Luxury Land Rover

[loafer123]

I live in the country at the bottom of a big hill - it's easy to get snowed in - so I bought an RRC to ensure I can get around and to work. I also have a Saab Convertible, whilst my wife has the family hack - an E320CDi Estate.

I want to consolidate my two cars down to one car, and am strangely drawn to a reworked Defender.

I want to work out what I should aim for, and am completely happy to get one rebuilt...I am thinking;

Chipped TD5 Engine + other mild engine mods
Disco 2 gearing, possibly auto
Professionally upholstered interior including soundproofing
Possibly upgraded suspension?

The questions I have are;

What do I use as a base car - should i get something like a G4 or a Defender Black and do mild mods, thereby getting AirCon, E/W and ABS into the bargain or a much older basic model and have it completely reworked?

What mods do you all think I should go for - it will be mainly on-road use.

How much do you think I can do this for?

All comments welcome!

Loafer

[300bhp/ton]

loafer123 said:

I live in the country at the bottom of a big hill - it's easy to get snowed in - so I bought an RRC to ensure I can get around and to work. I also have a Saab Convertible, whilst my wife has the family hack - an E320CDi Estate.

I want to consolidate my two cars down to one car, and am strangely drawn to a reworked Defender.

I want to work out what I should aim for, and am completely happy to get one rebuilt...I am thinking;

Chipped TD5 Engine + other mild engine mods
Disco 2 gearing, possibly auto
Professionally upholstered interior including soundproofing
Possibly upgraded suspension?

The questions I have are;

What do I use as a base car - should i get something like a G4 or a Defender Black and do mild mods, thereby getting AirCon, E/W and ABS into the bargain or a much older basic model and have it completely reworked?

What mods do you all think I should go for - it will be mainly on-road use.

How much do you think I can do this for?

All comments welcome!

Loafer

Hi.

Little lost on the luxury part If you want that, then a Disco or RR are basically a Defender under the body but with a more comfortable interior.

As for your project idea. Well it depends on budget and overall aims really. Also do you have the ability to do the custom work required?

In short you could buy a £900-1500 V8 or 2.5TD Landy, strip it, new chassis and engine of your choice with whatever parts you want fitted. Suspect this could easily be cheaper than buying a newer one and doing some mods.

But it depends, if you don't have the time, money or ability to take on such a project, then a newer nearer stock car with a few mods would certainly be easier.

Also if you want the ABS and TCS systems, they are probably easier to have as standard.


Not convinced on the Disco gearing. Ok if you cruise at high speed a lot on the motorway, but it'll blunt performance otherwise.


If you want a totally different approach, buy a Disco (or RRC) and chop down a 110 body to fit on the chassis and make a Defender 100. That way you can get a 3.9 EFI V8 and auto already there.

[Zumbruk]

Buy a Discovery and have done with it. If you want comfy buy a Disco 3 or 4. If you want luxury, buy a Rangie. Any of these will cost you less than farting around with a Defender.

[300bhp/ton]

Zumbruk said:

Buy a Discovery and have done with it. If you want comfy buy a Disco 3 or 4. If you want luxury, buy a Rangie. Any of these will cost you less than farting around with a Defender.

True, but the Defender will hold it's value well. And a modded tidy Ninety can easily be worth far more than it's base market value.

[budrover]

Buy a defender XS ... comes with heated seats / screen / air con / elec windows and a decent ventilation system.

[loafer123]

300bhp/ton said:

Zumbruk said:

Buy a Discovery and have done with it. If you want comfy buy a Disco 3 or 4. If you want luxury, buy a Rangie. Any of these will cost you less than farting around with a Defender.

True, but the Defender will hold it's value well. And a modded tidy Ninety can easily be worth far more than it's base market value.

Yes - this is a key consideration - I would rather pour hard earned cash into a bespoke car to my specs, and not lose money on it.

Also cheaper to keep, too.

[loafer123]

budrover said:

Buy a defender XS ... comes with heated seats / screen / air con / elec windows and a decent ventilation system.

Good shout...this looks nice: http://www.landroversuk.co.uk/details.aspx?id=227

I also hanker after a 50th Anniversary Edition, if not the fuel bills!

[loafer123]

Zumbruk said:

Buy a Discovery and have done with it. If you want comfy buy a Disco 3 or 4. If you want luxury, buy a Rangie. Any of these will cost you less than farting around with a Defender.

Both too big for what I want, but I do know I am making my own choice difficult!

[loafer123]

300bhp/ton said:

Hi.

Little lost on the luxury part If you want that, then a Disco or RR are basically a Defender under the body but with a more comfortable interior.

As for your project idea. Well it depends on budget and overall aims really. Also do you have the ability to do the custom work required?

Some of it, but I'm happy to pay someone to do it properly!

300bhp/ton said:

In short you could buy a £900-1500 V8 or 2.5TD Landy, strip it, new chassis and engine of your choice with whatever parts you want fitted. Suspect this could easily be cheaper than buying a newer one and doing some mods.

I think you're right. How much to get this done, do you think?

300bhp/ton said:

But it depends, if you don't have the time, money or ability to take on such a project, then a newer nearer stock car with a few mods would certainly be easier.

Also if you want the ABS and TCS systems, they are probably easier to have as standard.

I have watched a 90 on full lock sliding towards me in slow motion (slow enough for me to reverse out of the way!) so they do hold some attraction!

