Badger110

In my quest to expand on the current long distance traveller build of the 110, I toyed with bolting a ambulance body to the back of the 110, even selling it as it is and buying a 130 pulse or mashing together 3 different vehicles to come up with ( queue Guy Martin's voice ) ' A grand idea '. I went with the mashing of 3 vehicles, namely the 110, a Bedford cf2 camper van and a 110 utility truck special build. Before I get to that ' Grand idea ' of mine, a little history of where we are now. The base vehicle is a 2011 110 USW in Buckingham Blue which is a bit blue and a bit dark...so dark blue. It is a XS spec which means something although I’m not sure exactly what that is but the seats cook your arse in the winter and the front screen is heated which if I’m honest, is rather helpful on those cold mornings. It has/had aircon too, which in any vehicle is a stupid idea in my honest opinion...no point keeping yourself cool when you open the car door and its still bloody hot outside...open a window and climatize yourself. The previous owner was a farrier who had it from new and the rear load bay was sectioned off from the rest of the truck with a hatch built into the side for access to his forge etc. Other than that, it was pretty standard. The build begins I had to make the area available from behind the front seats to the back door as a living space for 2 adults and 2 dogs ( Old English Sheepdog & Basset Hound ) to include cooking, washing, sleeping and seating. This isn’t easy when you have 1400mm x 1900mm floor space and a head height suitable for a 5 year old. Standard procedures are to have a bench seat down one side and a counter top on the other to include the cooker, sink etc. This leaves a small area along the middle to fit your legs and feet but not a lot of room for the Floof ( the nickname for the Old English Sheepdog ) especially when we’re sat on the bench seat. I wanted to create as much floor space as possible for the dogs to lie in and for us to be able to sit without them on our laps or getting in the way. It is a lot to ask for in such a small space, but it is possible. I came up with a stowaway seating option which allows us to pull the seats out when we want them but have them stored away when not in use. They double up as storage box’s all the time. This may sound quite interesting and abit ‘ out there ‘ in design etc, but in all honesty they’re box’s which we sit on. Yes I made them the correct height so we can sit on them without bending our heads on the roof, but they are still a box. Simple. I made a unit to fit a sink/cooker combo I ‘borrowed’ off a mate, made some units to house my seat ‘ box’s ‘, added some wood as fold down tables, did some electrics including 2nd battery, water pump, amp, sockets, lighting, fitted a webasto heater, chucked some carpet on the units, some on the floor and got it ready for bombing around the UK with a roof tent up top. There’s a divider piece between the front and rear cab which, when the front seats are folded forward, acts as a back rest for the box seating, a small draw which slides out from the original footwell of the rear seats and a host of other bits n bobs which I’ll cover later on. The build at the moment was a little rushed as we wanted to get it up n running for the summer to use before the ‘ Grand idea ‘ build starts with it which I’ll cover next So that’s where I’m at now.

Defender2 is a great forum, i wouldn't dream of critisising them as a forum per sae..there is an awful lot of nice people and great information to be had from there. My observations are that it does attract a certain ' person ' who has no idea what entails buying a new rust bucket from the then infamous JLR and therefore there are many many posts relating to their woes. No where else have i seen such an influx of posts relating to new ownership and the disappointment after they have received them. Anyway, i am new here and don't wish to step on anyone's toes, or indeed come across as someone who likes to dish out back handed comments regarding ' other ' forums. I also feel i should get this back on track As for your good self buying new defender's in the past, may i ask why? Nearly new for a reduced price i can see an attraction....but new from the showroom just doesn't make sense to me, especially with previous knowledge!

I believe those silly enough to buy a brand new defender are those who have no idea what they are. the forum defender2 is full of them 😂

I love the old dormobiles. Good on her for her way of life

I have seen this before and it is a great idea, especially as you can build it on further once the cab has been established.

