1988 F Defender 90 County?

Well, some of you will know I'm on my 3rd Disco but always wanted/Fancied a Defender 90......I may have found one...
I know more about Disco's so any help would be welcome...
Hear is what I know.....
Its a 2 Owner (Yeh I know) 88k Gen Miles 1988 90 County.
Been stood for over 2 years but was a runner, 2.5 Turbo D (again no nowt about this engine)
It was berried but from what I could see very very streight on the outside but covered in dust!
I think it could be a Gem! It did have loads a crap in the rear and could not get to look at the front interior so going to wait until it gets pulled out for a propper look. Just need to know were to look...
Don't want to give to much away but the guy is a Lander Rover Machanic so knows is stuff and will be happy for me to give it a good going over may even get it on his lift/ramp.
My main worry is going off the Miles and owners means it maybe should worrent a resto, i.e. back to original but I want to MOD the hell out of it...maybe even a BIG V8 and it looks like a good solid platform...
After your thoughts and advise please fello LL lovers!!!
Big issue at mo is being out of work.....he's willing to leave it there for another 2 years I think....but soon as the Money is there and ifs its what it seems to be I WANT IT I WANT IT I WANT IT!!

A Ninety! Pre defender, they began later!

One of the finest of all landrovers, according to many of their owners!
Check the usual chassis and bulkhead trouble spots carefully. These are quite old vehicles now, and laandies are not known for being rust free.
19j are a bit underpowered, and can be unreliable if badly maintained or abused. I love mine, though. They, and the trans are quite tough, though, and it should run ok, if it hasn been reasonaby looked after.

Personally I think you would be crazy to cut a nice old motor like that around and make some modded monstrosity. One of the best looking and most capable of landies just the way it is. Locking axle diffs are best mod on these!

I do not want it to be an off roader with 2 " lift etc...just possibly a 3.5 V8 ( for sound!!!!! and I know the engine...err a little to well from my racing days) a nice paint job two tone, top black bottom blue, nice interior etc...some standard alloys and the like...it would not be over the top...unless a stuck a Ford V8 or Chevy V8 in.....ummm.....there's a nice one near us and looks the part and sounds awsome....I could just buy that but I want to Build one...idealy!
That said I could resto this and then sell and do the V8 monstrosity! LOL Either way I need to get a good look at it 1st....and altho similar in many ways having never owned a 90 not sure what to look for....
Its Grey and has the original County white stripe down it....110 just a bit too big but need MIN 4 seats so the 90 is the one....I'd call it Jo....

Rossy said:

I do not want it to be an off roader with 2 " lift etc...just possibly a 3.5 V8 ( for sound!!!!! and I know the engine...err a little to well from my racing days) a nice paint job two tone, top black bottom blue, nice interior etc...some standard alloys and the like...it would not be over the top...unless a stuck a Ford V8 or Chevy V8 in.....ummm.....there's a nice one near us and looks the part and sounds awsome....I could just buy that but I want to Build one...idealy!
That said I could resto this and then sell and do the V8 monstrosity! LOL Either way I need to get a good look at it 1st....and altho similar in many ways having never owned a 90 not sure what to look for....
Its Grey and has the original County white stripe down it....110 just a bit too big but need MIN 4 seats so the 90 is the one....I'd call it Jo....

Click to expand...

V8 engined Ninety would be a very nice drive. And some were made a standard. 2.5 petrol might be an option, they were factory fitted too, and more attractive than before due to petrol price.
But that is nearly thirty years old, and maybe worth thinking about originality if it has a lot of the factory spec stuff still on it as you say. Assuming the engine is good, maybe run it for a bit, see how you get on?

I suppose my thinking is coloured by the fact that when I first was into landies thirty years ago it was common practice to do the V8 modded thing with early s1s! And look at what they fetch nowadays if original!

Read up a bit on the forum about the many possible rust and other issues before you commit would be my best suggestion, especially if you are on a tight budget. Major renovation works can run to a lot of money.

Thanks Turboman!
That would have been the way I would go anyway....get it road going as is, use a bit and get a feel for it and then maybe I'd stick with it or V8 it.....its kinda of annoying having the Money in the bank but not being able to get it with being out of work it need to be sat there for the time being for peace of mind.....so as something work wise turns up I'll be nocking on the door for it for sure I think........

Definitely keep a pre-Defender 90 close to standard. A lot have been hacked about over the years when they were just cheap old Landys. I think it takes more skill and care to keep one standard than to throw its origins away and bling it up, and the value of original, well looked-after examples will only increase. Particularly the original county models with the go-faster stripes are becoming rarer.

A 19J in good condition is perfectly adequate for a 90. It will be a bit slower than the later TDi engines, but then the 90 is somewhat lighter than the discovery which helps things along. Mine will cruise happily at 60-65 with a bit in reserve, and how fast do you really need to go? Plenty of low down torque for trailer towing as well. A lot have been converted to TDi engines from when rusty Discoverys with good engines were dirt-cheap, but nowadays keeping the original engine maintained is probably a better option. There's nothing particularly wrong with the old 19J contrary to opinion, and many were killed by lack of maintenance. Being the 1980s, 'turbo' anything meant 'really good and quick' rather than 'a bit more power than the old engine' which probably didn't help either.

I'd keep it standard, embrace the 1980s origins, and appreciate it for the vintage bus that it is. In fact, that's what I did

This was after a bit of off-roading, proving that all those modifications other people had made were entirely unnecessary...

I agree with Pete, my first Land Rover was an E reg Turbo, and I loved it until the wife wrote it off!