Back to the Range Rover Section
Please be aware that ECR is now a Defender repair and modification shop only.
We no longer work on Range Rovers, Discos or Series Rovers.
These pages are from work we did in the past and left up for your enjoyment.
1988 Range Rover
Custom color change and custom work
This Range Rover has come to us from Seattle, WA for a full color change paint job and a new look. The Rover is in very nice shape and the owner wants it to stay that way, and he also wants to make some changes and updates as well. We'll be stripping the body down and doing a full color change. The customer also wanted to go with a more custom look for his Range Rover, so to meet his desires we will be installing a "retro-kit" on the Rover. We'll be transforming the exterior of the USA spec. Range Rover to look more like an early UK example and even adding the ultimate "UK touch" by adding a huge British flag to the roof section.
The Rover has some minor damage around, so we will be replacing the damaged areas, like this rear quarter panel, with new Genuine Land Rover Parts and making the Rover straight and ready for the owners color choice.
As with any full paint job on a 15 year old Rover, you find some things that you didn't expect. On this Range Rover we found that the entire RH side of the vehicle had been damaged at one time, and was painted incorrectly with no less that 9 thick coats of paint. This paint had started to crack and was covering many areas of body filler and damaged panels. We will be stripping these panels down and repairing what we can, and replacing what we have to. It appears the Rover was side swiped in an earlier life and the repair shop that did the work just filled the dents with body filler and painted over it all. The good news is we can repair everything to be as good as new, without using body filler, to make a correct and long lasting repair.
Here you can see the Rover is starting to get stripped and sanded down. Any small parking lot dings are repaired at this time, and any corrosion or other damage is addressed. You can see in the image above that we don't tape off things in a color change paint job. We take our paint work seriously and we want a better than factory appearance when we are done. To that end, you can see we have removed the lights, window seals, door handles and side rubbing strips. Most shops will just tape these off and sand around them. This leave ugly tape lines and sanding marks, so we won't do it. When we got done with the color change on this Rover it will appear that Rover itself painted the Rover, not a body shop.
Yes, you can get a cheaper paint job for your Rover, but you can't get a better paint job.
Once the panels are removed from the Rover for the color change and the needed modifications for the "retro" look the Rover looks pretty bare, but the panels on a Range Rover are just for show really and the vehicle is still fully functional in this state. The panels are painted off the Rover to achieve a better overall paint quality for the full color change. Some panels are removed so that the welding and fabrication can be done for the "retro" look bumpers and front grill.
Here you can see some of the panels that have been prep'd and primed. These panels will now be treated and coated in 3 coats of Tuscan Blue (the customer's color choice) and then coated with numerous coats of clear for a deep gloss and paintwork that will resist corrosion and last a long time.
Some of the panels on the Rover had too many dents and dings to repair, this wiper cowl is one of them. We have replaced the cowl with a new part and have prep'd and painted it in the Tuscan Blue. This and other pieces are now ready to be assembled onto the Range Rover.
This images shows the freshly painted tailgate now back on the Rover. In the scope of the project the ARB rear bumper will be removed in favor of the UK style bumper for the "retro" look. We'll also detail the paint work with new "Range Rover" decals and more. The RH rear quarter panel on the Rover is also being changed to the open fuel fill type, just like a UK spec. Range Rover. We'll also be installing a metal grill and some steel wheels to complete the "Retro" package. To top off the Rover the customer has decided to go with an Alpine White roof panel that will have a Union Jack (British flag) painted on it. This Range Rover will be one trick piece of machinery when the custom paint work is done.
Here you can see we have moved the Range Rover into our spray/bake booth and have covered everything but the roof. We then prep'd the roof, primed it and painted it in multiple coats of Alpine White as a base coat for the Union Jack.
