Defender 90?

[pangaea]

I've owned a few different Land Rovers over the years, with my current vehicle being a 95 Discovery. I've always loved the D90s (my first rover was an AAYellow D90 soft top), and think that they're amazingly capable. But I would caution your friend about a couple of things before he picks up a 90.

1. I think they're somewhat over priced. Since they were imported for only a few years in the mid 90's, people tend to ask silly money for 10 year old vehicles. There are bargains to be had, but he should definitely shop around.

2. They're probably one of the most capable factory vehicles ever made. A lot of fun to wheel and fairly easy to modify. But, the NAS trucks live and die by their service schedules, which are pretty rigorous for a typical vehicle. Almost every time my truck broken, it was because of something that was past its service interval and I meant to get to it eventually. Keep up with it, and it'll be a reliable workhorse

3. Don't know where your friend lives, but the factory soft top sucks. Usually by the time its cold enough to put the top on, its shrunk to the point that it's a major battle to put it on. Don't know why they're so difficult, since they're made by Besttop who makes a decent top for the Jeep Wranglers. When you do get the top on, there are usually sizeable gaps between doors and the top etc. Not that bad if you live in an area where the temperatures are mild or predictable, but here in CO it can be a huge pain (not uncommon to have snow fall and temps in the 70s or 80s in the same month). On the other hand, the hard top is a pretty decent vehicle to go with.

When it came down to it, I figured a Discovery would meet my needs better since its lockable, has more load carrying capacity, greater cruising range, and is more comfortable. But I still think frequently about what a fun truck the 90 was....

I'm not trying to talk your friend out of the truck, it's just that I'd like for them to go in eyes wide open. It takes a certain personality to tolerate a Land Rover. ;-)

my 2 cents (and a little more)

Nathan Hindman

[Scott Brady]

Nathan,

Great advice. I just wish all of us could purchase a 300tdi Discovery like yours...

Thanks for stopping in

[pangaea]

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on perspective) I actually don't have a Tdi under the hood on my Discovery. When it was engine swap time, I stumbled on a deal that was too good to pass up for a 4.6L engine. So although my fuel economy still sucks, at least I've got about 275 hp under the hood.

[pangaea]

One more thing that I forgot to mention the other day about the Defender. If your friend gets a soft top Defender, and has the cash and the patience a Badge Coachworks soft top is a GREAT investment. Its a high quality top made of german twill canvas if I remember correctly, that will actually make owning a soft top Defender a pleasant experience.

They are about $2k, and take a few months to get, but its money well spent.

www.badgercoachworks.com/

[Scott Brady]

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on perspective) I actually don't have a Tdi under the hood on my Discovery. When it was engine swap time, I stumbled on a deal that was too good to pass up for a 4.6L engine. So although my fuel economy still sucks, at least I've got about 275 hp under the hood.

Ooops, I thought yours had been swaped to diesel.

[pangaea]

Just couldn't justify it with the crappy conversion rate from the UK. A Tdi swap right now is about $8K out of pocket before you get into the labor.

The 4.6 long block that I picked up was out of a totaled '04 Disco with less than 5K miles on it. I had it in the truck with an uprated cam, some minor head massaging, a bit of custom fabrication to make it work and all new gaskets, etc for under $2K... Not bad considering its typically about a $6-10K conversion.

[gjackson]

Okay, Scott asked for it, so here is a quick rundown and some pics of my truck. (This is long!)

It is a 300tdi Land Rover Defender 110 with extensive mods for expedition work. It has A/C and an uprated R380 transmission. The mods include:

K&N Air filter and oil filter
Hannibal awning
Custom Axe mount
Safari Gard bull bars and skid plate with an X9 Superwinch and 2 Hella 4000s.
Tuffy Center console
Viair compressor and 10gal air tank
Curtains
Diff Guard
Hellroaring dual battery system with Optima red top for the car and Optima yellow top for the accessories.
Engle 42quart fridge/freezer
Custom mount for my Garmin GPSMap 176.
Various interior lights including large fluorescent in the load bay and extra lights in the passenger compartment.
Coleman 800w inverter in a custom mount with 2 extra fans to keep it cool under load.
Lap Top stand custom made for my iBook. There is a serial connection on the Tuffy box to link the iBook to the GPS with no cables getting in the way. Also have a 12v powersupply for the iBook so it can run from the dash, not the inverter.
Limb risers.
37 gal long range fuel tank. Fully loaded on expeditions I average about 19mpg so that's 700 miles on one tank. Usually carry 3 jerry cans of diesel which extends the nominal range to 988 miles.
Map light for the co pilot.
Oil storage box attached to the frame that holds a complete oil change for the engine as well as back-up for the transmission, axles, power steering etc.
Rewired the cigarette lighter on the dash to run from the Optima yellow top. Also installed 2 power points under the back seat next to the inverter, one next to the rear door and one on the roof rack.
Rear bumper ends from Safari Gard
RoverTracks high clearence, heavy duty tie rod
Rock sliders from Safari Gard modified to support the roll cage and with extra connections to the frame.
Custom external roll cage that mounts to the sliders and bull bar. Has an integrated rear ladder, limb riser mounts, GPS antenna mount, and mounts for the awning.
Roof rack that attaches to the roll cage. Has mounts for the roof top tent, 2 Hella FF300 facing forward and 2 facing rear. Mount for the High Lift on one side and the axe on the rear. Usually carry 2 jerry cans on the roof rack and a storage case for bulky, light equipment (like extra bedding, ground tent etc.) Have a mount for a large drink cooler on the rack that we use for a washing machine.
Roof Top tent from Technitop in South Africa. By far the most comfortable way to camp. The tent opens over the hood of the truck with a ladder dropping to the bull bars.
Safari Gard rear tire rack with mounts for a shovel and 2 jerry cans.
Custom storage system in the load bay made out of a 4 drawer heavy duty filing cabinet. The 2 lower drawers house tools and spares. The 2 upper drawers house food and camping gear. We have a box down each side next to the drawer system. One side has camp chairs and a small table. The other side has our clothes etc. We have a custom folding table that lays flat on top of the drawers.
Safari Gard/OME suspension using custom progressive rate front springs and OME heavy duty rear springs. All corners have 10in Fox emulsion shocks.
10gal stainless steel water tank mounted in the left rear wing. Also have storage inside the car for 2 7 gal carboys.
Steel Safari window protection art.
Wing top protectors.
6 Land Rover Wolf military steel wheels.

The truck works very well for long trips. We spent 9 months with it in Africa. It is not a rock crawler by any means! And I have to put a word in for Nathan at Pangaea who supplied a bunch of the equipment in the above list.

I have attached some pics of the truck in action in various places.

cheers

Graham
www.africaoverland.org

[Scott Brady]

Graham,

Thanks so much for the details. When I have a few spare minutes, I will add your truck to the main website and include links to your overland site.

I really love that 110!

[kcowyo]

Having a 110 was cool enough...

But having a picture of your vehicle with a wild giraffe....?

[Scott Brady]

Yeah, I have decided that Graham is the October "super cool" dude of the month.

And from what I hear, we have just seen a fraction of his life experiences...