Land Rover 110 Tithonus

[AceOfHearts]

I am looking at buying a Defender 110 (Tithonus) and just wanted some advice as the one I like (there are a few to choose from) has had the front propshaft removed and has been used with the diff lock on obviously only running the rear wheels. The seller does not know why this was originally done as they just bought 20 Defenders for a solar farm installation project last year, and now the project is over they are getting rid. The car is solid (bulkhead and chassis) and they will let this one go for £500 less than the others which seems like a good deal as apart from this issue the rest of the car is a cleaner than the other and needs less money spending in other areas.

I am happy to do the work myself to repair it but I was just wondering what is a likely cause of this being done. Hopefully in my mind it is just a half shaft, UJ or joint on the propshaft itself (I forgot to check it when i was there) but are there any common and expensive issues with the front axle that it would most likely otherwise be?

They also have MOD trailers for sale at £1000 each and although I have no immediate need I wonder if this would be a good investment as they look like very good bits of kit.

Thoughts?

[anonymous-user]

I'd pay the extra £500 and avoid the mystery to be honest.
And a grand for a Sankey is about double what they're worth.

[AceOfHearts]

Thanks for the input. I googled Sankey and the trailers they had were similar but were definitely a box trailer

[Bill]

It could just be stripped splines on a drive shaft, or something else.... I'd be suspicious corners have been cut elsewhere with maintenance with all of them. Are they cheap?

[AceOfHearts]

Yes quite cheap, the one with the shaft missing i can get for £3700. On 'Mod Sales' Tithonus models are being advertised for around £7k + vat. Maintenance wise i am not too worried as the company have had them for only a year for a contract to build 5 solar farms and have been used by them to get round the sites. Now the contract is over they are getting rid. All are quite low milage, fluid levels are good and engines ran well.

I am going to take a second look early next week with them and take the plunge on one i think. I am specifically looking for a 110 hardtop to they seem ideal and its nice being able to look at a few at the same time.

Edited by AceOfHearts on Saturday 19th March 19:16

[anonymous-user]

Although the wind farm project has only had them for a yer, I doubt very much that they were bought new by them and the colour scheme doesn't require Sherlock Holmes to figure out where they were before that.
Personally, unless after a project, I'd walk away.

[camel_landy]

As far as specs go, they will be as basic as they come... They don't even have winding windows!! It would also be worth having a look at the electrical system and make sure it's 12v, not 24v.

M

[AceOfHearts]

Hi guys,

Been back and put a deposit on one of the Land Rovers. Although basic it is very solid and for the price has a lot of potential. Looking forward to owning my first ever Land Rover.

The trailers I had a proper look at and are made by Penman. They are a bit expensive for my taste (they want £1500 each for them but I could probably bid them down a bit). Any thoughts on these, am I passing on a bargain?

[anonymous-user]

Something a bit odd about those trailers....clearly used but no serial number or registration on the data plate.
Alongside a £500 Sankey they strike me as expensive.

[piecost76]

Well done AceOfHearts, I think you have made a good move!

The Tithonus Defenders were subject to a full rebuild in 2007/8 so effectively you have a lightly used (?) 9 year old Defender albeit a very basic spec & a N/A engine - some may say less to go wrong!

A great start to Defender ownership but I reckon you will be shopping for a TDi transplant and PAS v soon!

Regarding the Penman trailers, maybe they were Cast without being ever officially entered into service?

[AceOfHearts]

Thanks I had a drive of it round the owners yard and I think I will have arms like Popeye by summer

There are a few coming up for sale this week which are commanding quite a lot of money

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Landrover-110-Tithonus-W...

Here are some pictures of my one (I will get some better ones once it is home and cleaned up a little)

[AceOfHearts]

Just got a copy of the MOD paperwork from the seller. Its a 1985 model and it was sent to Withams in January 2013. Since then it has done 500km!

Edited by AceOfHearts on Monday 4th April 18:15

[anonymous-user]

What about before then?

[AceOfHearts]

Well it was MOD before then, i have requested history from them to find out where it served for interest but i don't really know what you are getting at? Its not like i'm expecting it to come with a load of main dealer and kwik fit receipts is it

[anonymous-user]

Well, thing is it's all very well raving about it only having done 500kms since 2013 but if that's on top of 500,000 it's not really much to get excited about is it?

[AceOfHearts]

Oh no its done 170,000km (105,000 miles)

[piecost76]

That's great news!

Worst case scenario - 6 years service since a full refurb costing up to £15k each!

More likely it has been lying up in a TMP or TA compound jus getting occasional use.

[Cfnteabag]

The Tithonous rebuild standard seemed to depend entirely which DSG branch it was done at.

The Penman trailers should be avoided like the plague! They look like specialist version that may have done very little in service then sold off as there was no further use for it or a diffrent vehicle was brought it. The Penman trailer was a replacment for the Sankey with disc brakes using a floating caliper to give auto reverse but they sieze and the brakes stop working completly on one side meaning braking when the trailer is fully loaded can be exciting! Much better off with an older sankey.

The Land Rovers will be very simple but are an ideal blank canvas which comes with the benefit of a full rollcage and larger hardtop meaning that less space is lost inside. The 2.5 N/A engine is a good solid lump that can go for a long time and its simple design and number built means that it can be stripped and rebuilt with not much more than a simple tool kit and a service manual.

When I was looking for a Land Rover I would have loved a Tithonous but they were outside of my price range

[AceOfHearts]

As a little update i picked up the landy yesterday and it passed its MOT without any advisories! Was really good on the road and although slow will cruise at 50 / 55 quite happily and was surprisingly quiet inside and. Had no rattles!

So plan is to give it a full service, sort out the front diff, get it registered and then i can kit it out and get it earning its keep

[AceOfHearts]