Bespoke Land-Rover Builders

[Oakmaster]

A friend of mine would like to have a completely rebuilt Series three or Series two - he is looking hard, and thinking of spending serious money. I know Ive seen adverts for people who do this, but because Its beyond my means they have never registered with me.

And are there things we / he should avoid

tips or advice welcomed

thanks

[Gazzar]

Watch the legalities - if he's UK based he has to be careful that he doesn't end up with something that has to be registered on a "Q" plate.

G.

[steve b]

Like all projects , he will need to think about what he wants from it , what use it will be put to and where it

will be garaged .

there are plenty of good series II /III's about that are quite genuine , its all in the detail , like chassis number in place and the

right axles and engine/gearbox for a good basis for a classic restoration . A Series I could be a better option as a full ground up

build , they can be found for sensible money still and are truly the original and best

cheers

Steveb

[muddy]

I'm not sure where your friend is but jake wright land rovers in West Yorkshire have restored lots of series land rovers and early range rovers, john is extremely knowledgable and helpful.

Between him, his mechanics and friends they have quite a collection including 80's, willys jeeps, some beautiful early 90s and even a traction engine!

Will.

[secondjeremy]

I rebuild them - and hear tales about the problems that can arise with classic car works.

There's a lot of work in doing one properly - and probably a considerable outlay on parts. Stage payments are therefore a reasonable way of proceeding.

One of the things I find most frustrating is the customer's attention span. I mention this as there are many ways of building a sound and smart vehicle and I try and produce wehat the customer wants. Inevitably it takes some time to explain things - but its never very satisfactory when the customer looses interest and says 'I'll leave it to you - you do what you think is best! - So I don't know if I'm expected to strip all paint off to bare metal or strip a fairly good engine and rebuild it to newish standard!

Stage payments should I think be structured so that the person doing the work isn't out of pocket and gets paid for the work he has done fairly often. I like to structure things so that a payment becomes due when a certain stage has been reached (Eg new chassis fitted with suspension and overhauled axles - then new brakes, overhauled gearbox, repaired and overhauled bulkhead and so on).

So I'd say the most important thing is to reach a proper agreement for the work - what is to be done, when, how much and when payment is due. THEN WRITE IT DOWN. If you can't reach agreement on all or any of these matters - what chance is there of the job being done quickly.

[Oakmaster]

Thanks for all the good advice - I think that stage payments are a sensible way to go - and while location isn't the most important - someone in the west midlands would be good - to keep an eye on progress - and make those key decisions.

[Snagger]

He should decide what he wants the vehicle for, because that will dictate its type and specification. Once decided, he should write it down and work out the details of exactly what he wants, researching with advice or experience from as many sources as he can to pin down the exact specifications, like vehicle type, wheel base and body type, then engine, transmission, suspension and steering systems, and finally accessories. Don't go into a dealer/builder without a pretty good idea of what you want, as they could easily persuade you to buy something inappropriate which will earn them a fortune, perhaps even a vehicle they already have in. It's not just the financial services and roofing industries which participate in mis-selling!

[lexi]

<br />I think you mean roofing pikey's Nick. Roofing as an Industry works on tenders lol.

[jerboa]

I concur with Snagger on this one, get everything he wants on paper, right down to the last detail. Then draw it up into a contract, so there's no scope for argumant/disagreemnet as the project progresses. I have thought about this kind of thiing long and hard. I really want a nice defender 110" CSW. But by the time I can afford to buy a brand new one that I can look after forever, land rover will have replaced the defender with a DC100 crappy freelander cast off.

I reckon for the same money as a new one, I could get one of those companies to build from the ground up a last forever land rovern - better than a Solihull job too, Galv chassis/bulkhead/other metal bits, OME suspension, ARB diffs, Salisbury F+R axles, 2.8 TGV engine, LT85 box, PTO winch. I could go on....!

[Snagger]

<br />I think you mean roofing pikey's Nick. Roofing as an Industry works on tenders lol.

Yep - that's what I meant; the type you see on Rogue Traders and such, preying on OAPs. Sorry if I offended the rest of the industry with a badly written point!

In addition to jerboa's post, think carefully about what mods you want, now and potentially in the future - it's easier, cheaper and neater to build them in during construction than to try to fit them later; many later mods not allowed for early on will result in a poorer quality job. A god example was the chassis I had built for my 109 - I had them incorporate outriggers for forward fuel tanks so that I could fit multiple tanks (long range and for dual fuel use). Had they been retro fitted later, it would have been less accurate, the welds weaker and the galvanising heavily compromised inside and out in the chassis rail areas to which they are welded. Modifying the rear tub for a different shape and much thicker floor and incorporating new seating, storage and a bulkhead removal bar was also much better done before the tub was fitted. So, even if not fitting the mods during initial construction, try to have the vehicle built up with provision for the mods to be installed easily at a later date.

[samc88]

Dunsfold do good rebuilds, never been a customer but I've seen a bit of their stuff (albeit on t'internet) so am only going by what I've seen, I would imagine them to be pretty damn expensive though

http://www.dunsfold.com/

[Daan]

Yep - that's what I meant; the type you see on Rogue Traders and such, preying on OAPs. Sorry if I offended the rest of the industry with a badly written point!

Rogue traders are in every area were there is money to be made, in any country or county.

I dont think you have offended anyone here, apart from the rogue traders!

My view on the world from a realistic point of view (and a realist is an optimist with experience).

On a more serious note though, if you want a mint series, I would just look on Ebay; the last time I looked there were some really nicely done series with a galv chassis in a near new condition for about 10K. That is still cheaper than pay a company to build one.

Daan

[Snagger]

Also visit the workshops to see their working conditions and look around their stock. One well known rebuild specialist not far from Solihul has panels and other parts piled high outdoors and the mankiest, messiest workshops you can imagine. That is highly indicative of disorganisation and an utter lack of care or interest in quality. A few of their resale vehicles that were being sold on again by owners a few years after they had been rebuilt by this specialist did not seem to be faring as well as I'd have expected for their prices, and when I pushed them on how they do their hard top conversions for windows, seating and trim, the answers I got regarding structural elements of the seats, restraints and side panel reinforcing suggested to me that they had absolutely no idea of what they were doing, and I felt their conversions to be dangerous. My friend said the look on my face while their workshop manager talked through their mods was hilarious - I don't have much of a poker face, and my friend had to disappear behind a few cars as he couldn't hold his laughter at my reaction any longer!

Know what you want, find out how it should be done properly and the TEST the companies by pretending to be completely void of all technical understanding and ask them to go through what they do and how. The rogues will show their colours pretty quickly as they'll talk you into unwanted work and will not give suitable detail on the highly technical issues.