hello and help....please!!! (sorry its a long post)

Firstly, hello to every one from the rather snowy and damn awful NE!!!

ok, I need a little bit of help here. I have a budget of 7-8K for a landie 90, and need to know what my best bet is. I will be using the truck as a daily driver as well as some greenlaning (and possible a bit of offroading in time)

I have scoured forums and the likes to find the best type to get and so far it has been all for the 300Tdi over the TD5 (please dont argue which is best ) Trouble is, all the ones around here are either ex farm with more rot than enough (body chassis and bulkhead) or they are TD5.

So the question is....... Do i plump for an early TD5 or do commision a refurb from the likes of liveridge 4x4 with a 300tdi engine for similar money???

I am struggling to justify 8k for a 300tdi engine implanted in a H/J plate car, but then it woud be rot free and fully rebuilt!?!?!

what should I do?

cheers

Ben

ps... Any pointers where i could look for a second hand landie from someone in the know near the Newcastle area?? Failing that, i think it will be a bit of a trip!!

oh, forgot to add, would a recon'd 2.5 N/A be a silly choice??

er yes im just going from a 2.5 NA to a 200tdi the NA is alrightr if you dont wantr to go anywhere fast ie ABOVE 50 MPH and live somewhere flat without any hills.

If you have the option to have a refurbished 300 tdi in a rot free land rover then I would certainly go down that route, you'll be a lot happier in the long run. There is nothing to justify a TD5 with a bit of body damage over a 300 tdi in brand new condition. The 300 tdi engine is generally speaking a much better engine (and more economic).

Look at it this way: A reconditioned 300 tdi in a refurbished land rover is technically newer than a TD5 and is worth spending the same amount, if not a little bit more money on!

As for the 2.5 N/A, it's a total rock solid bombshell of an engine but it's absolutely shocking on hills. You'd be dropping from fifth to third and revving its bollocks off to reach 30 up any kind of incline. (I have an N/A!)

Go 300TDI
-Pos

or even a 200, they are essentially the same as the 300.

fcking heck, that is sterling advice!!! huge thanks!!!! I was thinking of it being an okder car, but just read that condition is more important than age or mileage (which would be almost nothing due to all mechanincal parts being refurb' or replaced as appropriate)

cheers for the help!!

Ben

8K is a **** load of dosh for a vehicle which I personally could not live with on a daily basis. I got an R plate disco 95,000 miles for £2600, it's much more civilised than a 90, and well capable off road.

I guess it's not a 90 though and if your heart is set on one then I'm talking ****, but I hope that you have actually played with one and know what you are getting into, I personally hate them, and they kill my back.

Refurbishing a vehicle is an awsome task, both costly and time consuming, finding yourself uncovering problem after problem, however if you do it right you can build a vehicle completly tailored to your own specifications.

There was a program on the TV where a guy did just this and he built a cracker (a landrover is born I think it was called).

The only point I have to make in this instance is that many people start projects just like this and run out of steam half way through because they under-estimate the time and cost involved. Just look at the adds "unfinished project", throughout the years I have seen many fail or complete it but produce a product sub standard. The kit car guys are classic at this.

If you are a mechanic, or a competant D.I.Y guy with a good tool kit, with the time and place to do it then go ahead but do your maths first and be realistic in terms of time. If you expect to farm the repairs out then I suspect it to be a costly route.

Just think for a minute how much has to be removed to fit a new chassis, and how many bolts and bits a bobs are going to need a burner to get off.

I drive my old 1986 90 with 2.5 N/A, no power steering on a daily basis and I love it! Feels strange when I take my Dads little car around the block.

D451

A disco has no place with me, it HAS to be a 90!!!! Yeah i have played with them (the old folks had a series 1 for a fair few years and i loved that!!!then a series 11A which i also loved!!!)

I dont plan on doing the refurb myself, thats why the money is a bit in the steep side, but i want a TDi not a TD5, so its pays your monay and takes your choice, or buy the truck i want (i can specify exactly the spec i want that way!!!)

