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heyitsmike
04-22-2014, 06:40 PM
I've been in the market for a stage one v8 for a while now... In my searching, a fc101 has kind of dropped into my lap this morning. I'm going to go look at it tomorrow. I know a little about them, but is there anything vehicle specific I should be looking for? What are the trouble areas?
Thanks,
-Mike

greenmeanie
04-23-2014, 12:46 PM
Off the top of my head:
1. Drive train
Front axle chrome. The Swivels are integral to the axle case so their condition becomes critical.
Front axle swivel pins. Rare as hens teeth so make sure there is no play indicating wear.
Prop shafts run at high angles so the UJs live a short life.
Tyres. 9.00X16 ain't cheap to replace. Pick up any extra wheels available as the 6 studs are not compatible with any other LR.
Check all the Bowden cables for the hand brake, TC and winch. They can be expensive to replace.
Ask about gearing. The original set up revs pretty hard. Popular mods are Fairey overdrives (The 101 tends to eat the LT95 specific variant so pay attention if fitted.), high ration transfer gear swap and diff R&P swaps.
Check the operation of the vaccuum switch for the diff lock. If not used they tend to start leaking. Check hte vaccuum lines to the diff lock actuator as they can run close to the exhaust and become brittle/melt.
Check the filter on the side of the gearbox for metal. The gearbox should have 20W50 oil. Make sure of this. Listen for any nasty clunks from he transfer case as the thrust washers on the intermediate shaft are a bit weak and can go. There is a nice kit to replace them with thrust bearings instead.

2. Brakes and hydraulics
It should be able to stop VERY well. Look on the internet for photos of the Aussies doing brake tests.
Brake servo. Its a Lucas Girling Type 50 and unique to the 101. There is a bloke in the UK doing rebuilds for a reasonable price now.
Brake MC. It is another piece unique to the 101. With some machining skills you can adapt a SIII 109 part.
Load bias valve for the brakes. If it ain't working then either the rear brakes are not working or they become very interesting when you hit the brakes hard lightly loaded.
The reservoirs for the hydraulics are made from plastic and crumble at the slightest hint of UV. OEM are expensive to replace and don't last so replace them with bean tins from Pegasus parts.

Steering
Steering column is unique. If filled with oil it tends to trap moisture in the bottom bearing which leads to failure (A little dangerous.). There is a mod to help with this if you can do some simple machining. Check for up and down play in the column.
Some of the ball joints are unique and while the RH version s cheap as chips the LH item is rediculous.
The steering relay is unique and expensive so check for play and recent oil.
The steering wheel is unique although a SIII item will fit.

Body
Chassis corrosion. It IS a Land Rover after all.
All outriggers as normal. As an exMOD truck it will have the undercoat on it which tends to crack and trap water behind it so plenty of poking around any damaged undercoat. Ask about the military service life of the truck. Goods ones served in the RAF regiment. OK ones served in the normal RA regiments. Ones to avoid were dropped out of planes by the Paras or driven in the salty sea by the Commandos.
Rear cross member is a complex fabrication and has enclosed box sections so perticular attention there. You also want to see behind the rear bumperettes as the rear cross memeber corodes where they meet.
On the body check the goal post that forms the support for the nose of the truck and mounts the doors. Check the door frames as the seals tend to trap water. Door tops as usual although you can get very nice replacements from Rocky Mountain. Also check in and around the battery box behind the passenger seat as this tends to corrode too.
The full compliment of tools on the nose is a nice thing to have.
You will have a big canvas. Usual things here with tears, wear etc. You can buy new from the UK from several suppliers.
Body panels are all unique, if flat. A full compliment is useful. Check the tailboard as if it has been stood/jumped on a lot it tends to pull rivets and starts to bow.
Seat belts are ****. They can be replaced with modern inertia reels if you can weld up a bracket.

Winch, does it even have a winch? This is worth good omney on a 101.
Make sure the clutch has been set correctly or damage may result.
Has it has the right cable diameter installed?
Check for cracking in the front fairlead mount which is Aluminium.
Check for warping in the chassis or other damage that suggests winch abuse.

