Modifications
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One of the advantages of buying an ex MOD Land Rover is that you get a blank canvas upon which to work - there aren't many creature comforts but then neither are there bits and pieces that you'll end up chucking out anyway.

Hector was created in stages, as time and money allowed. The first stage was to get everything mechanically sound, so off he went to Frogs Island in Didcot for a thorough going over, as well as some new wheels (BFG All Terrain T/A).

The next phase was to start adding the things which would make our lives more comfortable on the road, like the roof tent, uprated suspension, power steering, triple battery system and monitor, and dual spare wheel carrier on the back. At this time Amy and I also started to prepare the load bay by stripping it back to bare metal, filling all the holes where rivets had been, priming it then adding a few coats of Hammerite:

 

We also insulated the sides and the roof, first with a special paint which s supposed to lessen vibrations, then with a layer of soundproofing material from Thruxton Race Track and finally with a layer of polystyrene backed foil. All this took ages but was well worth it - the noise has been dramatically reduced whilst the temperatures in the back remain pretty much constant.

After the tent had been put on we took Hector over to France for a long weekend, during which we went to our friends Ben and Valerie's wedding. This was in August 2004. The idea was to see how the changes we had made worked in practice, and to find out what else we could do to make life easier. We also took Hector up to Scotland in February to see how things performed in bad weather (and it was bad...). The result of these trips formed the basis for the third round of work during which the fridge freezer, the rear load bay drawers, a new windscreen, a new snorkel, an invertor, a secondary fuel tank and a water tank and purification system were added. We also bought a Vaude "Drive Base" tent which acts as our living room on the ground whilst the roof tent in the upstairs bedroom. As I'm writing this I can say, with hand on heart, that the Vaude tent is worth it's weight in gold in the rain - it gives you somewhere to cook and relax whilst also allowing you to leave it behind at the campsite whilst you drive off for the day. The trip to Scotland also pointed out that the original normally aspirated engine, although fine, was a little underpowered when going up hill. So we bit the bullet and swapped it for a 200tdi - what a difference. Motorway driving is no longer a struggle, long hills are dispatched with ease and we have re-discovered the joys of overtaking!

   

Practice run in Edinburgh        The almost finished Hector.    Modified front interior.

Modified rear interior.

The final part of the preparation was when Amy and I spent 3 days at Frogs Island, where we learnt a great deal about the vehicle and how to look after him - we also put on our solar panel which, when the sun occasionally shines, generates enough power to run the freezer...so constant ice for the drinks and no flat batteries no matter how long we stay in one place!

   

Mark....                                ....and Amy and Frogs Island.    Keith, the mechanic at Frogs Island who looked after us whilst we were there.

I've missed off a load of stuff that we've added or had done - but the table below contains all of the details:

Land Rover

Cost

Got

Description/comments

Ex MOD, 110 Fitted For Radio (FFR) Hard Top. 2.5l normally aspirated diesel engine, 70,000km on the clock.

£ 3,500.00

Y

From a chap in Wales who had painted it High Isolack Ascot green. Was the ideal base vehicle as chassis was spotless, and engine was simple. Very slow up hill though.

Soundproofing - rear

£ 12.00

y

From a motor racing shop at Thruxton. Works well but a terrible job to cut and fit - gets everywhere

Soundproofing - sides & Doors

£ 12.00

y

As Above

Headlining

£ 200.00

Y

From LaSalle trim. Brilliant stuff - makes a world of difference.

Door Trims

£ 80.00

Y

As Above

Sony CD & MP3 player

£ 130.00

Y

From Halfords. Is fitted in the Cubby Box to keep it safe and sound. Very loud. Fitted by Sound Secure in Thatcham who we would recommend

Mobile Storage Systems Cubby Box

£ 210.00

Y

Steel, with drill proof locks and bolted down to the underside. Good, well made bit of kit to keep stuff safe in the front, and with the all important mug holders. Is home to the stereo.

2 x Pioneer speakers in roof

£ 60.00

y

From Halfords and mounted in the headlining at head height. Working well.

2 x Infinity speakers in doors

£ 60.00

y

From Sound Secure and mounted in the door trims at foot height. Slightly concerned that they may get wet if things go badly wrong in a river, but hey ho…

National Luna Intelligent battery management system

£ 200.00

y

Supplied and fitted by Frogs Island. Works well so far, and like the visual display.

2 x Optima yellow top batteries

£ 300.00

y

Deep cycle batteries supplied by Frogs Island. Plan to run the fridge etc off these.

1 x Optima red top battery

£ 120.00

y

Starter battery supplied by Frogs

Old Man Emu Springs, shocks and anti roll bar

£ 500.00

y

Supplied and fitted by Frogs Island. Heavy duty stuff to put up with the weight and the potentially poor roads.

2 x spare wheels and carrier on rear

£ 600.00

y

Allow 2 spares to be carried on the back. Well designed.

Wing and bonnet protectors

£ 80.00

Y

Aluminium chequer plate. Allows us to stand on the wings and bonnet without sliding off/putting huge dents in the rather soft bodywork. Useful.

