Thinking of buying a Defender have a look at this.........

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Have a look at the rear crossmember under that chequer pate cover might be interesting!
Ditch the roof rack as it will get hung up on every bush/tree you come across.


Lynall
 
Not with a barge pole but that's my personal opinion.

Non-standard engine can mean fun sourcing spares (been there).
Looks quite rough with some bling.
If the chassis is perfect why the chequer plate on the rear crossmember?

However he makes the final point himself, he calls it a Defender and a Jeep when it is neither!
 
Daihatsu DG series of engines are bombproof.

I had a Daihatsu 2.5 DG in mine and it ran great, but as previously mentioned parts were the main concern and since I had a 200tdi sitting around from a disco... I put that in instead, just to keep everything land rover :)

Have no bad things to say about the Daihatsu lump though and it gave very good fuel economy.
 
I agree with Lynall regarding the crossmember! ... mine had that on when I bought it and underneath was a load of apple crumble so a rear 1/4 chassis was needed. Alloy chequer plate on steel crossmember will also speed up the corrosion process so be very aware!
 
thanks for the advice lads,

the more i look at it the more i think its over priced. when i scrape the dosh together im going to bid him €2000 (assuming the crossmember is ok) max id prob go is €2500 after all it is a 1988 and not as fresh as it could be.

so worst case scenario say the cross member is rotten bow bad is that? how much would it cost to get fixed and how difficult is it to do?
 
A decent new rear crossmember with extensions is about £150 - £200. Don't be tempted by the cheap ones, i made that mistake (but then i did pay £30 for mine :D) The cheap ones are made of thin flimsy metal, badly/not fully welded and do not fit.

My friend bought his from MIB components/warwick 4x4 (sister companies), was about £165 IIRC and fitted brilliantly/was very well made. i managed to dent mine with a wooden mallet whilst getting it to line up and needed to cut/reweld much of it to make it fit

It's a pretty easy job to do, i did mine with a 4.5 inch angle grinder but a 9 inch or plasma cutter makes it a lot easier. Its a case of measuring lots of times before marking, disconnecting and pulling the rear wiring loom back through the chassis, cutting off the old xmember, getting the new one in position (stick a few of the rear tub bolts in to align it.), tack weld it, check the fit then seam weld before unbolting rear tub bolts again and lifting the tub slightly to gain access to top of chassis legs for welding. finally paint and re-attach all the rear bolts then connect up the wiring.

Not sure how much a garage would charge to do the job however.
 
I bought mine from MibComponents too, last year. It cost £250 inc VAT for a rear 1/4 chassis and then I paid the same for my mate to fit it ... he is a great welder and has a workshop so was just an easy option! They do a heavy duty one too which is 1mm thicker plate if you do lots of heavy towing.
 
well im going to see that defender tomorrow and will be going armed with all the good advice from you lads. thanks. going to pitch low at €2,000 max im willing to go is €2,500 im guessing there is something hiding behind the chequer plate on the rear cross member its also a 1988 with a different engine and on english plates in ireland
 
let us know how you get on.
id be concerned by how he cant seem to spell
and how he is willing to swap it for ANYTHING even tho he earlier stated was skint so has to go.
 
mikeadams1985 said:
let us know how you get on.
id be concerned by how he cant seem to spell
and how he is willing to swap it for ANYTHING even tho he earlier stated was skint so has to go.
Click to expand...

Yeah i was wondering about that myself, I rang him yesterday to tell him i sold a vahicle of mine and had some cash to make him an offer. He lives about 90 mins away and im going to go down with a trailer. He told me there was someone going to see him today that has a Raptor Quad and they were going to do a straight swap. when i told him i had cash he said he was goin to hold the other guy off till i got down. He said he was only going to swap for a Quad as he could see it easier?? bizare i know! funn thing raptor quads only seem to get about €2k max! so maybe i might be in with a shot of getting it! who knows

will up date you's later this evening. ill either be driving it or not BUT i did spy 2 other i like too to give me an incentive to walk away if the price aont in my favor

Land Rover Defender 300tdi for sale in Cork: €3,975 - DoneDeal.ie

runs on waste veg oil, I own a restaurant that could come in handy!!

Land Rover Defender for sale in Limerick: €3,800 - DoneDeal.ie

I do also like the look of that one. its also a V8 like the open top back too.
 
SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!! BOUGHT IT!

im now a proud member of the Defender Gang lol €2,400 lighter for my troubles! few fixes needed but over all delighted with what i got.
 
Actully its in decent nick, there is a little corrosion but nothing dramatic. the exhaust is piped out through the rear bumper. Its a crackin motor needs a few small things but can fix them handy enough. wing mirrors need mirrors, indicator wiper needs a stalk some small stuff like that should have fun fixing them really.
 
P38_Ireland said:
Actully its in decent nick, there is a little corrosion but nothing dramatic. the exhaust is piped out through the rear bumper. Its a crackin motor needs a few small things but can fix them handy enough. wing mirrors need mirrors, indicator wiper needs a stalk some small stuff like that should have fun fixing them really.
Click to expand...

Sounds good ... enjoy. Just put a new stalk on mine, simple job, you'll find Busters photo guide useful ;)
 
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