Norwegian enthusiast creates the car
of his dreams from a 1987 One Ten
Take a good look at the Defender on this
page. It is quite probably the best Tdi in the world. A Land Rover to Tdi for,
if you'll excuse the pun. But it hasn't always been this way. This isn't a
low-mileage, cosseted example that's been tucked up in bed every night by its
one careful owner. Oh no. Just six months ago, this vehicle was a Norwegian
farmer's workhorse: a 1987 One Ten with over 400,000 kilometers (250,000 miles)
on the clock. It could have been left to rust in peace by a lonely fjord, but
instead it was snapped up by a man with a dream - a dream to drive across
Scandinavia, Europe and quite a lot of Asia.
Norwegian
enthusiast creates the car of his dreams from a 1987 One Ten
That man was Sven Saeboe. It was his
lifelong ambition to drive to Nepal from his home in Stavanger, Norway. It was
a real Boy's Own adventure from a man whose working life is an adventure in
itself Sven, you see, is a helicopter pilot, who earns his living ferrying men
and supplies to gale-lashed oil platforms in the hostile North Sea. With that
much adrenalin-inducing action on tap on a daily basis, he could be forgiven
for collecting stamps on his days off. But not Sven. A six-month round trip to
the foothills of the Himalayas is his idea of the perfect relaxing holiday.
And so, two years ago, the planning
began...
'At first I thought of doing the trip on a
motorcycle,' says Sven, 44. 'But that would mean I had make regular stops for
fuel and food. I decided that a Land Rover would be better, so then I worked
out how to make it as comfortable and reliable as possible...' For reliability,
Sven chose the legendary Land Rover 300Tdi turbo diesel. And for comfort he
elected to place it in a long wheelbase Defender, fitted out with levels of
luxury and practicality never seen before.
Although
Land Rovers are very popular in the rugged mountain terrain of Norway, there
are few specialists catering for the enthusiasts' market
Although Sven had never owned a Land Rover
before, he knew exactly what he wanted. A year of meticulous planning ensued,
in which he scoured the internet, and every issue of LRM, to ascertain what was
possible and what was available. The final shopping list was formidable. He had
already purchased the Land Rover - the aforementioned 1987 One Ten. 'It was
tired but trustworthy,' says Sven. 'It was the ideal base vehicle for a project
like this.' But now came the trickier part: turning his dream car into reality.
Although Land Rovers are very popular in
the rugged mountain terrain of Norway, there are few specialists catering for
the enthusiasts' market. Very quickly, Sven realized that it would be easier to
get the job done in the UK and, after a flying visit to Britain to visit the
leading aftermarket experts, he settled upon Nene Overland, in Cambridge shire.
'I met the Nene team, saw the vehicles they
were creating and knew they were the people to build my Defender,' he says. He
returned to Peterborough in August and entrusted his battered station wagon,
and a very long list of jobs, to Nene's overland preparation expert, Kevin
Mackman, who was to be project manager for the restoration.
It
could have been left to rust by a lonely fjord but instead was snapped up by a
man with a dream
'It was a huge job,' says Kevin. 'It needed
a new chassis and practically everybody panel needed replacing, apart from the
rear tub. And that was only the start of it...'
There isn't room in this issue of LRM to
list all the features of Sven's ideal over lander, but they include:
·
New galvanized chassis (Waxoyled);
·
New galvanized bulkhead;
·
Axles rebuild with ARB air lockers, front and
rear;
·
Rear brakes uprated with discs;
·
Stainless steel exhaust and brake hoses;
·
Two sets of alloy wheels (one set fitted with
all-terrain tires, the second with winter tires); snow chains;
·
Uprated and rebuilt 300Tdi engine;
·
Auto gearbox with P38 internals rebuilt and
modified by Ashcroft Transmissions;
·
Webasto pre-engine heater;
·
Uprated heater matrix (giving 15 per cent more
efficiency);
Built-in
gas cooker
·
Extensive soundproofing, including acoustic
carpets;
·
Leather trim and panels with personalized
diamond stitching;
·
Heated seats, front and rear, with waterproof covers;
·
Full-length cubby box between both rows offsets,
with lockable security compartments;
·
Reading lights for both rows of seats;
·
TV, sat-navy and reversing camera monitor built
into the center of the dashboard;
·
Roof console with sat-navy controls and battery
management system;
·
Eight-speaker Clarion sound system;
·
Roller drawer storage system in the back;
·
90-liter fridge;
Momo
steering wheel
·
Built-in twin compressor and air tank for
inflating tires and running the ARB lockers;
·
Gas cooker mounted inside the rear door;
·
Central locking and alarm;
·
Panoramic glass and tinted second-row windows);
·
Hannibal full-length roof rack with two-meter
family tent, side awning and folding table that can slid out;
·
Four Hella 1000 spot lamps;
·
Safar raised air intake;
·
Snow cover over front wing intake grille;
·
Steering guards;
Switches
·
Twin gel batteries;
·
Standard 80-liter fuel tank replaced with
120-liter stainless steel tank, plus 46-liter reserve wing tank (also
stainless);
·
Terra firma uprated springs and shock absorbers
with remote reservoirs;
·
Poly bushes all round;
·
Air conditioning;
·
Marine-grade rubber-coated (non-slip) wing tops;
·
Heated front screen;
·
Hotshot heated window washer system;
·
36-liter water tank in nearside rear wing;
·
Heat exchanger and pump for shower system;
·
Tubular side steps;
·
Momo steering wheel;
·
Respray in Sumatra Black.
