Land Rover Defender 90 question

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Martyn

Bushcrafter through and through
Aug 7, 2003
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Bootstrap Bob said:
By the way that's far too clean Martyn :D

lol, you're not the first to say that, but the pic was from the dealers website and the landy was about as clean and shiny as it is ever likely to be.

I'm working up to giving it a real hog-bath, I just want to get some armour under it first. I fitted a steering guard yesterday and a couple of diff guards should settle my mind and then "play time". :D
 

Buckshot

Mod
Mod
Jan 19, 2004
6,466
349
Oxford
Yeah, mines got under body armour as well.
I go green laning all the time (around the shoot) but last time I took it seriously off road (at the Abingdon 4x4 festival) I sheared a bolt holding one of the side steps, bent all the other side steps even more and went ploughing with the tow bar and rear step ! :eek:
Took a big bar to bend it back round...
 

pothunter

Settler
Jun 6, 2006
510
4
Wyre Forest Worcestershire
My Navara has leather upholstry, air con, auto box, heated seats and quite a good sound system.

Does the occasional pheasant feeding run but stays away from all that nasty mud.

Does work for a living though carrying around 700kg.
 

Buckshot

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Jan 19, 2004
6,466
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Oxford
pothunter said:
My Navara has leather upholstry, air con, auto box, heated seats and quite a good sound system.

Does the occasional pheasant feeding run but stays away from all that nasty mud.

Does work for a living though carrying around 700kg.
Perhaps you go on a diet pothunter ;) :lmao:
 

Pignut

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jun 9, 2005
4,096
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Lincolnshire
As seen as someone mentioned a non landy product!.............................

And all the talk of off roading.............................

My route to the office.....

1da091c1-1.jpg


What I have to drive round all day!

Playtime-1.jpg


Oh and what I do it in!

100_0415-2.jpg


(Sorry could not resist!!!!!! :twak: :twak: :twak: )
 

Bootstrap Bob

Full Member
Jun 21, 2006
407
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Oxfordshire
Hey Buckshot
If you fancy doing some off roading my 4x4 club has an event on the 27th at one of our sites. I notice you are in Oxford too.

It can be as difficult or as easy as you choose depending on your experience. It's actually a 4x4 training site so it has to have easy sections for road going vehicles. Saying that there are extreme bits that the more adventurous (mad) of us have ventured :drive:

Sorry to borrow your thread Spacemonkey, you can bring your MX5 if you like :)
 

Buckshot

Mod
Mod
Jan 19, 2004
6,466
349
Oxford
Bootstrap Bob said:
Hey Buckshot
If you fancy doing some off roading my 4x4 club has an event on the 27th at one of our sites. I notice you are in Oxford too.
We got a shoot on the 27th I'm afraid otherwise I'd be interested.
What's the club called and where do you go?
PM me if you don't want to say on open forum

Cheers

Mark
 

Martyn

Bushcrafter through and through
Aug 7, 2003
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peds8045 said:
Not a LR owner myself though i have driven lots in my time.. Jeremy C (Top Gear) has a funny review of LR at the attached link

http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,12529-2481164,00.html

Be warned though it might upset some of the more ardent LR supporters :D
:D I love reading his reviews and he's right too.

But also of note, on the Top Gear cool wall, the defender got ranked as sub zero cool. :D

That's really the point. In many ways, they are a bit crap, but in many other ways, they are sublime. Their honest "does what it says on the tin" simplicity is rare in this age of pandering to the whims of a cosseted mass market. You dont drive a Defender, you wrestle it into submission and if it likes you, it'll let you in. It's not a particularly easy car to drive, but it's certainly not a boring car either. The bhemoth that lives beneath the bonnet, growls and grumbles as a constant reminder of who is the real master, and occasionally, if you are feeling brave, you can unleash the monster - just be sure to persuade it back under control before the next corner. They have been tested in every hostile environment in the world and in that regard, remain class leaders, but above all, they are staggeringly cool cars.

