The Rover-Landers of BC

Was wondering if anyone knows of any importers of LR/ex MOD to canada. I have found the one place on quadra island but i was wondering if there are anymore or if anyone has imported one on thier own and could share some info of thier experience,prices and point me in the right direction. any help would be greately appreciated. Also i know there is a british military detachment in alberta, i was wondering if anyone has heard of possibly purchasing an ex MOD there
thanks alot
steve

Do a search of the board. There has been a number of post over the past year with good info about importing and recommendations of suppliers.

cheers, Dave

thanks dave, appreciate it. i am guessing it's just in the general topic section of the forum?

MOD

Presume you meant Thetis Island and not Quadra... though there was an MOD 110 for sale on Quadra not too long ago.

Ex MOD vehicles from CFB Suffield are let out through crown assets via auction at various times but there are usually a few MOD's for sale here and there.

Where are you located? What level of project are you looking for?
A google search works well. And this link is a good place to look too
www.landroverexchange.com

JD
Vic BC

Thanks JD, i have been searching google for local importers..well in Canada ones anyway and like i said in an earlier post there is the guy on thetis island and in your PM JD you said he was a good guy, has anyone else delt with rock island rover imports i also found pacific costum land rovers based in Van.. does anyone have any info/experience dealing with them?
Thanks for your help guys..sorry what can i say i am a newbie and wanna try to learn as much as i can

Hi Steve,
Welcome to the sometimes frustrating world of Landrover suppliers. In answer to your question, Dixon at Rock Island Rovers on Thetis Island is a solid guy who I feel very comfortable recommending.
Bill

Thanks bill. You are now the third person to have recomended them thus far. i have had i couple of pms with dave and he was saying the best deal is to go with a disco because they are just as capible and built on the same chasis as 90/110/range, which is an option i have not considered. but what i would like to know is if they where sold locally in a deisel, or would that have to be an import thing? also if anyone has a deisel disco what are the pros and cons
thanks
steve

Unfortunately for all of us Land Rover North America decided that diesels wouldn't sell in our market, so they were never offered here. We got all V8s and nearly all automatic transmissions, although there are a few 5 speeds floating around. So the only way to drive a diesel Disco is to either purchase one thats been imported, or put the diesel in yourself.

There are several in the club with diesel powered Discoveries and Range Rovers. I personally have a Range Rover 200 tdi project in the final stages of completion. Lets hear from some of you who are driving a diesel Disco or Rangie.

Dave, in our PM discussion you mentioned we got mostly auto trans. i am a manual trans fan myself, but my wife doesn't drive standard and for trail/off road use how do you find the auto tranny works, that is an open question to anyone by the way. do you think it is better to have manual vs auto? i personally could go either way but would like to get a few opions

here is the link to the shop in van for the deisel conversion http://www.disco-tech.ca/
on the site they mention it can be swapped into disco I or ranger rover classics, again here is my newbieness showing. what is a range rover classic and what is the more desirable what to go out of the two if i was to head that route?

Automatic vs manual transmission? I don't understand the question! WHY would you even consider an automatic for off-road? (For on-road for that matter.)

Mind you, I did run into a fellow once who thought an automatic worked well off-road. I guess he'd never driven a standard.

Autos work well in a lot of off road situations like rock crawling and mud... it is real hard to stall an auto in a climb or have it roll back on a steep restart from a stop.... requires less dexterity and coordination then the 3 peddles in a standard... but it is really each to there own... I have only owned standards in my 4x4's and driven very few autos off road and enjoy both...

Don

From what I understand, Disco-tech is not doing conversions anymore, if anything Land Rover. That's an old site. However Don at RoverTech has done a number so I would recommend you get in touch with him.

Automatic or Standard... kind of like one of those age-old questions... Mac or PC, VHS or Beta, Blue Ray or HDTV... theres always pros and cons to each and each has its own cheerleading squad.

I have a 1966 Series IIa with a standard transmission, and a 1999 Discovery II with an automatic transmission. I'm very comfortable with both. Both work well. both are very capable of heavy off-roading. If I had to choose between the two for best off-road capability I would have to admit that even with the automatic the Discovery is the more capable and a breeze to drive through any terrain. Really the only reasons the Series gets chosen is for its classic appeal and its ability to get banged up and not hurt the wallet too badly. I know that may sound like sacrilege to some, but the Discovery has convinced me over the past 4 years over and over as to its ability to take on the hard stuff and deliver you -- with poise -- to the end of your journey.

Just my opinion, though.

