Land Rover Defender Build

[chris90]

I got my rig new in September last year and have been slowly working on it but still have a long way to go so I thought I might as well make a thread for it.

So far all I have done is add an APT fabrications bull bar, a tradesmans roof rack to which I have attached a jack and shovel holder and ARB awning, a rear ladder and a rear recovery point.
I have put dynamat and marine carpet in the back to try to give it a bit of soundproofing which I also intend to add to the rest of the car when I have time.
I also have a Mulgo ExBox, which is a box that goes under the cubby box to house all the electronics and frees up space under the drivers seet for starage. However installing this and the CB radio with it will be a big job so naturally I have been putting it off for months, hopefully I can get onto it soon.

In the neer future I intend to add a snorkel, rock sliders, aux fuel tank, dual battery and diff locks so I'll keep you all updated with lots of pictures as things happen.

 

[Overland-Indiana]

@chris90 we wanna see pics bro!

 

[chris90]

Also I should mention his name is Nigel and here are some pics

 

[SLO Rob]

LOVE.

 

[chris90]

Today I installed the ExBox which I mentioned previously I have been putting off for a while. All the electronics are now nice and high up away from water, my CB is installed, I added a USB and a 12v socket and there is a large storage space free under the drivers seat.

 

[OldH1]

Looks Great!!

 

[chris90]

I headed down to the beach this morning with my dog and got some beach driving in.



Apparently cars aren't the only vehicles that use this beach, I ran into these aircraft near the end of the beach

 

[Luis Merlo]

Awesome !

 

[xKennyx]

Man that's awesome. I love Defenders.

 

[chris90]

I just added a steering guard by APT Fabrications, here is a before and after.

Before, all that is protecting the steering arm is a small bar.


After, bash plate attached

 

[OldH1]

Now that is protection!!

 

[chris90]

Last week I ordered a winch off an online store. It is a cheep, chinese built 12ooo lb unit called the Domin8r previously branded as Tigerz11 and now 4wd Supa Centre. As I said it is just a cheapie but I have heard pretty good things about them and it comes with a 5 year warranty so I figured I can't go wrong and being 1/5th the price of a Warne helps.
Unfortunately my bar doesn't have anywhere to mount the control box so I'm going to have to make some sort of bracket to hold it so I can wire it up this weekend. So for now it is just dead weight on the front of my car.


There should be a lot happening to my rig in the next few months as I have a few things on order so I'll make sure I keep this thread updated.

 

[black007]

Beauty truck. Really digging the skid plate!

 

[chris90]

Over the last few days I added some lights to my rig, one 6" light bar on the back and an led light strip (not in any photos) on the awning. I put a nice big hole in the panel with a grommet bigger than I needed so I should be able to run power to plenty more accessories on my roof if the need arrises


controlled by some switches I installed in the cabin, I put in 2 extras as I am expecting more things to come in the future.



Also, re the winch control box. Defenders have a vent on the passenger side wing top for the heater (see photo of bonnet in previous post) and a fake vent for the sake of symmetry on the opposite side which by lucky coincidence has plenty of free space under it. I cut a replacement part out of 3mm steel that I will mount the solenoid under and plug for the remote which will keep them high, above the water and easily accessible so hopefully I can have it wired up and working for my trip on the weekend.

 

[chris90]

Got round to hooking the winch up after work but found out that the cable I had to get power from the battery isn't long enough so still not working till hopefully tomorrow but it's good to see how it looks hooked up.

 

[mylilpwny]

That is a really clean install for that control box. Makes it look factory and like its meant to be there

 

[Chris.n.world]

Hi
Really nice defender ! I’m glad I found an other 90 user preparing his rig for overlanding ;)

I’ll post a thread on mine soon, my biggest concern now on is fuel capacity... Did you add anything for that ?


Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant OB Talk