Purchased an Expedition G Wagen

[McBride]

The Tibus portals are being installed!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, I thought somebody would have caught on to the bucket photo I posted last week. I bought some Tibus portals and they are in the process of being installed on the camper.

In addition to the portals I am replacing all stock suspension bushings with poly bushings, doing a complete axle rebuild (just to be sure), upgrading the brakes and calipers (front - G500, rear - Iveco), Hutchinson beadlocks, new 35" BFG KO2's and fender flares.

I'm excited and nervous at the same time.

Marc at OCD is doing all of the suspension work and portal installation. I got the Hutchinsons and had them mounted by Walt at Tactical Application Vehicles - it was impressive to watch him mount the tires - he did it effortlessly in quick time.

At this point all I can say is Wow!!! These parts are seriously heavy duty pieces of engineering and machining. The camper is going to be a monster (and hopefully continues to be perfectly reliable).

Once everything is done I'll post more of details of the whole experience. At this point I can say that if you want portals on your G you definitely need to have the services of a master mechanic.

Here are some pics.

William

 

[mk216v]

Oh my goodness William!!!! I thought Marc was doing a front axle/bearings rebuild only...but now Tibus portals? :drool::drool::chef:
G-Ronimo is going to be massive here in a bit. SO SWEET. <hail>

 

[ILIAN]

How much lift do those portals give? They look smaller than some I've seen on the Land Rover forum. Did you buy the fenders from Tibus also? How much do they cost? Where did you get the poly bushings?

 

[ILIAN]

Are you going to install CTIS with the portals?

 

[McBride]

Oh my goodness William!!!! I thought Marc was doing a front axle/bearings rebuild only...but now Tibus portals? :drool::drool::chef:
G-Ronimo is going to be massive here in a bit. SO SWEET. <hail>

I can't wait!! Probably be the middle of next week before its done.

 

[McBride]

How much lift do those portals give? They look smaller than some I've seen on the Land Rover forum. Did you buy the fenders from Tibus also? How much do they cost? Where did you get the poly bushings?

I believe it is a bit over 4" with the portals - maybe 4 1/2". I'll try to get a measurement tomorrow. Going from 32" tires to the 35's will add another 1 1/2". Overall I expect to be stepping up an additional 5 1/2 -6" into the vehicle. It doesn't seem like much but in person it seems significant.

 

[mk216v]

I hope the poly bushings don't squeak too much for you!

 

[McBride]

Are you going to install CTIS with the portals?

Not initially. Probably at some point. I have onboard air but it doesn't have a tank. I don't mind getting out to air up and down. I see it as a good opportunity to get out and stretch the body and get some fresh air.

 

[mk216v]

Such a cool build, WOW.

 

[McBride]

I hope the poly bushings don't squeak too much for you!

I'll let you know. I got the yellow ones from GFG. They seem to be much firmer than the stock bushings.

 

[McBride]

How much lift do those portals give? They look smaller than some I've seen on the Land Rover forum. Did you buy the fenders from Tibus also? How much do they cost? Where did you get the poly bushings?

Flares and bushings were purchased by Marc from GFG - he has established a relationship with them now. Marc is from Germany and I can't say how nice it is to not have to rely on Google translate when trying to communicate.

 

[mk216v]

Flares and bushings were purchased by Marc from GFG - he has established a relationship with them now. Marc is from Germany and I can't say how nice it is to not have to rely on Google translate when trying to communicate.

Does Marc's shop have a website? OCD sounds promising.

 

[McBride]

Does Marc's shop have a website? OCD sounds promising.

I'll find out and let you know. His full name is Marc Beyer. He was the young German GWagen/Mercedes prodigy mechanic recruited and brought over by Europa. After Europa sold to MBUSA Marc stuck around Santa Fe. We are lucky here in Santa Fe. At least 5 ex Europa mechanics in town.

 

[Pinstripe]

Awesome.

 

[ILIAN]

So how much did the bushings and flares cost? I'm interested because I plan on putting 35's with 2" spacers and need wider flares. How wide are those flares? Also I plan on using poly bushings when it's time to replace them and don't know what to get. There seem to be different firmness ones out there.