A Long Time Coming

Originally Published: May 2015 Words: Mike Trott Pictures: Mike Trott

When we took these pictures, David had a pair of Discovery axles waiting to go in place. These two are Defender units, which wear bolt-on diff guards and were installed using new bushes, but are standard in themselves

Defender axles mean Defender brakes and steering, the latter using a later PAS box to turn the wheels via heavy-duty links. Upstream of that, the collapsible column is mounted on a bracket David fabricated himself

Both propshafts are standard Discovery 1 fare, which of course suits the wheelbase perfectly

Not standard, but a standard sort of mod, +2” front springs and shocks from Terrafirma provide plenty of flex without taking things into the realms of the extreme (and therefore compromising reliability). The front radius arms are polybushed to help it all move as freely as possible

At the back, the vehicle is held up nicely by a set of Discovery 1 springs – no need for anything more exotic than that. Locating the axle is a standard A-frame, though on either side of it the hard work is done by a pair of double-cranked trailing links from Adrenalin 4x4

Think of this vehicle as a greatest hits album, but one on which each song is actually great: one of the very best tracks on the list is the trusty 300Tdi engine. No need for modifications, here – it’s as it was in the Disco it was taken from, and all the more reliable for it. The radiator is standard too, and lives in the traditional position up front. Air comes in to the engine through not one but two home-made snorkels, and exits via a similarly David-built exhaust using 2.5” bore pipe and a sports silencer

The 300Tdi was made to be bolted to an R380 gearbox. The one in David’s hybrid was, and is. Engine, box and transfer case are all standard, and they go together like curry goes with beer. As you can see here, there’s a custom crossmember below the transmission, but it’s all so standard that even the original handbrake is retained

During the golden age of hybrid building, it was mainly Range Rovers that laid down their lives to donate their chassis to the cause. These days, it could be almost anything – David used a 1996 Discovery, whose 100” wheelbase meant there was no need to cut it down. The Mk1 Disco normally stays very sound in the chassis department – it’s the body that falls to pieces in a brisk wind – so this was a good choice in every way. It was shot-blasted and primed before the build began – as well as being dressed with new bulkhead outriggers and a Defender-style rear crossmember

David made his own wings to leave plenty of space for tyres – he’d be able to fit a bigger size than these 265/75R16 Insa Turbo Special Tracks if he wanted to. Early Disco alloys in a white finish make for a unique touch which add still more to the sense of individuality

Unlike many hybrids, Monty wasn’t built with a full cage. He does have a set of tubular wings, though, which David made up himself before skinning them out to create a front end with more than a touch of the boy-racer style to them

Ahead of the Series III bulkhead and windscreen, which sit on custom outriggers, you’ll see a Series II ‘Razor Edge’ bonnet. Viewed from the side, that bulkhead is immediately in front of two doors which are themselves hybrids, using Series III bottoms with Wolf tops

David made his own rear quarter panels to provide plenty of clearance over the tyres. The rear tub and sides are located on mounts he fabricated himself, and the roof is a 109 unit with three feet cut out of it. The polished aluminium finish, by the way, is down to a combination of personal taste and because, in David’s words, ‘it makes it easier to get the scratches out!’

An interesting addition at the very back is a cat-flap style door top – ideal when you need to grab a rope or tool from the back – which David made himself partly because doing that saves you money. Also at the back is a nice home-made spare wheel carrier, and you’ll already have noticed the NAS-style rear lights

The boy racer feel continues inside, where a home-made 2mm ally dash and tranny tunnel contrast nicely with the three-spoke steering wheel, Discovery gear levers and Ford Focus seats. In the back, it’s just beautifully functional – neat, tidy and ready for anything

David Longmore started building cars in the 1980s. But it wasn’t until a long list of vehicles had passed through his hands that he started getting interested in 4x4s. Even when he took the plunge and set to work on a 100” hybrid Land Rover, though, it still took a lot longer than he expected before he was finally able to get behind the wheel…

We’ve featured hundreds of Land Rovers over the years, showcasing some of the tidiest and most extreme builds from around the country and in some cases beyond. There’s been a few hybrids among that lot, all of them by definition unique. But when it comes to one-offs, it may be that we’ve just found the full ‘Monty’ of the green oval world.

Why the capital letter? Monty is this Land Rover’s name. And why not? Elsewhere in this issue of TOR you can read about a man with a Jeep called Buttercup, so let’s not judge…

Hybrids are rare enough, especially today, so the fact that this 100” thing of beauty has just recently been finished marks it out as being extra special. The man behind it is David Longmore, and he’s no stranger to Land Rovers – or indeed just about anything with an internal combustion engine.

David started with the spanners back in the 1980s, when his toys included back a Ford 100E Anglia with a 5.7-litre V8 from a Mustang. ‘All good stuff,’ he smiles.

