1980 Land Rover Series 3 88" Resto-Mod

Ingrid is a Massachusetts, Nantucket local. She is at the Rad Rovers classic Land Rover restoration shop here in Sarasota, Florida to get a ground-up, frame-off, chassis sand-blasted and powder-coated, full restoration.

The owner lives on Nantucket during the summer months and wants to hit all the beaches down that sandy spit all the way to Coatue Point and Brant Point Lighthouse to enjoy sunsets and campfires. Now as we all know, many trucks get stuck in that soft sand.

Rad Rovers is going to trick out Ingrid with everything you would want to save yourself whether you are alone or with friends. I’m counting on her to be the good Samaritan and help out everyone in need, so if you should see her, wave her down and swap phone numbers just in case.

• Gray body
• Tan soft top / rag top
• Red tire rims with 245/75/16 mud tires and 30mm spacers

If you’re going out to Coatue Point for sunsets, I think it is a given you will be returning in the dark. Seems to happen every day like that… I still haven’t figured out why.

• Headlights: High-quality Red Halo LED waterproof units — exceptional light all around
• Rear floods: LED white flood lamps mounted all around the back, facing any direction you need for evening festivities
• Fog lights: LED amber fog lights on the front bumper — because Nantucket’s famous fog appears just as the sun drops
• Interior: LED strip lights all around the interior on a dimmer switch, in red to protect night vision

The 88" Land Rover has a bed that is… petite. We all know item number one to bring upon leaving the domicile is a spare tire. Now make that spare tire a great big fat knobby off-road tire and say bye-bye to any storage space in the bed. Rad Rovers has developed a spare tire mount for the tailgate! It has no moving parts to break. It’s fixed and rigid. The big ol’ tire now sits outside the truck, hanging off the tailgate, and is also much more accessible should you need it. Plus, the weight of it aids in rear axle traction off road.

Land Rover also put the tire on the hood. We at Rad Rovers don’t like that at all. The hood just wasn’t made strong enough for that and caves in the framework, permanently distorting and warping that once lovely piece of craftsmanship.

And don’t get me started on what you have to do to access it: You must clamber on up there, stand on the hood and fenders, dent the heck out of them, plus also adding your body weight to the already too-heavy tire, wrenching away on the mounting bracket, then back-breakingly lift that giant tire up and somehow hold it, turn 180° in place and what… throw it off like a shot put? Mmmmm, no thanks. Plus you are in a precarious position anyway, up high and with bad footing, and your truck isn’t going to be anywhere near level, let alone safe to walk all over.

Do what we do. Just stand behind your truck like a normal person / sane person, and use a Rad Rovers spare tire mount. Plus, who wants to lift a tire every time you need to look at your engine?!

As I think everyone also knows, Nantucket is a relatively small island with a vivid whaling history. Its rustic landscape, salty sea air, and beautiful beaches is part of what makes it so attractive. But cars however do not enjoy it so much and rust easily, fancy that. We know how to combat that. We will sand blast and powder coat the chassis, body, axle housings, wheels… just about any and all steel parts to have superb longevity for maximum life expectancy so that the sand you DO want to enjoy, won’t be a sinister, alluring little devil of mischievous decay.

Well Rad Rover fans and Land Rover fanatics… I think three pages of build notes on a Land Rover we haven’t even touched a wrench to yet is quite enough. It’s time to put our money where our mouth is and get to work! Take care, and keep your eyes peeled for Ingrid on Nantucket! Cheers!