My Land Rover

Anybody who knows me knows I am a bit of Rover enthusiast! I acquired my 1959 88" Land Rover Series II from my Father in 2006 and have spent the last 6 years tinkering and toying with it to make it more reliable and comfortable to drive. The vehicle is largely original with the only major modifications being parabolic springs, a paper air filter and a Roverdrive (overdrive). Compared to modern vehicles classic Land Rovers are extremely rudimentary. Powered by a carbureted, 2.25 L inline 4 cylinder engine, generating ~70 HP and 120 lb/ft of torque top speed is around 110 km/h with the truck cruising happily at 90 km/h. Fuel economy is dismal at >15 L/100 km. There is no power anything so steering and stopping relies on the strength of the driver.

You may ask why would I choose the Land Rover as my field vehicle? The primary reason is it's the vehicle I have. My other vehicle, a Honda Odyssey, is far too busy shuttling kids around to be away for a month and I have far to small a budget to rent an SUV. For all the Rovers obvious shortcomings it is an incredibly rugged, capable vehicle that can carry large loads over difficult terrain and can be modified easily to suit my needs. For example, by the end of the trip I will be carrying between 600 and 800 lbs of rocks, in addition to all my camping and field gear. Not only will I be carrying this along highways I will be taking this to some relatively inaccessible areas off road.

I will be discussing in future posts some of the modifications I have made to get the Landy ready for this trip.