Picked this up a couple years ago as an impulse buy. It was the only Defender I could afford and was less than 5 miles away.
I did some minimal work to get it through an MOT. Some questionable welding and patching of the rear cross member that had pulled out. Replaced the exhaust that had rusted away as well as the front shock turrets. Also did some rewiring after it shorted itself out the first time I drove it to work.
However that was only ever temporary so I could drive it and get some Defender experience.
Last summer I had to mothball it as I couldn’t run this and my Freelander and guarantee that they wouldn’t both be off the road at the same time.
The History
I found the military records online. It came out of the military in 2000 or so. During it’s time there it spent three years in Bosnia. In civilian life I am the third owner. I think it’s covered over half a million miles by now, going from MOT records and the previous owners information of the speedo cable only staying connected for about a week after each MOT.
The Plan
The plan and only long term option was always going to be a ground up restoration, while keeping the Ex-miltary character. So last winter I found some space in a shed and brought it in. I have been stripping it down slowly as I get some spare time. My main projects are electric conversions, so when I need a break from all that complication I can just come here and remove some nuts and bolts (spanner and grinder use is about 50/50)
The current idea in my head is to bikini soft top it, with a roll bar for some safety. Then paint it NATO desert brown to keep the military look. The body will be repaired to be functional. But I’ll keep the dents and deformities if I can. Personally I like a vehicle to show it’s history.
Engine wise it currently has a Disco 200 TDI with an R380 stumpy gearbox. I am thinking of swapping that out for the L series diesel in my Rover 25. It’s a successor to the Perkin Prima that have been put in Land Rovers before(as well as the Freelander), and also the precursor to the TD5. So there is some heritage there. It can be tuned up quite easily to roughly 300TDI output, but with better fuel economy which won’t take long to pay for itself. One day it will be electric, but not this time around.
Edit 2024: It ended up going electric this time around.
The chassis is pretty ropey in places. Rear cross member will have to be replaced for certain. I am very hesitant about chassis replacement. This is the chassis with all the history, if I replace it then I just have a kit car with an old VIN. So I would rather repair this if I can. I will know more when I get it stripped down completely.
Will be pretty slow progress as this is just a side project. But I’ll keep it updated here.
I did some minimal work to get it through an MOT. Some questionable welding and patching of the rear cross member that had pulled out. Replaced the exhaust that had rusted away as well as the front shock turrets. Also did some rewiring after it shorted itself out the first time I drove it to work.
However that was only ever temporary so I could drive it and get some Defender experience.
Last summer I had to mothball it as I couldn’t run this and my Freelander and guarantee that they wouldn’t both be off the road at the same time.
The History
I found the military records online. It came out of the military in 2000 or so. During it’s time there it spent three years in Bosnia. In civilian life I am the third owner. I think it’s covered over half a million miles by now, going from MOT records and the previous owners information of the speedo cable only staying connected for about a week after each MOT.
The Plan
The plan and only long term option was always going to be a ground up restoration, while keeping the Ex-miltary character. So last winter I found some space in a shed and brought it in. I have been stripping it down slowly as I get some spare time. My main projects are electric conversions, so when I need a break from all that complication I can just come here and remove some nuts and bolts (spanner and grinder use is about 50/50)
The current idea in my head is to bikini soft top it, with a roll bar for some safety. Then paint it NATO desert brown to keep the military look. The body will be repaired to be functional. But I’ll keep the dents and deformities if I can. Personally I like a vehicle to show it’s history.
Engine wise it currently has a Disco 200 TDI with an R380 stumpy gearbox. I am thinking of swapping that out for the L series diesel in my Rover 25. It’s a successor to the Perkin Prima that have been put in Land Rovers before(as well as the Freelander), and also the precursor to the TD5. So there is some heritage there. It can be tuned up quite easily to roughly 300TDI output, but with better fuel economy which won’t take long to pay for itself. One day it will be electric, but not this time around.
Edit 2024: It ended up going electric this time around.
The chassis is pretty ropey in places. Rear cross member will have to be replaced for certain. I am very hesitant about chassis replacement. This is the chassis with all the history, if I replace it then I just have a kit car with an old VIN. So I would rather repair this if I can. I will know more when I get it stripped down completely.
Will be pretty slow progress as this is just a side project. But I’ll keep it updated here.
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