North American Defender 110s?

[Michael]

Hi everyone!

I am wondering if anyone has first hand experience with East Coast Rover or any other North American Defender 110 (or 130) suppliers. I have someone interested in the full restored 110 option.

Thanks in Advance for your feedback!

Michael

@tom

 

[pl626]

ECR is one of the premier Defender shops, worth every penny. In fact, they do only Defenders now. I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them or engage them to do a resto. ISTR, they have a wait list.
LRC Customs is another great resto shop, as is Safari HP. Defendersource.com is a great resource for vetting resto shops.

There are plenty others out there, and if you're into resto mods, there's Himalya and, of course, Icon, but these are definitely 6 figure builds.

 

[Michael]

ECR is one of the premier Defender shops, worth every penny. In fact, they do only Defenders now. I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them or engage them to do a resto. ISTR, they have a wait list.
LRC Customs is another great resto shop, as is Safari HP. Defendersource.com is a great resource for vetting resto shops.

There are plenty others out there, and if you're into resto mods, there's Himalya and, of course, Icon, but these are definitely 6 figure builds.

Thanks so much for the info!

If a person was to go the ECR route and swap a GM engine, what could/would fail? Land Rovers are not known for reliability, but perhaps with the resto and mods they become more reliable?

M

 

[pl626]

Actually, the reliability issues are a bit of a myth. If the Rover is maintained properly, they're incredibly reliable. The old Rover V8s were actually a Buick alum block from the 60s and have been used for racing builds.
LS swaps are popular for the perceived broader parts support and power, but Defenders were never intended to break land speed records, so the hipo engine in a Rover seems a waste. The other thing to consider with old Rovers that get hipo swaps is the rest of the drivetrain should be beefed up to handle the higher power.
ECR has done so many performance packages over the years, they know how to match parts blindfolded.

As for parts support for old Rover/Buick blocks, it's actually not as bad as people make it out to be. You can use cheaper non genuine parts with little to no modification for much less.

 

[Michael]

Great info, thank you!

Would you happen to know anyone who has bought from or worked with ECR to have a conversation with my friend?

Thanks again!

M

 

[TreXTerra]

@Michael, Andrew St. Pierre White did a comparison of the Land Cruiser 76 (not exactly your 80-series) and a Defender 110.


He brings up some good points about the 110's ergonomics (or lack thereof). While I love the look of the Defender, I find the interior very cramped in the knees. I also bang my head on the B-pillar and the low roof over the door means I crack my head on it and have to duck to look out the side window.

 

[pl626]

There are actually a few ECR trucks in the DMV area, but I can't recall who owns them. Here's an interesting post by the owner of ECR, cautioning people to be careful of trucks advertised as "built by ECR".

In the US Land Rover community, especially Defenders, their reputation is sterling. They are the standard by which other restos are judged. BTW, ISTR they only do NAS Defenders now, which is a really narrow market. However, with the flood of ROW trucks coming in, we may see some ECR ROW builds.

Years ago, they did Range Rover Classic projects as well, so my long term plan had been to ship my rig up to ECR for a frame off full resto. When I found out they stopped taking Range Rover projects, I was bummed beyond belief. If I didn't want to build my own Defender, ECR is definitely one of the shops I'd use, i.e., budget no issue.

There's another shop called East Coast Defender, they're based in FL and are relatively new. Their website is slick, compared to ECRs, but I can't really comment on their builds as I'm not familiar, but I suspect they chose their name for a reason...

In addition to asking around at Defendersource.com, I'd also contact ECR directly. They're also pretty responsive to their Facebook page.

 

[pl626]

@Michael, Andrew St. Pierre White did a comparison of the Land Cruiser 76 (not exactly your 80-series) and a Defender 110.

He brings up some good points about the 110's ergonomics (or lack thereof). While I love the look of the Defender, I find the interior very cramped in the knees. I also bang my head on the B-pillar and the low roof over the door means I crack my head on it and have to duck to look out the side window.

LOL! Not sure that's an apples to apples comparison. The Series/Defender has never been known for comfort. I think the better comparison to the LC76 would have been a Range Rover Classic, which was designed for comfort as well as capability.

ISTR, he did a Defender - Jeep comparison as well. That's a more appropriate comparison, IMHO.

 

[TreXTerra]

Indeed he did.


I'm not sure that the LC76 and 110 is an unfair comparison though. Both are of similar size and do a similar job, both have solid axles and are built to take a beating. If anything, the 80 will be far more plush than the 76 - the 80 has coil springs all around, while the 70-series is leaf-rear; and the interior of the 80is less utilitarian interior than either vehicle in this test.

I know that the 70-series and the 110 are cross shopped pretty frequently in markets where they are both common.

