Packing Larry

The arrival of the container did not occur without a hitch. The company called me at work to say the photo of the house I provided didn't match what the driver was looking at...go figure, he was in the wrong suburb.
It got better, he was meant to be in an 'end loader' but decided to bring a side loader instead...needless to say, he could not drop it ion the driveway as planned.

Fortunately, my neighbours were away for the weekend, and their foot path looked perfect! I assured the shipping company I held all appropriate permits for them to just dump it on the footpath...as long as they picked it up before the council inspectors start work on Monday! ... even if they do put a ticket on it, I'll be sure to read it in great detail....when I get to Africa.

Larry demanded attention right up to the very end. I finally got rid of the last concerning noise...just before he went into the box ( the exhaust flange was vibrating on the chassi-rail). The Roof rack had to come off to fit into the container.

No one I know has tied a car into a shipping container before, fingers crossed we got it right and will see Larry safe in Capetown (that's with a 'C' not a 'K', just in case the shipping company uses the same guy).

"I guess it's OK"

Dave & Tanya

Our friends have already complained there are no picture of us on the site, so here we are! This is Tanya making friends at Tiger Temple, south of Bangers, Thailand. (I thought the tiger was stoned).

..and this is me, falling in love with another hopeless machine. I think this is in northern Cambodia...Tanya said it was Rambutan...but that's a fruit.

Our Route

Well the plan is not to have too many plans when it comes to the route. I have put together a rough outline but people tell us that things change quickly in Africa. Last count the plan is 22 ish countries with a little bit of zig zagging to Dave's horror to ensure I am never too far from water or animals or preferrably both

Click to enlarge map

Meet Larry

In the beginning there was Larry...Larry is a Series 2A long wheel base Landover. He came to us in the usual way that all old landies find new love. A friend of a friend knew of an old bus that was rotting away in a shed. We needed a car for Africa, and Larry need some attention….. And so the journey began.

Larry was in an un-loved state, but he had some serious work done on him prior to be being laid up in a shed. He had a fresh new Holden 202 motor, and some nice steel work done on the bull bar and rear tray. After a little work he sailed through road worthy and was out on the road. We fitted a winch and put some decent tyres on him…and hit the tracks.

It soon became apparent that more work was needed, and virtually every oil seal was replaced…which is pretty normal for a Landy. He was running great and we took him for his first ‘big off road’ run on the ‘freshwater track’ Rainbow Beach, Queensland.

 Two things became apparent:

1. the fuel economy was $*ck%@
2. We broke a front axel!

We decided to stick with the old bus and repaired the axels, and did everything we could to reign in Larry’s outrageous appetite for fuel. We also started the fit out for Africa.

Larry is seen here in phase one of the development. He is filled with an old ‘Milko’ box on the back and the running gear has been fairly well sorted. I took him on a five odd day trip to the ‘granite belt’ to see how he faired. Whilst all went well, it was clear that the fuel consumption would prove to be a HUGE problem if Larry was ever going to make it across Africa.

I turned my mind to ebay to see what I could find to solve our problems…..and there it was, a 200TDI and LT77 gear box that needed a car! The deal was struck, and a freshly rebuilt motor arrived!

To anyone who knows any thing about Landover’s already knows the problems that lay ahead of me. The short version is that we said goodbye to the Holden motor and after three months of swearing and long nights, Larry hit the roads in his new guise!


The set up is as follows:

• Engine: 200tdi, with Donaldson induction.
• Gearbox: lt77
• Diffs: 3.5 Phase 1 Series III, with custom prop shafts.
• Brakes: Boosted Phase 1 Series III

There are of course some other non factory options included in this model. We fitted a second fuel tank, giving a range of around 1000km. There is a built in compressor, 10t winch, HF and UHF radios. A nice awning and roof top tent, and dual spares on the back. We have a 60l water system that includes a UV sterilizer, fridge, etc, etc, etc.


Landover aficionados would notice the radiator has come fully forward. I had to give up the original grill, and the new intercooler and radiator sit fully forward on a new cross member, so I fitted a V8 radiator support bracket and a defender grill.

No expense was spared in making the cabin a drivers paradise. With a budget of zero, the cabin is fitted with (from E-bay) Garmin GPS, backed by a compass from a dingy. HF (Barret) and UHF (Phillips ..not the 25 watt one, as they are illegal!). I made up an armoured security box for the centre consol…and good luck to anyone who tries to open it. It is surprisingly quite in the cabin….except for the whistle of the turbo…which I like…and Tanya hates.

..and my final photo just to show all those who said it could not be done, a 2tdi in a series 2A.