Gone green to red Guys, High 5 to High 3

Hi Guys,

Some of you might recall I purchased a clean 5 door greet and white 110 200tdi last year after chasing down a red three door 110 and giving up.

As it turns out, an American friend of mine has been asking me many times to sell him the green Landy which I responded to by saying, I will if I find a replacement. He wants to export it to the US as a keeper and toy but I really liked it.

I decided to check back with the guy with the red 3 door, who had me chasing him for three months last February to try my luck again....this time I got it and I will let my friend have the green 5 door.

The red one is a 97 according to the VIN , strange enough when I did an online VIN decode, it said that it was released from the factory and registered in 99, kind of confused by that.

So the red one is very, very clean and has zero chassis rust, just a small 2"X2" rust spot on the passenger side bulk head. The previous owner spent a bit on it to respray and on some add ons. Some mods I will keep others i wont, like the thick steel checkered flooring at the rear.

He used it for sports and no utility purposes, not sure if it was weight needed for off roading and corner balancing. I would not use it for utility purposes, I will get a trailer if I need to fetch cement or gold from the mines :clap2:

The seats and interior is in excellent condition, no cracks, tears or stains. There is one trim strip which is broken no biggie, will replace that.

There are a few stock items i do not like, the three door has a different dash layout, I cannot purchase one of the consoles for HAM radio, CD player, gauges and switches. It has a flush fit dash with no room for stuff.

I would probably get the rear bulkhead bar from Mud UK for more leg room and rear clearance for my 85" model airplane fuselage.

I fixed a few things already like the hood release cable but the more serious stuff like oil leak when running and power steering leak. I think the power steering leak if coming from the box seal, common issue.

Also just discovered a hub bolt half way out, that's why I had her brought home with a tow truck, to go though everything before driving it, I test drove it and that was all.

The engine is sluggish and seems really down on power, she has 265,000 KM, but starts instantly, no smoke of any kind, so might have to do some fuel pump mods and go from there. changed all the fluids already.

Enough yapping time for some pics.

Nice trucks! The red one is sweeeet! Not to keen on the dash in it, is that the aircon/hot climates set-up?

both look nice but i prefer the green one.

bluedog333 said:

Nice trucks! The red one is sweeeet! Not to keen on the dash in it, is that the aircon/hot climates set-up?

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Yes it does s the aircon/hot climate setup, not a fan of it at all..no pun intended.
Really preferred if it had the more common dash so that I could install a nice console for the CD player, my HAM radios and other accessories.

R0B said:

both look nice but i prefer the green one.

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Thanks. The green ones is an 89 200tdi and the red is a 97 300tdi. The 89 is bone dead stock and all original except for the snorkel and the 97 has some tasteful mods.

Forgot to add Rob that the 5 door like the green one is extremely rare here, only a few on the island and they carry top dollar prices.

My friend who is getting it is really getting a well sought after model.

Like the green one. Never seen that dash insert before, was it a one off or just for export market?

mick the builder said:

Like the green one. Never seen that dash insert before, was it a one off or just for export market?

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More think it was export, never seen that before either, the speedo is in Kmh not sure if it was for export.

I have to do a VIN decoder again to see where it was registered and which dealer sold it, that might say a bit.

That peculiar dash is the same as the one for north american spec from 1990 ish, I have a book containing magazine articles with all the variants. Vent flaps were sealed shut due to air con facility apparently.

Both lovely although I prefer the green one too.

One thing though, the 200tdi engine wasn't fitted to Defenders until late 1990 (so a H reg in the UK), when the 90/110 was renamed Defender. Your 89 should have a 19j TD lump in it, so I doubt the engine is original it being an 89. Something for your friend to bear in mind importing it into the US.

Although looking at your pics it does say Defender so it could be later than you think. I'd check it out thoroughly before it gets exported the yanks are funny about age and originality.

harry2012 said:

Both lovely although I prefer the green one too.

One thing though, the 200tdi engine wasn't fitted to Defenders until late 1990 (so a H reg in the UK), when the 90/110 was renamed Defender. Your 89 should have a 19j TD lump in it, so I doubt the engine is original it being an 89. Something for your friend to bear in mind importing it into the US.

Although looking at your pics it does say Defender so it could be later than you think. I'd check it out thoroughly before it gets exported the yanks are funny about age and originality.