I agree, a defender is an odd choice for everyday cars, but they have something about them that no other 4x4 has (haha, problems probably) so it has to be one of them. Cheers for the thought tho!! (oh yaeh, i watched that series, woth Mark Evans who also built a helicopter, aeroplane, motorbike, e-type jag etc......still dont think he did it himself like ;-) LOVED it!!!)

the thing which I like about 90's is the way that they look, even the bonet, but you can't appreciate all that when your working up a sweat stamping at the pedals, passing the gear lever to the crew in the back to select second and then there's the steering. Bloody hell. All good fun though

I love them, theres just something about defenders, and i havent ever driven one! classic rangie or 101 would be my second port of call

can only agree that drivin me 90 everyday is the highlight, took out original seats and put in recaros from a capri 280! so comfy as feck.
My 9 year old son enjoys goin in the landy more than the wifes saab 95 2.3 turbo! And i only got a 200tdi

BenNE said:

D451

A disco has no place with me, it HAS to be a 90!!!! Yeah i have played with them (the old folks had a series 1 for a fair few years and i loved that!!!then a series 11A which i also loved!!!)

I dont plan on doing the refurb myself, thats why the money is a bit in the steep side, but i want a TDi not a TD5, so its pays your monay and takes your choice, or buy the truck i want (i can specify exactly the spec i want that way!!!)

I agree, a defender is an odd choice for everyday cars, but they have something about them that no other 4x4 has (haha, problems probably) so it has to be one of them. Cheers for the thought tho!! (oh yaeh, i watched that series, woth Mark Evans who also built a helicopter, aeroplane, motorbike, e-type jag etc......still dont think he did it himself like ;-) LOVED it!!!)

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Your right don't think he did do much in the way of the build, if you look carefully there were a gang of them, and anyway he sounds like a **** so childish with his silly pranks. But the finished product was a cracker, and I would have had it in a minute, sore back and all.

I don't like the td5, too much electrics for me, I like the basic stuff without all that abs ****e an all that management complication. I think the 90 has that primitive element, the go around the world ruggedness, and yes it attracts me also, just like an open fire brings out something from our ancestors and attracts us like moths to a light bulb. But a back injury makes it difficult unfortunatly to live with that ruggedness.

How about the military sales, usually not much in the way of rust there, the odd bullet hole and such, and a good base to start. I don't know how much they cost but a mate recently had a 110 and it looked fine other than being green\brown, and black, and I know he never spent a lot on it.

I recon with that kind off dosh you could get a good one, and avoid the rust route at the minute. Lets face it you want it now not in 6 months time, and you can schedule in your projects when you have the time and money.

Anyway good luck and when you get it done post a few pics, and let us know what it cost and so on.

pos said:

I drive my old 1986 90 with 2.5 N/A, no power steering on a daily basis and I love it! Feels strange when I take my Dads little car around the block.

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I bet it did, the fire service have an old thing, it belongs to the benevolent society, we still have to maintain it for them and ffs I road tested it one time and you know the only thing that was missing was a couple of horses on the front.

I don't know what model it was (petrol 4 cyl) but as you say no power steering, no power, leaf springs and nothing, and I mean nothing in the way of comfort. And yes it took some getting used to, I took it around the block and dumped it back in the car park before I got killed.

Worse that a morris minor.

I'd rather shoot myself in the gonads than own something like that, but some peeps love them, and lets face it some people like ugly fat women. Something to do with personality, not the ride quality, "Vehicles I meen of course".

lol, I'm not for big women though

Hi mate.I f i was you i would buy a 300tdi 90.Maybe a bit tatty for around £4000-£4500 and get it re-built.Should have enough to get a nice sprayjob new panels recon engine.

If i paid say 5k for the car, 1k for the paint job (to get it professionally prepared and done may be more) around 1k for the engine and the same again for panels and glass, it would come to about 8k. Would it be worth going down that route or just pay for a complete package knowing nothing about the original vehicle??

also, i have not got the facilities nor time to do a full rebuild project, It would all be done by a specialist which may push up the cost of Lamby's idea.

Cheers!!

pos said:

I drive my old 1986 90 with 2.5 N/A, no power steering on a daily basis and I love it! Feels strange when I take my Dads little car around the block.

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Me too!!

1986 2.5 N/A Ex-MOD

I drive it everywhere! I also have a 528 BMW. But since getting the landy 9 months ago. I have driven the BMW about 5 times and its now on the forecourt waiting to be sold!!

the 2.5 NA is a good reliable engine! Especially when the floods come!!

But it does lake the power on the road! Would def look into a 300 - 200TDI.

If you find a real nice 2.5NA it might be worth the engine upgrade if you get it at the right price!

well, looked into a totally refurbished 300tdi today, going to cost around about 12k which is a little on the steep side for me. I think my best plan is to search for a solid 200/300tdi and tinker with it myself, then possibly have it resprayed to tidy iit up.

where are the military sales? Are they just the likes of exmod.com and the likes or are there proper sales??

cheers!!

Try pablanchard.co.uk they sometimes have mass clearance sales