The original 7.0x16 cross ply tyres were stuffed, so I had them removed from the rims and the rims sandblasted & etch primed. I found some spray paint that is close to the original LR limestone and gave them several coats of paint. How durable this is remains to be seen but it looks good at the moment! After browsing for suitable tyres for a while I discovered that Nissan Navara utes come into the country on steel rims with Bridgestone tyres. These are then removed at the dealership and alloys fitted if so desired by the new owner. This causes a huge over supply of steel rims with brand new Bridgestone Dueler HT 205/80/R16 tyres. A little research suggested this tyre size is very close to original SWB Land Rover tyres (somewhere between 6.00"x16 & 7.00"x16) so I picked up a set of 5 for an absolute steal. They are road biased tyres but I think this will be fine as I don't plan on doing any serious off road driving once I'm done.
I had the tyres fitted to the LR rims with new tubes and they've come up really well. With the wheels fitted, I was finally able to roll the chassis out of the garage, a monumental occasion! With the garage cleared, I got the rear tub off it's side and onto the chassis to give me some room to work around the vehicle. Working in a single width garage sure gets cramped! The tub is only on temporarily, it will come off eventually for paint. But it makes good storage for the mean time!
If anyone local to Christchurch would like some of these Navara rims & tyres, get in touch with me as I know where a huge stock of them is available.
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