Defender 90?

pangaea

Adventurer
Just couldn't justify it with the crappy conversion rate from the UK. A Tdi swap right now is about $8K out of pocket before you get into the labor.

The 4.6 long block that I picked up was out of a totaled '04 Disco with less than 5K miles on it. I had it in the truck with an uprated cam, some minor head massaging, a bit of custom fabrication to make it work and all new gaskets, etc for under $2K... Not bad considering its typically about a $6-10K conversion.
 

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gjackson

FRGS
Okay, Scott asked for it, so here is a quick rundown and some pics of my truck. (This is long!)

It is a 300tdi Land Rover Defender 110 with extensive mods for expedition work. It has A/C and an uprated R380 transmission. The mods include:

K&N Air filter and oil filter
Hannibal awning
Custom Axe mount
Safari Gard bull bars and skid plate with an X9 Superwinch and 2 Hella 4000s.
Tuffy Center console
Viair compressor and 10gal air tank
Curtains
Diff Guard
Hellroaring dual battery system with Optima red top for the car and Optima yellow top for the accessories.
Engle 42quart fridge/freezer
Custom mount for my Garmin GPSMap 176.
Various interior lights including large fluorescent in the load bay and extra lights in the passenger compartment.
Coleman 800w inverter in a custom mount with 2 extra fans to keep it cool under load.
Lap Top stand custom made for my iBook. There is a serial connection on the Tuffy box to link the iBook to the GPS with no cables getting in the way. Also have a 12v powersupply for the iBook so it can run from the dash, not the inverter.
Limb risers.
37 gal long range fuel tank. Fully loaded on expeditions I average about 19mpg so that's 700 miles on one tank. Usually carry 3 jerry cans of diesel which extends the nominal range to 988 miles.
Map light for the co pilot.
Oil storage box attached to the frame that holds a complete oil change for the engine as well as back-up for the transmission, axles, power steering etc.
Rewired the cigarette lighter on the dash to run from the Optima yellow top. Also installed 2 power points under the back seat next to the inverter, one next to the rear door and one on the roof rack.
Rear bumper ends from Safari Gard
RoverTracks high clearence, heavy duty tie rod
Rock sliders from Safari Gard modified to support the roll cage and with extra connections to the frame.
Custom external roll cage that mounts to the sliders and bull bar. Has an integrated rear ladder, limb riser mounts, GPS antenna mount, and mounts for the awning.
Roof rack that attaches to the roll cage. Has mounts for the roof top tent, 2 Hella FF300 facing forward and 2 facing rear. Mount for the High Lift on one side and the axe on the rear. Usually carry 2 jerry cans on the roof rack and a storage case for bulky, light equipment (like extra bedding, ground tent etc.) Have a mount for a large drink cooler on the rack that we use for a washing machine.
Roof Top tent from Technitop in South Africa. By far the most comfortable way to camp. The tent opens over the hood of the truck with a ladder dropping to the bull bars.
Safari Gard rear tire rack with mounts for a shovel and 2 jerry cans.
Custom storage system in the load bay made out of a 4 drawer heavy duty filing cabinet. The 2 lower drawers house tools and spares. The 2 upper drawers house food and camping gear. We have a box down each side next to the drawer system. One side has camp chairs and a small table. The other side has our clothes etc. We have a custom folding table that lays flat on top of the drawers.
Safari Gard/OME suspension using custom progressive rate front springs and OME heavy duty rear springs. All corners have 10in Fox emulsion shocks.
10gal stainless steel water tank mounted in the left rear wing. Also have storage inside the car for 2 7 gal carboys.
Steel Safari window protection art.
Wing top protectors.
6 Land Rover Wolf military steel wheels.

The truck works very well for long trips. We spent 9 months with it in Africa. It is not a rock crawler by any means! And I have to put a word in for Nathan at Pangaea who supplied a bunch of the equipment in the above list.

I have attached some pics of the truck in action in various places.

cheers

Graham
www.africaoverland.org
 

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Last edited:

Scott Brady

Founder
Graham,

Thanks so much for the details. When I have a few spare minutes, I will add your truck to the main website and include links to your overland site.

I really love that 110!
 

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kcowyo

ExPo Original
Having a 110 was cool enough...

But having a picture of your vehicle with a wild giraffe....?


:clapsmile
 

Scott Brady

Founder
Yeah, I have decided that Graham is the October "super cool" dude of the month.

