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Please be aware that ECR is now a Defender repair and modification shop only.
We no longer work on Range Rovers, Discos or Series Rovers.
These pages are from work we did in the past and left up for your enjoyment.
1975 101 Forward Control, GS (General Service) 12 volt, LHD
AA yellow paint, custom safari cage and more
Continued:
This area on a 101 is usually reserved for the spare tire. In our case the new Swamper SSR tires were too big for this location, so the rear swing away tire carrier was made. In this space we will be housing a lot of the sound system equipment for the Rover. As you can see we have fabricated an alloy box structure to match the battery box that is mounts on the other side of the Rover. This new box will house everything from the XM radio equipment, to the amplifier, CD changer and more. Once the details are complete and the parts painted AA Yellow it will look like an original part of the 101.
On the last page you saw these speaker boxes that we fabricated in their raw form. Here you can see they have been prep'd and painted and the speakers and cross overs have been installed. Obvious there are no speaker locations on the cargo area of a 101 Forward Control, but we made these units to blend in nicely, and still allow all the functions of the 101 drop sides, rear entry grab handles and more. Its attention to detail and making everything work together that separates ECR from any other shop.
Here you can see the alloy box seen in the image at the top of the page. It has now been painted and filled with stereo equipment. The amplifier, a cross over, the XM receiver as well as the input selector are all mounted in this box that looks like it is part of a stock 101, but a 101 never had this type of equipment so we need to get it all in the Rover, and make it look good.
In the front of the 101 all the additions and systems are now in place. The Hella 4000 lights are wired up and create daylight in the night, the Warn 12,000 winch has been spooled up, tested and it ready to pull other vehicles out of the sand. The doors are now back on and lined up with new seals and window tracks. We also added key door locks and window locks to help keep the honest folks out of the 101 when it is not in use.
Back inside the 101 the sound system continues to come together. The battery box now holds another speaker, as well as enough battery power to handle all the systems in the 101. This battery box panel was fabricated here at ECR and then painted to match, but made to look original to a 101 for that clean and finished look to the sound system install.
The cabin area of the 101 is also getting completed. The engine has been tuned and adjusted and the new high amp alternator is in place, so the engine cover and heater ducts have been put back on. The wiring has been inspected and re-worked to handle all of the new electronic add on's and the details of the interior are now coming together.
The electronic add on's for this 101 are numerous. This image shows the RH side of the dash. We have mounted a Garmin GPS system to the top of the dash for easy viewing and reach by the driver, and the unit also swivels so that the navigator can see the display. To the right of that you can see the XM radio control panel. This will give the 101 access to over 100 stations of commercial free music. We fabricated a dash extension piece to hold the XM display right where you need it for easy control and viewing. In the dash you can see the new Sony head unit that will control everything in the system. We fabricated a small panel around the head unit to get the view angle correct and mounted in what looks to be a factory location, even though a 101 never had an CD player.
On the LH side of the dash we installed a fully functioning iPod dock. This will give the owner access to all of his MP3's, played right out of the iPod directly through the 101's sound system. The iPod will also charge while in the dock and it is easy to install and remove when you enter and exit the vehicle. If you look back at older images of this project you will also notice that we removed the dash panel and painted it gloss black. The 29 years of faded paint just wasn't looking good on the dash of the 101, and as the owner will look at while driving it needed to be restored. You can also see in this images that we have added the period correct Rover switches for all of the Hella lights and other auxiliary systems.
The front speakers in the 101 are made into this trick panels that we fabricated for the corners of the footwells. The speakers are out of the way of your feet and will provided good sound for the driver and passenger. These panels are made from a heavy gauge alloy for long life, and to match the factory look of the 101. In this image you can also see that the small details of the 101 are complete. The fabric retainer that holds the door from swinging open to far has been installed, and instead of the factory olive drab unit, we had a set made in black nylon to last longer, and look better in the cabin.
The exterior of the newly fabricated box that holds the amplifier and other parts has now been installed. You can see its new face houses another speaker as well as the exposed area of the 10 disc CD changer for even more on board music storage. We also utilized a period correct Series III air intake in this box to allow for the hot air from the amplifier to escape the box.
The goal is to install updated system, but keep things looking like a factory pieces, and these panels do the trick nicely.
Inside this box are the twin Optima batteries that give power to the systems.
Speaking of power to the system, here you can see the sub woofer box that we fabricated and had Rhino-Lined to match the rear body of the 101. This ported box holds two 10" subs that will drive the bass for the 101's sound system.
