D1 questions

[upcruiser]

The story sounds too familiar - is this near Evergreen, CO? If so, I do know the rig from a distance as well as the guy that did some work on it. We met your lady friend in a parking lot a few months ago and my buddy told me the tragic story. She has a pup in the rig as well. Sweet rig. PM me and I can pass on the Tech's name and number. He is a solid Land Rover guy and a skilled wrench.

Yep, that is her and that is it. I'll send you a PM, I'd love to get as much info about the truck for her as possible and have that contact so she can take it in possibly for service needs. I figured SOMEONE here would know something about it.

Regarding the engine transplant, it has a plaque on it that says "4.6 conversion by Safari 4x4"

The truck does run a distributor as well. Thanks for all the advice and tips so far, it is much appreciated. I took the truck up for a run on Webster Pass yesterday in some gnarly conditions. I really enjoyed driving it and it did great. It seems to put the traction down well with the center diff lock engaged and really crawled up through some rocky, snowy, and icey sections with no issues. We also did some exploring up Keystone Gulch road as well. I like the truck more an more each day. Would I convert? Possibly, I do love the ability to sleep in the 80 though. Its funny how much bigger 80's look to me now after driving this truck for 5 days.

 

[upcruiser]

LOL, one at a time...

:costumed-smiley-007

Ha ha, you guys are too funny. I grew up with Land Cruisers in my family and always loved them, and have owned two over a long period of time. However, it was video clips and photos of Camel Trophy Range Rovers and Discos that really wet my appetite for getting into "overlanding" when I was in my teens, though I had no idea it was called that! haha Between two Troopers, two Land Cruisers, a CJ5, a VW Thing, and a Tundra, I have enjoyed many aspects of it, but have always had a romantic lust for Rovers.

 

[upcruiser]

Here is a shot of the engine bay I just snapped...

 

[muskyman]

first thing you can do is toss that beck arnley distributor cap...

brit pacific has the real lucas for a great price and it will run better

 

[Schattenjager]

The 4.6 conversion is quite common - and it is just the block. Everything else remains the same I believe. I have a friend that has done this a few time with great success and improved power and even mileage.

Safari 4X4 does not have the very best reputation in town. While I am sure they put out some good work, if it were mine, I would have it gone over if it hasn't already. Chance favors the prepared mind, yes?

 

[upcruiser]

It runs well right now but it does have some oil seepage out of the valve covers and yes, I think your sentiment about the prepared mind is also is true in regards to confidence as well. Is Safari 4x4 based out of the Denver area? I have no idea how many miles are on this truck since the conversion. I haven't figured out the mileage yet but I don't expect it to be great so far because I've been mostly using it to drive up and over Eisenhower every day. Great power though. With 5 people and gear it pulls 60mph easily up the steepest grade at the top, even more so unloaded. The torque this motor produces is great on the trail too.

 

[Schattenjager]

Yup - Safari is in Denver area.

Got your PM- let's stay in contact and maybe even pull off an ExPo gathering before long!

 

[upcruiser]

Yup - Safari is in Denver area.

Got your PM- let's stay in contact and maybe even pull off an ExPo gathering before long!

That would be great! Would love to see some old faces as well as meet some new ones too.

 

[FourByLand]

Ha ha, you guys are too funny. I grew up with Land Cruisers in my family and always loved them, and have owned two over a long period of time. However, it was video clips and photos of Camel Trophy Range Rovers and Discos that really wet my appetite for getting into "overlanding" when I was in my teens, though I had no idea it was called that! haha Between two Troopers, two Land Cruisers, a CJ5, a VW Thing, and a Tundra, I have enjoyed many aspects of it, but have always had a romantic lust for Rovers.

Sounds like the only thing missing is the Rover... Some say it's like that new girlfriend/boyfriend (or whatever you're into) that just revs your motor, all the time.

 

[upcruiser]

So I could say that 75% of the time it works all the time. Haha. Really though, the truck really does feel well built and very solid.

 

[Antichrist]

brit pacific has the real lucas for a great price and it will run better

I think Standard Motor Products cap is Lucas, at least they use the Lucas part number.

 

[upcruiser]

Well, after a 4 day outing in Moab last week, I'm loving this truck more and more. It has run without a hitch and really made for some fun driving on the easy and more challenging trails as well. We ordered up some kit for the truck to make it work well for extended travels. I mounted up a fire extinguisher, picked up a shower enclosure with PETT toillette system, a Camping Labs RTT with changing room, and some other small convenience items. The RTT didn't make it prior to the Moab outing so we used a ground tent. I'm planning on doing some roof basket fabbing to accomodate the new RTT next week and get it dialed in. Here's a couple of teaser shots from the trip...