Breathing New Life Into a Rare Kalahari Edition Discovery II

Rebirth of a ‘02 Kalahari Edition Disco 2

Ron Harrington II has been off-roading since he was barely big enough to reach the pedals in his father’s old C10 pickup. This, as well as riding in his dad’s CJ5 and grandfather’s white topped, faded orange Bronco II, cultivated an interest in 4x4s at an early age. Four wheeling has been a major part of his life ever since.

As a matter of fact, one can say that Harrington and his wife met because of 4x4s. His future wife owned a Jeep YJ when she was a teller at the bank he went to. He drove to her work every chance he got in his CJ7. Off-roading and 4×4 trucks have always been a part of his life, but he never owned a Land Rover until the Kalahari.

Harrington first started looking for an off-road truck to pull his limited edition Campa Off Road Expedition Trailer. He already had an ‘86 CJ7 that he used to off-road and pull the trailer with, but needed something with more room for his adventure dog, a Rhodesian Ridgeback. So, Harrington started to scour the interwebs for trucks that would fit the bill. Rigs with a minimum 5,000-pound tow capacity, full rear seat and cargo space behind seat were the requirements.

“Off-roading takes its toll on parts and every breakage or wear out is a reason to upgrade.”

The Great Kalahari

Harrington looked at Jeeps, Toyotas, and Land Rovers, many fit the bill, but nothing with character or soul that leapt out and begged to come home. Finally, Harrington came across the ‘02 Land Rover Discovery 2 Kalahari Edition in Borrego Yellow, 1 of only 500 Kalahari editions made. His find was particularly rare, as only 150 of the yellow color were produced. This edition was inspired by one of the most extreme Land Rover Adventures called “The Great Kalahari.”

It was listed on Auto Trader and was located in Jackson, Mississippi. Harrington was skeptical about owning a yellow rig especially since he had only GM victory red and black trucks in the fleet. It took a few days of mulling over to decide that this rig was the right one. Now he had to figure out how to get it to Vermont.

He decided the best course of action was to fly his wife and one of her girlfriends down to pick it up. So, Harrington had never laid eyes on it until three days later when it arrived in his driveway where he instantly fell in love with it. In hindsight, had Harrington done his due diligence research on the Land Rover Discovery 2, he probably would not have bought one of the largest, heaviest, unreliable off-road trucks out there.

Harrington’s original intention was to keep it as it showed up. It had already been upgraded by the first owner with an ARB Bull bar front bumper with winch, auxiliary off-road lights, steering guard skid plate and coil springs with Old Man Emu shocks instead of air bags.

Growing Pains

The only upgrade that Harrington did in the first 6 months of ownership was a Waxoyl treatment done by Bushee Auto Body in Manchester, Vermont to preserve the rust-free southern truck. It wasn’t long before he started planning trips with his new off-road/overland rig. While out enjoying the Disco, Harrington had some issues with coolant leaking and some other engine related problems.

After some research and testing, he sent the Discovery to J.E. Robison Service Co., a certified Bosch motor shop. The diagnosis was not good; the 4.0’s block was cracked at two cylinders! After a lengthy conversation with his wife and some convincing on his part that he had to fix the Rover, they gave the shop the go ahead to install a new upgraded 4.6L block and rebuild the motor. The Kalahari Bee had a bigger V8 and was now ready to fly!

This is when Harrington learned that he would not be able to sustain paying someone else to fix his Rover, so he started to do all maintence and repair work himself. The next upgrades started to happen as he started to enjoy this truck for what the engineers had intended. During his off road/overlanding excursions and further research about the Land Rover Discovery 2, he realized he didn’t have a locking center differential. Harrington then found where he could get a rebuilt one, which made a significate difference in its trail capability.

Necessary Upgrades

Sometime later, the suspension that was in the truck when he bought it started to finally wear out. He decided this was a good time for an upgrade and installed Terrafirma Heavy Duty 2-inch springs and shocks. Harrington ultimately went with a more progressive setup: RTE Heavy Duty 2-inch springs with 1-inch spacers in the rear and Old Man Emu Heavy Duty Long travel shocks. With the new lift, he added 265/75-R16 Goodyear Wrangler MT/R with Kevlar tires.

The next big upgrade was installing Ashcroft ATB limited-slip differentials with 4.37 gears from Lucky 8 Off Road. He installed these after some research and thoughts about what he wanted to do with the truck. Harrington decided on mechanical lockers that he didn’t need to think about turning on, nor worry about extra stress to the rest of the drivetrain. The gearing upgrade was to help with pulling the trailer up hills and better performance off-road also. The ATBs work seamlessly with the traction control in the Discovery. This was evident in his first Vermont Overland Trophy, Harrington really needed the traction for the tough trails of Vermont.

Off-roading takes its toll on parts and every breakage or wear out is a reason to upgrade. Heavy-duty drag link and track rod from Rovers North were installed when the original tie rods wore out. A full polyurethane suspension bushing kit went in when the stock radius arm bushings failed. The rear heavy-duty Terrafirma bumper was installed when Harrington jackknifed his expedition trailer into it. Any reason to upgrade is a good one!

The Rovers North diff guards and Terrafirma transmission skids came in handy when the rocks he had to climb over got bigger and more numerous. Custom made bush cables help guide tree limbs over the rig to keep the windshield and roof rack lights from getting wrecked. Custom made 2-piece billet aluminum motor mounts with bushing went in when the stock ones didn’t hold up any longer.

On the Inside

Interior mods started when Harrington needed to carry more gear in the truck especially while starting to off-road with others. He and his wife went off-roading and camping for years by themselves as most of their friends thought they were crazy for going in the woods to drive their “Jeep” and sleep in a tent.