Engine. It a 8.13:1 low comp Rover V8. It has the small pre 76 valves and tin head gaskets.
Total miles as the cam shaft is gone at 60K. The speedo is weak and has almost certainly been replaced at some point so do not trust the figure shown.
The oil filter head on the oil pump is unique to the 101. Make sure the oil pump is in good nick including the bypass valve which is often scored.
Check for cracks in the exhaust manifolds. Nothing else fits and aftermarket headers are almost impossible due to the proximity of the chassis rail on the LH side. They can be found 2nd hand but are not cheap.
It should have dual ZS175 carbs. Check the diaphragms, needles etc. If you have to pass emissions it is difficult unless everything isin top notch condition.
The heater valve (Thing that looks and in fact was bought from a plumbing shop) tends to break inside so check you can get hot air from the heater.

Fuel system.
Fuel tank. If it has not been replaced it will need to soon. The original alloy ones ALL leak eventually. The braze they used eats the alloy seams out. It is not a matter of if but merely when they leak. You can get very nice SS replacements from the 101 club in the UK at a price.
Fuel pump is internal in the tank. There is a replacement from NAPA as long as the pick up tubes still exist.
The plastic fuel lines can get brittle with age so worth replacing.

Electrics.
The mystery IR switch has a weak relay and just means everything will go dark permanently if played with. You need to wire round it if fitting halogens or things will get dark and smokey. Check for shorts as some circuits were not fused and can melt the harness. Make sure the diff lock light works.
If it is a 24V system it can be great if it is working. If not convert to 12V. If this has been done already then spend a lot of time looking at the quality of the work.

As an import I would also stress documents, documents, documents. You want the full import history of the truck.
Post photos or PM them for a more detailed review of the actual truck.

S'bout it.

heyitsmike
04-23-2014, 11:26 PM
Thanks for all the information... Lol that must have taken all day to write.

Here's a link to a bunch of pics. I figured a price tag of $3000 is well worth it here in the states, so I wound up buying it.
https://www.dropbox.com/sc/w8pbf0j5chusxmc/7RjP56epHu


The frame has lots of flaky undercoat, but the steel underneath Is all in great shape. There is a couple of small spots on the rear spring perches, but I have access to a welder and plenty of scrap stock, and I know I can put something together. The chrome on the swivels all seemed really good, the steering seemed fairly tight for a 40 year old army truck with manual steering. It seems like it had been gone through once before. Someone had installed an overdrive, and built a custom (frankly a little odd) hard top for it. Everything is there except for the little "accessories" like the shovel and pick axe and the manual crank. It has the pto side winch which all seems to be intact. I paid for it and am picking it up Saturday, where I'll be able to play around with it a bit more and dig into the problems with a spotlight. The motor has been sitting, but is free and not seized and was parked where it was under it's own power. The transmission shifter seemed pretty tight and not all sloppy like you'd expect in an old truck with lots of linkage joints.

I have access to fab and machining equipment, plus we've restored plenty of vehicles frame off including jeeps, fj land cruisers and even and old volvo c303. I'm sure whatever I can't find for sale or refurbished I can reverse engineer and make if need be. I figured for the price tag it was way too cool a ride to pass up :P

greenmeanie
04-24-2014, 11:47 AM
Nah, Just noting down a bit of experience.

From the piccies it looks like a good base vehicle if you lose the roof and the ironmongery on the front. About the only thing I see missing other than the obvious canvas hoops is the spare tyre mount that is usually just behind the driver's seat.

You have one of the much coveted steering wheel hub caps. Pull it off and look inside. There was often a personal message left there by a friendly, if bored, squaddy.

RoverDover
04-24-2014, 09:14 PM
It took me a long time to get rid of all the Squaddie grafitti in my Ex-Mod. never let a 19 year old play with a permanent marker and government vehicules!

heyitsmike
04-24-2014, 10:20 PM
Haha, thanks guys, I'll be sure to check for that.

Btw, I was wondering if the military 6 lug axles can have a Detroit or lock rite or similar locker installed? Watching them off-road, that seems to be their Achilles heel is the articulation and traction giving way

greenmeanie
04-25-2014, 01:15 AM
There is a Detroit locker that is built specially for the 101 due to the side gear spline count. With the limited market for them I don't know if they are made any more.

