Knight Rider

Originally Published: September 2010 Words: Tim Gibson Pictures: Steve Taylor

With the bonnet up, the design of the frame at the front of the vehicle is apparent. The original Range Rover chassis is still underneath it, but overall Steve has taken a semi-spaceframe approach rather than just building a simple cage

The innovative Sliding Hawse, as sold by David Bowyer, is here used in conjunction with a Type R Milemarker on the front of the hybrid. The hawse enables the co-driver to control where the rope loads on to the drum, ensuring that maximum pulling power is achieved whenever possible. The decision to go for a hydraulic winch at the front is characteristic of Steve’s approach to the vehicle: ‘The Type R conversion gives the Milemarker as much speed as an 8274,’ he remarks, ‘but there’s less chance of it failing or overheating under heavy use. I’m a big fan of hydraulic winches, especially now the pulling speed issues have been sorted’

Hydraulic pipework for the front Milemarker is clearly seen here, as is the unit’s proximity to the front of the engine. Note the heat shield installed to try and prevent this from causing problems

This 6mm steel plate was made up to hold the pump for the hydraulic winch, which is direct-driven from the crankshaft as Steve didn’t want to risk using belt drive in the mud and crud of challenge competitions. Sandwiched between the sump and engine block and braced to the cylinder heads with threaded adjusters, the plate is home to the pump itself and the dog clutch used to operate it. The second picture shows a mock-up used in situ while designing the finished plate

Here’s the dog box on the bench and, later, installed on the mounting plate

The extra weight of the steel plate made the engine sink on its original mountings. Hence a set of captive mounts, which Steve made up using radius arm bushes

Fully assembled, this is the direct drive unit which powers the hydraulic pump directly from the crankshaft

Gear levers and cables from a pushbike are used to shift the front winch from free-spool to pull mode. Steve used to run a bit of string from the pin across the bonnet, and his co-driver Terry would give him a yell when it was time to yank it and engage the winch gears. The new set-up was recommended by Jez at The House of Flying Spanners – Steve is the first to admit that it’s made life a lot easier for him and his winchman

Switches are kept neat and tidy by the panel you see here. Steve kept it as simple as possible by using mechanical gauges, for the very good reason that they’re not going to turn themselves into ballast when he dunks them in water

For the mid-mounted winch, Steve and Terry went for the 12,000lb Goldfish as they felt the 9500lb unit might be over-worked in the most extreme challenge situations. Its proximity to the driver’s seat is a real benefit, as it enables Steve to reach over and engage the gears when Terry needs him to. Lodar radio control prevents Terry from making countless trips to and from the car, and a series of horn signals between driver and navigator enable them to communicate with one another. ‘We can’t quite afford headsets,’ laughs Steve, ‘so we’ve filled an air horn with silicone in order that Terry can send a message to me without worrying the marshals!’

The mid-mounted Goldfish pays out through roller fairleads at the rear. Fabricated by Steve’s co-driver Terry, these are a two-drum design rather than the traditional four, meaning it’s possible to use a synthetic rope without any danger of it being damaged by pinching

Above the main rollers is a third, running on a horizontal axis, which allows the rope to be run up over the back of the vehicle for when stabilising it is the issue

Further options for routing the rear winch rope come from home-made guides on the hybrid’s body cappings. A snatch block mounted to the top of the rear roll hoop acts as a universal pivot point, too, meaning the rope can pull on to just about any anchor point aft of the cab

Given that we’re talking about a man who fabricated the winch pump tray we saw earlier, it won’t shock you to learn that the ground anchor is a home-made affair. Mounted on the bonnet for ease of access, it’s a plough-style unit which digs in just fine. ‘We frequently run out of trees to use as winching points,’ Steve remarks. ‘So the ground anchor sees a lot of use!’

This might just be Steve’s favourite modification of all. It’s a simple Land Rover wing mirror, mounted so that the driver has perfect sight of the front winch drum and can see exactly how it’s loading. The mirror is mounted low to the bonnet, so that it doesn’t snag on overhanging branches. After all, you wouldn’t want to break it…

These views of the engine bay show the main expansion tank and valve block in the background. A grubby Rover V8, which Steve sourced second hand with just 20,000 miles on the clock, gives the hybrid plenty of shove. It’s fitted with reconditioned SU carbs, and although Steve will admit it’s probably not generating its full power output, it’s certainly capable of shredding a standard differential or two…

Here’s a nifty way of improving your V8’s performance in water. Steve has installed a small compressor which blows air into the distributor cap to pressurise it, meaning the evil wet stuff can’t get in in the first place. ‘I’ve had water rushing past the wings, and the engine’s still been running,’ he reports. ‘So I reckon it’s a fairly good way of waterproofing a V8 engine’

You’re unlikely to find any mail order specialists offering to lighten your wallet for the mods you see here, but they work like a charm nonetheless. Notice the strip of metal over the selector point for park mode on the auto shifter; this is so that Steve can shift into reverse more easily, simply by ramming the gear lever as high as it will go. ‘There are occasions when I need to get into reverse quickly,’ he says, ‘like when a hill climb has failed. This modification enables me to select the right gear without even thinking about it – it’s simple, but it’s very handy.’ Look carefully and you can also just about see a bungee cord holding the transfer lever in position to discourage the box from jumping out of low range

