L322 Project: Bacon Slayer

[BL Rover]

So, I opted to sell my LR3 and go for plush comfort, a locking rear diff, and a 4.2L supercharged engine. I did a fair amount of work to my LR3 before making this shift in direction and, prior to the LR3, I survived nearly a decade of trials and travails with a Disco 2. I'm hopeful the time with prior rovers has prepared me for what lies ahead with the L322. This thread will follow the build of my 2008 SC L322 from stock form to something resembling an expedition vehicle. Why bacon slayer? Upon first cleaning, I found a full piece of bacon in the driver door pocket and then, when changing out the taillight housings, I found a kitchen knife in the rear bumper. Bacon slayer it is.

 

[BL Rover]

Prior projects:

 

[BL Rover]

One of my first projects on the L322 was to refinish the cracked steering wheel. The epoxy I finished it with was pretty old and my measurements were less than scientific so it came out slightly tacky to the touch but that’s worn off. Overall, pretty happy with how it turned out.

 

[BL Rover]

22” wheels must go.




Thinking something more in this direction. This is an 18” from the LR3. Sadly, these won’t fit over the brembo brakes up front.

 

[BL Rover]

Pulled off the aftermarket spoiler and replaced the third brake light along with the taillights.

 

[BL Rover]

Cyber Monday was good to me this year…
Ordered a Front Runner rack at a great price. The installation was honestly harder than I’d expected. Not difficult, just not at all plug and play. *FrontRunner customer support was great. There were no real directions on how to mount to an L322, only generic instructions telling me to drop my headliner, drill through the roof, and install supplied roof rails using the supplied hardware.

I used a moving blanket to set the rack on top of the vehicle without scratching anything and then found some wooden blocks to help me find the proper height to attach the feet. Complete installation without any extra help is totally possible. Extremely happy with the FrontRunner Rack.

 

[BL Rover]

Soon to try and tackle a kitchen build similar to this.
I have a 22" Blackstone griddle I'm hoping to incorporate into the design.

Before any of that happens, I'll be installing TuffAnt 18" wheels with Mickey Thompson Baja Boss Tires. 275/65/18. Hopeful to have images to share within the next few days.

 

[Arjan]

Nice.

You've been busy !

 

[SkiWill]

22” wheels must go.

View attachment 811163

Thinking something more in this direction. This is an 18” from the LR3. Sadly, these won’t fit over the brembo brakes up front.
View attachment 811165

Another member on here was able to install Lucky 8 steelies on his 4.2 supercharged L322 without spacers. If you search for his build thread, he had a lot of great information.

Anyway, great to see another Range Rover build.

 

[BL Rover]

Been running into an issue since I purchased the vehicle where oil is coming out of the front diff breather tube. I performed a drain and refill back to spec, but when I drained the front diff, I got nearly 2.5L of oil out. The diff oil continues to come out of the front breather hose and I recently crawled underneath the vehicle to open up the fill plug on the front diff and got over a liter of additional oil out of the diff. Seems like I'm somehow creating more diff fluid! On the FFRR forum, a user has identified that there might be a correlation with this excessive diff fluid and my low engine oil levels. I'm at a loss as to how that might be possible, but I can't imagine the fix is simple or cheap. 🤦‍♂️
Will update here as I figure this out.

 

[BL Rover]

Another member on here was able to install Lucky 8 steelies on his 4.2 supercharged L322 without spacers. If you search for his build thread, he had a lot of great information.

Anyway, great to see another Range Rover build.

Thanks. Yeah, I saw the fitment of those terrafirma steelies, but I feel like the clearance around the caliper is too tight for my comfort. The TuffAnt wheels give plenty of room around the calipers and I think they look just a bit better as well. Had those steel wheels on my disco 2 and they were great though.

 

[Rovertrader]

Sweet project!! I just purchased a one owner Red 55k mi ‘08 RRS SC (with rear locker) and having similar issues with wheels/tires. I had a set of 322 20” wheels I had fitted to a 90 build, and was just going to move them over with new tires. Got the tires mounted/balanced, and same issue- those bloody wonderful Brembos!! Not going to wheel it hard but still went with 275/55-20 A/T’s and 1” lift via GAP tool. Spacers ordered, and hoping all fits properly- should know in a few days ;-)

No idea how you are acquiring diff fluid- hope you find the issue without too much turmoil! These vehicles are great alternatives- especially with aging human bodies in mind! Considering a rack and bumper/winch, but plan to put a few miles on once the wheel issue is resolved first. Hoping to love it so much as is, and not go further down the rabbit hole, though the National Rally is back in CO this year, and what a comfy way to get there….

 

[BL Rover]

Diff struggles continue, but progress with the wheels has been made. 275/65/18 Mickey Thompson Baja Boss tires. No rubbing at stock height. I’ll probably give it a slight lift from stock and I’m looking into raised bump stops for added peace of mind. Will test running at lowered height and fully deflated to see what happens.

TuffAnt Kimberley 18”
Amazon Lug Nuts


Have to appreciate how well those TuffAnt wheels are packed. Attention to the details.




Offset looks great.



Plenty of clearance for the brake calipers.

 

[Rovertrader]

Those are sweeeet!! Wish you hadn’t posted pics honestly ;-)
Offset looks perfect! Do you have part number or specs for offset?
Thanks- looks great!!
Also, are you planning on the Lucky8 bump stop fix/extension, or is there another spacer type, or replacement?

 

[BL Rover]

Thanks! I don’t right off, but they might have the offset on the TuffAnt website. Lucky8 SYA kit is what I’m thinking at the moment.
Also considered just keeping spare front and rear air struts with me when off road. I’ve currently got the ability to splice in air line in the event of a failure there and additionally bought schrader valves where I could individually install them on the air lines and inflate bags as needed.