JEGS used to advertise them. I think I got mine from Bill at GBR.

It makes a world of difference even without anything in the front axle. Ultimately the truck is sprung to operate with a load in the back so it doesn't articulate well if you are running light. Once you have about 1/2 tonne in the back the suspension wakes up and it articulates as well as any series Rover. That's hardly world beating but it does put a lie to the popular misconception they don't articulate at all. The 101 was really desined to haul heavy anti social objects around the German mud. It will never be a rock crawler. Having said all that Haystees make a set of softer springs if you feel you have cash to spare.

Bar grips are the other big off road limitation. They do what they do but it is a very out of date design. There are now Chinese XZL clones on ebay which are a better bet if you want off road grip.

heyitsmike
04-26-2014, 09:53 PM
Finally got the truck home today. I had fun going through everything and figuring out all the little gizmos and doodads. Got the engine to turn over no problem at all, but for some reason its not getting spark. I have to dive in and look through the ignition system with the meter tomorrow. I even inflated the crappy tires to move it around, and its much taller than I originally anticipated. though I don't think they'll hold air very long as the rims need a good cleaning. Im starting my lookout for some decent 9.00x16 or 11.00x16 XZL's or XL's. I also found the canvas, but I'm missing the hoops/rigging for it. If anyone thinks they might have these, let me know :P

P.S. Have some updated pics!
https://www.dropbox.com/sc/o1zlsa9d84kttvv/ZLbinDX6m9

Boston
04-27-2014, 02:28 AM
Don't think any 101 Detroits cost any more. Worth asking around though. On hoops never seen any advertised. But contact Blanchard sand other mod suppliers.
You might get help from six stud

greenmeanie
04-27-2014, 10:49 AM
You could try this:
http://forums.roversnorth.com/showthread.php?13647-FC-101-axles

Its been some time but he's got everything you want for the axle.

There are now Chinese XZL clones available on ebay. I don't think they are quite the same construction as the originals but then they are also not the price of the Michelins either.

If you search on ebay you'll find these: Yellowsea YS20 Military Tire 255 100R16 9-00R16

Or there are the original bar grips for sale. Search the usual;ly military vehicle mags and you'll find them.

heyitsmike
04-28-2014, 08:27 PM
Well I found this, fairly reasonable I think
http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/m20ProductDisplayView?pageSize=10&resultCatEntryType=2&searchTerm=&catalogId=10002&langId=-1&productId=1036996&storeId=10001&sType=&pgGrp=search

Also, I think I might have someone who has some lightly used xl's which would be ideal I think. Anyone try putting 11.00 r16 on their 101 rims? Do they fit? I think it'd be a bit better to have the bigger tire. I believe there like a 38' comparable. Otherwise, I was even considering some tsl tires, but I like the tall skinny "pizza cutter" look

greenmeanie
04-29-2014, 12:58 AM
11.00R16 works. I have not experienced them but you may find the gearing with the larger dia tyres and your overdrive to be a bit too much for the engine but that is largely down to how strong the engine feels. 101s are notorious for eating the Fairey which won't be in its first youth so I'd be a wee bit ginger with it while you experiment.

Oh yeah. I remembered something that I should have mentioned in my first post. Check the oil lines from the oil pump to the oil cooler. They will be old and have a habit of failing. They also have a fairly funnky fitting so replacement with anything other than OEM tends to be a pain to chase down. You can pick up replacemnts on ebay in the UK.

heyitsmike
05-06-2014, 11:52 AM
Thanks I'll have to check the oil lines.

So these past few weekends I've tried chasing wires and digging through forums to try and find out why it's not getting spark. I don't know why the British liked to wire things strangely, even on a military vehicle. So after plenty of headaches, 4 different spare coils I had and finding the much questionable "lumination" ignition system, I decided to scrap the whole idea of messing with wire nests and my new HEI distributor is in the mail. I figure for $130, it's worth it to never have to go through the nest of wires again. Also for those of you who may also have this idea, the distributors for the "Buick 215 small block" I believe are the same for the 3.5, and cost about $500 less for the same one wire system.

