I have decided to get my dormobile out of storage and road worthy…..Besdies here, what are some good interenet sources of info. etc……Its been sitting for a couple of years, has a salisbury rear axle, Chevy 250, and "painless" wiring…..I'll rustle up some photos at some point…..
potential re-resurection of '67 "bitsa" dormobile
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David Harris
Expedition Leader
Cool. I've liked those Dormobiles since I first saw Teriann's site.
wow. what a tease. Any chance you could share "Teriann's" site address?
just kidding….I can find it….Last I knew she was putting a Ford 302 and power steering in her modded 109….That was years ago…...
meatblanket
Adventurer
Love to see some pics!
http://http://siteground237.com/~gunsandr/forum.php?
Guns and Rovers is a great resource for Series owners.
http://http://siteground237.com/~gunsandr/forum.php?
Guns and Rovers is a great resource for Series owners.
TeriAnn
Explorer
I just thought I would browse the expo site after not bothering with it for a couple years and low and behold I find a Dormobile resurrection project.
Some resources:
My Dormobile section
The Land Rover Dormobile mail list
Dormobile owners club - For all models of Dormobile & UK centric
Dormobile Ltd. - Many special Dormobile parts reproduced. You can even get complete new lifting roofs for 109 and 110 Land Rovers.
Or you can just email me
and ask a question
The Salisbury is an essential item for a heavy 109 Dormobile. The Chevy 250 is the largest engine that Scotty recommended to sit in front of a Series gearbox. If you ever decide to go larger you should swap out the gearbox to a Chevy top loader light truck four speed. You didn't say but you should have one of the following: Ashcroft high ratio converted transfercase, Roamerdrive or Heystee Automotive overdrive. 3.54 R&P gears will work but it will ruin your low range gearing. Advance Adapters makes adapters to go between most popular gearboxes and the LR transfercase.
The stock gearbox is marginal for your engine so you need to be easy on the throttle . If you decide to go diesel, Rob Davis has engineered a conversion for the Mercedes 617 five cylinder engine.
These are the resources that immediately come to mind. If you have any questions about your Dormie don't hesitate to shoot me an email. The Dormobile mail list can be VERY helpful with lots of how-to help. Good luck on your resurrection!
David Harris
Expedition Leader
Any updates to share on your Landy, TeriAnn? Last I remember you were installing a new interior, no?
TeriAnn
Explorer
That was a few years back. It as a new front interior. I installed heated Defender front seats, new door panels and kick panel trim.
Early last year I put in a new EFI wiring harness and computer. My intermittent problems went away and the old computer was failing. Runs better than it has since I converted to EFI. Actually it runs really well.
Late last fall I decided to tackle refinishing the rear interior & top. I removed the fiberglass lifting top and completely refinished the outside. It went back on with new top canvas, new lifting arms and a new lifting bar. The bunk got disassembled, the frame powder coated and was reassembled with new bunk material and wrap. All the curtain rods were replaced as were the roof window curtains. The truck got new trim around the roof cutout for the lifting top and for the rear side sliding windows. While interior parts were out and I had access I replaced the rusted rear work light. The plastic parts on my rear interior florescent lamps had cracked and come apart so both rear interior lights got replaced with brighter LED tube lights. The rear corner sideways facing fold up jump seat had badly cracked and ripped upholstery and the foam was hard and coming apart as dust. So I replaced the jump seat with a new one. Other than that the rear interior got a good cleaning, some touch up paint here and there and a couple little repairs.
And last week I decided to get rid of those constantly weeping freewheel hubs and converted to fixed drive flanges up front. I have new tie rod ends coming in the post so my next project is all new tie rod ends and a front end alignment.
Other than that, not much going on with the truck other than trips here and there. I expect the truck to be at the Mendo XX gathering and at the Expo. No real plans after yet other than intending to hit the next Relic run if they ever decide where to have it.
Meanwhile I am working on a new book for vehicle overlanding through the US and Canada. I am trying to focus on making it a why-to more than a how-to. How-to rules can only go so far but if you understand the characteristic of different materials you can make your own choice for gear since new products are always coming out. And if you know why your vehicle falls over you can make a better choice in iffy situations. It will be very different than any book I have seen yet. I'm still trying to figure out a title for it.
David Harris
Expedition Leader
Any pics of how your interior turned out?
TeriAnn
Explorer
I never bothered with pictures because there are no changes in the layout and I have not found a local place that can bend plastic for me and fabricate light covers for the rear interior LED tube lights. So officially the project is not quite finished.
Visually what you notice is that the lifting arms and top grab bar are now stainless steel instead of rust and chipped gray paint. My top hoops that keep the canvas in place are stainless and have been since 1996. So now the hardware matches. The trim around the roof cutout for the lifting top is now brushed stainless steel. It was white plastic that was broken in several locations. The metal bed frame was powder coated white to match the roof instead of the factory light gray. The bunk material, bunk cover and top curtains are all solid dark green which goes better with the dark green with white daises side curtains that I retained. The new rear jump seat now has material that matches the front Defender seats.
Basically I removed the signs of wear from decades of heavy use and made the interior esthetics more harmonious. Something low priority for most men but most women would find important.
Last year there were 3 Dormobiles at the expo. Ian Kelly started the interior refreshing craze. He had recently gone through the interior of his blue Dormie going with a wood interior finish which looks fabulous. In comparison the interiors of the other Dormies looked sad and shabby. So last fall I started with a much needed refinishing of the fiberglass lifting roof and went from there. I kept the furniture as was and focused on the mechanicals and trim. I wanted the trim to be matching materials and finish and the fabrics to carry the same colour pallet.
Meanwhile the Howards (James, Kelly & Grace) were also wowed by Ian's refurbished interior. This winter they ripped the rear interior out of their light green Dormobile and are refinishing the interior with wood paneling similar to Ian's. I am eagerly awaiting the next expo to see how the Howard's Dormobile interior came out.
I expect the same 3 Dormobiles to be parked together again at this year's expo. The blue one with the same flashy wood interior it had last year, the light green one with a new flashy wood rear interior and the dark green one (mine) still with its mid gray interior but refreshed with new matching stainless trim and dark green bunk, bunk cover and top window curtains. The most obvious things would be the shiny smooth lifting top and canvas that isn't age coloured and badly cracked.
David Harris
Expedition Leader
Sounds nice. I'd love to get out to the Expo sometime to see your and the other Dormobiles in person.
David