Offroad-Express

ok so this is just a concept in my head at the moment but has anybody shortened a 109 chassis before. i have always wanted a 90 defender but they are a bit scarce so what are some of the advantages and disadvantages of shortening a longer chassis.
ex army 109's are still around so should be no probs getting a donor vehicle to start with

The only issue I see is the fuel tank will need moved and may not fit where it does on a SWB
Chassis is easy, panels and interior are similar.... not certian on the roof if there are any folded bits that would be a problem if there is just overlap and glue easiest way of dealing with alloy

Just out of interest why 90" why not say 95" you improve turning circle and roll over by shortening WB but still leave it longer so it climbs a better than a SWB

Why not do as they do in UK, the home of Land Rover, and fit the body to 100 inch Discovery chassis.
That way you get coils as well.
See You Tube for a 4x4 is Born .............

95" would be a good compromise. would have to put fuel tank under driver seat if that is possible. the rear fuel tank sits too low anyway and i am always fearful of belting it on rocks on tracks ( i have a 109 now)

I think you'll find the LWB is a longer tank than the SWB so might not fit under there
I'd like to add another fuel tank to the passanger side of mine... I have access to a parts wagon but its a LWB and a bit of a drive so I havn't bothered as yet... May just make a new stainless one with an internal surge tank it would be faster than all the drama of boatsiding the standard tanks...
LOL just had an idea.... can you measure your tank I'll see if it will fit under the seat on my shorty then we'll both know

noexitroad wrote:ok so this is just a concept in my head at the moment but has anybody shortened a 109 chassis before. i have always wanted a 90 defender but they are a bit scarce so what are some of the advantages and disadvantages of shortening a longer chassis.
ex army 109's are still around so should be no probs getting a donor vehicle to start with

Seems like a bit of a flawed concept. Stage 1's still have leafsprings, drums, series 3 interior and narrow axles. Surely you'd find it much easier just to purchase an 88" series 3?

Why not buy my 110 flatdeck for 6k and cut 10 to 20 inches out of the middle ,its on lpg also so that solves the tank issue .Comes with heaps of spares
nick

probably the cheapest option if it's got wof and reg.
not sure about grafting a defender style body onto a range or disco chassis. the cert process could be interesting

Yes has rego and wof and gas cert no problem I just need to take in for checks
nick

noexitroad wrote:probably the cheapest option if it's got wof and reg.
not sure about grafting a defender style body onto a range or disco chassis. the cert process could be interesting

Not too much of a problem but it would pay to talk to the certifier, I just got caught out on Nobbers surf... even tho the only difference between the solid axle and IFS chassis is the front suspsension mounts because we replaced the chassis they classed it as a scratch built... I was lucky that I've delt with the certifier previously so he didn't have any concerns on the qaulity of the work... he could have asked us to remove the body to check the chassis mods oh and its almost three times the cost for cert being a scratchbuilt

thanks. that was the sort of advice i was looking for. 3x the price being in the $1500 - $2000 area? i have been told around $500 for an engine upgrade of steering mod etc??

$1200 to $1800 for a scratchbuilt... $450 to $620 for a cert depends on each certifier the prices arn't fixed dont be afraid to tell them you are shopping round

There's a 110 cut down to 90 in the CLROC. Owner's often said he wishes it was 100. Bit more faffing around chopping up bodywork and so on rather than just swapping for SWB parts though.

hi there i sold my swb stage 1 v8 .bit of a bone shaker,imo would go for range rover classic or disco chassis with series body .make a defender out of it.

that is the plan. i'm a tightarse so will have to wait for the right deal to come along. there is a bit of info on the net about it but i am thinking strictly for off road so not a priority, just a project in the future

so i had a senior moment and bought a p76 motor last week, a bit premature for a start as i haven't actually got anything to put it in yet.
has anybody had a play with these things in a landy?. a quick google search and i found andic has mated one to an lt95 gearbox and put it in a classic rangy. that would be fun to drive up the maratoto i am thinking.
what sort of carby would go well on this motor for 4wding??

talk to marty (nakimud),
he was knows his stuff for these things