Crazy CRAZY Idea... Overlander anyone?

**Newbs-IIA** · 18th June 2009, 10:52 AM

Originally Posted by Shonky

Crazy is correct! Let me tell you, as some one who is in the throes of a ground up rebuild, there is an absolute ****LOAD of things which you haven't even begun to think about yet that will cost you more than you can imagine!

And I'm only building to standard spec! (ish...

)

You have two cars and cant afford both, so you want to *build* a third? And when it's done and you are up to your ears in debt, will you be able to bring yourself to sell BOTH the Landy and the Kingswood to pay of the looming financial institutions?

Keep in mind that you will have to engineer the engine too. You can't use an engine that is older than the chassis, and you can't have a V8. So say you put in a V6 commy donk, then what do you do for a Gearbox?

It all gets very complicated!

The options as I see it:

1: Cop it on the chin, keep paying two regos and have the best of both worlds.
2: Put the 2A on historic and be restricted to fun on club trips
3: Sell both and buy a cheap disco (but be careful not to get a lemon!)
4: Put the Kingswood up on blocks (or historic rego) and daily drive the 2A

4 would be my option. Nothing on Landies is too expensive (water pumps are $75 new on eBay) and you won't be too worried about ruining it (unlike that VERY nice Kingswood.

)

DW I just finished taking my IIA from a $400 wreck to RWC in a year, steep learning curve - did everything (including chassis) myself and after much grief it finally passed

What I plan to do is modify the original chassis just like the genuine Arthur Hayward examples, this removes the problem of mismatching chassis and engine numbers. Therefor I can use a holden V8 or 202 coupled to say a hulix/landcruiser gearbox and from then on the rest of the running gear is hilux/cruiser. I have priced an adapter plate from Marks for $750

If I went the other way and swapped a tonner cab onto a donor chassis such as RRC, 60series cruiser or MQ Patrol, I would use all of the driveline components including the engine and would adapt the steering columb to fit the tonner cab. mmmm a diesel Overlander with that 'slower than a granny in a 120Y' 2H diesel hahahaha or even slower would be a 2.4/2.8 hilux 4cyl diesel.

The reason I am initially steering away from a Series Rover driveline is because the track is too narrow for my liking. However a IIA/III drivelines are very abundant with holden engines already attached (there is one at my local wreckers with LWB SIII running gear) which removes alot of mucking around in the engine conversion/adaption department. Also I'm assuming a sailsbury found in the back of a landrover is similar to the sailsbury diffs found in 1 tonners and other V8 kingswoods? Havent looked much into that but it may save me a bit too.

The project would initially be funded by the sale of my IIA (I can still use dad's 4WD to get away camping if i want to - not allowed to modify it though

) and would be a long term adventure, most likely 2-4 years. Still in the planning stages at the moment, will most likely do the most cost effective way which may be the body swap idea - i hear that hilux and patrol chassis can be adapted to the body mounts of a tonner cab quite easily (would prefere the wider patrol or cruiser if possible)

fun fun fun hahahahaha

**Shonky** · 18th June 2009, 12:04 PM

If you really want... seems a shame to sell your 2A though mate - you've done a great job on it.

If you do sell it, pull the roll cage and spotties, put some standard seats in it (they aren't too hard to do yourself - speak to Mrs ZD for advice) and paint your rims olive drab.

As someone else has said, it's not quite a military collectable (but still a great truck!) and outside of that market its just another "yucky old truck". Make it as close to mil-spec as you can afford.

You probably won't make what you have spent on repairing it, so be prepared to write off a loss on the thing.

**isuzurover** · 18th June 2009, 01:48 PM

Originally Posted by Newbs-IIA

Also I'm assuming a sailsbury found in the back of a landrover is similar to the sailsbury diffs found in 1 tonners and other V8 kingswoods? Havent looked much into that but it may save me a bit too.

The rover Salisbury 8HA diff is 99.9% the same as a Dana 60 (just with metric bolts (in the Sals) and a few spline count changes).

The holden "large" salisbury diff is a puny weakling by 4x4 standards - about the size of a Dana 30 or 35 (fitted to jeep wranglers) I think.

I am pretty sure that the overlanders were fitted with Dana 44's. SOme sources claim they had a D60 rear, but the ones I have seen in the flesh definitely don't.

This has just reminded me that I once sold all the front panels and firewall from a SIII Stage 1 to a guy in Brisbane who had a rusty 1-ton ute he wanted to put a new body on!!!

Not sure he ever finished it... He said his engineer would not let him do ANY welding to the chassis. He had to make bolt-on brackets to connect the standard 1-tonne mounts to the landie body!!!

**Newbs-IIA** · 18th June 2009, 02:29 PM

Originally Posted by isuzurover

The rover Salisbury 8HA diff is 99.9% the same as a Dana 60 (just with metric bolts (in the Sals) and a few spline count changes).

The holden "large" salisbury diff is a puny weakling by 4x4 standards - about the size of a Dana 30 or 35 (fitted to jeep wranglers) I think.

I am pretty sure that the overlanders were fitted with Dana 44's. SOme sources claim they had a D60 rear, but the ones I have seen in the flesh definitely don't.

This has just reminded me that I once sold all the front panels and firewall from a SIII Stage 1 to a guy in Brisbane who had a rusty 1-ton ute he wanted to put a new body on!!!

Not sure he ever finished it... He said his engineer would not let him do ANY welding to the chassis. He had to make bolt-on brackets to connect the standard 1-tonne mounts to the landie body!!!

Thats interesting to know about the sailsbury diffs. If you can grab issue 32 of Australian Muscle Car as it give a 20 page story on the Overlander and it's specs. You are right about the diffs of the original overlanders, they had a Dana M20 transfere, Dana44 front diff and Dana60 rear diff. The trial HJ Ute that Hayward built originally used the holden 10bolt sailsbury diff with a changed ratio to suit the D44 front but he found that it was too weak and therefore went for the D60 rear diff for his production modles. This was mostly because of axel troubles i believe (good comparison piccy in AMC)

It sucks how strick everything has become these days... if holden was happy enough to continue their factory warranty on the Kingswoods after Hayward had altered them I don't see why the chassis couldn't take a couple of body mounts welded on as your example said

My IIA would not be sold as is, still needs alot of work to meet my standards. Don't stress people haha, it's not happening tomorrow - still got a few DI trips (and hopefully a Fraer trip) in the IIA before I will pass it on. I always sell ym cars with rego and RWC - IIA will not be an exemption

**frantic** · 23rd June 2009, 02:17 PM

If $$ are not an object get the rrc chassis ,your holden body of choice, and a isuzu 3.9 turbo diesel with LR tanks and a bullbar with a winch + about 6 HID lights on the roof for a B&S cool look.

**Newbs-IIA** · 23rd June 2009, 02:21 PM

I like the way you think frantic

Would most likely be the best way to get coil springs under a styleside kingswood ute, really need a couple chassis to measure up to see how close things come to fitting

**Gullible** · 25th June 2009, 07:45 AM

Just get a P38a, nice ride, good off road, and plant of ways to spend your money

Thread: Crazy CRAZY Idea... Overlander anyone?

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