1980 Land Rover Lightweight Series III Build

[telwyn]

Dual Battery charger installed in the rear bulkhead. Also setting this up so the Rover will charge the trailer battery too.

 

[telwyn]

ARB dual air compressor for the lockers and onboard air for tires is going under the passenger seat next to the fuel tank.

 

[telwyn]

LED lights for the underside of the hood for the engine bay when working on it.

 

[telwyn]

Alpine sub. Likely going on the front bulkhead where the Smith heater is. Installing AC and will drive heat with that too so the Smith won’t be needed.

 

[J!m]

Looks like a solid build. A few thoughts, based on taking a '71 88" across Africa:

The 88 is really small for extended overland. Besides the obvious lack of space, the short wheelbase can be rather unpleasant on rough roads.

Unless the bottom of your fuel tanks are 10mm / 3/8" thick, you may have some fouling issues. The rear one at least, I'd taper the back to meet the underside of the crossmember. But all three are going to get hit. I just had one 10-gallon tank with a steel skid plate under it.

Plan your pack REALLY carefully. You run out of space fast and you need everything secured. I packed and re-packed several times before it was right.

Get a set of 109 1-ton springs. I was the only one who did this on our expedition (based on advice from an outfitter in the U.K.) and I'm the only one who didn't have spring issues on the trip. 109 station wagon springs on the 88 didn't cut it (two trucks ran these)

Make your own roof rack. I assume you'll run a roof top tent, which is great, but it eats up a lot of space. I extended my roof rack over the windshield a bit, supported to the windshield hinge on the tent side only. This also provided a sun visor over the windshield.

Tons more I'm forgetting (I did that trip in 2001) but feel free to reach out if you have questions.

PS I prefer "air portable" to "lightweight" since they are actually a bit heavier...

 

[telwyn]

Looks like a solid build. A few thoughts, based on taking a '71 88" across Africa:

The 88 is really small for extended overland. Besides the obvious lack of space, the short wheelbase can be rather unpleasant on rough roads.

Unless the bottom of your fuel tanks are 10mm / 3/8" thick, you may have some fouling issues. The rear one at least, I'd taper the back to meet the underside of the crossmember. But all three are going to get hit. I just had one 10-gallon tank with a steel skid plate under it.

Plan your pack REALLY carefully. You run out of space fast and you need everything secured. I packed and re-packed several times before it was right.

Get a set of 109 1-ton springs. I was the only one who did this on our expedition (based on advice from an outfitter in the U.K.) and I'm the only one who didn't have spring issues on the trip. 109 station wagon springs on the 88 didn't cut it (two trucks ran these)

Make your own roof rack. I assume you'll run a roof top tent, which is great, but it eats up a lot of space. I extended my roof rack over the windshield a bit, supported to the windshield hinge on the tent side only. This also provided a sun visor over the windshield.

Tons more I'm forgetting (I did that trip in 2001) but feel free to reach out if you have questions.

PS I prefer "air portable" to "lightweight" since they are actually a bit heavier...

Thanks, Jim. Appreciate the great feedback.

Agree it would have been better to taper that rear fuel tank. Not sure if I can get it modified now. Worst case I’ll make sure it and the front two fuel tanks all have skid plates. I was planning to do that any way because the front fuel tanks are about one inch taller (means lower really) than the originals.

For the springs I’ve gone with Rocky Mountain parabolics. It’s been a while since I ordered them but I think i went three leaf in the rear and two in the front.

For the roof rack I’ve purchased a Front Runner Slimline rack. I plan to mount it to an external roll cage I’ve having made for the Rover. The external cage will provide not only safety for the occupants but also external mounting points for the rack while giving me the ability to slide the hard top on and off from the rear because there will be times when I want to run this around my home town as a soft top or with no top at all.

I have an Autohome tent that will go on another Front Runner rack on my m416 trailer. My National Luna fridge will be in the trailer too. Trailer has a battery in the nose box and also a 180 watt solar panel. Trailer is also being wired to receive power from the Rover. The trailer build (which is going even slower than the Rover build) is here: My m416 build

Thanks again for all of the tips. Welcome them and many more.

 

[J!m]

I mounted my roof rack and tent to my roll cage on my 110 as well. The roof of my 88 took a lot of abuse due to rocking fore and aft.

First two pictures are Wilson (in blue) and I trying to secure the roof better. The back door wasn’t working well...

Second set are my 110 several years ago.

 

[J!m]

I can’t comment on the durability of parabolics on an expedition with excessive load. If they are replacements for a 109 1-ton they’ll be fine I imagine

Edit- I also ran the military extended shackles as well as the often overlooked wedges on the front spring pads to correct the geometry with those in front.

 

[J!m]

Here’s a later picture (Canada, not Africa) where you can see the roof rack better. I had it made longer to provide more space as well as shade the windshield.

Sand tracks on the left side and tent ladder on the right side. The rack was made with the side open for the tent, which is bolted straight to the rack through the tent floor. DO NOT rely on the t-bolts in the rails under the tent- they won’t hold. I also ran two straps around the closed tent to keep it from bouncing. One last trick I did was to glue foam inside the rails under the tent so the cover sat flat and did not pool water when closed.

 

[telwyn]

Here’s a later picture (Canada, not Africa) where you can see the roof rack better. I had it made longer to provide more space as well as shade the windshield.

Sand tracks on the left side and tent ladder on the right side. The rack was made with the side open for the tent, which is bolted straight to the rack through the tent floor. DO NOT rely on the t-bolts in the rails under the tent- they won’t hold. I also ran two straps around the closed tent to keep it from bouncing. One last trick I did was to glue foam inside the rails under the tent so the cover sat flat and did not pool water when closed.

Good tips. My Maxtrax will go on the roof rack on the Rover. The autohome tent is a hardtop so no worries there about water pooling. It’s fastened well to the Front Runner rack on the m416 trailer via mounting brackets from Front Runner.

You’ve got some great looking Land Rovers!

 

[J!m]

Thank you but the 88 is gone- only the 110 now.

Just make sure you are bolted through the base of the tent. You can use elevator bolts so they are completely flat inside.

 

[telwyn]

ARB dual air compressor for the ARB air lockers and tire inflation is now installed under the front left passenger seat.

 

[telwyn]

Power steering kit from Steve Parker’s is going in.

 

[telwyn]

External fuel filler piping is in and getting ready to cut the opening on the exterior. This will fill the two front tanks. A second external fuel filler will go inside the wheel well for the rear third tank.

 

[telwyn]

Intercooler piping is in