WHILE THE GLOBAL MARKET FOR SUVS IS CRASHING IN SYMPATHY WITH THE CREDIT CRUNCH AND HIGH FUEL PRICES, LEX MILLOY HAS UNLEASHED BULLDOZER CHIC IN THE FORM OF THE STORM WARRIOR, BUT FAR FROM THE TANK TRACK STRADDLING DISCOMFORT OF THE MILITARY VERSION, THIS KIT-FORM LEVIATHAN HAS ALL THE COMFORT AND SOPHISTICATION OF THE TOP LINE RANGE ROVER ON WHICH IT IS SOLIDLY BASED. ITS ALSO CHEAP TO BUILD, 600 KGS LIGHTER THAN ITS DONOR AND AT 18 MPG, ITS MILES BETTER ON FUEL.  IAN HYNE MET THE MAN AND HIS MACHINE.

Lex Milloy, ex speedway rider, ex-stunt man and life-long admirer of mechanical systems and what they can achieve has some forthright views on the kit car industry he has recently entered. It's an aspect of his character you very quickly register as he says exactly what he means and means exactly what he says; a sort of human equivalent of a tin of Ronseal varnish! And while he fully appreciates the quality and engineering integrity of the collective products of today's industry he, like many others, feels it's far too preoccupied with Lotus Seven and Cobra copies and is increasingly neglecting the 'two men in a shed creativity' on which the industry was founded. Like anyone mechanically minded, he always looks for the simplest way to do things with the fewest components and that's what he feels he has come up with in the Storm Warrior. He appreciates it's not everyone's cup of Castrol but if you want the most motor you can get for the least outlay, this could very well be it. 

IT IS impressive ...
not ONLY FOR ITS PURE SIZE, BUT ALSO FOR ITS REINFORCED CONCRETE SOLIDITY, CONTINENT CRUSHING STRENGTH, SHOE-BOX STYLING AND THE BALLROOM PROPORTIONS OF THE CAB.

Quality? Well, this car isn't yet finished being minus its interior trim and it's very much the prototype car that has been the guinea pig for every alteration and modification the project has entailed but what is completed is pretty good and you can be sure that Lex has seen what other manufacturers are producing and the standard to which they are producing it thus he knows what he has to aim for and is confident of getting there. That said, this isn't a kit on which everything is set in stone. The engineering aspects of the conversion have been fully tried and tested and what people choose to do in creating a vehicle to suit their requirements is completely up to them. Whether they want a jumbo-sized off-roader or a slick city cruiser, chameleon camouflage or perfect pearlescent paint, the Storm Warrior can oblige.

Heavy bumpers, towing shackles, bull-bars, ground clearance and huge wheels and tyres leave you in no doubt as to the Storm Warriors purpose while the Range Rover base backs it up.

In respect of Lex's decision to create a copy of the military must-have motor, it all came about by a diverse set of circumstances. Firstly, Lex is no stranger to kit cars having built a few himself as well as having a hand in a few specials. The mechanics of cars are familiar to him whilst their modification for specific purposes is something that happens every day in the film and stunt industry. Then he drove a military spec Hum Vee for a commercial and was hugely impressed with its size, imposing appearance and sheer indestructibility. That was an aspect of the Hummer that was enhanced when he saw the film 'Black Hawk Down' about America's ill-fated military incursion into Somalia. Then finally, he was living in America at the time of the 1991 Desert Storm operation to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait. In the States, the Hummer came to symbolise America's irresistible military might

and though Lex never really hankered after one himself, he was very well aware of the civilian sales potential of such a vehicle and the clamour for them supposedly led by Arnie. That being the case, he began to think about how the job could be done simply, and affordably. At the time it was just an idle thought but when he sustained a back injury while driving Colin McCrae's rally car for an advert for Snickers chocolate bars, he went back to it as his stunt performing days were effectively over.

Thus in 2001, he set to work. It's been a long time coming but the battering his body has taken during a lifetime of speedway and stunts has caught up with him and various extensive recovery periods have periodically halted work but Lex is nothing if not persistent and the result of his labour is here before you. And it is impressive; not only for its pure size but also for its reinforced concrete solidity, continent crushing strength, shoe-box styling and the ballroom proportions of the cab. But for all that, the Storm Warrior, a name inspired by Operation Desert Strom and those who fought so gallantly in its execution, is a simply designed and manufactured vehicle that holds true to Lex's guiding principles of simplicity and affordability.