In an impressive attempt to deprive co-driver Terry of as much legroom as possible, Steve mounted the engine and gearbox coolers in the cab. These are located behind the shields you see here, with a heater motor at the bottom to draw air through them

Steve’s forward planning knows no bounds. Alongside the switch for the KAM diff-lock that’s fitted in the rear axle are blind switches for a complementary unit at the front. The only issue is that Steve is now wondering about replacing the front suspension with an independent set-up, which would change his plans somewhat. He reckons he’ll get more clearance with this configuration, because there won’t be a diff hanging down to get snagged on rocks and tree stumps. ‘It’s one option among many,’ he observes. ‘I need to make my mind up soon, though, because the diff would be no small investment’

Can you guess what the silencer is made out of? Not for Steve some expensive aluminium piece of kit. Instead, he’s butchered a veggie steamer from his wife Rosie’s kitchen, on the basis that it’s likely to need replacing fairly frequently. To the best of our knowledge, the heat shield isn’t made from bits of old kitchen sieve…

Tail lights come from a Polaris quad, while the waffle boards are standard off-road equipment. The high-lift jack is conveniently mounted just behind the cabin, although Steve claims only to have used it once in anger: ‘We tend to find that the winches and the diff-lock help us get out of trouble, so we don’t use the jack to lift us out of holes. It’s a must-have item for any serious off-roader, though’

The lowest point underneath the vehicle is a rock-solid skid plate in the shape of a ski. Combine this with the Qt diff guard on the front axle, and you’ve got a truck that can be caned through mud secure in the knowledge that if there’s a tree stump in there, the worst you’re going to get from it is a sore bottom…

See that little clear plastic tube sticking up from the gearbox bellhousing? It’s an observation window, allowing Steve to see if any water has made it past his efforts to seal it. Also visible here is one of the yellow plastic shrouds he’s fitted over the drag link and track rod, the idea being that all the time these aren’t rattling, he knows he hasn’t bent anything…

It’s not all that easy to spot here, but the rear tyres are slightly wider than the fronts. They’re 285s as opposed to 275s, the thinking being that this helps preserve steering lock – which is also aided by using more offset rims at the sharp end. All are Insa Turbo Special Tracks, which provide stacks of grip in the mud and announced their arrival when first fitted by wiping out the rear diff

Steve Knight’s Range Rover-based hybrid may be black, but that’s where the similarity with The Hoff’s Pontiac ends. Because whereas KITT was full of electrical wizardry, Steve’s car is all about keeping things as straightforward as possible…

Let’s make it clear from the start: Steve Knight doesn’t just like off-roaders, he adores them. He grew up with a father who worked for John Craddock, and he’s been driving Land Rovers pretty much since he could talk.

He’s also been building them in one way or another for almost as long. His first major project was a Series I rebuild, and his current vehicle has its genesis in a 1972 Range Rover that was purchased almost 20 years ago.

Like many genuine enthusiasts, Steve’s truck is a testament to the power of commonsense rather than a large chequebook, or a tendency to rely overly on technology. To put it another way, here is a 4x4 where the most reliable route has consistently been favoured over more high-tech alternatives. That hasn’t necessarily equated to a low budget, but it does mean the vehicle is as honest as a nun. On truth serum.

Take the innovative sliding front winch hawse as an obvious case in point. This item, which is sold by David Bowyer, provides a straightforward means of dealing with a perennial difficulty experienced by challenge specialists: namely, how to prevent your winch cable from bunching at one end of the drum while pulling sideways.

The hawse is basically two fairleads set over the top of one another. The bottom one is fixed, while the top one moves from side to side, and can be locked in a range of positions. This helps direct the winch rope so it is more evenly distributed on the drum, keeping pulling power at a maximum and providing a good deal of control over the winching direction. As that irritating meerkat from the TV ad might say: ‘Simples.’

Elsewhere on the car, simplicity reigns. The front winch is a hydraulic unit, because Steve believes this offers greater reliability in the context of a challenge event than an electric winch. The mid-mounted winch, which exits through roller fairleads at the rear, is electric. But you sense that Steve has only made this concession because he rarely feels the need to use it.

Part of the reason for Steve’s decision to eschew electrical modifications is his background as a plant engineer. He’s seen how simple components often perform more effectively in muddy conditions than their complex counterparts.

That’s not to say he’s unfamiliar with high-tech equipment, though. Steve built a robotic fish as part of his degree in mechatronics, so he definitely knows his way around a wiring loom.

All of which makes his decision to keep things relatively straightforward on the hybrid all the more interesting. Here is a man who could easily have opted for a host of complicated electrical components on his Land Rover, without ever over-reaching his abilities as a DIY mechanic. But Steve’s taken a conscious decision to go down another route – and the performance of his truck in the rough stuff speaks for itself.

So while this particular Knight Rider may not be able to speak, or drive itself, it’s still a pretty unusual vehicle. And in our reckoning, that black Pontiac is fairly dull by comparison…

DIY SEMI-SPACEFRAME, MILEMARKER TYPE R WINCH, DIY WINCH TRAY, KAM LOCKING DIFF, QT DIFF GUARD, DIY SKID PLATE, HYBRID