With the bulkhead and radiator panel painted and fitted I could start reconnecting the engine components like the  coolant hoses, clutch and brake lines.

I also installed the pedals and set up the puller assembly for the throttle linkage.

The steering was also set up but will need some tweaking when its back on a flat surface.

Ran the fuel lines from the tank, out of harms way on top of the chassis and clipped them with P clips.

Mounted and piped the heater matrix.

At this point I decided I really wanted to run the engine so I filled up all the components with oil and hotwired the engine so it would run. Added and primed the diesel........

..... It ran, turned over first time!

Discovered some of the fuel fittings were leaking though, so I've replaced a few.

Front output shaft of the transfer box was also leaking quite badly now due to the fresh uncontaminated oil, so I've also changed the oil seal plus a number of the gaskets of the gearboxes.

After the success of the engine running I decided to give it a short test run up and down the field to see if I could induce any more leaks or problems.

First I bled the clutch, which wasn't too bad apart from the leaky bleed screw that didn't help matters.

The brakes were more difficult though and still require bleeding again as they are too spongy for my liking.

After the final checks to make sure everything was tight I drove the Land Rover round the field.

The picture shows Diane enjoying a drive, all be it, a bit uncomfortable!

With it actually moving I feel like I'm on the downward slope but there's still a lot of work to be done on the electrical and bodywork.