Building The Beast: Constructing my dream Land Rover (Part 1)

Building the Beast is a brand-new feature which follows the progress of 30-year-old Tom as he restores his dream classic Land Rover. We chart the ups and downs of the project, from Tom’s initial plan, all the way to the completed restoration. 

I’ve always enjoyed having a DIY project to work on that can occupy my mind – a decking here and there, the odd battery powered go kart that I would ride around as a teenager, a summerhouse that I completed over the course of a summer holiday between university years. I enjoy the planning, making something that is yours that you can get your hands on, that ultimately leaves me searching for my next project after one has finished.

Over the last 18 months, I’ve been working on my biggest project to date. Classic Land Rovers have drawn me to them for as long as I can remember and after spending years crawling through auto websites and online marketplaces for examples that I can obsess over, I decided to challenge myself and build my own Land Rover from scratch.

I will confess that before this project, I had no experience in building or working on cars, but I’ve always thought it best to learn to do practical things on the job. With no pressure on me to complete it in a given timeframe, I was able to take my time and learn as I go. I do have a degree in mechanical engineering, which benefitted me somewhat, a long list of previous projects that have involved working with wood, metal, wiring, and I have my grandad living nearby, a petrol head himself, with a wealth of experience working on cars in the past, who became equally as invested in the project as I was, but more on that later on!

The Plan

The plan for my Land Rover, AKA The Beast, was to rebuild from the ground up with several modifications. I love the classic look, but there are some things I wanted to add to make it mine and give it a modern twist, like a P38 power steering conversion, Wolf Wheels, Bluetooth stereo and a custom-built wooden dash to name a few. All finished in matt black with orange accents, my goal was to get something similar to the below CGI. 

Building the Garage

Every project needs a good home, so I turned to eBay to buy a sectional garage that someone was getting rid of… for £1. It was just over an hour away and was without a roof, but I managed to buy some 6m roof trusses from a builder working not far from where the garage was being stored in its broken-down form.

I hired a van, roped in my brothers, and over the course of two trips, spent the day loading up the concrete garage sections and roof trusses to get back home. A second day putting the garage together with the help of my engine crane and the structure was up – complete with PVC wave panels for a roof.

Project Car Delivery

With the garage built, I just needed to take delivery of my project car.

The 1967 Series came in at £1,100 plus a couple hundred for delivery, it could be best described as rough. All the wheel arches were cut and there was a good amount of rust, but it did include a working Discovery 200tdi in the rear tub and a series gearbox. As I progressed through the project, I managed to sell some body parts and any unwanted bits.

Next Blog: The project begins properly, with Tom taking apart the main body of the project car and stripping the panels ready for a new coat of paint.

Do you have experience restoring vehicles? What advice would you give to someone starting their first restoration project?