Lazarus WOLF XD

[Mondo]

Hi guys and gals,

New to this Forum and this is my first Post.
I stumbled across the URL via the Land Rover Monthly Magazine.

My project is a Defender Wolf XD 110 FFR, ex MOD.
I bought this in a state of repair (obviously, as the MOD don't sell running XDs)
The vehicle has quite a history, it was stationed in Germany then hastily painted beige and shipped off to Iraq.
While it was serving in the Gulf, it hit an AP (Anti Personel) mine with the front right wheel resulting in it being quite badly damaged. It did roll.
The tinwork was destroyed and the chassis collected some damage too, but nothing too serious.
The vehicle seemed viable to repair as it only had 2800 kilometres on the clock and the chassis was nice and straight.
I paid a specialist to collect and rebuild the vehicle and this is still under construction but should be rolling and ready for the road in a few weeks.
The restoration process has been quite prolongued due to the painful process of finding Wolf XD parts, they do exist, but they come at a premium.

I have had all the FFR fittings removed and have opted for Tangiers Orange as the colour of choice.
I have also opted for it to carry two spares, one on either side of the canopy
A 9000 Lbs 24V Superwinch has been fitted too.
I retained the NATO spec claw towhook but I may fit a ball type civvie version to haul the motorcycle trailer.

The vehcile is in it's early stage of preparation for a trans Africa trip. I intend on driving it from Cairo to Cape Town in a few years, hence the "You've been Tango'ed" colour choice.

I've submitted a few pics of what the Wolf looked like when I bought her. I don't have too many photos of the restoration process due to the restoration being done quite some distance from where I work.

[lowecolinuk]

Wow, what a project , how do you get to purchase these vehicles?
Please keep us updated on the build as it goes along.
have you done the Cairo-cape before?
regards

[Mondo]

Originally Posted by lowecolinuk

Wow, what a project, how do you get to purchase these vehicles?

They used be sold by companies like Marcus Glenn in Lincolnshire.
Unfortunately the M.O.D. are not releasing any more XDs due to the current Gulf campaign, there is a shortage of spares, so the M.O.D. keep them to scavenge any parts they can.
I was quite lucky, I got mine in about April this year, but even in the state it was, it certainly didn't come cheap at all.

Originally Posted by lowecolinuk

Please keep us updated on the build as it goes along.
have you done the Cairo-cape before?
regards

Rest assured, I will submit pictures as I take them. I should be taking "Lazarus" for its first test drive in the week ahead and the camera will be with me.

No, I havent done Cairo to Cape before. It's something I always knew I would do one fine day, now that I am in the process of building a vehicle capable of undertaking a venture of this nature, the dream becomes a reality.
My target date is circa ealry 2009, when my son is old enough to do this with me.

[130CC]

For a vehicle that drove over a mine I would say it not in a bad shape at all.
Did the engine recieve any damage? or was most of the force taken buy the wheel well and floor section?
Good luck with the restoration.
Adam

[Mondo]

Originally Posted by 130CC

For a vehicle that drove over a mine I would say it not in a bad shape at all.
Did the engine recieve any damage? or was most of the force taken buy the wheel well and floor section?

As the photo shows, the main damage was to the wheel itslef.
The front right fender and brake master cylinder were badly damaged.
The outrigger was also trashed as was the floorpan. The brake caliper disintegrated, however the brake hose survived!

One thing I did fail to mention was the (cosmetic) damage to the chassis and (fatal damage [to the]) propshaft from the forklifts the Army use to handle scrap vehciles.

Originally Posted by 130CC

Good luck with the restoration.
Adam

Thanks

[worms]

What is the difference in Wolf that makes it difficult to get parts? Are the majority not shared with (or easily replaced by) parts from the same age of 110?

What are the spare wheel carriers mounted on to? I ask this because I once had an old 110 where a spare wheel carrier had been mounted in a similar position but on the inside of the county body. Although it served its purpose, dirt roads and pot-holed African tarmac meant that every judder was passed through the carrier to the body work and the weight of the wheel was loosening the whole body frame down that side. First thing I did was go back to using the rear-door and bonnet wheel carriers and then getting the frame tightened up. Yes the bonnet cracks with prolonged off-road use and the door hinges complain a bit, but I could live with these easier than the self-destructing body.

[Mondo]

The Wolf may look like a bog standard Defender, but there are many key differences, these are what made the MOD TUM so desirable.

2 Inches higher than a defender due to the suspension design
Heavy duty shocks all round, nose forward type stance
Chassis 8 times more rigid than civilian Defender
Propshaft protection between chassis and tub
Heavy duty rear bumper and front bumper
Standard steering guard
Fuel / water storage bays in front of rear wheels (110 TUM only)
FFR brackets on front fenders and on tub
Sealed headlights with breather pipes that run to the top of the windscreen
111BHP 300 TDi motor with no electronics except fuel pump solenoid: See below
this allows the Wolf XD to be started and run without batteries being fitted once you manually bypass open the fuel pump solenoid - hence EMP proof
Heavy duty, quick release radiator
Gearbox oil cooling system
80 Litre reinforced fuel tank
Winterised design
Triangular air intake boxes on both fenders
Reinforced front bulkhead, cab top, rails and sills
Built in roll cage and bespoke rear bulkhead
Salisbury rear axle and standard front axle, both have been reinforced, they are 6mm thick steel and feature uprated diffs:the same diffs that can be found in a NAS Range Rover 4.6 HSE V8
Recirculating ball-power steering configuation
Dual servo assisted disc brakes all round
Heavy duty 16 inch wheels - they are tough, as the landmine damaged wheels clearly demonstrates
24 Volt electrical system. FFR has a 24V generator too
Available in soft or hard top, mine is a hard top version

The spare wheels are bolted on to the internal rollbar and all Wolf XDs have dual side fittings, so the spare wheel can be fitted to the left (RHD variants) or right (LHD variants)

Not quite your average Defender. It's those key differences that make parts hard to source, they cannot be bought over the counter.

