Vehicle #1

1963 Land Rover Series IIA 88

The Land Rover, affectionately called "The Bullfrog," is going to be completely rebuilt using an all Toyota drivetrain. 22R inline 4 cylinder petrol motor. Toyota 8 inch straight axles front and rear. Toyota transmission and transfer case, all mounted on a 1963 Land Rover Series IIA frame.

We chose to build a vehicle rather than purchase a brand new rig. You might wonder, why on Earth we're rebuilding a 1963 Land Rover. Frankly, there are no current production vehicles dependable enough with all the features we need to take us on the Trans Asia Expedition. We are going to be in some rough and remote locations in a dozen different Asian countries. We have to know our vehicles will carry us through successfully. Also, there's something very unique about the classic expedition rigs of times past. When you see an old Land Rover ready for an expedition you can't help but think of the adventures it's seen in the past and the excitement it will see in the future. There is something special about the classic vehicles of yesteryear.

Building our own custom vehicle with parts we know and trust, such as the Toyota drivetrain gives us the opportunity to fully customize any and every component and feature we need. We know how to work on Toyota parts if needed, though that need seldom arises. There are subtle details that are important to us that we can include on the Land Rover, from the placement of the GPS Navigation receiver to the extra battery and onboard AC power system. All these options can be installed and maintained easily by us.

Keep checking for updates on the build of the Land Rover.

The Beginning...

Here she is. 1963 Land Rover Series IIA 88 inch wheelbase.

She has been sitting here in the middle of nowhere Northern California in the dirt for close to 30 years. One owner seldom driven. This fine rig is going to carry us on many adventures during the Trans Asia Expedition.

Our first step was to get her on the trailer. Then a 20 minute drive to the shop. We towed her to Mike's Specialty Repair, a auto repair shop where Jezreel works. The shop is located in the small town of Redway nestled in the Redwoods of Northern California. Mike is kind enough to let us use his shop, equipment and tools while we rebuild the Land Rover.

Brian and Jez are the primary workers on the actual vehicles. Steve is currently in Asia starting to organize everything we will need once there, visa's, vehicle permits and other required documents.

After we got her off the trailer we were ready to move on to the next step: Cleaning her up and preparing to rebuild her. But not tonight...

She's Topless

After a few evenings of working on her she's starting to look even better.

We started by cleaning all the garbage and rodent deposits out of her. You'd be amazed at how many squirrel and rat droppings accumulate in 30 years. It took at least 3 hours to get all the debris and dirt vacuumed and swept out. We found all kinds of interesting things inside. Everything from old tools to a pocket knife, old coke bottles to toy cars. We also found the original set of keys for the ignition (which we'll replace with Toyota) and the door and rear hatch which is great.

Since the whole body is aluminum except for a few panels here and there, it is in excellent shape considering what its been through in its lifetime of sitting in the dirt. Very little corrosion or rust, mostly on the dash and under the front seat. None of the rust is terrible, it can all be easily fixed.

After we got her all cleaned out we removed the passenger side broken wind shield and passenger side broken window from the door panel. While she was parked in the woods a tree fell on her and dented her roof and broke the window. We already have a new door frame and glass, it came with the vehicle.

Next we pressure washed her thoroughly inside and out and scrubbed with a brush and soap. She looks immensely better but still needs a few more wash jobs before we can sand and paint.

We're going to take the whole body off the frame so to make that easier we decided now to take the whole top off. It was fairly easy to remove and makes it much easier to access inside to start stripping the dash and other parts that need cleaned and painted.

After we got the top off we pushed her back to her parking space and called it a day.

Stay tuned for more...

The Floor is Gone

Another day of fun and excitement in the world of TAE.

Our goal for the day was to remove the floor panels in the front, and the 'tub' that the seats mount to. We are taking everything off that can be unbolted prior to removing the body for two reasons. One, to make the body lighter and easier to move when it is removed, and Two, to check and make sure everything is structurally sound and going to survive a 12 country journey in Asia.

There were quite a few bolts and screws that needed to come out in order to remove the panels. The first few came out with no problem since we had sprayed them with WD40 earlier in the day. Then the problem screws came. Rusted and caked with dirt and mud there were a few that were incredibly difficult to remove. But after more WD40 and some help from an impact screwdriver and Vice Grips, we got all the bolts and screws out. It sounds easy but was rather time consuming.

After all the fasteners were removed we lifted the floor panels out revealing the fuel tank (on passenger side), the transmission and transfer case, and the ground below us.

So now the Land Rover is topless, missing a windshield pane, and has no seats or floor. It seems we are headed in the wrong direction, but our Lead Mechanic, Jezreel assures us she will be ready in time for the Trans Asia Expedition.

Doors, Hood, Bumper

Another day. Our goal for the day: Get as much removed from the body as possible.

We start by removing the doors as can be seen in the first picture. Door removal is quite simple, there are 2 hinges on each door and each hinge has has 2 bolts. So remove 8 bolts and the doors come right off.

Next, the fuel tank needs to be removed for inspection and cleaning. There are 3 bolts on the front bracket and 3 on the rear bracket that hold the fuel tank on. There is the main fill hose that needs to be removed, plus the fuel line to the engine and a wire for the sending unit for the fuel gauge. All the bolts holding the fuel tank on were easy to remove, they had been covered with layer upon layer of mud that had dried over the years acting like a barrier from the rain and weather in Northern California. After chipping the caked mud off the side of the tank and bolts, a squirt of WD-40 and the bolts came right off, there wasn't even any rust on the bolts.

The good news is that at first look the fuel tank looks very good. It is not rusted through on the bottom or anywhere. We're going to clean it out inside and then we'll be ready to go. In the second photograph you can see the empty space under where the passenger seat used to be. The fuel tank used to sit there right along the frame rail.

Next was the hood and front bumper.

The hood is so easy to remove I think even our fearless leader Steve, could take it off. You lift it all the way open as far as it will go, then slide it towards the drivers side, the hinges are on pins that slide right out. Set the hood aside for safe keeping and move onto the front bumper.

The front bumper was slightly more difficult to take off. It is attached by 4 large bolts that were rusted and somewhat time consuming to remove but they didn't give us too much trouble.

The next 2 photographs show the front bumper removed and the hood. The last photo shows her sitting all alone in the parking lot waiting for more work to be done...

Stripped

Finally. We spent the afternoon and got all the remaining body parts off. Fenders, body tub, 'bed' section. All Parts Removed. It actually went quite quickly with no problems.

The next evening we disconnected the drivelines, motor mounts and transmission mounts. It took a bit longer than expected so the motor stayed in that night.

The next afternoon we pulled the motor and transmission and set it aside. There is a man in town here that wants it and we can trade it to him for other Land Rover parts that he has and we may need.

The real work starts next. Swapping the drivetrain from a Toyota Pick-Up (Hilux) into the Land Rover. Stay tuned for more.