obtama95 Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 Hi everyone! I am new here and and currently embarking on my first own build camper adventure! I am in no way a mechanic and do not know much at all about cars but I have an eagerness to learn quickly and i have lots of spare time on my hands. I also have a few friends here is Spain who know ALOT about cars (one owns his own Vintage car restoration business, with an LR 110 of his own). So I have watched ALOT on youtube and I would love to buy a Santana PS-10 and convert it into an overlander/camper. (will not being doing too much overlanding) it will actually be more a live in/long weekend trip vehicle. The reason for buying a Santana PS10 is actually I feel you can get a lot more bang for your buck and i'm not made of money 😅. I have seen a lot of stuff that its plasticky and not quite as comfortable than a 110 but I am not too bothered as I will be changing a lot of the interior. I would love to fit an Alu-Cab onto it but need to know if it is the same body (dimensions wise) as the LR 110? it would have to be an exact fit I am guessing and the Alu-Cabs are made to fit LR 110. Have message Alu-Cab to ask and we will see what they say. If it wouldn't fit, wondering how easy it would be to custom make one using the existing roof? and getting the extra supports/framework fabricated? My ex-boyfriend has his own construction company so I have hundreds of tools to use and I have done quite a bit of building myself so I am ready to get my hands dirty and hopefully with some help do a lot of the work myself. Don't know if anyone could help me, but PLEASE, if you can't answer these questions but have an advice on Santana PS10 I am all ears! Also would be great to know if spare parts are really hard to get ahold of? I understand it's a big journey I am about to embarque on, with a lot of work/learning to do, but hey, life is for living and learning right? Thanks in advance and look forward to hopefully getting some info 🙂 Olivia link to alu-cab https://www.alu-cab.com/product/icarus-roof-conversion/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 The windscreen and rear door look to be different so I doubt an alucab would fix, however from memory the roof on the ps10 is fibreglass which lends itself to modification quite well. Picture stolen off the internet for reference. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Drumstick Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 I really like the idea of a PS-10. However when I looked at them a number of years ago. The brake discs were no longer available. Being something bespoke by Santana. For overland this might be an issue unless there is now a supply (I haven’t checked for ages). I’d guess with work and money you may be able to adapt to Defender brakes, but didn’t investigate this enough. The PS-10 is also based on the Series 109. So you may want to check some dimensions against a 110 as they may differ slightly if you wanting to try and retro fit body parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 The PS10 is more like a modernised 109 (leaf springs) with an Iveco van engine, the body looks very similar but I believe as Mike says parts of it are glass fibre and I'm sure there will be a lot of detail differences, the axles are similar but with some santana-specific parts. Wikipedia says santana fitted "heavier duty axles" and I know KAM used to sell them some components but no idea how far removed they are from stock LR axles. For overlanding it could be a bit of a unicorn in terms of parts availability, I'd expect the shared Land Rover or Iveco parts to be available but other stuff could be really hard to find. Santana always used whatever parts were available locally so you may find a lot of little bits like electrics and other ancillary parts are from 1990's van / coach / bus / HGVs that were found around Spain at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 I know someone with a LWB Santana over in southern Spain , that has a 2.5N/A Rover diesel. The rear brakes are 11" Rover SLS drums , not sure what the fronts are. Leaf sprung with a Rover rear diff and anti-roll bar. Transmission is LT230/LT77. Not sure about the steering box arrangement either. The owner has said there seems to be little knowledge or parts listings locally for him which seems odd as Santana started a long while ago. My thoughts are more local research on parts and mechanical details along with body types (and material - GRP or ally) before jumping in. It may turn out that an Iveco 4x4 van/truck might be a better choice? Welcome to the forum too - lots of camper builds on here to whet your appetite.... Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjan Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 Welcome to the forum - plenty of people here with vast amounts of knowledge. The PS 10 is a very good vehicle and well known in southern Europe and Africa. The roofs could be different but you really need to have them side by side - you can ask Alu-Cab if they can supply you one for the PS10. However, you mention an Ex with loads of tools and pop up roofs are not that hard to make and will be less money in most cases. Depending on model, there are several engine types to choose from and I suggest you drive a few before parting with money. The 2.8 versions are very nice.... Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obtama95 Posted February 28 Author Share Posted February 28 Hi Everyone! Wow! thank you so much for all your help! a to research into! apologies for such a later reply, didn't seem to get any notifications saying i had had replies to my post. I have just spoken with the Alu-cab dealer over here in Spain and he spoke with the supplier, apparently the supplier said that they know of people with Santanas that have fit Alu-cabs on them, they just don't know if there was any modifications done before they did it. I have also found a Santana dealer in the south of Spain who said he has about 30 of them, so for sure he will know of spare parts etc. He also has a lot of 109's which i think are almost the same to a 110. A little more researching and forums I guess and hopefully I will be on my way to my dream vehicle! I have also had a look into building a pop up roof myself very similar to the Alu-cab ICARUS, i found a guy who did it but he did say it ended up costing him a lot more than just purchasing an Alu-Cab! Well, I shall read all your comments thoroughly this week when I have some time on my hands. Once again thanks a lot for taking your time to help, what an amazing community to be a part of! 🥰 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 34 minutes ago, obtama95 said: I have also had a look into building a pop up roof myself very similar to the Alu-cab ICARUS, i found a guy who did it but he did say it ended up costing him a lot more than just purchasing an Alu-Cab! Have you seen the various pop-up roof builds on this forum? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obtama95 Posted February 28 Author Share Posted February 28 4 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said: Have you seen the various pop-up roof builds on this forum? No I havnt. I will definately have a look into it. Don’t know if you could send me any? ☺️ dont know how good I will be at navigating around the sight 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 15 hours ago, obtama95 said: No I havnt. I will definately have a look into it. Don’t know if you could send me any? ☺️ dont know how good I will be at navigating around the sight 😂 Best I could find: There's probably a lot more if you are just looking for general camper conversions/builds... And my own campbulance build: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_grieve Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 Send me a PM with your email address and I’ll send you a copy of the PS-10 parts catalogue. The front axle is a mixture of an early 110 front axle with stage one V8 bits and bespoke swivel housings. They’re larger series type swivel balls than a 110 with the series bolt pattern, heavier steering components than LR parts. The rear axles are a unique kind of Dana 60 / salisbury thing with a removable third member and banjo housing. The steering box isn’t like anything from LR. All the bearings and seals are standard parts and easy to get. The gearbox was an LT85 and an LT230 transfer case with front axle disconnect. The chassis is much stronger than a LR one and is also wider, it’s sort of like a big Suzuki chassis the way it’s made. If you’re in Spain, it probably makes sense. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 11 hours ago, Jamie_grieve said: Send me a PM with your email address and I’ll send you a copy of the PS-10 parts catalogue. If you'd be willing to send me a copy I can add it to the internet repository of manuals & parts books. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jocklandjohn Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 This one is mine - if you want to dive down that particular rabbit hole I'm happy to offer advice and aspirin! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obtama95 Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 Wow!!! This is incredible!! Yes I would love to dive down this rabbit hole if it is cheaper than an alu-cab 😂 I have time, tools and resources to do something like this for sure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jocklandjohn Posted March 9 Share Posted March 9 (edited) 14 hours ago, obtama95 said: Wow!!! This is incredible!! Yes I would love to dive down this rabbit hole if it is cheaper than an alu-cab 😂 I have time, tools and resources to do something like this for sure Well the build thread is on here in the link above so worth reading that first. But there is a longer thread and far more images in the US site Expedition Portal where I posted stuff after each day of working ion the 110 - you dont need to pay to access simply register and you're good to go. Edited March 9 by Jocklandjohn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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