[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by carthick1000

May be roll/staple the cover so that it stops a few cms above ground. Saves dirt and grime scraping over the body while taking the cover out or putting it again.

Thanks a lot carthick1000 for the suggestion. It will be really helpful. This is the first time I have used a car cover and as usual I have not studied anything about it. So thanks once again, it will save me a lot of pain. I will do it as soon as possible.

[Samfromindia]

Just like a Spielberg or Marvel movie, every time a BlackPearl thread comes up, we all know its going to be a super duper hit ! Likewise I rated this post 5 Stars even before starting to read

The Defender is one iconic car and an aspiration for many. But more than the car itself what stood out was your passion, knowledge and love for automobiles in this wonderfully written journal.

Right from the history of the car and its evolution to the buying process & the art of maintaining, accessorizing and enjoying it, this post most has more information than what I remember of my Engineering degree

Looking ahead to your next blockbuster !

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by carthick1000

May be roll/staple the cover so that it stops a few cms above ground. Saves dirt and grime scraping over the body while taking the cover out or putting it again.

Is this going to be better? I did this yesterday immediately after your suggestion.

Originally Posted by Samfromindia

The Defender is one iconic car and an aspiration for many. But more than the car itself what stood out was your passion, knowledge and love for automobiles in this wonderfully written journal.

Thanks for the lovely words Samfromindia!

[ABHI_1512]

There are reviews of cars and then, there is a review of the mighty DEFENDER. Calling it a car is an absurd proposition since this looks anything but a car. But then, reading through the review and going through the beautiful pictures, the dream of a certain man shows through and how.

Congratulations on an iconic car BlackPearl, not many can claim to lay their hands on a dream but you certainly can. Enjoy the lovely car, we will cheer from the sidelines as long as we get to see such brilliant pictures. May be someday, will even try to cross the shores just to see the icon in person.

Regards.

[carthick1000]

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Is this going to be better? I did this yesterday immediately after your suggestion.

That looks much better. Atleast now you don’t have to deal with dirt, grime from street. Also during winter months road salt doesn’t get spread through the cover all over body. As much as you would like to live in city, I can sense that the enthusiast in you would like a closed garage.

[GhostRider28]

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Conclusion
..there is something in it that evokes such emotional attachment. It has character, a soul that sets it apart.

That sums up the review, really. A fine piece of write-up, straight from the heart, fit only for a vehicle that stands apart in the motley crowd.

Thanks for the comprehensive coverage on the details and history of LRs. But more than that, it is a heart warming write up, and quite inspiring as well, to follow and live one's dreams.

[sureshkumar]

Some pics of the Defender you shared remind me of the scene in "The Gods must be crazy" where the LR winches itself up a tree. The engine's klug klug sound while idling was the most reassuring thing. This one's a fighter, and it has come a long way.
Congratulations once again for this trophy of a purchase.
Wishing you many thousands of miles of happy driving.

[BlackPearl]

It has been very long since this thread was updated. Quite a few things happened in between. Did a few greenlaning trips with the Defender 90 and then decided this car was too nice for that. Bought an old Defender 110 for offroading and greenlaning.

The MOT was due in April this year and I thought that it would pass with flying colours. However that was not the case. Before going for the MOT, I got the vehicle checked at a Land Rover specialist in West London. The SA told that there is a small crack in the rubber boot on the near side front tie road. It was supposed to be a small job but once everything was opened one thing led to another and finally the tie rod ends on both sides, the track bar, track rod and a ball joint had to be replaced. If I had not been there in the garage to see everything I would have easily thought that I was being duped. The bill came to £669



It had started with this one, the culprit!



Coverting to Euro 6 compliant emission system

Office commute had started and I was driving to central London more than twice a week. Since the Defender was not Euro 6 compliant, I was paying £12.5 everyday as ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zone) charge. Finally decided to get the vehicle Euro 6 compliant from a government approved company called Cybrand. Booked a date with them. Only problem was that were in Chester, quite a long drive from London. Had to book a hotel while the work was being done. But I must say that the work was extremely professional. They out an SCR system and changed the exhaust with a stainless steel one. It looks really nice and the sound has become better as well! The cost of the installation was £6600.