Merry Christmas, Dave

so dave you would recomend rover tech? has anyone had a conversion done by them? if so how is it working for you what was the approximate cost. well here is another question then for everyone, while having a couple PM exchanges with dave he said if i was thinking of going with a defender from rock islan for example it could cost upto 30 k, about 15 k or so for a basic defender 90 with a diesel. i would assume if i decided to go the disco and conversion route it would probably cost roughly that depending on the cost of the disco unit. so that being said what would be the better way to go, basic 90 defender or disco conversion, is that like dave was saying about the manual vs auto, it's like comparing mac to pc? would like to hear some opinions
thanks
merry christmas
steve

I have had work done at Rover Tech. I have also ridden in, and done a close eyeball of the 110 Don is selling. I would not hesitate for a second to recommend that shop to anyone.

Disco/Defender: you have to decide what your creature comfort levels need to be and as Dave reffered to - your bing, bang, dent and scratch tollerance. For myself I wanted NO electronics, easy repair access and a paint job I could touch up with a spray bomb. Add a little fuel ecconomy, cargo capacity and style into the mix and Voila: ex MOD 110 3 door. At least that was the theory. Beginning to work out now.

As for off roading in an auto trans... if you can put one in from a 1952 Dodge M211 2 1/2 ton 6x6 then you've got a good one otherwise I haven't driven an auto box off road worth considering.

JD

JD you brought up some good points. i aggree that basic and easy maitainence is a good thing i am kind of inclined to agree wiht you on your theory. i could live with out the excessive creature comforts, although nice to have. but all i would really want is a good heating/defrost system and maybe powerstearing. the rest i am not to conserned with. also you mentioned ding/dent/sctatch tollerance, i to aggree that i would rather have something i could bang out with a hamer or look at it and say"well there is more character now". so if does that mean the defenders are stronger bodys that are more resiliant to off roading bumps?
thanks
steve

Defender body probably weaker than Disco. Easier to dent. Perhaps easier to take appart and hammer out. Body parts from Series II and up quite often fit a Defender with or without a little modification. Disco's are cheaper. Disco's have the same or better cargo room as a 110. Disco is way more civilized. Rocky Mountain (parabolics) is currently doing a Disco diesel conversion. The second one they've done. And Dixon at Rock Island has a 300Tdi in his Disco. Are you good with car tools? Or do you need the support of a full time shop? Do you mind getting frustrated, greasy, cold and covered in spilt fuel? A LOT of gasoline can be purchased for the cost of a diesel engine.

JD

Yes, I recommend Don.

JD about covers it with his comments on Discos. He is bang-on when he says a lot of gasoline can be purchased for the price of a diesel conversion. I would buy a gas powered Disco and keep the idea of conversion in the back of your mind -- way back. watch what others do for awhile, get to know your truck, become a club member and come out with us on some runs. By that time you'll be at a level of comfort to decide whether conversion to diesel is worth the effort. I know on the two I've done so far its been a huge amount of cost and work (done myself) and I've yet to see the financial payback. I'm confident I will, especially on the Range Rover, as its a daily driver, but if I had to get a shop to do the same job it would be more than twice as much as I've spent, and while it could be rationalized, its hard to justify spending that kind of money just to drive a diesel rather than a gas truck.

(I'm quietly waiting on the sidelines to watch what Rocky Mountain does with it's Disco II conversion. These are harder to do than the Disco I due to the additional electronic monitoring of the engine and the dependence of several onboard computers on the main engine ECU putting out the proper signal for the devices to operate properly, but thats a conversation for another thread.)

cheers, Dave

When I converted my 109 to a TD in the 90's I calculated that it would take 4.5 years to pay off the engine at 12,000 miles a year. The TD really made a differance as it had more power than a 2 1/4 gas engine.

IMHO Conversion to Diesel is only partly related to fuel ecomomy. Economy numbers are a party trick to justify why you spent so much on the conversion. Like JD I prefer a diesel with little or no electronics. On my 200 tdi I have really only the electric solonoid fuel cut off to worry about. I drove back from southern Alberta with a non-charging alternator; try that with a V8 gas engine. For that matter try bump starting your automatic V8 with an automatic transmission. Your dependency on technology goes up exponentialy with late gas engines and automatic transmissions. That being said, newer gas powered Land-rovers prove themselves time and again on runs that we go on. Dave's experience is real and has clearly softened his opinion. Me, I prefer the clatter and grunt of a diesel as I amble along a forest road even though the lack of sound deadening is slowly making me deaf at highway speeds :(

JD, I think you're mistaken about the cargo capacity of a Disco versus a 110. According to their specs, the 110 has significantly greater interior cargo volume and weight capacity than the Disco I or II. I believe this is mainly due to the Disco's sleeker shape, shorter wheel base, and interior insulation and trim. That's the trade off for the luxury of a comfy cabin...

With regard to parts suppliers, I've dealt with Dixon at Rock Island as well and my experiences have always been positive. I highly recommend him!

Glad to be mistaken about something.... though when I was younger it was always Miss taken and turned down for a date.....

:)
JD