I'll see where that can get me this weekend, hoping I can get the thing running :)

Also, I'm interested in finding the canvas hoops for this truck.

greenmeanie
05-06-2014, 03:12 PM
I have an HEI from a Buick 350 IIRC mounted. If it is a coil in cap large diameter jobbie you'll need to shave the corner of the head and install a low profile head bolt.

After a rather catastrophic short circuit I removed the entire system and replaced it with an entirely new system with 12 fuses mounted up in the battery box. In my case it was the little wire to the rear plate light that shorted and melted all the way back through the harness to the dash.

mearstrae
05-07-2014, 12:41 PM
I've had two different Buick HEI's, one was the short one and was a pain to fool with, the other has a longer shaft and dropped right in with no mods. On the short shaft one I had to replace the intake bolt with a flat head bolt, and do some clearance grinding to the very top of the water pump. However, Pertronix has a Rover dizzy all set up for these. All my Rovers have been V-8's so I've been playing with the different Buick Mods for a while .

'95 R.R.C. Lwb (Gone...)
'76 Series III Hybrid 109
'70 Rover 3500S

heyitsmike
05-08-2014, 09:34 PM
Haven't gotten my HEI in the mail yet. But as I still need some other parts, I'm still doing some shopping. I found some of those steel aftermarket brake and clutch reservoirs to replace my crusty rotted old ones.

I just have a question... The seller seems to have 2 different ones, one more expensive than the other. Is there any difference or can I get away with just getting 2 cheap ones?

Here's the 2

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/251445935248?nav=SEARCH

And

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/251445958949?nav=SEARCH

mearstrae
05-09-2014, 10:43 AM
They seem to be the same Spec, so go for the cheaper of the two and you'll be OK. Check some of the on-line Brit stores you may find an even better price.

'95 R.R.C. Lwb (Gone...)
'76 Series III Hybrid 109
'70 Rover 3500S

greenmeanie
05-10-2014, 06:51 AM
The two reservoirs are different to each other. One only supplies one of the brake circuits. The other supplies both a brake circuit and the clutch. It has extra fittings (one on the side and one in the base) and a baffle inside.

You need one of these
http://www.pegasusparts.co.uk/ourshop_90073/prod_1725050-595447-REP-Brake-and-Clutch-Fluid-Reservoir-101-FC-Metal.html

and one of these
http://www.pegasusparts.co.uk/ourshop_90073/prod_1725045-90577636-REP-Brake-Fluid-Reservoir-Series-3-and-101-Forward-Control-Metal.html

It is also a good idea to replace the short length of hose that goes from he hose barb to the brake pipe. As you will have inevitable spills working inside the cab DOT5 fluid is a good choice as it saves the paint from being stripped.

Here's a picture of the prototypes installed in my 101.
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb207/greenmeanie101/101%20overhaul%202011/101-reservoirs_zps01291223.jpg (http://s205.photobucket.com/user/greenmeanie101/media/101%20overhaul%202011/101-reservoirs_zps01291223.jpg.html)

Partsman
05-12-2014, 05:09 PM
Are we going to see this at Metal Dash this year? We had one there last year.

heyitsmike
05-13-2014, 01:59 PM
Lol, I don't think I've even heard of it. If I can get it on the road in time perhaps!

And update, motors good. Started right up on ether with new distributor. I did have to do some grinding to the bolt on the intake manifold though... But it's in and it turned right over.

heyitsmike
06-01-2014, 12:09 PM
UPDATE

Truck runs and I was driving it around yesterday. It did start to overheat a bit so I'm gonna flush the coolant and a couple other things. Started right up, no smoke or anything. One valve is sticking but I'm running carb cleaner through it.

One thing I did notice is that in the 20 minutes it was running, it managed to polish off almost an entire 5 gallons if fuel.... So I'm assuming it's running a bit rich. So I'm gonna have to do some adjusting if I can find the factory carb settings.

