Will Hoffman

I’ve bought a 1979 3-door Range Rover Classic that me and my friend Sharan will remake into a overland/safari/photography vehicle. Sharan will be brains behind the operation. In addition to being a good, honest guy, he runs Just Relaxsignh Safaris (I’ll build a new website for him). He has a lot of experience in the automotive and safari industry, he converted 4 Land Rover 110s to the same engine, converted my 90 to a 2.7 intercooled turbo and updated another Range Rover recently. He also was fleet manager for of 85 safari vehicles (Sunworld Safaris) and has been fleet manager for trucking companies here in kenya.

I’ll be hiring out the Land Rover 90 for self drive safari’s more on that later…
The Rangie has been owned by one owner who it appears didn’t take it off road and wasn’t in a major accident so the chassis and body are in good shape. The engine, a V8 gas guzzler which is based on a, 1961 Buick design, will be replaced by an efficient Nissan Diesel 3.2 liter intercooled turbo engine. We’ll also upgrade the 4 speed gear box (transmission) and transfer case to a 5 speed. All shocks and springs are worn out so they will be replaced with high performance ones that will add 1 inch clearance. Sharan’s uncle will make custom bumpers, bull bars, expedition roof rack and hatch. The tires tipical kenya style, all 5 are a different make and size! We’re thinking of Cooper ST for on road and off road performance. We’ll also add some extra lighting and give her a new paint job.

The next post will be about choosing colors.