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This is part of the building process or assembly of the first Maltese bug . Inspiration came from a small Tamija electric model car .I have built it myself with the help of a couple of friends, it was thanks to them who encouraged me to complete the task in two months from a rotten type 3 to racing it in the first event. I also took second in the 2000cc class and a fourth overall with an opposition of twelve V8 modified LR/RR . I quite satisfied with the first event, but it's getting harder every time..
Here I was on the final part of the build ,next the paints and sponsers would go on and the test drive.I was'nt sure if I had built a car or a monster but on the first drive, which happened a week later, .I was amazed at the capabilities of a 2WD machine which had a pair of worn tyres and the old engine from the type 3. I encountered serious problems with cornering , it used to oversteer badly . I have now solved the problem by installing fiddle brakes on each rear wheel. I have also rebuilt the engine mainly with standard parts but I did a head job with valves ,ports ,compression and the rest, also reprofiled cam. It now revs happily till 7000rpm but it's not going to last long. The gearbox currently installed is a Bus type with a Kennedy clutch and plate.
Well this is my Land Rover, a series 3 1974 . These pictures show my Landy in restoration work on the chassis and bulkhead , with it's old paint job and home made bikini top. The last modification to it was a heart transplant, a 200 Tdi engine from a 1992 defender. It's a straight foward fit to the gearbox but needs some alterations on the chassis engine mounts. I also kept the front panel in its original position which complicated my life a little as how to fit the radiator / intercooler assembly as not to foul with the upper steering relay arm. A quick solution was to swap the rad/intercooler from left to right and tilt the intercooler at 45deg to clear the upper steering link, work a couple new intercooler pipes and stuff an electric fan in front of the intercooler (because you cannot use the Tdi fan shroud). Connect your battery and heaven, Bingo and you have a land rover which has the acceleration of a rocket but low on top speed. Easy, put an overdrive , but I have learnt that these components don't like the Tdi ,and I am currently building a conversion to eleminate the SIII box and OD. Check out the Garage for more info or you can e-mail me if you're interested in further details
Here is one good piece of advice from me, never play with holes that are bigger than your wheels. This incident happened when I was driving on a rocky beach at night when suddenly it happened. I had discovered that my wheel was swallowed by this trench which I had completely missed seeing. Well, my friends were already asleep as we where camping down on the beach so I had to sleep in a very uncomfortable position in my Landy.The next morning my friends woke up to thier amazement to find me asleep in the Landy; well, all that was needed was a short tug and the vehicle was on its four wheels after a whole night waving at the fish in the trench!!!.
The last Photo is of me wondering how to pull it out the next morning
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