Here is a video of how it looks from underneath -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l_W3gKGs-c

A few pictures -

The invoice












Filling point for AdBlue


Ready after installation!


The details of the SCR System from HJS are here if anyone is interested on how it works. I am pasting it from there brochure instead of trying to explain on my own.









After the installation Cybrand contacted the required authorities to update the database showing the Defender is now Euro 6 compliant in terms of emissions. It took 10 days to be updated online. I am now travelling to ULEZ zones in London without a worry

[Porcupine]

I honestly opened this thread expecting it to be about the new Defender. I can assure you I was pleasantly surprised to see it was the original legend. What beautiful rides you own, and it's good to see you use them enthusiastically. Congratulations on the 110 purchase. Do update us with your off-road adventures in your new beast!

[karthikd21]

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

It has been very long since this thread was updated. Quite a few things happened in between. Did a few greenlaning trips with the Defender 90 and then decided this car was too nice for that. Bought an old Defender 110 for offroading and greenlaning.

The SA told that there is a small crack in the rubber boot on the near side front tie road. It was supposed to be a small job but once everything was opened one thing led to another and finally the tie rod ends on both sides, the track bar, track rod and a ball joint had to be replaced.

Can never get enough of your Defender 90

I have experienced the same with my Gurkha. The mechanics at the the service center always start a job with a disclaimer that there might be something else that needs some work once they start

Happy to see the updates coming!

[ads11]

Sorry to hear about the costly repair picked up during the MOT. Just noticed you were up in Chester, that's my neck of the woods - would've been nice to catch up. Really interesting conversion kit to meet Euro 6 - was going to say, running an old Defender in London's ULEZ must be brutal. I hope you haven't been impacted by the anti-SUV vigilantes going round London and Manchester letting the air out from the tires.

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by Porcupine

What beautiful rides you own, and it's good to see you use them enthusiastically. Congratulations on the 110 purchase. Do update us with your off-road adventures in your new beast!

Thank you Porcupine! I had posted a thread on the Defender 110, here is the link to it - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...ip-review.html (My Green Land Rover Defender 110 | The Unstoppable One | Ownership Review)

Originally Posted by karthikd21

Happy to see the updates coming!

Thank you karthikd21!

Originally Posted by ads11

Just noticed you were up in Chester, that's my neck of the woods - would've been nice to catch up.

I did not know that you were in Chester. Will catch-up next time I am there or let me know if you come to London.

Originally Posted by ads11

I hope you haven't been impacted by the anti-SUV vigilantes going round London and Manchester letting the air out from the tires.

No, nothing of that sort yet! Keeping fingers crossed. Maybe I will get some stickers showing that the Defender is ULEZ complaint and paste them on all sides

[ads11]

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

I did not know that you were in Chester. Will catch-up next time I am there or let me know if you come to London.

Absolutely - will reach out when I'm next in London. The chaos with trains recently has meant I've not bothered going down for a while.

No, nothing of that sort yet! Keeping fingers crossed. Maybe I will get some stickers showing that the Defender is ULEZ complaint and paste them on all sides

Yeah it's come up a fair bit, ironically in neighbourhoods I lived in, both in London & Manchester. Greater Manchester Police issued a warning to locals a few months ago when the last spate of vigilantism happened. Frankly I get where the irritation with Chelsea tractors comes from - I remember outside halls in undergrad, there were 3 main cars: Fiat 500s, Range Rovers/Discos or G-Wagons (the latter always idling and with a burly chauffeur no doubt there to ferry the progeny of whatever Russian oligarch or Middle Eastern prince) and finally Quattroporte's/Panamera's. I do think we've gone way overboard with some of these giant SUVs in urban environments. It's gotten a bit silly when you see mum ferrying little Hugo in a land barge when something smaller would do just fine for the school run.

I was looking at an electro-mod of old classics, one of which was a Mk1 Range Rover, and I thought that's a lovely way to keep a big old car soldiering on in an ethical way. Still don't think it'd be spared by the anti-SUV crowd though despite the all electric power.

