Defender 110 Body Swap

[RPMOFFROAD]

I have owned several rovers from a 64' Series II, to a 1998 Disco and have not been pleased with the power or ride or anything else with the vehicles. Sorry if I offend anyone but I am looking to do something that I do not think anyone has ever done and was wondering if there was any interest. What I am looking to do is purchase a newer 110 body from the UK or any where in the US and put the body onto a 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 chassis. We currently race the Dodge Ram's in the Baja 1000 and know what type of quality that they are built with. I would like to do the swap and keep the Cummins engine and install a KORE Race suspension under the chassis. What I am needing help with is finding the 110 body. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Adz]

It's funny you should mention that... I've been considering doing something similar - but bearing in mind how much better off-road the Defender is than the Ram I'm aiming to mate the cummins ( fabulous engine!) to a Land Rover R380 gearbox and LT230 transfer box in a 90" defender.

I've been chatting to another forum member on here about feasibility of the project and he very kindly measured his cummins in his own Ram for - and - found this link to the Dodge Ram site featuring a cummins going into a Series III - a highly modded series III albeit.

http://www.turbodieselregister.com/f...ummins-cr.html

I'd seriously consider the off-road merits of a 90" or 110" chassis from 1984 mated to a cummins and a later R380 gearbox before making a Defender bodykit for your Ram - the bells and whistles like ABS and airbags etc can easily be added to an early Defender simply by buying the bits from a later Defender and bolting them on - almost nothing has changed enough between '84 and 2006/7 that would stop you from doing it. Biggest drawback to this scheme would be having to wait until 2009 before you can legally import a 'donor' vehicle.

Hope that helps,

[Adz]

Just thought of something that might speed this up a tad... a Disco 1 is essentially the same under the skin as a Defender or an early RRC, complete with 100" chassis and you can legally buy them in the USA. Why not import a recon/rebuilt/new chassis from somewhere like http://www.richardschassis.co.uk - a galve one would be your best bet - buy a shot disco 1 in the USA as a donor and swap the running gear over. Swap the engine from the Ram into the new chassis and then add the Defender bulkhead and panels from a 2007 car? Essentially you're replacing the Disco1 chassis with a 'custom' chassis and changing the bodywork and engine... never know... might work Would probably keep you busy until 2009 anyways

[RPMOFFROAD]

Thanks for the advise. I am very pleased with the cummins 600 series engine and drivetrain. I am not looking for just an offroading vehicle but a tough DD that I could take to the dunes or go play in the mud if I like. I have a 98 Disco body and frame but I am looking at getting rid of it. I think it would be fairly easy to do the body swap and I want to keep everything from the dodge, except the body. Thanks

[Adz]

http://www.paddockspares.com/sp/cate...ights_etc.html

This should give you an idea of the purchase costs for new panels in the UK... expensive way to buy a Land Rover if you ask me and they'll not ship items of thats size. A better bet would be to buy an entire 110 in the UK and either ship it stateside with no intention of trying to register it for road use or have someone in the UK remove the body, package and ship it to you - then sell the remainder in the UK. Obviously, this isn't going to be exactly a 'cheap' way to do it either.

Sadly I don't have the space available at the moment (no driveway, garage or land where I'm living) to be able to help - might be able to do something in a few months as I'm moving up North. How imminent a project is this?

Cheers,

[RPMOFFROAD]

We have a large shop in TN but this is a project that is behind a rock crawler. What I would like to do is purchase the dodge chassis with engine/ drivetrain and purchase the 110 body and start slowly. The only question is can I register this vehicle legally as a kit car or something like that?

Thanks

[Adz]

No idea about registration in the USA, but over here it's the chassis that maketh the car. If I were to put a 1970's series body on a 1995 RRC chassis over here, it would be registered as a 1995 RRC for purposes of emissions etc - even though it would 'look' nothing like a Rangie.

With a bit of luck someone who knows the registration criteria in the US will be along shortly

[RPMOFFROAD]

I talked to a gentleman this morning from Montana and he wasnt positive about getting it titled being legal. The only problem I see is if i am driving the vehicle and get pulled over then the cops are gonna say this doesnt look like a Dodge Ram. I think I might be able to title it as a Dodge Ram but maybe add to it that its a kit vehicle. I just want to have a durable, dependable daily driver and I think the Ram platform and the 110 body would be a sweet ride.