In all, very exciting. It's always a good thing to know you didn't buy complete junk XD

heyitsmike
06-10-2014, 10:47 AM
So I'm wondering, I've seen sun visors for the series rovers like this http://i.ebayimg.com/t/land-rover-series-2a-3-windscreen-peak-sun-visor-/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/z/1qMAAOxyV85Ry-qX/$(KGrHqRHJEMFG5(i)9dJBRy-q(Ygew~~60_35.JPG

I was wondering if the siii and the 101 windshields were close enough to be able to use one?
If not, making one is still an option

Boston
06-13-2014, 03:47 PM
S3 yes 101 no

heyitsmike
06-14-2014, 05:20 PM
So......
Bought some xml's


http://i.imgur.com/AjnRgo9.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/rspIy56.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/65r4vSd.jpg

greenmeanie
06-17-2014, 11:28 AM
Those look good and wide. I persume youare going with aftermarket rims then? I also hope you have good arm muscles if you ever plan on parallel parking. I'd also go through the steering box thoroughly as they were never the strongest and you'll be putting more load on everything.

Finally I have only ever had bar grips on my 101 so I am interested to see how you find she runs on the XMLs.

heyitsmike
07-08-2014, 08:45 PM
Well I've heard of some people putting the 11.00r16 on the standard rim, and this is the size equivilant for that's size. I'm gonna try it out and see how it goes. If all else fails, I can get my money back for the rubber.

Side note, for the seats. Are they model specific or are they the same as series seats? If not, I can probably get a pair of old jeep seats and make them fit, but I will need them.


Also, for some reason, when I run the engine, it burns a gratuitous amount of fuel. When I say gratuitous, I mean 5 gallons in a matter of 20 minutes at idle. I checked the oil to see if it was leaking into it, and there was no gas.

Someone put an aftermarket electric fuel pump on it, and I'm guessing it's because of a bad "in tank" fuel pump as it doesn't really do a good job at getting fuel to or through the filter. Right now I've been running it out of a 5 gallon gas can. I can't imagine it would be forcing that much fuel through the carbs, but I dunno at this point.
Thoughts?
Is this common?

Maybe I just have to go through and clean the carbs?

greenmeanie
07-09-2014, 11:58 AM
On the tyres the steering is pretty heavy with the original bar grips which have a comparatively small contact patch. It will only get heavier with bigger, wider tyres. The gearing will also be a bit too high for the original engine to push along in overdrive. Having said all that it's all about what works for you so I'm interested to hear how you find them. I have considered a set of the Yellow Sea XZL clones.

The OEM fuel pump is easy to overhaul if you still have the original pick up tubes and in tank mount. You can get a new pump at NAPA for $70 as it is quite generic. If you are feeding the carbs from a jerry how have you rigged the fuel return? The pump continually recirculates the fuel from the tank to the carbs so you might find your missing fuel in the tank. A stuck float would allow you to pump the fuel out through the carb but from experience the engine won't run that rich.

heyitsmike
07-09-2014, 01:30 PM
*facepalm*

Aparently I have never seen a recirculating fuel system like that before... So yeah. Problem solved. The missing fuel is back in the tank :P

I'll tinker with it this weekend and see if I can get it going from the tank. I may replace the original pump and do away with the electric one. As it is, I'm going to need to play around with electrical work, and that will be one less thing to worry about.

greenmeanie
07-10-2014, 03:49 PM
If it helps the replacement pump is NFPP60293 (http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx/Fuel-Pump-Electric-In-Tank-Type-OEM-Equivalent/_/R-NFPP60293_0274789745) from NAPA

You will still need the in tank mount for the pump but I presume that is still filling the hole in your tank.

heyitsmike
07-14-2014, 03:58 PM
Now she's running good on the original tank. But now it's overheating. It was doing the same thing the first time I got it running too. I changed the coolant in the radiator and it seemed to be running just under 85. (Where I believe it's supposed to be) I was thinking about doing a whole coolant flush and see if it changes anything. I know the water pump is a common thing on these motors, but like I said, it was working fine. So if it's not the coolant I'll start diagnosing wether or not the thermostat or pump are working properly

heyitsmike
07-21-2014, 10:31 PM
So I have a question....

I was told that there is only one place left that sells the Detroit for the 101 rear end.