Needless to say, they expanded the list of friends. The first interior mod was a dog hammock for the rear seat. Their Rhodesian Ridgeback needed comfort and Harrington needed his seat protected. Next up was a set of Weather Tech vent visors so the window can be open some, even when raining. To keep his electronics from flying about the cabin, he installed a Ram Mount for an iPad to use for navigation. It is a solid mount with a no-drill option that attaches to the seat bolt. Another Ram Mount for his iPhone was installed to keep his phone within reach.

“Being a carpenter by trade, he started to draw up some plans and look for extra wood lying around to use.”

After using a handheld CB for a while without much success, Harrington decided to install a Uniden Pro505xl CB with external speaker and 5-foot FireStik antenna. It has been great for trail communications and convoying cross country. Harrington recently installed a Midland 40-watt GMRS as a primary means of communication with the CB as back up. He likes the ease of use, clarity and range of the GMRS, and reminds us that if you do choose this option for your comms, don’t forget to get licensed.

When the original seats (vinyl and cloth) wore out last year, Harrington found some used grey leather heated seats with the seat switches and switch face plate. They’re the perfect upgrade for snow wheeling with his wife—she likes to be toasty. And the new-to-him seats match seamlessly with the interior.

A Bit of DIY

Because having all his gear stacked and shifting about in the rear cargo bay was beginning to get annoying to deal with, Harrington decided he needed some sort of a drawer system or storage rack to help organize his gear. Being a carpenter by trade, he started to draw up some plans and look for extra wood lying around to use.

Harrington custom built a two-drawer system with a trap door compartment on the side, this worked well for a few trips. Even with his drawers, he still had gear on top of a cooler and had to rearrange it every time to get at the cold drinks. He then had the idea of placing a rack above the cooler for lightweight gear, which led him to make a wooden platform over the cooler. It initially worked great, but didn’t hold up to the off-road conditions on the rougher trails he was running on.

“Harrington looked at Jeeps, Toyotas, and Land Rovers, many fit the bill but nothing with character or soul that leapt out begging to come home.”

He decided to remake the top rack by using an 80/20 Industrial Erector Set. He coupled the new, sturdier aluminum rack with a locking 500-pound capacity fridge slide, and that made all the difference. The Kalahari was further upgraded with a new Dometic fridge to go along with the fridge slide, heavy-duty rack with tie downs and two drawer storage system—what else could he need?

A drop down table on the rear door perhaps? Harrington was able to purchase a stainless-steel rear door panel from Columbia Overland that was then customized with an aluminum rear door drop down table installed to the panel with a stainless piano hinge. We really like this mod: space to cook a meal or make a snack with the fridge and cook gear right at hand.

“Harrington was skeptical about owning a yellow rig especially since he had only GM victory red and black trucks in the fleet.”

Miles Equal Smiles

The Disco has come a long way since he first bought it. After he got it sorted out, he and his wife have since put on the miles adventuring all over the country and making lasting memories. Harrington has taken his Rover, whose nickname is Bumble Bee, all over the Northeast and East Coast for overland events, off-road camping trips as well as 4×4 support for gravel bike races, and even sometimes pulling an expedition trailer.

In April 2016, he drove the Kalahari Bee to Moab and back pulling the trailer over 5,000 miles in 19 days, with 9 of those days in Moab and the surrounding area. He also recently drove a five-day trip to Cape Lookout National Park on Outer Banks in North Carolina. Never tired of more adventure, Harrington has taken this Rover to the Vermont Overland Trophy events 2014 through 2016, three years of Moose on the Loose in Maine, Vermont Overland Beer Safari 2014 through 2017, and can always be seen taking on the Vermont Overland Rally.

If that isn’t enough, the Harringtons even drove Bee on their honeymoon, which included 10 days in North Maine Woods, camping, exploring and kayaking. Since he welcomed the Bee into his life, Harrington has met many great Rover and overland enthusiasts and hopes to meet many more. It doesn’t matter if Harrington is off-roading or fly-fishing, as long as he is driving Bumble Bee, then he is getting many smiles per gallon.

UPGRADES

2002 Land Rover Discovery II Kalahari 

Engine: Land Rover 4.6L V8, Borla Stainless steel catback exhaust

Suspension: Front, 2” Heavy Duty RTE Springs, Old Man Emu Long Travel Heavy Duty Shocks. Rear, 2” Heavy Duty RTE Springs with 1” Spacers, Old Man Emu Long travel Heavy-Duty Shocks

Drivetrain: Ashcroft ATB limited-slip Locker with 4.37 gearing front and rear

Wheels & Tires: 265/75-R16 Goodyear Wrangler MT/R with Kevlar sidewall on Atlantic British Steel wheels

Armor: ARB Bull Bar, Southdown Steering skid guard, Terrafirma Gas Tank skid, Land Rover Kalahari Edition wraparound brush bar, lamp guards and roof rack finished in black steel and equipped with a steel mesh floor, Terrafirma HD Rear Bumper

Lighting: IPF Driving Lights on Bull Bar, Warn Off-Road Lights on Front of Roof Rack, Hella Matador Work Light on Rear of Roof Rack

Accessories: Rovers North HD Drag link and Track bar upgrade, Warn M8000 winch, Safari Snorkel, Uniden Pro505xl CB, 5’ FireStik antenna, Midland 40-watt GMRS, iPad and iPhone Ram Mounts, Dometic fridge, custom made limb risers, custom made drawer system, custom made tailgate table

Trailer: Campa Off Road Expedition Trailer, Cook partner stove, CVT Roof Top Tent, Oztent Foxwing Awning, Engel Fridge Freezer