And from what I hear, we have just seen a fraction of his life experiences... :box:
 

gjackson

FRGS
Scott,

Thanks for the accolades. It was a lot of effort and cost to get a 110 and to outfit it like that, but hey, when you want the best you can spare no expense! ;-)

I plan on re-working my web site in the next couple of months to include maps, movies and more pics. As well as more info on the truck. So stay tuned.

cheers

Graham
www.africaoverland.org
 

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gjackson

FRGS
. . .and unfortunately I didn't get any pics of my truck with a lion or leopard! Eventhough we saw plenty of cats I didn't want to be away from the truck taking pics at that point!

cheers

Graham
 

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flyingwil

Supporting Sponsor - Sierra Expeditions
gjackson said:
. . .and unfortunately I didn't get any pics of my truck with a lion or leopard! Eventhough we saw plenty of cats I didn't want to be away from the truck taking pics at that point!

cheers

Graham


Wow! That has to be a great sight to see. I am still hoping to come across a jaguar (no, not the car) in Southern Arizona.
 

Scott Brady

Founder
gjackson said:
. . .and unfortunately I didn't get any pics of my truck with a lion or leopard! Eventhough we saw plenty of cats I didn't want to be away from the truck taking pics at that point!

cheers

Graham

Graham,

I have a completely non-technical, philosophical question for you...

After having spent months exploring Africa, and seeing some of the most beautiful scenery in the world, how have you adjusted back to a daily routine?

I find that the further I explore the great my desire to push further becomes, and the more comfortable I become with the uncertainties and risks (and sleeping on a cot under the stars). And the more uncomfortable I become with living in a quiet subdivision, having a typical routine, etc.

So are you just saving and planning for the next BIG one, or have you found a happy medium between living in the world of the "pale and pasties" and the great beyond... :camping:
 

BajaTaco

Swashbuckler
Hello Nathan and Graham

Sweet Rovers!

Nathan, I have always enjoyed your website - the latest version of it is just top-notch. Well done pal ;)

Graham, those pics and that 110 are something else... 30,000 miles in Africa... life is good. :ylsmoke: I haven't clicked on that link to your website yet, I know what I will be doing during lunch today :lurk:
 

pangaea

Adventurer
expeditionswest said:
After having spent months exploring Africa, and seeing some of the most beautiful scenery in the world, how have you adjusted back to a daily routine?

So are you just saving and planning for the next BIG one, or have you found a happy medium between living in the world of the "pale and pasties" and the great beyond... :camping:

I can't speak for Graham, but a mutual friend of our jokes that Graham is like a caged lion that you see at the zoo. He's acclimated into city life, but he still has that wild look in his and you'd swear he's yearning for the savanna.
 

pangaea

Adventurer
BajaTaco said:
Nathan, I have always enjoyed your website - the latest version of it is just top-notch. Well done pal ;)

Aw shucks... Thanks. Scott turned me on to your site a couple of months ago, and I've been slowly going through it as well... quite nice. Looks like you've had some great trips.
 

gjackson

FRGS
Scott,

That's a very valid non-technical question! And the answer is -- I would leave tomorrow for somewhere else if I could. And if it was Africa, I'd leave in 20 minutes. It took a good 6 months of being back at work before I stopped sitting at my desk daydreaming of what was and what could be. And by that I mean every second of sitting at my desk. Now it's only 4 to 6 hours a day. I have redesigned my truck from the ground up at least a dozen times, I have modified the route we took countless times and I have extended our stay by months if not years -- all in my head.

The 'real' world is very hard to get back into after that long doing what you love. The travel was not that easy, but it was different and exciting every day even on the boreing days.

Some people like to stay put, others yearn to travel and see new things. I guess I ended up in the latter group. And I suspect the rest of you are there as well!!! Don't know if any of you check out the HUBB newsgroup, but there has been a pretty long thread on this very subject going on there for a while.

Bajataco,

Glad you like my truck, most people who see it do too. Sorry I can't make it to AZ next month to meet all you guys, but I don't have much vacation left, otherwise you could all see it. Your Tacoma looks pretty cool as well, and I love some of the pics on your site. Excellent stuff, and very informative.

cheers

Graham
www.africaoverland.org
 

Scott Brady

Founder
Thanks for the reply Graham,

I find my desire to explore grows stronger and stronger with each trip, and now that the truck is nearly finished (and I am also debt free), I am really struggling staying put. I have a plan to sell the software company in the next few years and then, I'm GONE... I will patch into the forum via satellite :camping:

I think my strongest pull is to South America. Argentina and Chile principally. That will be the epic, where I am gone for 4-6 months or so. The Baja and Arctic Circle trips are just good testing runs, though they will be no less of a joy to undertake.

So, where to next? You must have something brewing...
 

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flyingwil

Supporting Sponsor - Sierra Expeditions
expeditionswest said:
...now that the truck is nearly finished (and I am also debt free)...

:bowdown: I must bow down to you sir :exclaim: :bowdown:
 

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