The modifications begin!

After having my Defender for 2 weeks it's about time the modifications began, I've done the sensible things - full service, replaced UJ's, reset the tappets etc, now I want to do a few things to make it feel like it's mine

This is my starting point:


I've put a pair of 350w 6x9's in the back and have a pair of 150w speakers for the front, they will be going in as soon as I decide whether to go for a Raptor dash or a Mud dash... Any opinions would be appreciated on that one! I'll be looking to sound insulate it too.

After searching the forum (I've seen 'do a search' posted so many times!!) I plan to put a disco axle on the back (for the disc brakes) and the higher ratio hi gear into the transfer box to make motorway trips a bit more comfortable.

I have new doors to put on and then it's respray time, I'm thinking either black or orange at the moment but that will change repeatedly over the next few weeks!

Oh and I'm sourcing the parts to do a twin tank veg oil conversion but I can't find any info on this on the forum - I guess it hasn't come up before...

I typed in 'twin tank' and found a few threads

This is one of them in case it helps

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f20/running-veggie-oil-42832.html

Have a look at Post 43

hi mate i fitted a raptor in my 110 a couple of months ago..it was easy to fit..and raptor will cut your plates to any spec you want ..best getting it from raptor direct..cheaper than ebay

my advice is buy a raptor dash, its far better that the mud dash.
i bought my 90 with a mud dash allready in it and i hate it, thay are nasty plastic.

I was leaning towards the Raptor already and I had noticed they were about £10 cheaper direct than on ebay, I think I might be ordering one once I decide on the layout I want. Do you have any pics of you're setup?

Thanks for the link Station House, I've been trawling through all the Veg threads and I think I know the way I want to go with it - Heated tank, heat exchanger and heated fuel filter, solenoid valve for switching to veg at 80 deg and another for the fuel return. 12mm fuel line up to the filter should help it to flow too. I'm looking for the right parts now as I want to do it ASAP.

I forgot to add, I have twin electric fans to fit too need to hack out all the wiring in there at the mo though (spot lights etc) it's not great.

No Orange respray! mine is enough!

Nowt wrong with Orange and Black,,,,

Defender90Dave said:

my advice is buy a raptor dash, its far better that the mud dash.
i bought my 90 with a mud dash allready in it and i hate it, thay are nasty plastic.

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Yes, they're plastic - but it matches the rest of the dash much better (IMO).

Here's mine:

Is it just me that likes the colour? Throw on some black chequer plate, get rid of the light surround plates and get some black modulars with MT tyres.

Snorkel, whether you need one or not, I like the look of them, :behindsofa::flame2:

Instead of going for the Mud Dash, why don't you pay the same amount (£55) and buy the console that is fitted in the TD5's? Much more robust and looks the part!

I'm feeling it for the Raptor dash I think, I already have the ally surround for the standard clocks and think it will suit best. I just need to suss out the CB size I need; any advice on that? I'm just gonna put a cheap CB in there for the bit of green laning I plan to do as I believe it's the done thing.

I got my new mud flaps today and fitted them just before it went dark, roll on summer so I can do a bit in the evenings!

I have my eye on this head unit: Beat 375 Bluetooth iPod iPhone CD MP3 Car Radio Stereo on eBay (end time 25-Apr-11 18:59:13 BST) it seems to do everything I need and more and seems OK for the price, never heard of Beat though.

Orange looks awsome by the way!

Daz H said:

never heard of Beat though.

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I hadn't either so did some searching

Appears to be well stocked and has good reviews at the price point - interesting

Helmetbolt said:

Nowt wrong with Orange and Black,,,,

Click to expand...

seconded just to annoy jp

I just bought the Beat 375 and a Raptor dash. I went for the T6 top part as I don't have a CB yet and it seemed to be the most generic.

That's it for buying stuff for the time being, I've got to find time to fit the stuff!

I guess I could get some orange paint though...

I'll get some interior pics as soon as the dash is fitted, if they get it here quick enough I might even have it in on Sunday.

The Raptor dash is in - easy to fit and looks great even without any switches / gauges.

Beat 375 fitted with 350w rear speakers and 150w fronts, initial impression is good but the front left speaker has the wiper motor behind it so I'll have to space that one out a bit - I might look at putting them in the doors once I put the new ones on.

Any pics Daz?

It was a bit dark by the time I finished, I'll get some tomorrow

Raptor dash in place with a few bits in there:


As a temporary fix I took the surrounds from the old speakers and used them to space out the new speaker so it clears the wiper motor:


Now I need a rev counter and two other gauges, not sure what to go for yet.

The sound is pretty good now, I don't think I'll bother with an amp / sub as it's got plenty of oomph as it is.