Family Fun Wagon: Part Two
Trevor builds up the new 110 rolling chassis, transferring the old 88’s components and incorporating some useful upgrades
It’s been a busy few weeks – the engine and gearbox is fitted, new brake and fuel lines are in place, and the suspension is built up
TOOLS NEEDED General workshop tools, two-post vehicle ramp, transmission jack, engine crane, steel cutting tool (angle grinder), various drills.
TIME: TWO DAYS
COST: £3176
DIFFICULTY RATING
CONTACT BLRC Ltd. blrcvehiclespecialist.co.uk Tel: 02897 511763
The 88-inch coil sprung V8 Land Rover had been made from a 110 soft-top many years ago to become a capable off-road machine for events with the Northern Ireland Club. Now, with a need for more room, and not wishing to sell the old V8, the body was removed from the Land Rover and all components stripped away from the chassis – with the aim of turning it back into a 110 again.
The original 110 chassis had been heavily modified almost 20 years ago to build the 88-inch version of the Land Rover. This was at a time before the introduction of SVA or IVA tests, and when the rules about modified vehicles were more relaxed than they are now. For this reason, and for other safety-related reasons, it was never a consideration to attempt to restore the chassis back to 110 configuration. Instead, the intention was always to build the 110 on a brand-new replacement chassis.
Richards Chassis Ltd manufactures the correct replacement chassis for every year of Land Rover from 1948 until the final Defender production. Having fitted over 120 of these in the last 12 years, five of those years on a professional basis, I confidently ordered a 110 V8 chassis from them for this project.
The chassis arrived on a trailer load of
other Land Rover chassis and was ready to begin fitting and building straight away, as all holes were drilled out for excess galvanisation material, threaded holes re-tapped and any excess galv drip buffed off. This prior rectification work saves considerable time – having fitted used chassis that had been retrospectively galvanised, I can ruefully attest to the effort involved in getting a freshlygalvanised chassis ready!