This image shows an alloy box that we are fabricating to go under the LH side of the 101. The box will be made to look like the fuel tank that is on the RH side of the Rover, but this box will have a flip down door that will give access to a new on board air system from Oasis Air.
Here you can see the box taking shape and the Oasis Air system being installed. This air system is as fast as a shop air compressor and will be able to fill the tires on the 101 in a hurry without risk of wearing it out, like other small compressors. It can also be used to fill up anything that needs air, or even run air tools for repairs. Once the system is installed the box will be painted in Stain Black to match the chassis on the 101 and look like a factory addition.
Here you can see the 101 nearly ready for delivery. A few more additions are to be made and then some on road testing and the 101 will be ready to head to the Hamptons.
These images show the rear seating that is going into the 101. There are a total of 4 rear bench seats that are in the cargo area of the 101. Each has seat belts for 2 passengers making this one load carrying 101, but instead of military troops, it is all your friends. The Rover rear jump seats do not allow for this type of application, as they normally rest on the top of the body tub for back support in an 88 or 109. To install them we had to fabricate 3 braces per seat to make the backs strong enough to support the passengers. You can see the braces shown by the white arrows above.
Here you can see that all the seats are in place and we have installed seat belts (2 per seat) through out the rear area. This 101 can now be a rolling party where ever it goes.
When the rear seats are not in use you can store the seat bases in the up position to gain a little more storage room. We've also installed numerous tie down points into the rear body, so that surf boards or what have you can be easier secured to the floor so that the load does not fly around loose in the back of the 101.
The dash area is now complete with everything from the standard 101 controls, to a talking GPS system, iPod, XM radio, CD, MP3, on board 115volt power, Defender seats, inertia seat belts and more. You name it, this 101 had it added on.
This image shows the nearly completed on board air system for the Rover. The alloy box we built has been shaped and painted to match the fuel tank on the other side (we still need to fit the door to the box) and the Oasis air system has been installed inside.
This compressor will run air tools and easily be able to fill the 37" tires on the 101. Simply hook up the supplied air hose and flip the switch and you have compressed air, just like at the gas station. It can be used for many uses from pumping tires back up after off roading, to filling up kite-board kites.
Another small but useful upgrade is that we have installed Defender style rear view mirrors onto the 101. We needed to make some special brackets for this to happen, but once installed they give a nice look and a safer view out the back of the Rover.
Nearly ready and ready for road tests.
Here you can see the completed 101. After a few miles of road tests we will be getting to ready for delivery to the new owner in NY, where it will certainly stand out in the sea of common sport utilities. This Rover truly is a "One of a kind 101".
To make sure the 101 doesn't get stuck out on the sand, the owner sent us some recovery equipment that we have made secure locations for storage. Above you can see that we have made brackets and straps for the Pull-Pal (stored nicely in this soft, anti-rattle bag). The Pull-Pal stores easily, is secure and the jump seat above it is still fully functional. If the 101 is being used on the road the Pull-Pal clips out in seconds.
To make sure things "stay put" in the cargo area of the 101 we have added tie down points all over the cargo area. These can be used with straps or cargo nets to secure just about anything in the back of the 101. We also enclosed the seat base for the RF jump seat to make a nice secure storage area for recovery gear or what have you.
The face of the storage box slides up and reveals a good bit of storage. Inside we have put the customer's Warn winch recovery kit and there is room for a lot of other gear as well, from straps to recovery ropes.
Along with the added tie down points we have also installed an interior light system at the owner's request. The arrow points to the small marine LED lights we used throughout the rear cargo area of the 101. These units are small so they will not get in the way of gear storage and they give light onto the floor of the 101 for nighttime entry and exit of the cargo area. The also are mounted to the body, so that the soft top and the hoop set can be removed from the 101, but it will still have an interior light system, even with no top.
The interior lights come on when you open the front doors, or you can manually turn them on via a dash mounted switch. In the driver and passenger footwells we also installed some LED lighting, and on the top of the windscreen frame we installed a standard Rover interior light for map reading or finding that favorite CD.
An interior light system may sound like an odd upgrade, but a military 101 had no interior lighting at all.
Go here for a photo essay of the completed 101.
If you have Land Rover needs from a simple frame job on your Series IIA 88 to a wild, way out dream like this one for this 1975 101 Forward Control, contact ECR. We'll be happy to make your Rover dreams come true.