Opinions from ex military Landy owners please

I've been to see a 110 Defender n/a diesel. New MOT with no advisories. Bodywork was fairly straight with a few dings - crossmember bent in a little from a ding at the back. Also a small split in one of the lower side panels, about 3 inches.

Seller said it was running a bit hot and he's about to have a new fan/coupling fitted.

Drove OK although there was a slight smell of fuel or exhaust fumes in the cabin but the windows were open!

Paintwork was many many coats of NATO green.

£3.5k asking price. Should I?...

If its what your after then why not. Mechanically they are very simple so any issues can be diy fixed pretty easily. The na engine is very slow, mine will get to 70 but generally cruises around 60-65. Hills and gradients can be anywhere from 50 to 25-30 in third gear. They are very good off road, engine really does suit plodding in low range. Mine is a toy as I have a company car for any normal A to B driving

Definitely do it. Land rovers are incredibly simple and easy to improve. If in time you want to, putting a 300tdi is straightforward. Re chassising it also wouldn't be a massive issue. As for dented panels... don't worry about them.

What was wrong with the fan?

Thanks for the replies.

The overheating issue is bothering me a little. He said something about needing to replace the fan or viscous coupling?

I know any Landy at the bottom end of the price range will need some work and it's mostly good in the key areas on the body, just a bit tatty here and there and very thick coats of brushed on Paint. The bonnet was a bit battered.

Very much sounds like most un-restored military landrovers!
If the viscous unit isn't letting the fan spin much it could easily lead to overheating. If it's an old unit or been taken off and put wrong side up the contents may be kaput. Fitting a new unit is dead easy!

My fan fell off once (buggared the thread on pump spigot). I managed to drive from Kent to Cambridgeshire without noticing any difference, it was only when I got stuck in traffic the temp started to creep up. So it should be fine on the open road but hot when barely moving.

£3500 is a reasonable price for a landy with a clean, full MOT. I bought mine for £4k then rebuilt its engine.

Tbh the coolant system will want Further investigation, I didn't run a viscous fan for about 2 month with my 2.5NA summer before last and didn't have any temp problems.

However for 3.5k it sounds just like any the ex-mil Land Rover. As long as the chassis and corrosion isn't to bad the rest is pretty much easily fixable mechanics wise. Even while new 2.5na engines are still cheap as chips worst case.

Get it bought! Sounds like a good price from your description. Most faults are diy fixable and are a great way of getting to know your vehicle. As said above, if chassis (and bulkhead) has serious rot, things can get costly and involved so check them bits carefully and factor according to your skill and pocket depth!!!
This is a great forum for advice and will serve you well!
If you go for it, let us know how you get on and show us some pics!!

Rich

callisr said:

Get it bought! Sounds like a good price from your description. Most faults are diy fixable and are a great way of getting to know your vehicle. As said above, if chassis (and bulkhead) has serious rot, things can get costly and involved so check them bits carefully and factor according to your skill and pocket depth!!!
This is a great forum for advice and will serve you well!
If you go for it, let us know how you get on and show us some pics!!

Rich

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Sounds like a good price as long as it's what you want, I've run a 110 Tithonus every day for near 9 months now, I accept it's slow, I accept it's noisy and yes it smells of hot oil and diesel, however . . I've driven a fair few ex mil 90 and 110 and have never seen any of them do 70mph, the speedo may say that but GPS usually shows a true 60mph at best, throw in a hill and you will struggle. I've also found the 2.5 n/a to be a plodder, mine took me right round Wales green laning with a bent rod and worn diesel pump, it's not refined in anyway and mine has just started to leak oil again from its front crank seal after only 4 months. Acceleration is fairly slow but once up to 45 mph it will trundle along well enough. Mine never gets hot even flat out in 2nd screaming up a long climb.

^^^ agree with above. The 2.5na is by no means refined and similarly I never managed to achieve 70. Mine would plod along all day at 55 on motorways (unless a hill got in the way). It was a reliable engine though and I ran my last one for 18months until I replaced it with a 300tdi from a disco, along with the power steering.

Rich

You have been warned that it is overheating, seller is going to fit a new fan to see if it gets better. If you can sort engine problems or fit a new engine then give a lower price and go for it. If you use a garage then you will get a big bill. There could be better out there. I had a 110na for many years and i loved it but it is very slow and noisy, still well worth owning.

Me again! I've been looking but not seen anything else available since that's lez compliant or in my price range for a LWB.

I know I'm looking at the bottom end of the price range, so it's difficult especially when you see some of the rubbish stuff on ebay that hopeful sellers are looking a fortune for!

jee said:

Me again! I've been looking but not seen anything else available since that's lez compliant or in my price range for a LWB.

I know I'm looking at the bottom end of the price range, so it's difficult especially when you see some of the rubbish stuff on ebay that hopeful sellers are looking a fortune for!

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LEZ compliant? Don't think you will find any ex military are LEZ compliant unless retrofitted with a DPF.

Andicog said:

LEZ compliant? Don't think you will find any ex military are LEZ compliant unless retrofitted with a DPF.

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Some are, it depends on how they were registered. This one is registered as a SW so it's compliant! I've seen others registered as 'convertible' too. Obviously all petrol models are compliant but they're much harder to come by.

Which is another reason this particular one is of interest to me......

jee said:

Some are, it depends on how they were registered. This one is registered as a SW so it's compliant! I've seen others registered as 'convertible' too. Obviously all petrol models are compliant but they're much harder to come by.

Which is another reason this particular one is of interest to me......

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Ah right, I stand corrected, that's good news.

Don't trust an MOT as any guide to condition.

Far too many dodgy ones about.

blue beasty said:

Don't trust an MOT as any guide to condition.

Far too many dodgy ones about.

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I usually look at the government mot site when looking to buy a car, you'd be surprised how many land rovers are sold as rust free, when you look back on the mot website you find out a lot of hidden history, even the advisory items can be surprising, you only need the vehicle reg and it's totally free to use.

I'm told it's definitely not overheating although the temp gauge reads high & might be faulty. Sound plausible?

What mpg would I expect from a 2.5n/a engine in general use? 25?

I'm close to pulling the trigger on this...

jee said:

I'm told it's definitely not overheating although the temp gauge reads high & might be faulty. Sound plausible?

What mpg would I expect from a 2.5n/a engine in general use? 25?

I'm close to pulling the trigger on this...

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Yep I'd say around 25mpg, depends how you use it.

If it is a 2.5N/A diesel you will be driving it flat out all the time, they are 68bhp and you need every single one of them. The novelty of manual steering will soon wear off as well.

^^^^ manual steering is hard work when some bell parks bumper to bumper with you leaving you to do a gazillion shunts before you can pull away from the kerb.

Rich