Pretty much yes...looks like he’s used the s2a windscreen and adjusted the bulkhead to take it. its got a few tarty bits on it but it would be interesting to see what it goes like with a 200tdi in it loaded up like that

Indeed Bowie....that is until a 88" passes me by

This has given me some food for thought. In it's current state, it will become borderline tedious driving long distances, although have great character. Dropping in a V8 of worth will require upgrades that will add to the overall expense and if i'm going that far along then i'm going to be stripping the chassis back and no doubt i will find more that needs doing and will become a full rebuild rather than a conversion. I'm thinking more of a 88" small project, do up the Bedford camper and continue to use the TDCi camper, then sell it later on with the bedford and look into a 300tdi pulse or similar. i do like the s2 & S2a's but with additional bodywork and weight, this one will struggle

Cheers, always open to ideas and offers I have read the build thread, some interesting down to earth stuff which i like 👍

Still in the decision to buy a S2a with a 2.25 petrol engine in it, what am i looking at driving wise? The owner laughs about it hitting 45mph downhill and it is carrying a marshall's ambulance body on it ( all original ) with 40k on the clock so i'm not expecting rocket speeds, but surely cruising should be a tad better than that! I've owned 19J, 200Tdi, Td5's and currently drive a 2.4TDCi but i like the simplicity of the older petrol engines even though i've not owned one. My other thought is to drop a V8 in it and be done with worrying😈

Personally i'd keep the gearbox tunnel a seperate entity to the centre panel for ease of access in the future. The gearbox tunnel can be wrapped and sound deadened to contain the road & engine noise...if you make it an entire piece, you're looking to extend that process right into the centre panel.

Civilian ambulances do look good, finding one is like rocking horse poo. Still haven't decided on the Marshall's as i have a Bedford CF freeway ready for a rebuild and i'm torn between rebuilding that or taking the roof from it and retro fitting it to a marshall's. The TDCi is a great motor, but not practical for what we want to achieve with trips across the world, one upset and i need to carry laptops and bypassing sensors, i prefer old skool mechanical fix's. It does come down to cost though, the Puma will have to go and fund a camper build of a different variety. Although we have successfully camped in the converted 110 and i love it, we need more room.

If i may add to this, the item listed is a butyl strip with adhesive added to allow the glass to stick to it. If you visit a builders merchants, or B&Q, Screwfix then you could pick up some flash band which is a similar product and has added benefits around the vehicle other than windows ( it's wider than the strip ). I use flash band on the bodywork at the base of doors to protect from standing water over time as these areas become prone to water ingress. Just a thought bodywork at the bottom of the tub by the rear door. ( dog posing for scale )

I went today to view a S2a marshalls with a 2.1/4 petrol under the hood. First thoughts were the rear area isn't as large as i originally thought height wise, in fact it's the same as a standard Landy inside or thereabouts but it does have the added width. However the roof can be raised with some fabrication to give a little more height...something like a Pulse body height, combined with the Dormobile roof it could provide a nice light living area to work on. I would also consider a new rear door section, doing away with the double doors and creating a single smaller central door. Will i buy it? Still not 100%...i'll no doubt post my musings on the matter as i think about it...

Yes I would be interested lo fi, I’m looking at one on eBay at the moment which looks to need a new bulkhead and the money is right for it.

Got it 👍 However now we're thinking of buying a complete SIIa ambulance and selling the TDCi... Back to old skool

The weight and shape of a head should perhaps be packaged in something more substantial than paper...even foam isn't expensive for packaging circumstances.

It was me...and really?? any more information?

Used rad weld in the Astra 6 months ago, still sealed up.

Turn it into a coffee table 😀

I’ve said this all along. Both BMW & VW took a concept and bettered it for the market ahead. It looks like JLR will do the same

Looking at those measurements, would it not be too short to lay down in if you’re going ahead with using it as a camper trailer?

It may have some additional pumped up styling to keep people guessing on the shape.

I've learnt more about the SIIa in this thread than my entire life owning Landies. Love it

I have a Stihl 2 stroke petrol cutter which is an absolute b*tch to start as well. I shall strip that apart and get the carb cleaned. The only downside is the entire cutter is caked in concrete dust over the years of it's life so it'll be a large clean up operation as once i begin removing the carb, i'm bound to get carp falling into places it shouldn't be!