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Well spotted! If it was an '89 model it would have a 110 badge on the front and no mention of "Defender" on it at all! And definitely not a factory-fitted 200TDi engine.
To add to the mystery, the rear roof vents were deleted in May 1990, months before the start of production of the first Defenders ( with 200TDi ). Maybe they kept these on for export?
Either way, if it's a genuine 1989 then it's not a Defender and not s factory 200TDi.
Still a very nice Landy though!

bluedog333 said:

Well spotted! If it was an '89 model it would have a 110 badge on the front and no mention of "Defender" on it at all! And definitely not a factory-fitted 200TDi engine.
To add to the mystery, the rear roof vents were deleted in May 1990, months before the start of production of the first Defenders ( with 200TDi ). Maybe they kept these on for export?
Either way, if it's a genuine 1989 then it's not a Defender and not s factory 200TDi.
Still a very nice Landy though!

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Harry and Bluedog,

Sorry for the late response. This would be terrible news, I was more focused on the year of the Green landy for my friend and the funny thing is, it is registered here with that engine as being original.

The engine code in the VIN is:
B 2.5L, inline 4 cylinder, turbo-diesel

19J 2.0L, inline 4 cylinder, 'L' Series, turbo-diesel



The Landy is an 89 station wagon LD code Defender 90, 110, 130

I know the US is very sticky about people smuggling them in as older ones, most of you would have seen the vid the US Border Agents made crushing a mint newer Landy as an example.

It would suck to know my friend cant export it and now I have two Landys in my name.

He might be able to still export it by getting prior authorization and informing the authorities about possibly swapping in a 19j to keep year of chassis and engine in check.

timc1967 said:

That peculiar dash is the same as the one for north american spec from 1990 ish, I have a book containing magazine articles with all the variants. Vent flaps were sealed shut due to air con facility apparently.

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Thanks for the info Tim and yes you are right, the vents are blanked off from the factory and black plastic covers installed for esthetics.

Would love to get my paws on a copy of that book you have.
Thanks for the reply and information.

Not doubting your knowledge here, but is it definitely a 200tdi in there?
Paperwork might say original engine because whoever swapped it may have forgot to mention it to the authorities. I had a 200tdi lump in mine for 2 years with paperwork saying it was a 19j, I'd just forgot to tell the DVLA! Doh!

Barbados said:

Thanks for the info Tim and yes you are right, the vents are blanked off from the factory and black plastic covers installed for esthetics.

Would love to get my paws on a copy of that book you have.
Thanks for the reply and information.

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This is the book Land Rover 90/110 Defender Gold Portfolio 1983-1994 (Brooklands Books Road Test Series): Amazon.co.uk: R.M. Clarke: 9781855202535: Books but only 1 tiny bit on that dash.

bluedog333 said:

Not doubting your knowledge here, but is it definitely a 200tdi in there?
Paperwork might say original engine because whoever swapped it may have forgot to mention it to the authorities. I had a 200tdi lump in mine for 2 years with paperwork saying it was a 19j, I'd just forgot to tell the DVLA! Doh!

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Hi Blue,

Yes I am very offended that you would question my knowledge... just kidding LOL

I am a car buff actually and up to 2 years ago was the owner and operator of a BMW performance shop, closed it when I moved to the Caribbean.

I raced for a good while but after kids came along I stopped. I still attended and drive on BMW track days but nothing compared to actual racing.

I have seen amny Landys when I was younger living in the Caribbean but never worked on them until last year.

The engine in my 89 is a 200TDI..engine number 11L30883A

Ironically I was happy that it was a 200TDI when I bout it but now regret it since it will be a challenge for my buddy to export it to the US.

Thanks for the replies and information mate.

Cheers.

timc1967 said:

This is the book Land Rover 90/110 Defender Gold Portfolio 1983-1994 (Brooklands Books Road Test Series): Amazon.co.uk: R.M. Clarke: 9781855202535: Books but only 1 tiny bit on that dash.

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Thanks Tim, I will get it, I like books with references to vehicles I own.

I have many overhaul manuals made by a company called Bentley, a very, very good series but they have nothing for the Defenders.

Thanks for the link.

Cheers.

Barbados said:

Ironically I was happy that it was a 200TDI when I bout it but now regret it since it will be a challenge for my buddy to export it to the US.

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On the plus side, you are now stuck with 2 very nice looking Landies!

that roof on the green doesn't look like a 110 either. they had ribbed roofs; later had smooth.

also it has a wing vent and wing indicators, uk 110's don't. not sure about exports.

also, rear wiper and wash and the rear lamp with the spacer.

take more pics of the green interior and engine bay.

atm, it smells like a 200tdi on the wrong plate.. still looks great

I agree it's also all badged up as a Defender.

What age is it on the VIN plate?