One-of-a-kind Rhd 1985/1995 V8 Land Rover Defender 90 on 2040-cars
Youngsville, North Carolina, United States
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eBay would not recognize the VIN, which is: SALLDVAH7AA235815 I have many, many more pictures available. Please contact me for details. How is this a 1985 / 1995 Defender? Easy – the original, from-1985 2.25L I4 engine that was in the truck when it was shipped over from Great Britain decided to catastrophically connect two of its cylinders, and the fix was to replace it with a refreshed 3.9L V8 from a 1995 Discovery. All of the work was done by Braddy’s British Motorworks up in Youngsville, NC. The 2.25L was taken out and replaced by the aforementioned 3.9L EFI aluminum-block V8 (on which the lifters, rod bearings, head gasket, etc. were replaced); the ZF4HP22 automatic transmission and 1.22 LT230T transfer case (both from the same donor vehicle as the engine) replaced the manual transmission that was there before; the original, tiny radiator was replaced with one designed for a Defender V8 and an electric fan was added to supplement the belt-driven one on the engine; an all-new exhaust system was fabricated and installed; the front driveshaft was replaced with one from a Range Rover Classic; a secondary, 15-gallon fuel tank was installed underneath the rear bed along with a remote-controlled pollak valve to allow you to switch between the two tanks on the fly; and LED indicator lights were installed all the way around to replace the woefully inadequate original incandescents. The truck does not have air conditioning (it never did), but the compressor is still attached to the 3.9 and blanked off if you want to add it in the future. The right hand drive was retained, as was power steering and power brakes (disc fronts, drum rears), and a custom center console was fabricated to hold the new shifter. The engine has all of about 35 miles on it since the refresh (90k before), though the body has 154,039 miles on it. The refreshed engine and all new parts included in the install are covered by a 12-month, 12,000 mile warranty from Braddy’s British Motorworks, and the transmission, transfer case, and all other used parts are covered by a 6-month, 6,000 mile warranty. No other warranty, implied or stated, comes with the vehicle, though. This is a bad-ass, go-anywhere, all-wheel-drive-all-the-time, British truck that thinks it’s a tank, and everything else on it is pretty much ready to go. It comes with a hard-top – which can be removed – and a fold-down windshield for the full summer driving experience. All four wheels have desirable Wolf (6.5Jx16x20.6) rims, the lower door frames have been replaced recently, and the frame and body are in great shape. The rear spare tire is being held up by a Mantec spare tire carrier, and the front is protected by a newly-powder-coated and -installed brush bar. It’s currently set up for "station wagon" configuration with two seats in the front and four sideways seats in the back. The front upholstery has been replaced with Exmoor Trim "Denim Vinyl" and heated elements have been added to those seats. For those keeping up with the news on Defenders, this one was 100% legally imported by GMR 4x4 of Vermont (who I purchased the vehicle from in June of last year), and both its VIN and original British license plate check out as being old enough to import. In fact, you can check for yourself: the original plate is C689 TRT and the VIN is at the top of the listing. The truck is currently registered and plated in Wake County, NC, and I have the clean title in-hand with no lien or loan. So why am I selling it? This has been an ongoing project, and our most-recent discovery is that, despite being a Defender, it left the Land Rover factory with Series gear ratios in the front and rear differentials. So while the V8 may be more used to 3.54:1 ratios, it is actually trying to turn wheels that are hooked up to 4.7:1 ratios. The current ratios are great for off-roading, rock-crawling, cruising around town, and that kind of awesome stuff, but I bought this truck to be a daily driver, and it really does not like highway speeds. The fix is to take the front and rear axles off a Discovery and bolt them onto the Defender, but that’s somewhere north of $2000 that we weren’t planning on spending… and we’ve reached our limit. Braddy’s does have these parts available – from the same vehicle that the engine and transmission came out of – if you wanted to pursue this option. Alternative fixes include an overdrive (maybe?) or figuring out what size wheels/tires make the ratio work out to being nearly correct... or using it as a dedicated offroad rig. Known issues include a heater core that is jammed on (you have your choice of no blown air or hot blown air), a dash blinker indicator that doesn’t blink (could be due to the LED indicator light installation… could be a blown indicator bulb, haven’t checked), a leaky right-rear wheel hub (a $5 seal and an hour or two of time, or it can be fixed by replacing the axles), a bent door stop on the driver’s side and a missing door stop on the back, one of the LED brake lights does not fully illuminate (faulty part, replacement is in the mail and will be included with vehicle), and the usual sporadic Land Rover surface rust. The rear crossmember was replaced long before it was imported to the States, the passenger (left) side seat box bottom has some rot on it ($100 in parts and some quality time with a rivet gun or spot welder), and the door frames have a little rust at the bottom leading corners on both sides. None of the rust is catastrophic or outside the realm of "normal" for a Rover of this age. Finally, someone tried to fix a scratch on the passenger door using some rattle can paint; it doesn’t exactly match, but it’s not painfully obvious (much less in person than the pictures, actually). The touch-up paint will likely buff off. Really, it wouldn’t take much for this to be a pretty awesome Rover, but we’ve reached our own personal limits. Our loss, your gain :). And, really, I just wish my commute did not involve interstates… if you want an awesome town cruiser that you can take out on the trails on the weekend, this is definitely it. Feel free to contact me if you have any further questions. Alternatively, the truck is currently parked at Braddy’s British Motorworks in Youngsville, NC if you want to see it in person. All available records - MOT paperwork, V5 forms, Confirmation of Date of Manufacture from the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust, and engine transplant documentation - will transfer with the vehicle. $1000 PayPal deposit must be made within 24 hours of auction close. Full payment is due within three days of auction close via wire transfer or cashiers' check. I will work with any and all shippers, but the shipping is on your dime, and must be arranged by you. The vehicle must be picked up within seven days of auction close. (Vehicle is listed locally. I reserve the right to close this auction early.) (The transmission in the bed has been sold. The other parts back there are leftovers from the 2.25L conversion, and can be yours or scrap, as you like.) |
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