Timothy “Timber” Manhart, is the roast master and CEO of Catahoula Coffee Company in California’s Bay Area. He’s also a diehard Land Rover enthusiast who has rebuilt a 1967 Land Rover Series 109 Station Wagon by incorporating parts both new and old to create a vehicle perfectly suited to his needs.
Timber caught the Land Rover bug years ago, as a former owner of both a 1973 Series III 88 and a 1995 Defender D90. Circumstances led Timber to sell the vehicles, but he was hooked, as readers of this blog can surely relate. Years later Mr. Manhart found himself the owner of his current vehicle, a 1967 Land Rover Series 109 Station Wagon that was purchased from a couple that had owned the vehicle for 43 years.
Anyone who has driven a classic Defender or Series vehicle is aware of their shortcomings on the road. Given that this vehicle would being rebuilt as a daily driver, Timothy set to replace the six cylinder engine with a 2002 GM Vortec 5.3L engine, good for 330 horsepower. With plenty of “giddy up” the next step was to add the finishing touches to ensure that this Rover was ready for highway speeds. New power steering, power brakes, automatic transmission and new four-point link coil-over suspension were added for supreme drivability.
Rebuilding classic Land Rovers is a popular hobby, and we’re seeing that it has become increasing popular to address some of the Series and Defender shortcomings (particularly drivability) by introducing modern-day parts (like engine, brakes, suspension, etc.,). Regardless of your priorities, we always love to see classic vehicles being shown some TLC.
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