Once the Alpine white was set up we then laid out the Union Jack design on the roof. The actual flag design must be stylized somewhat to fit the Range Rovers roof correctly as the flag has an aspect ratio of 2:1, and the Range Rover roof is not even close to that, so a balance between a "correct" Union Jack and one that will look correct on the Rovers roof is set up. The image above shows the lay out for the red sections of the flag. The white areas are all masked off.
Here you can see we have laid on the multiple coats of red base coat for all the red portions of the flag. Next we'll pull the tape and get ready to lay out the blue.
In this image you can see that the Alpine White and Red base coats have been applied to the Range Rover roof in the Union Jack pattern. The next step is to lay out the Blue and tape off all the Red and White.
Here you can see the next stage. In this image the white that will be exposed and the freshly done red has been taped off to allow us to apply the blue base color.
Now you can see that all the colors have been applied. The entire roof is now one big Union Jack! Now these 3 base colors will be treated with numerous coats of PPG clear. This will give a high gloss and really bring out the true colors, as well as make for a durable paint surface.
These images show a few coats of clear applied to the base colors. At this stage the shine starts to show and the paint gets it "depth". Remember when we said, "Our only limitation is your imagination" well, we really mean it, as you can see from this project.
Here you can see that the Range Rover is starting to take shape again, with an all new look. The new blue panels have been painted and installed on the Rover (the white material you see if a film we use to protect the new paint) and the lights and such are starting to go back on. We have made the needed changes to fit the retro-look pieces and will be assembling those changes next.
This image shows part of the "retro look" starting to take shape. The factory plastic grill has been removed and the older metal headlight surrounds and vertical slot metal grill have been installed. New mounts were needed to install these pieces, but combined with the Euro (amber and clear) marker lights that the customer had already installed this 1988 NAS Range Rover is really starting to look like a retro-Euro model. The front fenders also needed to be modified prior to paint because the small holes that allow the NAS bumper end caps to be installed needed to be welded shut and ground flush, as they did not appear on the older Euro models. Next we'll add the Euro side turn signal repeaters and the black bumper to complete the front end change.
Above you can see the new RH rear quarter panel installed on the Range Rover. This Euro rear quarter has a large opening where the gas door is on the NAS models. In that opening we have installed the petrol fuel fill panel and mated it to the NAS Range Rover. You'll also notice that the small holes for the rear bumper end caps had to be welded shut on the rear tail pieces, and that we have done that prior to paint and primer for an invisible modification once the Euro style rear bumper goes on.
Here you can see the retro look fuel fill installed. This set up has the inner tube that allows you to fill the tank from a gerry can and it even has the old style fuel screen in it for "Filtering" the incoming fuel. The gas cap also locks and really completes the "retro" look of the Range Rover. The fuel tank and the fuel filler neck both had to me modified to allow this set up to work with the USA fuel evap. system on the 1988 Range Rover, but once completed it looks great and very unique.
The last piece of the body puzzle was the RF door. We have re-worked it to be perfect, after its pervious side swipe, and have now installed it back onto the body shell with the proper gaskets and hardware. Next we will finish up the trim for the door and get the body portion of the project finalized.
This images shows the body work nearly complete. The next step will be to install the Euro bumpers and bumper over riders to complete the retro package and to get the final details of the paint work completed. We'll also be installing some Rostyle steel wheels to replace the alloys.
How cool is that.
In the image above you can see that we have installed the hood and finished up the details for the retro look of the front end of this 1988 Range Rover.
Next we'll move to the rear and get the retro style rear bumper installed now that the ARB rear has been removed.
Here you can see we have installed the early Range Rover rear bumper and bumper over riders for a unique look to this Range Rover.
Now that the body work and modifications are nearly complete, it is time for this Range Rover to get the final details completed and get ready to head back to the west coast.
Here you can see the completed project. A North American Range Rover made to look like an early European version for a different look that really stands out in a sea of Range Rovers. Add on the huge British flag and you have one eye catching Range Rover.
If you have paint and body needs for your Rover, be sure to contact ECR.
We'll be glad to help.