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One-of-a-kind Rhd 1985/1995 V8 Land Rover Defender 90 on 2040-cars

Year:1985 Mileage:154039
Location:

Youngsville, North Carolina, United States

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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Auto blog

Jaguar and Land Rover to consolidate dealerships

Thu, 29 Nov 2012

Jaguar and Land Rover are set to merge their sales facilities, according to Inside Line. Jaguar Land Rover North America President Andy Gross says 45 percent of Jaguar owners also have an SUV in their stable, so it makes sense to give customers as much exposure to the cat's high-riding cousins and possible. The number of overall outlets will remain the same, and the brands will reportedly remain separate on the showroom floor, however.
So far, just one dealer has made the move to combine under the roof of one 68,000 square-foot facility in Paramus, New Jersey (above), though a further 20 are ready to make the shift and become Jaguar Land Rover outlets. Gross believes the shift is necessary so that his company's dealer network will accurately reflect the company's products. We'll see how cozy the brands are when Jaguar starts rolling out its own SUVs in a few years.

Audi considers a rugged SUV — maybe on the Scout platform

Fri, Jan 27 2023

Audi engineers are formulating plans to possibly build a “super saloon” luxury off-roader SUV in 2027, It would compete in a segment that now includes the Land Rover Defender and Mercedes-Benz G-Class, according to a report in BritainÂ’s Autocar. According to Audi designer Marc Lichte, quoted in the story, the platform for the new model could be borrowed from the Volkswagen GroupÂ’s recently announced sister brand, Scout Motors, which is currently developing electric-powered concepts and prototypes. While Audi has developed a PPE (Premium Platform Electric) architecture for its base EV lineup, that would be replaced in the planned model with ScoutÂ’s ladder chassis to provide the steep departure angles and ground clearance needed to negotiate tough terrain, as well as with the latest generation of AudiÂ’s Quattro four-wheel-drive technology, Autocar reports. Audi is well into development of its Activesphere project, an enticing design blend of coupe and hatchback. The Activesphere uses PPE, co-developed by Audi and Porsche, and will appear in a production Audi product by the end of this year. Audi says. Beyond that, “I think there is space" for a rugged SUV in AudiÂ’s passenger car lineup,  Lichte said. “There is potential because there are only two premium players” in this particular segment" (Mercedes-Benz and Land Rover) “and I think there is a space for a third one.” The upscale Defender was by far Land RoverÂ’s best-selling car last year, with 66,805 sold, and the G-Class set a new sales record the previous year with 41,174 moved worldwide. Audi obviously would like to capitalize on this popularity of the rugged 4x4 segment. The proposed competitor, said Lichte, “will not look like a G-Class and it will not look like a Defender, I can promise you. It will be something else."

Autoblog Podcast #372

Tue, Mar 18 2014

Episode #372 of the Autoblog podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth and Chris Paukert are joined by Peter Leung of RichlandF1 to talk Formula One, the impending demise of Bertone, and Honda spinning Acura off into its own division. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the new rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #372: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics: Bertone goes bust Mercedes F1 Power Unit Honda spinning off Acura In the Autoblog Garage: 2014 Jeep Cherokee Limited 2015 Subaru WRX STI 2014 Land Rover Range Rover Autobiography Hosts: Dan Roth, Chris Paukert Guest: Peter Leung Runtime: 01:37:41 Rundown: Intro and Garage - 00:00 Formula 1 - 26:39 Bertone - 50:42 Acura - 01:02:19 Q&A - 01:14:38 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Design/Style Marketing/Advertising Motorsports Podcasts Acura Honda Jeep Land Rover Subaru