[BlackPearl]

The Defender has been running on the factory fitted tyres (Continental Cross Contact AT) for all these years and they still have a lot of tread left. However it is not recommended to use tyres for more than 5 or 6 years and they have already crossed 8 years and covered close to 80K Kilometers. So decided to change them. However it was very difficult to finalise the tyre that I wanted as there are so many options. My first preference was BF Goodrich KO2, but they were turning out to be very costly. After looking at many other options and reading a lot of reviews, finally settled for Insa Turbo Dakar. I wanted to upsize as well because the 245 section tyres look skinny on the Defender. So opted for the 265/75/R16 tyres.

The overall buying and fitting experience was not at all smooth to say the least. For our Range Rover Sport we had used Balckcircles.com and it was an excellent experience. But I could not find the tyres I wanted on that website, so opted for a new one called 4x4tyres.co.uk. While Blackcircles had an option to fit the tyres at home which I had availed for the RRS, this website did not have that option. I chose a nearby tyre shop for fitment that was just 2.5 miles from my home.

First incident: A couple of days prior to the scheduled date I got a call from 4x4tyres that the shop I had selected is no longer associated with them and that the nearest one was 15 miles away. I had no option but to agree to that or had to cancel the order. So I obliged.

Second Incident: Went to the shop 15 miles away on a Saturday morning, showed them the email confirmation and they replied that they have not received the tyres from 4x4tyres. I was shocked and called up the tyre company. The representative who picked up the phone said thjat nothing could be done on a Saturday as their national co-ordinator does not work on Saturdays. He said they will respond to me on Monday. I had to miss a greenlaning event that I really wanted to attend in order to fit the tyres and at the end it was for nothing.

On Monday there was no update from the company even after following up. On Tuesday the tyre co-ordinator called and said it was the garage's mistake as they had delivered the tyres but the garage had not updated the inventory. However as a goodwill she offered to refund the fitting charges of £50. I was not happy with it but at least she tried.

Third Incident: Next Saturday I went to same garage and the manager said that the main person who changes tyres is off sick and it will take more time. I told him that this was the second day I was coming and he could have at least called me up to re-schedule the appointment. Anyways, he said not to worry and that he would be able to sort it out.



After sometime they put the car on the ramp and took out one wheel.


However after trying for half and hour they could not take the tyre off the rim. I was amazed at their stupidity! On top of it they chipped the paint on the alloy at one place. Finally they gave up and told me to come back at a later date. I lost my patience by this time. I called up the co-ordinator and blasted. I told her that I wanted to cancel the order and wanted compensation for my time wasted and the damaged wheel.

She handled it quite calmly and said that she will try her best to rectify the situation if I gave them one more chance. She called me back after sometime and said that I would not have to go back to that garage and that she will arrange for a company to come to my place and fit the tyres. On top of that they would refund me another £50 as compensation.

On the designated day a person came to fit the tyres at our place and finally things got sorted. On top of that the company refunded another £100 as goodwill gesture making the total refund amount to £200. This was a substantial amount considering the price of the tyres.









Before and After photos





I have driven only a few miles after the change and will have to drive more to write a comprehensive review. All I can say for now is that the pattern is very aggressive and there is substantial road noise compared to the Continental tyres.

[BlackPearl]

The annual service for the Defender was due in July but I did not want to go to the local Land Rover dealer this time. Last year I had taken the vehicle to a Land Rover specialist in West London called Tony Fowkes Automobiles for changing the tie rods and track rod. I was very happy with the work they had done, although the labour was as costly as that at Land Rover official dealership. I wanted them to do the 96K miles/96 months service once they confirmed that they could update the Land Rover online service history.

Dropped the vehicle in the morning and got a confirmation that it would be ready by evening though it was a major service.



In the afternoon I got a call from them that the rear brake pads were wearing thin. I already knew that as it was called out during the MOT in April this year. Requested them to go ahead with the replacement.

The car was ready as promised even though additional work was done.





The car was cleaned and ready by the time I reached in the evening. They had updated the online service history as well.

Land Rover Online Service History


Ready to be driven off!


Andy Fowkes, the person in charge of the vehicle, said that the Defender is in excellent condition and I do not have to worry about anything!