The load bay will be covered in cheaper and lighter galvanised steel on later cars. The frame visible to the right shows what supports the panels while load space and capacity is suitably BIG.

Beneath all the bulldozing razzamatazz of its bluff, cliff-like exterior is the mechanical heart of a 1981 - 1995 Range Rover or pre-1998 Land Rover Discovery both of which bring the slight current benefit of no SVA test due to utilising the complete production chassis, and the permanent advantages of affordability with suitably sound donors available for a maximum of around £3,000, with an extensive list of top-line equipment including automatic transmission, air-conditioning, ABS, traction control, power steering, electric everything, leather trim and a quality, ruggedness and sophistication that befits the best 4X4 by far.

This panel sits under the bonnet louvre and stops the engine getting soaked. It drains the water away and simply folds forward to grant engine access.

For those who take a short step backwards at the thought of the mechanical and electrical complexities of stripping and reassembling donor components, the Storm Warrior comes to your rescue in that nothing has to be touched. The mechanics and electrics all remain completely undisturbed while the work goes on around them to pull and prod the donor dimensions to ape those of the military mugger. Every exterior panel that can be removed is unbolted and then the remaining bodywork and windscreen surround is removed to leave the rolling chassis and front bulkhead intact. Then you fit the tubular steel structure that restores and enhances the vehicle's strength and torsional rigidity. As well as fitting wheel spacers to the axles to almost 

mimic the track of the Hum Vee, (2" narrower), the body is also widened using fabricated steel brackets which bolt to the Range Rover's door hinge locations. These become part of a full perimeter frame to which the new 14" wider body panels bolt. This comprises new wheel arches which are also moved further out to increase the size of the engine bay, a radiator support assembly, windscreen support bridge, a central roll -over bar, sill strengthening members, inner door frames, rear three-quarter panel frames and a tailgate frame. There are also very hefty steel bumper sections front and rear both fitted with two towing shackles for use in pulling less capable vehicles out of deep mud, hedges or anything else in which they may become embedded during enthusiastic off-roading. These have to be welded on but if you get someone in to do it for you, it's only an hour's work. This frame is then covered with the self-coloured GRP panels to complete the transformation.

The engine bay is enlarged as the inner wings move outwards. The Range Rover screen moves back from the rivet line but all closing panels come with the kit.

At the moment, Lex has only done the pick-up version but a longer wheelbase and crew-cab version are planned along with a smaller-scale version to be named the Usurper. For this one, the hefty tailgate drops down to reveal a loading bay lined with chequer-plate aluminium but due to the expense, Lex is planning to use galvanised steel sheet on the next one to cut both costs and weight. It's also considerably easier to work with. The load area just has a small bolt-in pate in the floor to grant access to the fuel tank sender unit.

Up front, the flip forward bonnet section only opens when the front bull-bar, attached to the front bumper with four big nuts and bolts, is first dropped forward by having its upper mounting bolts removed. The engine cover then flips forward to reveal the cavernous space occupied by the 4-litre Rover V8 that looks a little lost in the middle. Indeed, a popular upgrade for Range Rovers has been the fitment of the Chevy V8 engine for which a bell-housing is available to mate it to the Range Rover's all-wheel drive system. It's a tight fit in the Range Rover but it'll just drop straight in to the significantly enlarged engine bay of the Storm Warrior.

The front bull-bar has to have its tap bolls removed and be dropped down before the bonnet can be opened so you need a pair of 17 mm spanners under the seat.

The Hum Vee has a very large slatted air-intake on the top of the bonnet which Lex has duplicated but, to stop the engine getting soaked when it rains, he has fitted an aluminium tray underneath it which just folds forward off the engine once the bonnet is opened. Even if you don't go for the enhanced power and torque of the Chevy V8, the larger engine bay provides much better mechanical access although, with the wings being so tall, it'll be handy to carry a small step ladder in the cab. And there will be plenty of room for it.

The interior isn't yet completed and Lex didn't want me to photograph it but believe me, 'if you wanna be a rock star and have a car cab you can play baseball in', this is the car to go for. The Range Rover's seating is retained but when you open the door, there's about a foot of floor to traverse before you get to it. The Range Rover driving position and ergonomics are fully preserved although Lex has moved the instrument binnacle to the centre of the dash. He hasn't quite decided on the decorative treatment for the interior but for all its size, the civilian Hummer is pretty spartan and the Storm Warrior will probably follow the same example. That said, it retains the electric windows and all mod-cons. Naturally everything requires modification which is the focus of current operations but it's all coming together. Although the interior will probably be pretty plain in keeping with the pukka Hummer, the Range Rover does provide a high spot in the polished wood veneer section from this Vogue model so that will make a bit of a splash to liven things up.

