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My Land Rover has had 10 previous owners, all of them managed to keep it looking the same as the day she rolled off the line. The first time I ever saw it, it was as you can see here, totally standard.

This was pretty much the day I got the off roading bug and when my mate decided to sell the Landy to fund a self build house I decided I had to have it!

Back then she was a normally aspirated 2.5 litre diesel, hard top model.

After a while Grizzly Claw tyres and a second hand WARN 8000 winch where fitted, then a 2 inch lift kit.

This is pretty much how she stayed for quite some time.

Unfortunately the engine was not so lucky and started running on its own oil from time to time, this meant another engine had to go in as it was easier at the time than rebuilding. That engine faired ok for a while.

Time took its toll on the bodywork though no doubt helped along by my novice off roading skills! and rebuild work was required, it was at this time I realised the bulkhead was not going to last forever as well.

So on went another set of wings and repairs to the bulkhead where made to stem the attack of the metal worm.

It was not long before I realised that a tired N/A diesel was just not for me so a second hand Rover V8 was sourced and the conversion was started, this was not too bad to do with only the engine mounts being repositioned, things like fuel lines and ignition wiring took a bit longer but eventually she burst into life and the fuel gauge has never been the same since.

A fews year back I had the chance of getting a truck cab top for it and as my roof was not in great shape I decided it would look a lot better! It did start to look like a proper off roader but as everyone says the amount of storage you lose is considerable, though it is easier to keep the cabin warm! Following this the axles where swapped out for 24 spline items with a Detroit locker in the rear and a biasing unit in the front.

This year proved to be a turning point for the old girl and I decided that the bulkhead was too far gone to be of use and as I had plans to put on a roll cage, putting it over a scrap bulkhead did not seem to be wise so a full strip down started. As you can see the carb V8 had also changed to an EFi version earlier due to a total lack of oil pressure! Still thats Rover V8's for you.

Some chassis repairs where carried out at this time and a general clean up to all the bits you can't get too normally and the wiring loom pulled from the chassis as this was also being changed.

During the rebuild another donor bulkhead came from a 300tdi Landy as did most of the larger dash parts, steering column and wiring loom. This meant the V8 loom was easier to intergrate with the vehicle and was now able to use the later blade fuses. The dash also recieved a raptor engineering centre panel to take gauges, switches, radio and a CB.

Now kitted out with its roll cage and challenge front wings from Whitbread off road, the Landy looks to be pretty good over all. It is a lot different from the early days but it does not stop there and modifications will always be ongoing.

A rear winch, bigger tyres with bead lockers, different bumper, bucket seats, the wish list is endless but for now she is capable, no doubt more than me! and so its time to have some fun.