On jegs, they have this...
http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/m20ProductDisplayView?pageSize=10&resultCatEntryTy pe=2&searchTerm=&catalogId=10002&langId=-1&productId=1036996&storeId=10001&sType=&pgGrp=sea rch

I'm not sure if that's the same one, but it's labeled for the "sailsbury 101 rear"

Anyone know if that's a compatible match? Or if it's something else entirely

greenmeanie
07-22-2014, 09:25 AM
The link does not work for me but you are looking for a 225SL-183

heyitsmike
07-22-2014, 05:10 PM
Huh....
It was there about a month ago, but It looks like maybe they're discontinued already lol

This is what I see when I click that link...


http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/07/23/egasutev.jpg

greenmeanie
07-23-2014, 12:27 AM
Well if you can still order it, it is the right part and they quote the correct spline count.

heyitsmike
08-10-2014, 06:06 PM
Okay... So apparently there the little plastic connector on the carb linkage that connects the 2 carbs decided to dry Rot and snap off. Looking it up, it seems like the linkage including the connectors are all metal. The one I'm looking at is just a threaded plastic connected that snapps on to the ball on the lever arm of the carb. I can't seem to find them online though. It seems like it may be a popular carburetor connector though... Can anyone corroborate? Maybe I'll just find one elsewhere

greenmeanie
08-11-2014, 01:10 AM
Mike,
You will need to try and find the entire link 610336. This has the two plastic joints and the threaded metal rod between. Oddly they don't seem that easy to find these days.

Fortunately the metal ball part of the joint simply screws on to the carb. You can removed. I believe you can get the metal version of the joint used on series trucks (531324 socket and 535168 ball) which allows you to disconnect the linkage easily for tuning. The alternate I used on my old 88 is to buy a set of metal throttle lever joints for a lawn mower from ACE. You might have to search for one of the larger Ace hardwares as the fastener section is not always the same. They cost about $1 a piece when i did that many moons ago.

heyitsmike
08-31-2014, 01:07 PM
Got some seats in! Much more legroom now. They're not perfect, but they're better than the mice-eaten ones I had in there. And they even match!

Also, for $free.99 I couldn't argue with the pricetag.

101231012410125

heyitsmike
09-22-2014, 12:14 PM
Thanks to greenmeanie for suggesting the Pegasus Parts "bean cans". They're much better quality than I was expecting of them and hopefully I'll be able to get them in this weekend!http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/09/22/a0898781cf1c0233b7a44e7931cae16d.jpg

heyitsmike
10-20-2014, 07:16 PM
Tires mounted! Look great, and not nearly as heavy to turn as I thought they'd be.

1025410255102561025710258

greenmeanie
10-24-2014, 12:49 AM
Chunky.

They look good. I'm interested to hear a report on how they drive.

heyitsmike
10-24-2014, 09:04 PM
Chunky.

They look good. I'm interested to hear a report on how they drive.

I've talked to a few people who run these tires and they say that they're not too terrible. We did have 13.5" tires on the Volvo though, which was manual steering and it really wasn't all that badhttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/10/24/68c3345f1fd87d10f04dfc81ddd136fc.jpg

johnny2rovers
11-25-2014, 09:43 AM
Are the tires 11r16? Michelins? Used, I'm assuming. Where did you find them?

heyitsmike
01-02-2015, 05:21 PM
They are a metric equivalent, michelin Xml, 325/85 r16. Just over 38" tall and 13.5" wide!

Look on eBay, you can get them. Also on line there's a guy that usually has brand new ones for like $200-400 a piece depending on condition. Try "csm army tires" or "Bigfoot military tires"

Last I checked, Bigfoot also had the 11.00 r16 xl and Xzl

heyitsmike
01-22-2015, 11:29 PM
Resto has been going slow ish... The winter hasn't been cooperating much. Good news is I have most of the hardware I need to really start putting it back together.

Here's a couple pics to hold you guys over 😁
1053810539

greenmeanie
02-10-2015, 03:33 PM
Mike,
A bit off topic but how do you find your Volvo as a vehicle to look after? I have a brother who is interested in a TGB 1314 for a camper build. I understand a 6x6vis more complex than the C303 but being in the same series they should have the same strengths and weaknesses. The things are rare as hens teeth in the UK so I am a bit concerned that he will invest in a rather cool hanger queen.

