80 in the hangar finally

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milemarker60

milemarker60

Joined
Apr 20, 2012
Threads
23
Messages
406
Location
Overland Park, KS
Aright kids, y'all have welcomed my son and I into your club with open arms even though we built Mitch a P38 Range Rover so I figured I better invest in something to keep us in good standing. Just picked up a Locked 1997 LX450 w/123K miles in stock form. Intentions are to work fast and furious so I can bring it along to SMORR with Mitch's Rangie. Not sure which will be on the trailer for the trip down and hopefully neither will require it on the way home.

So I'm formulating my build plan and will stay somewhat mild as it will not be a dedicated trail rig. I figure the list will be growing but I should be able to get this stuff done prior to SMORR. I would welcome any feedback and by all means if you have any off-road kit sitting around in your garage we may want let me know. Would rather buy local than order if possible.

OME 2.5" Lift thru SLEE with caster correction bushings
Winch Bumper (open for suggestions)
Rear Bumper with Tire Carrier at a minimum (open for suggestions)
Sliders - ditch running boards and flaps
CDL Switch Addition/Mod
Tuff Duck or Wetokole Front Seat Covers (opinions?)
Change All Fluids and Grease Up
CB or Ham
315/75/16 Duratracs (We put these on Mitch's P38 and have been very impressed but not married to them)
Wheels with lower backspace/offest (favorites?) want to push them out a bit and leery of spacers

Like I said above, this is my have-to-do at a minimum list for SMORR. If I'm missing something that can also be accomplished in a short time frame Please Let Me Know.

Thanks,
Dave
816 - Eight Six Three - 8600

image.webp


Made quite a few changes to Mitch's rig since the last time out too. Big thanks to Kelly for the roof Rack (we shortened and sectioned an old Garvin he had and machined some mounts). Went up another 2", Hidden Winch, bobbed the front bumper, 33" Duratracs, TF Beadlocks (opted to not install with the rings since it's his daily driver), fab'd and welded on some sliders/tree bars, lights and light bar, diff armor, magnaflow, shovel/jack, etc. Learned a lot last year on our first outing with you guys and tried to rectify some of its shortcomings.

P38.webp
 
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Wow! Quite the list. Let's start with the only rule of the forum:

1. if we don't see a picture of the LX, it does not exist. (smurf unicorn rule)
 
CB or HAM, i would go with HAM. The locals all carry the little baofeng handheld units and there cheap.

Duratracs or other, for the same price you might check out the tires I just purchased, Kuhmo Venture MT. Quite a bit more aggresive then the duratrac which i have on my wifes vehicle.

Winch bumper, well i already PM'd you on the AOE. I did have a nice ARB for sale, guy down in OK paid me for it but I haven't heard from him since then. If he's not going to get it then it may be up for sale again.
 
Nice welcome. I saw the p38 earlier this week and thought I bet that's his looks great. We'll outfitted
 
I would do caster plates and keep OEM bushings
 
cjmoon said:
I would do caster plates and keep OEM bushings
Click to expand...

I would go this route too. I had to burn out my old bushings with a torch and use a hacksaw to cut out the metal. Then you have the hassle of pressing the new ones in just right. Plates would have been a lot simpler and quicker.

I have the Duratracs and love them for a mostly daily driver (relatively quiet, good in snow, and hook up well aired down). I have put 20,000 miles on them and they are hardly worn down at all. I am curious to here Half K's feedback on the tires he just went too for a DD use. I like the looks of them and the tread looks like it would do mud better but curious what the road noise is like.

Either way, nice purchase!
 
Well that's definitely some welcomed advice. Those brackets will be way easier to install. I've been a fan of a little too much castor when heights and diameters are increased. Looks like with 2.5" OME lift I may net +3 to +5 deg which would be fantastic. Sounds like a lot but in the lifted Rover world that's only a dream. We're lucky to net -2 deg with a 3" lift.

Keep the advice coming. Ordered the lift thru Toytec today as they had a 5% off coupon code and it netted me $100 over slee. Also ordered Tuff Duck covers for the front seats and took "half k's" advice and pulled the trigger on the Kuhmo MT's for this build. Having mounted up on Level 8 Guardians which I've had before on a Sequoia I built couple years back. Guy who fab's the P38 sliders has started work for a set for the 80 as well. Not letting the grass grow on this one.

What's everyone's switch of choice for the CDL mod? OEM Hazzard or aftermarket?
 
Opinions on swapping to 4.88s at this time? Read thru the forums and it's a pretty divided community. Not going any larger than 35's and want to retain adequate highway performance. I'm going to have it apart so figured I might rather swap now but want some feedback from the local tribe if it's really necessary or worth the expense.

Thx, Dave
 
4.88s would definitely help with those tires. If you decide to do it, I have the contact guy that does many of the setups. I am looking for a low mileage set of stock 4.11s, so I could pull mine and ship them out for the swap. Then when they come in you can pull the old and put these in. Be a big help for me, so let me know.
 
Bumpers, I really like Luke's work for the rear. I think there are at least 3 in town now. For front, Slee short bus is my favorite.
 
Rover's come a long way since Tuttle, looks great! And NICE find on a locked low mileage LX!
 
If your not going turbo, super, or motor swap, definitely get the 4.88's. Highway performance suffers greatly when you jump to the 315's. Also if you, or somebody else around here @2fpower is setting up gears I could be very interested. I would like to put 4.88's in my 97.
 
@2fpower put me in contact with Ken Francisco (gearinstalls.com) and we had a good conversation. $300 per pumpkin and about $300 ship there and back plus you supply the gears and install kit (prefers solid collars). I'm going to pop the diffs and swap @2fpower for his loosey-goosey ones and take them over to my buddies at Accurate Performance first. He's not done an 80 but wants to take a look at them and is sourcing the torque/lash/build specs now. I've sent him quite a few German and unique diffs over the years...ones that no one else will touch...if he says he can do it then I'll be the local guinea pig for him. He charges $70hr and expects 3-4 per diff so pretty much in line with Ken and no shipping and local support. Still have to provide the Nitro Gear Kits and solid collars.
 
Shipping seems high for the light weight of these pumpkins. @FZJ80 in KC can likely set you up much cheaper.
 
Shipping may be a bit cheaper, that was simply a wag based on the Rear weighing 90 lbs and the front at 80 lbs. Regardless...it won't fit in a "flat rate" box :) I'll report back on whether or not Accurate will take on the job and how it plays out.
 
milemarker60 said:
Shipping may be a bit cheaper, that was simply a wag based on the Rear weighing 90 lbs and the front at 80 lbs. Regardless...it won't fit in a "flat rate" box :) I'll report back on whether or not Accurate will take on the job and how it plays out.
Click to expand...

If he does I would be interested in your total out of pocket cost for the swap. Are you buying a full 4.88 install kit ?
 
If Accurate takes on the job and good results, there may be more than a few of us getting in line....
 
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