Freelander 1 Anyone on here?

This site contains affiliate links for which LandyZone may be compensated if you make a purchase.

tango90

Member
Posts
64
Location
Ireland
I was at the Billing off Road Show and saw this and was wondering if it might be anyone on here?
I would love to get some info on how it was done. I know it is on a RR/Disco chassis but how was it done without removing the bulkhead?

upload_2022-6-27_12-50-29.png
 
Itt's nothing like a D-Lander. A D-Lander is/was a fibreglass silhouette draped over a roll cage welded to a 100" chassis which made it somewhat like a tomcat/wildcat, typically they were built with aluminium floors and aluminium / fibreglass inner arches. However that is a complete freelander monocoque welded onto a disco/rrc ladder chassis and will be heavy AF. For all it's about 8ft high, it's got less ground clearance than a stock defender, and will have a similar roll centre to that of a double decker bus.

It's been made by sitting the freelander body atop the 100" chassis putting body mounts onto the chassis onto the FL floorpan. If you popped the bonet, standing on a step ladder, you'd see about 12" of clearance between the rocker cover and the bonnet line. If you were seriously contemplating building such a frankenlander, you'd be best to retain the disco/rrc floorpan, and join the FL body at the sills. In the following diagram Green is hippo, blue is disco, so there's blue disco chassis rails, on the left the freelander body has been perched atop the disco chassis as per the picture in the opening post, in the right the freelander body has been draped down low over the disco running gear, maybe even using disco sills / bodymounts shown in blue.

upload_2022-6-27_16-59-28.png
 
I was at the Billing off Road Show and saw this and was wondering if it might be anyone on here?
I would love to get some info on how it was done. I know it is on a RR/Disco chassis but how was it done without removing the bulkhead?

View attachment 268186
Not sure how this one is made. But shouldn’t be that difficult. Just heavy having 2 x chassis. And technically probably not road legal as it is one vehicle made out of two vehicles, ie a ringer.
 
Not sure how this one is made. But shouldn’t be that difficult. Just heavy having 2 x chassis. And technically probably not road legal as it is one vehicle made out of two vehicles, ie a ringer.
Which is why the D3/4 is so heavy, an enormously strong monocoque body, on a beefy ladder chassis!!
 
Not sure how this one is made. But shouldn’t be that difficult. Just heavy having 2 x chassis. And technically probably not road legal as it is one vehicle made out of two vehicles, ie a ringer.
I dont see why. It is just a re-body really.
My main interest is how the bulkhead appeared to be kept intact. The gear selector (auto) was very far forward, any of the previous attempts I had seen the engine was into the cab and the centre part of the dash had to be removed.
 
I dont see why. It is just a re-body really.
My main interest is how the bulkhead appeared to be kept intact. The gear selector (auto) was very far forward, any of the previous attempts I had seen the engine was into the cab and the centre part of the dash had to be removed.
Difficult to tell any specifics, as you can't see anything with the only picture.

Radically altered vehicle regs are quite clear. The above vehicle should have 2 chassis ID's as it has a monocoque chassis from a registered vehicle, bolted to another registered vehicle, i.e. a ringer....
 
Difficult to tell any specifics, as you can't see anything with the only picture.

Radically altered vehicle regs are quite clear. The above vehicle should have 2 chassis ID's as it has a monocoque chassis from a registered vehicle, bolted to another registered vehicle, i.e. a ringer....
Not exactly a "ringer" - its patently not trying to hide anything.

If the DVLC bureaucracy don't have a category for it to exactly fall into, then the nearest one would have to do.
 
Not exactly a "ringer" - its patently not trying to hide anything.

If the DVLC bureaucracy don't have a category for it to exactly fall into, then the nearest one would have to do.
Being blatant or trying to hide it would make any difference. It simply cannot legally exist as two vehicles. The same would be true is you took a used 90 chassis and put it under another. If you 'declare' this the answer will be you need to IVA it. This is no different, if you want a fuller answer. I'd suggest contacting the DVLA//VOSA et al.

At best the above should be on a Q plate. But as it stands would not be legally roadworthy....

It's very clear as saying 'new' or 'original'
https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-registration/radically-altered-vehicles

But a single vehicle cannot have two identifies.
Screenshot 2022-06-30 at 11.31.24 am.png
 
It's registered as a discovery, but isn't the hippo shorter? That would mean a cut down chassis.
I wonder what vin number shows in the windscreen? A hippo or disco vin?
 
The lengths some disco and rr owners go to to improve their vehicle always surprises me. Would have been easier and far betterer to change to a whole freelander instead.
 
Back
Top