Oh, and the inevitable question. How do you feel it compares with the 101.

heyitsmike
03-03-2015, 07:39 PM
Sorry for the late reply man, the Volvo was a fun truck. Off road, the 101 won't touch the volvo. It has locking portals, in this case 3 of them. The b30 volvo motor is fairly common straight forward and easy to find parts for, while you hit the same snags as the 101 in finding driveline components. Things have changed now since we've owned it, forums are more popular and such.

It's a relatively bulletproof truck, top speed of about 50mph in military dressings, but probably around 70 for the "civilian" trucks. But you have the option to re gear it should you desire. The clearance to the axle is somewhere around 16" stock, and I think we've only had the thing properly stuck once, and mind you we wheel pretty heavy. I would classify it as more capable that a pinz, but lighter duty than a mog. It has around the same approach departure and tip angles as the 101, and like the 101 the panels and doors all come off depending on the model. They're also a little easier getting in and out of but not by much. Being a straight axle in the 101, it has a bit more load capacity I think. The 6x6 may have more parts, but off road the extra traction makes them even more unstoppable. They made a prototype 8x8 version, but I think they dismantled it for extra parts lol. They were designed for trudging around in the deep snow and mud of Northern Europe and did a great job of it!

If your friend has the choice, 12 volt is much easier to find compatible components for than the 24 volt models.

Shifting from low to high is interesting because everything is vacuum. It even has a feature where if you hit the breaks hard the vacuum assisted breaks activate the 4 wheel drive, or 6 in this case for better breaking and traction.

I have no complaints about the truck, and if he has the chance I'd say go for it :P

Here's some pics of our old one in action!
106391064010641

heyitsmike
03-03-2015, 08:30 PM
I also think it may be worth mentioning, the c303 has a Dakar title under its belt as well

greenmeanie
03-04-2015, 11:15 AM
Mike,
Thanks for the info and opinions. It makes for a good comparison. I suspect the hardest part will actually be finding one in the UK. I'm not entirely sure how you would deal with insurance etc. driving one back across Europe from Sweden without a UK registration but it would be a fun trip.

Regarding the portal axles how do they fair with long distance, high speed runs? Almost every older vehicle I have encountered with them from Mog 404s to Humvees seem to eventually run into issues with the portal boxes and speed. My brother lives in the Midlands of the UK so he'll be spending a lot of his time hauling down motorways just to get anywhere interesting to camp.

For a bit of a bit of 101 pedigree in the sand look up The World's Widest Beach film on youtube. They were not fast but they did it unsupported and for a little interest you get to see the Rubery Owen powered trailers in action which is the nearest thing they got to 6x6.

heyitsmike
03-04-2015, 06:40 PM
I briefly saw something like that, I remember they had little sun reflectors on the sand so to stave off myopia

The axles are pretty solid but there's a 6:1 reduction with the portal gears. The 6x6 I think was a little more at 7.14:1. Speed wasn't the name of the game with their production. It won't go very fast, but it'll go anywhere. I believe the "civilian gearing" only came in the 4x4 models but I'm not sure.

With a top speed of about 50mph, I wouldn't worry about the axles, even on long hauls. In the uk they may be a bit rare, but they are relatively easy to come by in the finger countries.

heyitsmike
09-15-2015, 10:06 PM
Updade!!!

FINALLY getting it registered... Had to do a bit of finicky paperwork and pull some favors, but it's happening. Just waiting on some parts from the 101 FCCR in the UK to finish her up and be road worthy. Hopefully will be on the road before the snow hits!

http://i.imgur.com/W5hJsX5h.jpg

I Leak Oil
10-09-2015, 07:08 AM
Damn that's cool man....

heyitsmike
12-13-2015, 03:47 AM
Been slow going. Finally putting the brakes and new brake lines, valves, etc in!
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/12/13/cd5dab013696ecf6f4392d094da1e32c.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/12/13/d22ccb4ed8656e6af002f5e99f2ec1e5.jpg