Dilemma!...2.5n/a or TD5

Evening folks,
Bit of a dilemma really,i have the option of a very very good condition 91 110 defender soft top 2.5n/a with what looks like & plate says reconned engine 2009,or a 2000 W reg TD5 ex utilities unit,really was looking for a hard top but this ex MOD unit is pulling me in,also need advice on sourcing a hard top if i did go for the ex MOD 110,rear doors don't seem to be hard to get hold of,but I've looked into most obvious places for a hard top to no avail!...im thinking the ex MOD 110,purely because it dont come with the all the complications electrical,after reading the Engines section on here,but i don't think i will come across a cleaner looking Ex MOD defender,without paying over the odds for what i actually will be using it for,nothing too serious,a bit of green lane activity & getting across a few farm fields to get onto my fishing lake I've just joined & the odd jaunt up onto North Yorks Moors.Will have to go the long way round anyway as it don't have power bloody steering!!!!Any input would be greatly appreciated because this is my first Land Rover.Cheers.

2.5 n/a is supposed to be pretty slow. You could fit a 200tdi in it if its a good base landie?

It depends how far the North Yorks Moors are from you. If they are a long way a 2.5n/a could be tiresome. Otherwise, if it is just short journeys it might not matter and the simplicity of the n/a might be preferable to the td5.

TD5 would be far nicer on longer trips though.

Thanks for the advice Bamako,I've got everything within a 60 mile radius around me really,but thanks again for the advice,any is most appreciative .Cheers, Paul.

The td5 and 2.5 n/a are very different engines but also the car will be quite different the td5 will be quiter more comfortable some would argue more reliable my series 3 was n/a and I traveled miles in it it the most fun I've ever had in a car and would much rather have it than the BMW I know own. Ex army would be cool to soft top would be great in the summer and for fishing there ALS good for camping to I would go for the ex mod ...pics would be good

Its like asking shall i buy a donkey or a horse.

storm99 said:

Its like asking shall i buy a donkey or a horse.

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And what is wrong exactly with donkies? Are you being donkeyist?

Again cheers for the advice tomseries3tom, Storm99 i tried to have a look at the photo bucket thing & got myself lost with it,i will try & get a few photos up ASAP,but I'm definitely thinking of going for the Ex MOD 110 now,& ill worry about converting to a hardtop after the summer months,maybe september.Just been on the phone to a workmate who is gonna make me a pedal box for it,just in case anybody takes a fancy to it,& I'm gonna get me some flying goggles for the crack i reckon,it will be lie being back in the forces Ha!..her indoors reckons I'm going through the Mid life bit!!!! :lalala:

good luck mate

Cheers tomseries3tom,...ive looked at a few,including a 200tdi 110,but this Ex MOD one is like new underneath & even if i had engine trouble i could probably get a new lump,like i say the bodywork is very good,& the advice from storm99 about it being a bit blue smoky when you floor the thing,this appears to be fairly normal with the n/a engine.

If you want a hard top ex MOD 110 then buy one. Theres loads to choose from direct from MoD. Take a day off work and go and choose yourself one. Youll get bored of the 2.5NA quickly so make sure you budget in for a tdi conversion.

lucifus said:

If you want a hard top ex MOD 110 then buy one. Theres loads to choose from direct from MoD. Take a day off work and go and choose yourself one. Youll get bored of the 2.5NA quickly so make sure you budget in for a tdi conversion.

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+1..... I recently bought a very straight and tidy ex-MOD D90 n/a, with a view to transplanting the spare 300tdi engine that I'm currently rebuilding.

A few other points to bear in mind if you're thinking about the earleir model:

No power-steering - in a 90 it's not too bad apart from slow-speed manouvring like parking...... you won't need a gym membership when you've driven it for a while . Not sure what a non-PAS 110 is like? PAS can be retro-fitted

MOD fit heavy-duty springs to the rear suspension, so going over anything rough like speed-bumps can be spine-busting - smooth roads are fine

The narrow 7.50x16 Michelin XZL tyres are excellent in mud, but can be 'interesting' on wet tarmac (I'm planning to switch to 235/85x16 all-terrain's).

In spite of all these things, I still bought one, and I'm having great fun tinkering with it, and it's just uber-cool with the soft-top sides all rolled up in the sunshine - safari time!!!

Dunk

I can understand why you fancy the ex-mod land but given the choice I'd snap up the TD5. It really comes down to what you want from it. Better fuel efficient, much, much quicker, more powerful, quieter, more comfortable:- go for the TD5. It's a relatively refined five cylinder turbo charged common rail diesel engine that started life in the late 1990's. The N/A is essentially the same engine that Land Rover started out with in the 50's. Sure it works and they are reliable providing you don't go above 55mph and keep the oil changed but don't expect much from it on motor way trips or under circumstances where you need to make a mad dash. It's in-direct injection, not turbo charged and they tend to get thrashed to hell in order to make them go. If you want it for casual use then it will be fine until you want a little more power, in which case a 200tdi transplant is relatively straight forward.

-Tom

My 2.5NA is noisy but with the overdrive will get the 109 Station Wagon up to 65mph which is good enough for me. Previous owner fitted PAS so that makes life a bit easier too. It will pull heavy trailers etc. and has pulled vehcles out of nasty places with no problem. Whatever you get Chug, I might see you up the moors sometime as I go up ther quite a lot.

You don't state the difference in price between the 2 vehicles. If the TD5 is going cheap and in good nick, then snap it up.

However if you are only doing short journeys then consider the ex-mod 110. I have driven/worked on a few and they are usually well maintained. They are very simple to work on, and an ideal way to teach yourself mechanics.

You can always put a 200/300tdi in it at a later date. Whilst it is the summer, leave the soft top on and put a couple of lockable storage boxes in the back, a soft top landy is a great deal of fun (and mine seems warmer in winter than it did with the station wagon back on).

Gents...i can't thank you enough for your advice here,I've looked at a few options really & when i think about it ill be lucky to be doing a 50-60 mile radius from home really,so its a bit of fun with reliability really I'm looking for.I went to view another today,but there was something just not right about it.It looked a little bent for some reason around the door tops & the main tubular bar underneath just behind the sump had seen a right whacking...it was well bent!..went along with my dad,who is also ex forces to give it a once over,& there was something just not right,even the guy who was selling it didn't give me enough info,all he seemed to say was "they are flying out of his garage & can't get enough of em to sell",when i was trying to explain to him there was a number of bolts missing off the engine!..on asking about servicing he just tried to fob me off aswell i think,so the alarms started to ring a little.Im going to Blanchards in the morning to have a look around also, as I've never been to mass dealer in the ex MOD stuff,so i just hope can find one within my price range.Wish me luck & thanks for the comments guys!

Hope to see you out & about also Cabbie keep in touch.

Boris they were both up for sale/offers around £4,500.

Not sure about blanchards. Withams is the sole disposal agent for x mod vehicles though. They have defenders starting at about 1500. You need to visit them though as the only vehicles on their site are the lower quality auction ones that usually need work. They have car parks full of others.

Blanchards always seem to have a big selection of ex MOD stuff. Last time I went they had loads of Ambulances. They're brilliant on the spares front too. I might be predjudiced here 'cos they're only 20 min from where I live, and they're near a few of the Yorkshire Wolds lanes.

storm99 said:

Its like asking shall i buy a donkey or a horse.

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Can't disagree with you there. but a donkey has advantages. They're cheap to look after and are less likely to give you massive vet/ repair bills than a thorough bred/td5. if it does die you can replace it for 50 quid too lol