Auxiliary fuel tank - 44L. Mounted in Line with the main tank in the drivers side rear wheel arch

£ 150.00

Y

Extends the range of Hector and keeps the weight low down

Jerry Can Holders - Army spec, on the thing when I bought him. Lockable side cupboards hold 2 20L jerry cans each. Again, help to keep weight low, and off the roof!

£ -

Y

Very useful, although not enclosed so Jerry cans get covered in dust etc. Is only really an issue when storing the water jerry can there.

On board Water Tank - 44L - mounted in the passenger side rear wheel arch. Fills from the inside, with a brass tap on the rear cross member

£ 150.00

Y

Again, a tidy solution to the "where to keep the water" problem, and again helps to keep the weight as low as possible. Is plumbed into the purification system.

2 x new front seats from "Tomb Raider" special edition

£ 300.00

y

Second Hand from friends. Much comfier that the original army ones. Are black however, so will get V hot in desert etc - seat covers a necessity perhaps?

Retrofitted PAS

£ 150.00

Y

So worthwhile getting this done. Transforms the drivability of the Landy at low speeds. Also means that Amy can drive it with no problems and allows us to fit a smaller steering wheel.

6 x modular steel wheels

£ 550.00

y

Were cheap, and the old ones were on the way our.

6 x BFG AT tyres

y

Tyres cause so much discussion. These appear to be the highest thought of for "combination" driving. Have done well so far.

Dinytrol'd underside

£ 300.00

Y

To keep the rust free chassis, rust free.

4 x heavy duty roof bars

£ 150.00

y

To fix the tent to. Didn't want a roof rack as am nervous about putting too much weight on the roof, and the tent weighs 75kgs on its own - a decent rack would be the same, and that's the limit reached already!

Maggiolina "Adventure" roof tent (large)

£ 500.00

Y

Fantastic bit of kit. Simple design, robust, comfy and roomy. Enclosed by a fibre glass shell with a cargo area at the front.

Reconditioned Gearbox

£ 440.00

Y

No way could we fix one if it went wrong in the middle of the desert, so best to start of with a decent one.

Enclosed Rear panels with Mesh

£ 200.00

Y

To fix things to with bungies…

Front Diff Guard

Y

Protects the front diff. Hasn't broken so far.

Rear Diff Guard

£ 55.00

Y

Protects the Rear Diff. Needed.

Drawer System for boxes

£ 345.00

Y

Holds 4 boxes on a slide

Water System

£ 550.00

Y

Nature Pur purification system, tap and pump all plumbed to the water tank

Fridge

£ 595.00

Y

National Luna. Keeps stuff cold. Is wired up to the auxiliary batteries.

New Front Windscreen

£ 132.00

Y

Old one was scratched to blazes - was dangerous in direct sunlight.

Recovery Gear

£80

Y

To get us out of holes.

Invertor

£ 160.00

Y

To run the Laptop from (NOT hair straightners!!)

New Smaller Steering Wheel

£ 100.00

Y

Other one was a bit too big, and now we have PAS we can have a smaller one. Hopeful this one will be put on straight as well!

Fuel Cut Off Switch

£ 14.50

Y

Extra Security - Hector's going nowhere without the little red key!

Load bay guard

£ 145.00

Y

To stop stuff flying into the cab should anything nasty happen, and to stop thieves getting to the cargo bay via the cab.

Fire Extinguishers x 2

£ 66.00

Y

One in the front, one in the back. To put out fires.

Lockable Fuel Cap.

£ 14.50

Y

To stop the opportunistic thief snaffling our much needed fuel and to stop the insertion of suspect packages prior to border crossings.

(hand) winch

£ 352.00

Y

BRANO medium sized hand winch. From Dave Bowyer.

Rear Window Guards

£ 220.00

Y

To help prevent opportunistic thieves from entering the cargo bay via the back windows.

3 x Diesel Jerry Cans

£45

Y

To hold 60l of diesel. Live in the jerry can holders on the sides.

1 X Black Plastic Water Jerry Can

£30

Y

Holds 20l of water. Lives with the diesel jerry cans

Spare Sets of keys 

Am forever losing keys…

Hidden Safe

£ 150.00

Y

To keep important documents and cash in. Not telling you where it is.

Pouring Spout for jerry cans

£7.50

Y

Rigid, fix to the top of the jerry cans.

Front spot lights - IPF 800MSR

£ 157.00

Y

To help us see in the dark, and more importantly to help others see us.

A Bar

£ 75.00

Y

To hang the front spotlights from.

Loud horn

£ 30.00

Y

For presence in those countries where horns are an essential aid to driving.(and to stop Hector sounding like Noddy's peddle car…)

3 Heavy Duty External Door Locks and 3 "discus" padlocks

£ 63.00

Y

Extra, highly visible security.

Safari Snorkel

£100

Y

Replaced the very battered military one which it came with.

Solar panel

£300

Y

To drip charge the batteries when stopped. Designed for yachts. Useful when camped in one place for a few days and the Landy doesn't move.