance. As suspected no one else showed, but I had fullfiled my promise to be there if some one did.

Brett and I headed off to the Trona Airport where a Land Rover is rumoured to be sitting. The owners were't there and the housesitter knew nothing. So it was off to the Slate Range trail.
This time Brett and I aired down and now knowing the route soon we cam to the first uphill challenge for 2x4 Ignotus. Brett went first so I could winch off him if I didn't make it. I didn't make it. I got a little over halfway up and spun out. So with one foot on the brake I took out the seat cushion and the tool box cover and dug out my winch remote, then put the cover and cushion back in place.
Meanwhile Brett had repositioned his 88 and walked down to mine, he plugged in the remote and pulled cable up to his rig and hooked it up. After he climbed in I winched myself up.
Later on the downhills it was very exciting. In low range first one of the rear wheels would lock up and skid, the other 3 wheels would just roll freely. For the last long hill I was scared, I went down with running engine, in gear with the clutch in, using only the brakes. I made it but slid in some places. WHEW!!

As with Linus, Brett decided on taking the southerly route to Wingate Rd. Once there we headed North past the CR Briggs mine and keeping an eye on the gps for the turn for South Park Canyon. We found it easy enough only marked by a small cairn of rocks. Once on the approach road we headed up and up and up!At about 3/4 of the way up there is a flat spot where I decided to leave Ignotus rather than risk breaking a rear axle on some rocky uphill turn.

So I loaded enough stuff for an overnighter in Brett's 88 and up we went. I got some video as he drove thru the wash and up over the waterfalls. Not real exciting but I'll put it on Youtube. Up at the cabins we found Paul at the Stone Cabin. He told us his alternator died.

With his trouble spelling an end for his trip unless he could find one in Ridgecrest. It was decided he would leave in the morning, and us too.
We had a great night in the cabin, even had visitors from Briggs Cabin. Learned about the Ballerat Bandit and hoisted a few beers!
The next morning we all packed up and headed out, stopping for pictures and video over the falls.

Eventually stopping at Ignotus where I could drive again.
As we exited from Ballerat there was a Range Rover coming in who I stopped to talk to. He had just bought it used and was going to do the Pleasant Canyon Loop. So I told him it was closed at Chicken Rock.
At the pavement we said goodbyes and and aired up. I followed PVKD to Ridgecrest and Brett headed for Butte Valley via Goler Wash.
I caught up with Paul in town at a auto parts store but he had no luck there. We went to another store and a salvage yard. With the same results. I decided to part ways and got some lunch and headed home.
A long drive back I arrived home around 2200 tired and ready for a real bed, but I missed being at the springs for New Years and with my Rover friends!

Today, I pulled apart my freewheeling hubs and put Ignotus up on jackstands. It appears that one of the hubs was frozen and would not engage. There was no metal chips in my diff oil. I drove it around my neighborhood in 4 low and there was no popping noises. So it may be good now.

Death Valley 2011 page 3

When we last left our intrepid explorers they had reunited in Beatty NV. and headed for Titus Canyon in Death Valley's North east section.
The trip to the Canyon Road was uneventful being only a few highway miles from Beatty. Once on the dirt we took off, heading for parts unknown. The first few miles are flat until you get to the hills of the Grapevine Mountains, for nestled inside are canyons and abandoned mines, towns and petroglyphs. The one-way (East to West) part of the road is 24 miles long and all dirt. Although recommended for 4x4 on this trip I saw no need for it. There were some pothole type stuff but nothing a Prius couldn't do.
As we ascended the East side we came upon a slow moving Jeep who must have been taking the 4x4 warning to heart and seemed to be in 1 low with the woman at the wheel. After a bit she pulled over and we went by. Once you get to the top of the pass there is a fantastic view into a large canyon.

Not what I expected at all! Then it winds down hill into the canyon and eventually you get to Leadfield.
Leadfield was a mining town started upon a lie, stocks were sold to investors back East and miners came arunning, the town lasted all of 3 months....After a quick lunch and short look around we headed further down the canyon.

When Linus came to the petroglyphs he found 2 bicyclists checking them out and filtering water at Clare Spring. Abby and Brian were mountain bike touring from Bishop. They had camped in the canyon the night before.
The petroglyphs can barely be seen and there is much "modern" petroglyphs on the rocks. It was hard to tell what was oldest. Soon we set out again.

