Missing my Defender, what do you miss?

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oldtimer

Full Member
Sep 27, 2005
3,183
1,801
82
Oxfordshire and Pyrenees-Orientales, France
I recall with fond memories a Minivan we had in the 1960s 330CBP.It cost £300 second hand.
We went all round Europe in it, slept in it and made a life-changing decision in it while parked up off road overnight in the pouring rain outside St Ives, Cornwall in 1965.

I was constantly aware of its mechanical weaknesses and worried about the cost of breakdowns as we were so poor and travelling on a shoestring. However, it was reliable in so much as it usually had one of its frequent breakdowns when near a garage. It was towed away by police in Athens costing a week's food money to get out of the pound, used up all our holiday money on a repair in France, and carried a Greek Orthodox priest and a Greek family up a mountain track in Crete that would have challenged a Defender.

We loved that van. I hope some of its recycled scrap parts are in some vehicle carting a young, impoverished couple on adventures somewhere today.
 

MrEd

Life Member
Feb 18, 2010
2,148
1,053
Surrey/Sussex
www.thetimechamber.co.uk
For some reason today I'm missing my old defenders, I've not had one for about 4 years and now and then I wish I did have one, with all their faults etc I don't think I've enjoyed a vehicle more.

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Any of you that have had a passed vehicle that you wish you still had?

yeah my beetle. Same reasons as your defender, I enjoyed it for what it was and got great pleasure from it.

unless I have absolutely no choice I wouldn’t part with my defender, I would SORN it and store it.
 
my 1993 1300ccm Ford Festiva in which i drove 43000km around the country of all countries (a.k.a. "Australia" ) for two years -- it saw some amazing places incl. Wolf Creek Crater, only needed a picture of some gasoline to keep running and never let me down...
left her with some good friends who still take the old girl out on occasion :)

also missing the "Giant" touring bike i cycled for a year around New Zealand...
 

Silverclaws2

Nomad
Dec 30, 2019
287
155
56
Devon
My 1955 86" Land Rover of which I pulled apart and restored in my late teens for that job to teach me a lot of skills of which I later used professionally.

I also miss my 1977 VW 1600 Transporter with Devon '76 conversion, another rebuild,this time a rolling rebuild of which I had to sell the Series One to fund - to after ten years of use be forced to sell to end up with a boring Ford Focus, followed by a boring Clio followed by a boring Kangoo.

I hope to rebuild a 4 x 4 again someday, what, am not yet sure though there are contenders.

The mentioned 1955 Series One.
187529954_10158297715558790_3612272190937528489_n.jpg
 
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chimpy leon

Full Member
Jul 29, 2013
543
139
staffordshire
My little Peugeot 106 Rallye.
Hugely entertaining and fun to drive and it often nipped at the heels of much more serious stuff. I love another but prices for a decent one have gone through the roof.
 

Erbswurst

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 5, 2018
4,079
1,766
Berlin
I was too young and didn't try to inherit my uncle's Daihatsu Wildcat.

That was a heavy fault.
 

Woody girl

Full Member
Mar 31, 2018
4,518
3,458
65
Exmoor
My old triumph trident T150v 750 cc motorbike. I had it tricked up a bit, and it was realy fast. I chickened out at 120mph, and it still had some vroom left.
I had road racing tyres on it, and it went round corners on rails.
Still feel a faster heartbeat if I hear one on the road. Very distinctive sound.
Sold it for £700. It would be worth £10,000 now.
Owch!

Oh yes I nearly forgot, my red mgb gt. Roof down, wind in the hair, bowling along the Torbay sea front . So cool in the early 80,s.
 
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BJJJ

Native
Sep 3, 2010
1,998
162
North Shropshire
My Renault traffic van that I bought for taking my kayak to the coast. I fitted it out with a long bunk on one side and stacks of storage underneath. Ended up fully loaded with camping gear etc and I could just add food to be all set for a trip away.
 
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Kadushu

If Carlsberg made grumpy people...
Jul 29, 2014
852
920
Kent
drop_in_7.jpg

I had one of these for a while. A lot of fun at the time, especially joining a Smart Roadster rally along the south coast, but I'd prefer a 4x4 now.
 

moocher

Full Member
Mar 26, 2006
642
97
49
Dorset
Yep landy 90, my lancia thema ,Vw golf gti ,Mk2 , Vw T4 caravelle, and strangely the Toyota Lucida my ex wife once had that was comfortable to drive.
 

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