 

[pl626]

...I know that the 70-series and the 110 are cross shopped pretty frequently in markets where they are both common.

110's were only available in the US for 1993 and they had a unique roll cage. Any 110 you see in the US outside of that model year will be a ROW truck older than 25 years, or a NAS 90 converted to a 110. Also, you won't find an authentic NAS 110 with an auto box. The 110s in those videos were much newer, as evidenced by the Puma dash, bonnet & diesel.

 

[chris90]

@Michael, Andrew St. Pierre White did a comparison of the Land Cruiser 76 (not exactly your 80-series) and a Defender 110.


He brings up some good points about the 110's ergonomics (or lack thereof). While I love the look of the Defender, I find the interior very cramped in the knees. I also bang my head on the B-pillar and the low roof over the door means I crack my head on it and have to duck to look out the side window.

As someone who drives a defender every day I will say that this is not 100% true. I am an average size guy (5'11") and have no trouble with cramped knees and if you do a company called mulgo make extenders for the seat slides. Also in regards to width and feeling cramp, yes the seat is close to the side but I don't feel it is uncomfortable or cramped unless you were particularly broad. In regards to the elbow out the window driving position, the sil is just at a position where it is comfortable to do rather than it being uncomfortable not to.
Comparing it to a 70 series stock the 76 will win as they have factory diff locks, aux fuel tank, etc... But it also costs about 50% more so that gap can be closed.
I have plenty of experience with both and they are both great vehicles which I would also group with patrols and g wagons as the best off road touring vehicles available.

 

[chris90]

Also, I don't know what the laws are there for importing them but the Australian army are auctioning off hundreds of old perentie defenders atm for pretty good price, all with the old 3.2l Isuzu diesel which will keep running forever. Plenty of variants which could be converted to great overland rigs including 6x6s.
Check out Australian Frontline Machinery for info/auctions if you are interested

 

[pl626]

Also, I don't know what the laws are there for importing them but the Australian army are auctioning off hundreds of old perentie defenders atm for pretty good price, all with the old 3.2l Isuzu diesel which will keep running forever. Plenty of variants which could be converted to great overland rigs including 6x6s.
Check out Australian Frontline Machinery for info/auctions if you are interested

In the US, for the most part, they have to be at least 25 years old to be exempt from safety and EPA requirements, plus they have to have the original spec engines, so you can't have a Puma diesel yet. US CBP is overzealous about scrutinizing VINs. There are other exceptions for show purposes, but use of vehicle is highly restricted.

 

[chris90]

In the US, for the most part, they have to be at least 25 years old to be exempt from safety and EPA requirements, plus they have to have the original spec engines, so you can't have a Puma diesel yet. US CBP is overzealous about scrutinizing VINs. There are other exceptions for show purposes, but use of vehicle is highly restricted.

Well in that case the perenties would fit the bill

 

[El Solis]

I also drive a Defender 110 regularly with an internal roll cage (think even less room) but at 6'2" and built like a Clydesdale I find my 110 isn't uncomfortable and routinely drive 3-5 hours in her. I do have the seat risers/slides but lose about an inch of their true capability as my seat hits the roll cage

 

[Michael]

Thanks for all the info guys. LMK if you know someone with experience working with one of the NA Defender suppliers!

M

 

[nickburt]

I know this is an old topic, but I just wanted to add that if you can find a 25+ yo Defender with a 300tdi engine, R380 gearbox and Salisbury axle, you'll have something that is pretty bomb proof if maintained properly.
LRs are often the subject of jokes about reliability, but that's just down to maintenance, or lack of. Most of the issues are more about leaks than anything else!!!

 

[pl626]

I know this is an old topic, but I just wanted to add that if you can find a 25+ yo Defender with a 300tdi engine, R380 gearbox and Salisbury axle, you'll have something that is pretty bomb proof if maintained properly.
LRs are often the subject of jokes about reliability, but that's just down to maintenance, or lack of. Most of the issues are more about leaks than anything else!!!

LOL! Leaks that compound Rovers Unreliable Steel Treatment, R.U.S.T. The aluminum panels aren’t so much the problem, the steel bits are, unless galvied and coated with Waxoyl or something similar...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[nickburt]

LOL! Leaks that compound Rovers Unreliable Steel Treatment, R.U.S.T. The aluminum panels aren’t so much the problem, the steel bits are, unless galvied and coated with Waxoyl or something similar...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Don't think LR have ever understood galvanic reaction. Let's stick a load of different metals together without insulating or isolating properly and see how fast the metals can react.

As for leaks, you only need to worry when it stops leaking ...... it's empty

 

[blackntan]

Love them or hate them we cant stop talking about them ,