Next came the boats – still a passion today, which Monty comes in useful for when David wants to tow the family speedboat anywhere. And then came the inevitable two-wheeled affair…

‘I got into motorbikes, owning a Suzuki 600 Bandit and also building a couple along the way with help from my uncle,’ David recalls. ‘I built a Honda 400 and a BSA 650 Thunderbolt in the old cafe racer style – this was some seven years ago now.

‘But a devastating thing happened. One Sunday morning, my uncle Terry was killed on his R1. And from that moment on, I’ve never ridden a bike.’

It was a while after this tragic watershed in David’s life that one of his friends floated the idea of Land Rovers into his head. He’d been looking for something else to get into, and so the love of Landies began.

Travelling up to Bolton, David invested in a Series III, which was as ‘rotten as a pear.’ Not for much longer. Off came the panels, which were shot-blasted then reassembled on a galvanised frame from Richards Chassis. And next thing he knew, he had a leafer that was too nice to off-road.

How do you remedy that? Build another truck, obviously. ‘I had my eye on a Series IIA V8 that had been in the village for around three years, never moving off the drive,’ says David. ‘So I knocked on the guy’s door and offered to buy it. We towed it home and another build began – though not so intense this time, as my intention was to go mudding.’

The Series IIA did indeed go mudding. But unsurprisingly, David soon needed a different vehicle in order to keep up with him, and all the green laning and playdays he was getting along to with Staffs 4x4. Which is why, in July 2012, Project Monty commenced.

‘I came up with the idea of building a 100-inch off-roader,’ says David. ‘It seems to be the one that everyone wants, but it’s just out of reach.’

There’s a reason for that, he found out: ‘It’s right what most people say, if you estimate a time for a build then you should treble it and add some!’

Now, part of the reason why this hybrid is so unique is that it uses so many different parts from different vehicles. It’s not just a Defender on a Range Rover chassis, say. There is no rulebook – but if there was, this truck would have left it in the dirt long ago.

‘I set out a basic shopping list, which would consist of the chassis, axles, engine and gearbox. The following month, I purchased a chassis, axles and V5 from a fellow club member, Andy Guest. It’s not until you have three big rusty objects on your drive that you start to think “was this a good idea or not?”’

After Monty’s particulars came back from the shot-blasters, the newly painted axles went on with new bushes and some temporary wheels before David found his early Discovery alloys – which he bought off Andy too.

The next task was to mount the front bulkhead. Having already cut off the redundant outriggers, David proceeded to make his own out of 3x3” box section, which he cut and tapered at one end with tube eyes for welding in the mounting bolts.

‘Mounting the front doors, that bit was easy – just 16 bolts. But the rear tub followed, and that took a lot of setting out – rear crossmember, front crossmember, then bolting it all up.’

To fit the new rear crossmember, David had to take the rear end off the chassis so that the Defender tub would match up properly. Even after all that, he’s keen to point out that Monty still remains a 100-inch Landy from wheel to wheel.

You can start to appreciate why these hybrids take so long to build, and why many people start their dream project but never see it through to the finish. This wasn’t going to be David…

‘Next was the tube front end. I bought 50mm x 2mm seamless tubing with the bends in as close to the correct position as possible, then had a bracket made out of 8mm plated steel which was laser cut to the profile of the original wing and bulkhead mounting pattern. This enabled me to weld the top tube in place so as to match the lines of the truck.’

One of the final stages involved fitting the roof – a difficult task which is like trying to fit the last piece of a jigsaw made from bits that all came out of different boxes. David had to juggle the Defender tub and sides, along with his Series III windscreen – the solution in the end was to buy a roof from a 109 and cut it down to fit. ‘I drilled the rear stop panel and cat flap mount panel from the back of the roof and chopped about three feet off the back, then re-drilled it and popped the rivet back in place.’

Beneath the roof, Monty was given a drop-down rear door with a cat flap style top half. This would have been a bit pricey to buy in, he found, so it became another item he made himself by bonding together a top bracket made from 50mm x 2mm flat steel and some smoked Perspex that he cut to shape.

The wiring loom was a collection of old bits, made from 7-core trailer wire and the remainder of what was left from the bulkhead and previous projects. Then David nipped on his own exhaust and, after 18 long months of blood, sweat and flying tools, he was ready to turn the key and give Monty its first taste of life.

‘All the engine, gearbox, propshafts, radiators and hoses are as standard as on a Disco 1,’ he explains, ‘making it easier to find parts if needs be.’ Very wise.

It’s a gruelling business, hybrid building – you can certainly see why it all but died out when 90s started getting cheap enough that normal people could afford them. If you want a 100” Land Rover, though, this is still the only way to go – but however much work it is, David and Monty demonstrate that by keeping things relatively simple you can get there in the end.

A Long Time Coming

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