There are a very, very few machines made by man, which fully capture your heart and imagination in a completely visceral sense, but occasionally one does and that machine becomes a global icon. The landrover can take it's place with pride, right next to the supermarine spitfire. They are huge, tough, impoising vehicles. Taking delivery of one is like taking delivery of a lancaster bomber. They are slow and cumbersome with all the aerodynamics of a breeze-block, but that's not the point. The point is, they are not racing cars, they force you to see the world their way and in their time. In a world that moves too fast to breath, they give you back some time to live.

In the short time I've owned mine, I havent stopped grinning. I've become as besotted as a schoolboy after his first kiss. When you pull up next to another 4x4 in traffic, the other fella looks you over and his head tells him he made the right decision, but the pieces of his broken heart are crying "I wanted a Land Rover".

I just grin a bit more. :D
 

Pignut

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jun 9, 2005
4,096
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Lincolnshire
Martyn said:
:
In the short time I've owned mine, I havent stopped grinning. I've become as besotted as a schoolboy after his first kiss. When you pull up next to another 4x4 in traffic, the other fella looks you over and his head tells him he made the right decision, but the pieces of his broken heart are crying "I wanted a Land Rover".

I just grin a bit more. :D


Argh!!!!! so true!!!

just needed the reliability and not spending a fortune!

(There we are trying to justify not buying one again! ;) )
 

Spacemonkey

Native
May 8, 2005
1,354
9
52
Llamaville.
www.jasperfforde.com
Nice pics, bring them on! Is that part of the Ridgeway on the Marlborough Downs? Looks like the bit where I lept off the grass 'kerb' on my mountain bike and into that puddle last summer. Much to the 'amusement' of the passing Ramblers...

Pignut, what sort of realistic everyday fuel economy do you get on that? Is it a Shogun or Pajero? Manual or Auto? Is it really as slow as Rain Man??

Bootstrap, if I wasn't working on the 27th I'd beg a lift!! Seriously, anyone of you oxford boys willing to take a passenger on a quick blast sometime after Christmas? I'm in Swinedon and could easily meet at the Landy dealer on the 420. I;m sure you all know it intimately... ;)

Please feel free to hijack my thread with 4x4 naughtiness (please, no antis here, this is not an arguement thread- we've done it all before.. and even on anti has joined the Dark Side... :) ) but the only rule is you must state your vehicle's mpg as this is a most important consideration for me. I also want to hear from L400 Delica owners, diesel P38 Rangey owners and anyone who has modified a Freeloader for off road use.

Here's one of mine:

P7300106.jpg


P7300100.jpg


P7300091.jpg


I got to many places that Discos got stuck... :lmao:
 

Pignut

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jun 9, 2005
4,096
12
44
Lincolnshire
It is a shogun 2.8 d GLX. Auto

Everday use if you keep the driving stedy about 28-30mpg

It is raised 2" and has off road tyres and not as slow as they are reputed to be! (not that fast mind you)

It gets to all the places the landrovers get to in the quarry (However shoguns do not like to wade, it is a sure fire way to kill your alternator. That said I often drive through water to the door sills
 

Martyn

Bushcrafter through and through
Aug 7, 2003
5,252
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staffordshire
www.britishblades.com
Spacemonkey said:
(please, no antis here, this is not an arguement thread- we've done it all before.. and even on anti has joined the Dark Side... :) )

Indeed I have ...and I know you've asked for no discussion, but if I may just for a wee moment, tell you what made me do a U-turn.

The whole issue surrounds carbon emmissions right?

We can all get evangelical about all sorts of things and the greenies do make some good points, but those points cannot be applied accross the board in all circumstances to all 4x4 drivers. This is what I learned. To judge each situation individually and apply a little reason and intelligence ...and maths!

I do approximately 4000 miles a year. In my old mazda 626 which did 32 to the gallon, I burned 125 gallonn of petrol a year. My landy does 28 mpg, so I burn 142 gallons of petrol a year. A difference of 17 gallons a year. The CO2 produced from 17 gallons in negligable, but I am concious of it, so I plan to find ways to save the same amount, or more in other ways, better loft insulation, double glazing etc - it wont take much.