The expansive canyon almost imperceptively narrows until you are on a very well graded 15-20 foot wide canyon with towering walls ground smooth by years of rushing sludge.

At the entrance where it becomes 2-way Linus and Chris took a short hike while I caught up, next up was Marble Canyon!
We made a stop in Stovepipe Wells to check out the store/gas station (no diesel) and headed West to Marble Canyon. Well, we both missed the turn and decided to head on up the hill, Hwy 190, as it was getting late. After a bit we pulled into the Emigrant campsite along side of the Hwy. No campfires but toilets!
By now we had gotten proficent at setting up camp which included parking the Rovers into the wind and setting a tarp across the front to block the wind. Chris and Linus slept behind this and I in my 88.

Oooooo the stars at night!!! On those clear cold nights we could see Orion rise in the East and wind his way across the sky. I never saw a shooting star but others did. The Pleadies(Subaru) also presented itself nightly. Up long enough and the Big Dipper would appear.
In the morning we headed West again and once over Towne Pass Linus showed us where a plane crashed in 1953 on the side of Towne Pk.

Soon we were at Panamint Springs resort where we decided to look around at the store/fuel station (diesel $5.79gal) From there we went to the restaruant for second breakfast. Allyou can eat buffet for $10.00! Pancakes, eggs, diced potatoes, bacon, sausage, orange juice, coffee. It sure beat the morning oatmeal!
Back on 190 we made the short run to the turnoff for Darwin Falls. The Road to Darwin is dirt washboard almost 2.5 miles long. From there it is a mile or so hike down the wash to the falls.

After a short bit on the trail I knew that I must take it easy on my hiking for the rest of the trip as the inflamation was making my foot go numb again. When the numbness goes away it is very painful. We made it down and back with Chris finding old stone walls and bits of glass(?).
Once again we were on 190 Westbound and after climbing the Darwin Plateau soon decended the other side where we turned right onto the Saline Valley Rd.
We'd been on this road last year and headed out quickly. Up and thru Lee Flat and past the Boxcar Cabin, climbing up to South Pass where there was still snow on the ground.
South Pass is at the top of Grapevine Canyon the gateway to Saline Valley it is 5997ft in elevation with a great view of Panamint Valley. It is the junction of the Inyo Mtns(West) and the Cottonwood Mountains of the Panamint Range to the East. And down the Grapevine we went passed more snow and trees felled by wind or slides. At the water crossing the ice was thick about 1/2-3/4 inch! The road is in need or some help but we just kept on going, out on the alluvial fan last years rain hd done some damage eroding sections to bare rock, a hint of what was to come.
Once past the turn to Lippencot grade the road levels out as it hits the valley floor. To me it didn't look like the road of last year, gone was the high speed run to the turn off for the springs. Now the road was covered in broad sections with silt from rain in the Inyos. In some areas new washouts and deep silt causing me to stop due to the dust cloud behind Da Snork, No way could I see where to drive should I have attempted it, the silt was at least 3 in thick. Yeah there was still some washboard but get too confident and a washout would surprise ya!
We did get to the Saline Springs by 1530 that day and picked a camp and set up same.

After dinner and dark we gravitated to the spring. To my surprise Chris was the only one there. Soon we were joined by Linus and after a bit Chris left and then later 2 fellow campers joined us. They were going to hike to Beverage is a couple of days and remembered the Rovers from 2009.
Getting out that night from the spring I tore some of the skin off the bottom of my toe, bloody water on the ground as I tried to dress myself in the cold. Back at camp I cleaned and dressed my wound, It wasn't as bad as I first thought. It was also in the numb area of my foot so it didn't hurt.

I just had to be careful of infection. Now a week+ later it is fine and well healed.
The next morning broke to a chilly 28F in Ignotus. Linus and Chris had decided to pack it in and get a jump on the trip home as it is a much longer driv from the spring than from say Boxcar Cabin, there destination for tonight Christmas Eve. So they left around noon and I awaited Brett's arrival by rebandageing my toe and taking in the view while watching the burro parade. Hint; Burros don't like green vegis, they'd rather eat your paper or maps!
So there I was alone(with fellow campers) no four-wheel drive and a toe keeping me from hiking and going in the springs,,Oi Vey!
But I had food and water and a book! Then Brett showed up around 1600, just as a burro was checking out my unstarted campfire, I think he wanted to eat the paper...

This last pic is one of my favorites from Trona Pinnacles.