My Land Rover 110 complete build thread

[ajctraveler]

I figured that I would copy my 110 build thread over to here in case anyone was interested..

found on eBay, a 61 plate 110 USW with 9500 miles:






Getting stripped at Nene:





and fitted for a roll cage:



Lots happening today. Decals are on, windows are getting tinted!



Platform is getting finalized





The seats aren't actually mounted yet.





I was told this wouldn't be possible, I did it anyway





Website isn't finished yet, so I blurred out that lettering.



going on now:

tree sliders going on soon




Tree sliders getting fitted, also all hinges swapped for stainless/powdercoated ones:



Full safety devices roll cage fitted:



Might be time for some new wheels soon..

[/]

[=ajctraveler;2268638]Winch is on


Wheels and tyres are ready (there is a sixth in another part of the shop)



Platform frame is getting welded



Should be done in another two days!!!![/]

[=ajctraveler;2270577]Window caging is going in:



Drawer is mounted and frame is welded/bolted on:



Water tank is bolted to the passenger footwell:



Wheels are on:



Lots more to come tomorrow. Should be finished by the end of the day tomorrow or early thursday at the latest..[/]

rewiring for the new antenna:



Platform layed out:



Rear quarter cheqeur plate on:



Rear door plated:



Securing the platform to the frame. Compresser mounted below.



Full length:



Space for second spare wheel



Head on with new cubby box on the old wheel



Separation caging in



Platform done and spare inside





Getting some carpet

[ajctraveler]

Mattress is in, perfect fit





Framing it



Fridge and gas bottle mounted



From the back



Is that a pull up bar???



Seats mounted





Getting there..



Plate on



Test drive to see how the steering is



Where once there was my Defender, now there is none..*






That should do for now, hahhaha. I got out of the UK, but there are still a few bits I was too impatient to wait for. So the car is about 95% at the moment. I will have some things posted to me and I still need to sort out everything inside, it's a disaster at the moment as I just threw everything into the back on the mattress to catch a ferry from Dover!![/]

From the ride down through France in the snow:









Finally made it to Italy full of salt from the roads:







Cleaned up a bit:





A few pictures from Malta:





A little surprise when I went out this morning, seems my Defender made friends overnight




Chunnel train back to England




Some more decals..





Wrapping the fridge in vinyl







Fabricated a little laptop desk for the passenger seat



Decided to get a high lift jack



Progress photo, notice new snorkel head



Decided to throw on some shovels..





Went out to play in the snow a bit:








Finally time to tackle the inside..
Still a mess, maxtrax and camping chair suspended. Pull up bar is the black rod across the back. Also tracks were mounted in four places so that I can strap things down.



Finally it's all done inside and everything just fits!!






Final rear shot: [/]








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[JulianVoelcker]

Looks great, a lot of time money and effort has been put in to it.

One question, are the back springs correctly rated, it looks a little low on the rear wheels?

With cruisers the back usually tends to be a little bit higher than the front but I always thought the LRs were supposed to be flat/level.

[uk_vette]

I got confused,

In the opening pictures, you show a "61" plate

Then later it is an "07" plate.

vette

[Honybadger]

Very nice looking truck, quite jealous compared to my '83 110 CSW.

It depends on where you plan on taking it, but a couple of queries.
The origional roof was white, as are virtually all vehicles in Africa for the albido, will it get hot in the sun?
I went the other way with wheels, replacing mine with heavier OEM tubeless steel Wolf rims that can beaten back into shape (or just beaten generally when you watch African apprentices fixing a puncture).
It does look like it is squatting slightly, I ditched the knackered self leveller and changed the rear springs on mine for standard (non-county) OEM ones.
Is the winch hydraulic? looks a tidy installation.

[tacr2man]

I would think the plate is a "private plate" as it has his initials on AJC , in UK you can retain a personal plate , as long as it goes on a newer vehicle , you cant put a 61 (2011) plate on a 07 (2007) vehicle .
Re droopy rear end , that year of defender didnt have a "load leveler" as they were dropped by Land rover (too expensive) a few years earlier . HTSH

[roamingyak]

(moved from another thread discussing this landy)

Many thanks mate, thats a fine looking landy ;-)

I find normal landy seats quite good, and like the pop out seat bases for quick stops and the easy access behind them (I have an internal bulkhead with a lot of my aux wiring behind the passenger seat and things like compressor gun and warning triangles behind the drivers seat). Do the Recaros fold easy forward and have pull out bases - assume the bases pop out else you can't access the battery box?

In the spirit of information sharing, and not mean't in any way as criticism, just my observations, I thought of these when browsing your pictures - maybe one or two would be useful? They are of course entirely from my point of view for how I like to travel. No need to justify anything, just thought these suggestions might help:

- Your sand ladders are mounted above your mattress. I would spray paint them black and mount them on your roof or bonnet (easier to get on and off quickly when you use them in anger). As they are, when you use them they will drop sand/clay/mud onto your mattress after use.

- Sleeping inside is nice, and I have mine setup to do so as well. If the plan is for a big African trip for example (?) then I'd strongly recommend a rooftent - then you have the best of both worlds ;-) Dust getting inside can be a real problem, as are the numerous spiders, mosquitoes, snakes and bugs that would like to snuggle up with you inside (when camping and the doors are open its surprising what sneaks in). Having air con will help reduce the dust intake.

- Might be really useful to have a small door in the caging - for example in Africa in games parks you might want access to the fridge to get your lunch or a cold drink. Or if you want to drive away at night from bad people! Also if you crash your not restricted to just getting out of the two front doors. With your setup maybe cut out a door in the middle, weld up the edges with steel lengths, hinges at the top with clips holding it onto the drivers cabin roof when you push it forward? Matt Savage custom made me a really good one which locks in place with padlocks - the whole door can be removed quickly as well.

- a small fold down table is really useful on the back door - hinges on the bottom and strapping/string to hold it in place when folded down.

- I blocked out the long thin windows on the side as campsite/street lights often kept me awake.

- I can't see that well, but maybe the back step might cause problems when stuck offloading - simple hinged step might be better?

- Why the fridge in vinyl? 70's retro feel?? ;-p

Thanks again, much appreciated and interesting!!

PS: Check regulations for tinted windows before you go - I think a few countries don't allow them/don't allow front tinted windows - pretty sure one or two in Central Asia don't? Just a thought.