If I did 30,000 miles a year, then in my mazda I would've burned 937 gallons and my landy, 1071 gallons. A difference of 134 gallons. That is much harder to offset and consequently, the eco-pressure is higher to use a vehicle that is more economical. If those miles are done in a vehicle which only does 18mpg, then the extra fuel is 729 gallons - a massive amount.

Of course, I may do more miles now those miles are so much fun, but if my lifestyle doesnt change at all, then I'm only using an extra 17 gallons a year for the cost of running a landy.

I also have to consider, I made two jet trips to the indian ocean last year, those two trips combined, are equivalent to about 10 years of running a smokey old landrover that does tons of miles. My carbon footprint last year was astronomical. I had no issue dumping all that carbon in the interests of my own pleasure then, so it is staggeringly hyppocritical to give someoner a hard time over dumping a helluva lot less for what is a much longer term pleasure of running a land rover.

It's all a question of perspective. Smokey old Land Rovers arent the most environmentally friendly of vehicles, true, but we all have to live and there are far, far worse offenders that really should be getting addressed first. To float all 4x4's right to the top of the eco-offender pile, shows a great deal of ignorance.

I showed my ignorance by joining that band wagon, all be it with good intentions. I have learned that sometimes I am wrong, even when I think I am right. That makes me a bit uncomfortable, but that's a good thing I think.

BTW, I'm sure you know already, but the 200tdi and the 300tdi are the most economical of all the landy engines and are good for 30mpg. The td5 is more powerful, but it's thirstier - especially if you have a heavy right foot.
 
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Spacemonkey

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May 8, 2005
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Martyn, that is a very, very good reasoning and a cogent response. If only all the 'antis' could be so reasonable and, dare I say it, grown up about it. Well done sir!

Ok, please, no more of that... back to the beasts in question.

Pignut, I was not aware of the alternator prob. Do they all suffer or is there a mod to prevent this? Is a 2" lift easy on the Shogun/Pajero? Have you driven a 200/300TDi Landy and if so can you compare the performance or the way they drive? Do you know a good owner's club website or similar for them where I can get info? What is that lever near the bonnet release that looks like a choke lever? Surely not....?

At the mo' I am torn between a 90 200TDi, a Freelander, a Delica or a Pajero/Shogun or a P38 diesel Rangey. If i get the 90 it will be modded in the way I described originally and used as a summer plaything, with a cheaper 4x4 to back it up. Whatever I buy it is for minimal miles when I want to move stuff, have off road fun, and use as an 'adventure' vehicle. My MX5 and motorbike are still my daily users.
 

pothunter

Settler
Jun 6, 2006
510
4
Wyre Forest Worcestershire
Hey Buckshot

First time I’ve been accused of overweight typing!

The last landy I had I used to strap myself in to stop me falling out of where the door used to be, I’m loving all these mod cons. The first landy had independent switches for each wiper motor and if it rained heavily the wipers made no difference at all and the rain used to come in around the door tops, now I have auto wipers.

When will Land Rover join the 21st century!!!!

Just though Id through some petrol on the fire.
 

Martyn

Bushcrafter through and through
Aug 7, 2003
5,252
33
58
staffordshire
www.britishblades.com
pothunter said:
When will Land Rover join the 21st century!!!!.

Well they are getting better, but I dont think BMW have anything to worry about.

Mine doesnt leak, it has a radio, electric windows, remote central locking, PAS, immobiliser and alarm, heated rear screen, rear wash/wipe and the heater actually works.

If you get the defender XS, you also get aircon, CD autochanger, half leather trim, heated windscreen, heated mirrors, antilock brakes, traction control and indipendant heated front seats as standard.

Not bad. :)
 

Buckshot

Mod
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Jan 19, 2004
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Oxford
Martyn said:
Mine doesnt leak,
So you've got it!
I wondered who had the only Landy not to get you wet when sitting in it !!!

Spacemonkey, mpg wise, Mine's a 3.5 V8 so I get about 14 to the gallon! :eek:
The good thing is I do about the same miles or less as Martyn in mine a year so I can cope with it

Mark
 

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