Of course, no automotive gargantuan is complete without its boots and this car is no exception riding on 15" x 12" black steel wheels fitted with balloon tyres with a rolling radius of 35" However, the wheels are £40 apiece and the tyres £75 meaning you can have a set of four for £460 and if you want a spare that fits to a steel frame on the back of the tailgate, it won't break the bank.

SURE IT NEEDS A BIGGER GAP TO GET THROUGH BUT SUCH IS ITS IMPOSING NATURE THAT MUCH OF THE ONCOMING TRAFFIC COURTEOUSLY GIVES WAY. 
...IT'S GOT PERFORMANCE TOO.

Now even though every aspect of the Storm Warrior is on a grand scale with weighty components wherever you look, the fact that it tips the scales about 600 kgs lighter than the donor is a pleasant surprise. Of course speed is far from the overriding requirement in a machine like this but on paper it'll outperform the Range Rover on which it's based. With automatic transmission, power steering and effective brakes, it's also as easy to drive but the size does add a new dimension to it and one that you really have to get to grips with when driving it around town and especially when parking it. Currently, it's noisy too as there's no sound deadening but it doesn't make half as much din as the military version with its hub-mounted reduction gears. That said, if you're after isolation and insulation from the outside world, this isn't the vehicle for you.

You climb up into the cab. A Range Rover is pretty high but the Storm Warrior elevates the cab by a good few inches such that you quickly develop the Storm Skip that takes you up, across the extended floor and into the driver's seat. Here the basic aspects of the rest of the car are overshadowed by the leather luxury of the Range Rover's seat. The driving position is exactly as per the donor and if you're one of those who enjoys SUVs for the lofty driver's perch, you'll love this.

I meet Lex in a small car park on Chertsey Bridge and follow him through the town en route to wider spaces but in getting there, he has to negotiate all the everyday obstacles of urban traffic but in truth, there's nothing that makes the Storm Warrior's size a disadvantage. Sure it needs a bigger gap to get through but such is its imposing nature that much of the oncoming traffic courteously gives way. It's got performance too. I know this as it's significantly lighter than the Range Rover but somehow its size and visible heavy duty metalwork tends to lead you to believe the opposite but Lex soon dispels the impression as he zips up through the gears. The overall impression is that the Storm Warrior is no trouble on the road and, though there are no opportunities to sample its off-road ability in the environs of Chertsey, it would be logical to assume that with the unmolested heart of a Range Rover, less weight, increased ground clearance and reduced angles of attack front and rear, it would be equally adept over the rough stuff.

Genuine Hummer lights are expensive. These weren't, while the stainless surrounds are cut-down bowls from the Pound Shop illustrating excellent kit car cost-cutting creativity.

I enjoyed the Storm Warrior and share Lex's view that, even if it's not for you, it's a welcome change to a staple diet of Sevens and Cobras. Of course, it's not yet fully finished but seeing it in this almost completed form, it's easy to see that the car can be completed to a high standard by any reasonably competent builder irrespective of the style of finish you opt for. So on that score, what's it likely to cost?

The basic kit comprises the full 50 x 50 mm steel tube skeleton frames, front and rear bumpers and towing shackles plus all the body panels in a choice of colours, the glass, lights and a miscellaneous parts pack comprising the build manual a DVD or video, hinges, nuts and bolts, the radiator, the bonnet grille, windscreen seals, wiper motors (two Range Rover rear wiper motors mounted above the screen), headlining, Storm Warrior decals and a pair of genuine Hummer bonnet securing catches. In fact, about the only other items you will need to buy other than consumables, are the wheels and tyres which Lex can supply at very attractive prices. The kit comes for £7,950 on top of which you need a donor which can come for anything from £500 upwards but you obviously want the best you can get for which the price tends to be around £3,000 but, in the current market for SUVs there will undoubtedly be a few real bargains to be had. On top of that, go for the best car you can get and the rust-free panels, doors, tail-gates etc can be sold on to an avid market. The donor for this car came for £800 which Lex more than made back in selling off the unwanted panels and parts.

So there you have it. A kit-form leviathan that truly bucks the trend for small, hyper-light, ultra-rapid, featherweight two-seaters, a well thought out, good quality kit that can be built very affordably, can reflect your own creativity and individuality and which will overshadow just about anything else on the road. - Now that is a clever stunt.