LR Defender 110 Budget(ish) Expedition Build

[bringthemap]

Hi all,

I’ve been lurking around here for quite a while and have finally been inspired to get started on my own expedition build.

A little background
I’m a Brit currently living out in Singapore with my significant other based in Kuala Lumpur. We have managed to go for our whole relationship without ever living in the same city and enough is enough. For a while we’ve wanted to leave the daily grind behind and cast off on a wild adventure, and equally we have both wanted to be in the same place and have a (slightly more) normal relationship.

These two things naturally led us to the only sensible outcome: the blind purchase of a bright green 1992 Land Rover Defender 110. We saw it online for sale in France and decided to take a punt and get it. That was a few months ago and it is now in the UK and ready for its make-over.

The build
Our plan is to head off on a trip around the world in August this year. We’ll only have about a month at home before we head off so I realised I needed some help. Being fairly un-mechanically-minded and also about 6,000 miles away from the truck, I have enlisted the help of my other half’s brother to get stuck into the work.

We’re trying to do the build as cost-effectively as possible as the more money we save on it, the more time we can spend on the road.

We’re going to try to get as many updates in here as we can as we go on, and looking forward to all the help you guys can give.

 

[Gren_T]

Hi nice looking 110 I foresee a name of Kermit in its future, I'll look forward to your updates.

Regards
Gren

 

[bringthemap]

Ha ha. We've actually had quite a few people suggest that name. However, we decided to go a different route (partly as I know of someone else doing a build on a green 110 with that name) and call it Scout in homage to it's former life. It used to be owned by a Scout Leader who used it to ferry a troop of Boy Scouts around. It actually still has some Scout stickers in the back window. Plus, we are hoping it will help us scout out some fun and exciting places on our journey.

 

[StreetsofCompton]

As cool as the 110 is, Im more envious of your decision and ability to take that much time off work and go on a great adventure with your SO. Congrats on both fronts and looking forward to seeing this develop.

 

[bringthemap]

We do realise how lucky we are to be able to take so much time off to go on an adventure. We moved out to Asia a couple of years ago with the sole aim of living as cheaply as possible and saving money for the trip. Not that it is getting so close, the excitement is starting to build.

 

[bringthemap]

The first few big parts have been ordered now and we're getting ready to get the basics done. We need a new front axle and managed to get a bargain on a reconditioned Salisbury axle from eBay and this has arrived (in a lovely wooden military crate that I am sure I can find a use for).




Today I also ordered a new gearbox and transfer box from the amazing guys at Ashcroft Transmission and we get those through next week.

My partner's brother (Simon) has a week off work to start getting the work done and so we should have her up and running and road-worthy in a couple of weeks.

I have made the mistake of reading a lot of the threads on here and have found many more ways to part with our hard-earned trip budget. While Simon is focussing on the mechanical parts (hard for me to do from Singapore), I am trying to get my head around the water, heating, storage, and sleeping elements of the build.

I'm sure I'll be getting lots of advice from you all when we get a little more stuck in.

 

[Juddy]

EX MOD Stock on the Axle? Thought they were all sold.

 

[bringthemap]

No, I managed to pick it up off ebay. A lucky find.

 

[maxingout]

I look forward to following your trip. When we sailed around the world on our catamaran, we stayed at Raffles Marina in Singapore, and we took the train up to KL. I am thinking about a driving trip, and your itinerary is of interest to me.

 

[bringthemap]

@maxingout, you can check out our route map here: http://www.bringthemap.com/about-us/

Basically, we will be heading from UK and doing a loop around Europe before heading to Portugal where we will ship to South America. Then we cruise around South, Central and North America all the way up to Alaska where we will ship to Russia and meander back through Central Asia and Europe.

 

[maxingout]

I checked out your website and map. Looks like a great trip.

The Russia and Asia parts are the areas that I would find most challenging. I don't like cold weather, and I don't think there is any way to avoid the cold!

I look forward to seeing your vehicle modifications and the final route as it happens.

Cheers.

Dave

 

[bringthemap]

While I have been taken down for the past week with some highly undesirable virus of some sort, work on the build has begun in earnest back in the UK.

First step was to get it back into a decent, roadworthy state. The first job was to replace the gearbox and transfer box.


The newly reconditioned gearbox and transfer box from Ashcroft Transmissions looking all sparkly and new.

 

[bringthemap]

While we were stripping parts off, it made sense to clean up, de-rust and re-paint a few of the underbody parts

 

[bringthemap]

Yesterday's job was to get the new shocks and springs in place. We now have some Terrafirma shocks with the heavy load springs (as I imagine we will be carrying a fair bit of extra weight)



Tomorrow we should get the new front axle on there and she'll be ready to go for a spin. Unfortunately, I still have to wait a few months until I am back in the UK to try her out.

 

[maxingout]

Progress is happening.