SERIES III.....
SERIES III.....
"Eore", the 1974 Series was purchased by Henry in California back in the mid 1990's and has seen action with him in North, and South America. The Series is a surprisingly good travel companion. It is not very well suited to Interstate travel, but once the road turns to dirt their is nothing quite like it. Like any Land Rover it is built tough on a proper ladder chassis, is extremely simple to work on and maintain, and is reliable as any other modern vehicle on the trail. Coming from California the truck was in good physical shape, but the drive-trail was tired (aren't they all...) and needed some updating. This truck never ceases to amaze me the places that it has been. It has traveled more than most people, and doesn't look any worse for wear.
Click HERE to spend a day in the life of Eore.....
Modifying a Series Land Rover can be quite a challenge. Being an older vehicle there are not many after-market parts available to them so some of the modifications have to be made, which can be both satisfying and frustrating. Eore is designed to be both light (easily transportable) and inconspicuous.
Up front a Warn 8000lbs winch with a Master-Pull synthetic winch line is mounted to a custom winch plate. An Optima Deep Cycle battery provides the power and a quick disconnect, turns off power to the winch when not in use. You can see under the truck here is a Rovers North differential guard, and Old Man Emu suspension system. The springs are Rocky Mountain Parabolics which provide a lot more articulation and a much smoother ride both on road and off. You can also see the Forever Forover Stainless steel front "breakfast" with the late Series IIA grille. (Note the broken snorkel tube from the last trip down south)
Underneath the doors are BCB off-road rock sliders made from Galvanized steel, and behind them are the twin Stainless steel fuel tanks by Forever Forover. A switch inside mounted on the seat boxes controls the twin fuel tanks and the senders for the fuel gauge. Under the hood is the Painless Performance "water-proof" fuse panel which powers various accessories throughout the truck.
Here you can see the Hella work light mounted on the rear cross-member and the Military-style Pintle hitch mounted on a custom plate that tows the 416 CDN trailer. Under the frame you can see the Stainless NRP exhaust from Rovers North and the back of the rear Parabolic springs. On the right rear side mounts a high-lift jack, and on the left side are the brackets for the Wilson CB antenna. Below left is the new snorkel set-up to replace the broken factory mount. Henry had a Stainless tube shaped and welded up and installed a Centri-Precleaner on the top. This set-up turned out really well, and is far more stout than the factory snorkel.
Inside the cab is a GPS III+ mounted over the drivers head, and a Cobra CB for communication. Henry also devised an "Interior roof-rack" so that he could take advantage of the high roof and wasted space about the windows. This rack is used for light items such as sleeping bags and clothing. It is made from steel and mounts to the existing rain gutters from inside the truck. The negates the need for a heavy roof-rack and makes for far more secure storage when traveling. Also you can see the VDO tach, and VDO vacuum gauge installed inside the dash. In the bed of the truck Henry had a custom aluminum box made that bolts to the floor between the fenders and is lockable storage for off-road gear, spare parts, tools, and the air compressor. (He hasn't cleaned the truck from his trip to Mexico yet.)
