In the beginning or shortly there after

I figured it was time for me to start this, the tale of a 'new' Rover.
I have owned my 1970 Land Rover Series IIa 88" for almost 17 years now.  It was an insurance write off when I got it having lost a battle against a guard rail.  I got it for a good price, but the front axle was bent and the frame was twisted beyond repair.  I pent about a year building my own frame from rectangular tubing, replacing broken bits, and basically building a daily driver.  This was in '98/99 while we were living on Oahu (thus AlohaRover).

This is the truck after one of our outings on North Range on central Oahu.

The 88 with it's stock 2.25l 4-cylinder engine was the perfect little island cruiser.  But shortly after returning to the mainland I grew dissatisfied with the engines performance.  Heading East on I-90, climbing up the mountain pass was just a bit scary, just barely able to maintain 25mph, getting passed by logging trucks, not a fun trip.  So in 2002 I placed a GMC 6.2 diesel engine in the truck.  Tons of performance, but also tons of noise.

On the Naches Trail in Washington

I am older now, obviously, and am just tired of having to wear ear plugs everywhere I go.  The kids don't like riding in the truck, and honestly no matter what mods I have made, it gets too hot on climbs.  So I have begun the process of replacing the engine and am going to do a complete rebuild, from the frame up and will use this blog to record my progress, or lack there of.