I have submitted some photos of military Wolf XDs that I was lucky enough to get up close and personal with at an air show.

[worms]

Wow, that's quite some spec! I see them every day but never had the courage to crawl under one for a look see!

Of course some of these specs are simply reverting to best practice from previous models before the slow dumbing down crept in (decent bumpers that you could jack up for example). Interesting that they have not replaced the fuel solenoid with a pull-out stop.

I would still worry about excessive rigidity between spare wheel and body and/or roll cage and body for the longer term.

For a while the wolf wheels were available cheaply on the open market, are they still around?

[whistler110]

You've got yourself an amazing project.

My dream is to get my hands on one of these but I'll have to wait as they are very hard to find in Canada (ie. impossible) and I doubt the local British training base will be selling them off any time soon.

The Wolf wheels are Defender 130 16/6.5 rims, and are still available.

Are you sure about the spec for the rear axle? My ex-mod 110 uses a rear Salisbury but I was under the impression that the Wolf's axles were upgraded rover items similar to the P38 axles.

Some of the body panels are also reinforced compared to a stock 110.

[stageonesimmo]

The axles are P38 items with the rear having loads of reinforcing welded on underneath......

Also, look under the black panel between the seats - is that an ECU I see? Well it should be 'cos they've still got to controll the EGR somehow......

[rodney]

Hi
I read you would like to drive from cairo to cape town .
I drove in 93 from Durban to Jerusalem with 109 most of the way alone.
The adventure of my life. There wasn't a bolt in the vehicle that I didn't open & close at list twice
and I am not exaggerating.How ever the key to success are spear parts - are they available in Africa ?
One day I will write a book, but until then I am happy to assist if needed.
all the best
Rodney

[Mondo]

Originally Posted by whistler110

You've got yourself an amazing project.

Thanks whistler110

Originally Posted by whistler110

Are you sure about the spec for the rear axle? My ex-mod 110 uses a rear Salisbury but I was under the impression that the Wolf's axles were upgraded rover items similar to the P38 axles.
Some of the body panels are also reinforced compared to a stock 110.

whilster110, you are quite right, the axles are P38 specification but with extra heavy duty casings, 6mm thick according to the specification.
The body panels are reinforced.

I am off to take some photos of the near complete XD tonight before we drop the hardtop over thr tub/rollbrar assembly.

I'll hopefully Post some updated pics over the weekend

[Mondo]

So far, so good
Rollbar is fitted. The wheels are "loaners" just to enable us to push it around the work area.
Next week the radiator and front fenders get fitted as well as a 24V heated windscreen.
More photos to follow soon

[Mondo]

Project Lazarus took a turn for the worst
The "specialist" who was doing the rebuild stopped working on it due to financial and personal problems
He came up with a million excuses not to finish it from awaiting parts to even faking health problems.
The vehicle then disapeared from his workshop and ended up being "stored" with another specialist who was holding it against money owed to him by the clown who I'd paid a small fortune to!
After much deliberation and threats of legal action, nothing came of it. My project was holed up and I feared the worst. If I had gone the legal route it would have cost me the equivalent to what I'd already believed I had lost. I couldn't risk it. I had written the entire project off. I was not happy at all.

In October 2005 the original specialist I dealt with called me and asked me if I was interested in exchanging my Wolf XD 110 for a Wolf XD 90 in mint condition. Needless to say I was far from convinced and took the entire proposal with a pinch of salt.
Much to my amazement some photos of the Wolf XD90 were mailed to me and at last there seemed to be some light at the end of the long, dark tunnel.
He had paid his debts and got my XD110 back, but it had been restored in military trim, it was shoddy and 90% complete but it resembled a Wolf XD 110

The negotiations went on and in May 2006 I took delivery of a very clean Wolf XD 90 softop! I was amazed. At last I got a Land Rover Wolf, it may be a 90, but it was immaculate. I was (and still am) thrilled with it.
What made it even more special was that there were only 811 Wolf 90's built and this was one of about 6 in private ownership.
It also came witht he full military records, M.O.D. release papers and photos of the rebuild process. This is a gem of a vehicle with a complete history



So, what ever became of my original Lazarus 110? well, I caught up with her this weekend for the first time in years.. I was amazed and stunned.
She's been painstakingly restored by her new owner and in WMK trim
The photos say it all:



One of two WMK trim Wolf XDs in civilian hands. The owner, David went to some great lengths to get the original issue parts needed to complete the rebuild. The mounted guns are de-activated genuine articles. The SA80 rifles mounted internally are high quality AirSoft replicas.

It seems as if my story had a happy ending, but it wasn't without the unfortunate incident of dealing with an individual who painted himself into a corner financially and almost cost me a vehicle I'd spent a small fortune on through his imcompetence.

The Wolf 90 I have is amazing, I do love it and I have no regrets exchanging the 110XD for it.

The 110XD has undergone a metamorphis to what has to be one ofthe finest examples of military Land Rover restorations I have ever come across.

[01001010]

Wow, I'm glad to hear that yuo are happy with your new Wolf! Thank you for keeping us updated. It is greatly appreciated!

[roverandom]

Good to see everything worked out in the end, nice Rovers. On a side note, (having served in the Army) It is always a source of amazement to me that civilians spend vast amounts of time and effort to return MOD Rovers to exact military spec while serving soldiers will do almost anything to "jerry rig" a military veh with a few of the home comforts and features of a civilian spec Rover! Funny eh? Mondo, still planing the Africa trip?