300bhp/ton said:

Not convinced on the Disco gearing. Ok if you cruise at high speed a lot on the motorway, but it'll blunt performance otherwise.

Good advice - I definitely want decent grunt.

300bhp/ton said:

If you want a totally different approach, buy a Disco (or RRC) and chop down a 110 body to fit on the chassis and make a Defender 100. That way you can get a 3.9 EFI V8 and auto already there.

That sounds a little more hardcore than I want!

Thanks for all of your advice...!

[300bhp/ton]

loafer123 said:

300bhp/ton said:

In short you could buy a £900-1500 V8 or 2.5TD Landy, strip it, new chassis and engine of your choice with whatever parts you want fitted. Suspect this could easily be cheaper than buying a newer one and doing some mods.

I think you're right. How much to get this done, do you think?

There really is no set price tbh.

But some rough figures

-Old Ninety, either a V8 or a 2.5TD these can be had from £800-1500. And all you really need is the interior, body panels and V5. So a rotten chassis would be a good thing.

-New galvanized chassis £1500

-Disco rear axle to get rear disc brakes - eBay £250 (or buy a Disco to nick parts from)

-Tdi engine, these can be had for £350 off ebay, or you could go Td5 but you'll need a few more parts. Even then, I'm sure a Td5 is possible used for £1500-2500 all in. Or V8.

-re use the gearbox, front axle, all steering (all of this is the same on a new one pretty much)

-Fit back together with new seats and some new interior trim and aftermarket sound proofing.

-Refresh the suspension and brakes maybe fit some ARB's if you don't plan off road use

-Any other upgrades you want such wheels, styling, mods.


It won't be cheap to do a full rebuild, but you'll end with an almost new vehicle that should last years and years. If you price it right, then I see no reason why you couldn't have something really nice for £8-10k all in.

loafer123 said:

300bhp/ton said:

If you want a totally different approach, buy a Disco (or RRC) and chop down a 110 body to fit on the chassis and make a Defender 100. That way you can get a 3.9 EFI V8 and auto already there.

That sounds a little more hardcore than I want!

Thanks for all of your advice...!

It's actually not any more work than rebuilding a Ninety. Essentially a Disco is exactly the same, the same box chassis and running gear. All you need to do is cut the rear cross member off and weld on a Defender one. Then customise the (chop down) a 110 body to fit.

It is a lot of work, but it's a fairly common conversion in the Land Rover world.



That said, buying a tidy TD5, getting it re-mapped and cleaned up would be a lot easier. But maybe not any cheaper when all said and done.

[Bish]

Get a TD5 XS.

Pop down to JE Engineering and get it remapped, put the disco transfer box gears in and their suspension and your laughing. Its what I did. I also put some 18" replicas of the Boost alloy wheel and some 285 section tyres and it transformed the on road handling. Got a lot of grief for it but I didn't take it off road much so it made sense to make it safer for 99% of the time and maybe slither about in a field if I go shooting....or take something else more suitable.....

[loafer123]

Bish said:

Get a TD5 XS.

Pop down to JE Engineering and get it remapped, put the disco transfer box gears in and their suspension and your laughing. Its what I did. I also put some 18" replicas of the Boost alloy wheel and some 285 section tyres and it transformed the on road handling. Got a lot of grief for it but I didn't take it off road much so it made sense to make it safer for 99% of the time and maybe slither about in a field if I go shooting....or take something else more suitable.....

They do have a good reputation.

Roughly how much did it cost?

[il ritorno uno]

All (most?) of the pricing is on their website.

www.jeengineering.co.uk

I have a Stage 2 on my Puma that they did for me and it is great and very reliable and much MUCH faster. They don't over engineer things there so that the work they do is within the limits of the car. Recommended.

[300bhp/ton]

il ritorno uno said:

All (most?) of the pricing is on their website.

www.jeengineering.co.uk

I have a Stage 2 on my Puma that they did for me and it is great and very reliable and much MUCH faster. They don't over engineer things there so that the work they do is within the limits of the car. Recommended.

I know they have a good reputation but they always seem very pricey IMO.

[BLUETHUNDER]

loafer123 said:

budrover said:

Buy a defender XS ... comes with heated seats / screen / air con / elec windows and a decent ventilation system.

Good shout...this looks nice: http://www.landroversuk.co.uk/details.aspx?id=227

I also hanker after a 50th Anniversary Edition, if not the fuel bills!

I had a 50th. And have to say one of the best vehiles i have ever owne. Quite refined for a defender. I upgraded it slightly with the addition of having all the seats trimmed in grey leather with blue piping,and having custom made overmates made for it,complete with V8 logo. I also fitted a multimedia unit in place of the original headunit. I stopped short of going further,because i didnt want to detract to much from the originality of the 50th. My changes which slightly took it further upmarket were subtle. It was a vehicle i drove every day,and never tired of it. I would love to have another.

[il ritorno uno]

Bish said:

Get a TD5 XS.

Pop down to JE Engineering and get it remapped, put the disco transfer box gears in and their suspension and your laughing. Its what I did. I also put some 18" replicas of the Boost alloy wheel and some 285 section tyres and it transformed the on road handling. Got a lot of grief for it but I didn't take it off road much so it made sense to make it safer for 99% of the time and maybe slither about in a field if I go shooting....or take something else more suitable.....

Nice wheels. Did you have to have a lift for those? 2" enough?