Owning a Land Rover Defender 110 in the UK

I will not be able to describe it, but driving the vehicle is like meditating, it soothes the heart and calms the mind.

BHPian BlackPearl recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Only one thought is coming to my mind as I am writing this and it is aptly depicted by this meme -

The vehicle that we are going to talk about is a 1991 Defender 110 and our third Land Rover. Before anyone asks, no we did not buy another Land Rover because they have a reputation of breaking down and need back-up vehicles

Background and the buying experience

Last year we got the Corris Grey Defender 90 in April and started looking for greenlaning opportunities immediately after that. In October we found a group doing a trail in the Lake District and we joined them. Though the Defender did not have any problem tackling the terrains, I was a bit unhappy as some of the lanes were scratchy and there were some trails which were very rocky. I was able to hear my loud heartbeats when going through them.

More details on the Defender 90 and the greenlaning trip in these threads -

(The heartbeat of BlackPearl | Land Rover Defender 90 Review)

(Land Rovers greenlaning in the Lake District (UK) with Trailmasters)

After coming back I realised that the Defender is too nice to be offroading/greenlaning with it. I needed peace of mind on the trails and not have palpitations everytime I see a jutting out tree branch or rock! So started looking for a really old Discovery/Defender on the net. Found a few Discovery 1s and 2s but the good ones were quite pricey. The Defenders were way out of budget. But after a month I suddenly saw a post from one person I follow on Facebook that his brother is selling an old Defender but the vehicle is in good nick mechanically, cosmetically not so. The price was very reasonable as the person wanted a quick sale in order to buy a new Jeep Wrangler. It was the perfect one for us as the main purpose of the vehicle would be to do greenlaning. So on a cold November morning Rajsri and I started on a 200 Kilometer (120 miles) drive. Though I have lost count of the number of times we have bought a car, I still could not sleep properly the night before. I was up by 4 o clock and on the road by 5 am. We had to reach the person's place before 9 am as he would go out for work after that. We were so excited that we reached before time and I could see the car parked in the driveway. Immediately liked it and by the time Tony showed me the vehicle I was already sold. It was cosmetically not the best looking Defender, but the bold stance, lovely tyres and old school workhorse look bought me over. Went for a short drive and confirmed that I will take the vehicle. Tony showed me how everything works including the winch. Then we completed the formalities and I got the green slip. Yaayyyy!

Starting its trip back to London

A coffee break on the way back. Those with OCD, please overlook the fact that the Range Rover is not parked properly.

It was strange driving a 30 year old vehicle on the expressway. I had very little expectation from the vehicle in the beginning, but after while I saw that I could easily maintain 120 Kmph (70 pmh) on the highway and occasionally it was going up to 130 or more trying to keep pace with the Range Rover Sport. Rajsri was equally surprised seeing the Defender in the rear view mirror of the Sport. What I realised is this Defender is much more comfortable than the 90 due to the larger tyres and longer wheelbase.

Happy me after returning home -

Lined up in front of the house

The Vehicle and the modifications

There is nothing new to write about the Defender that has not been written before by someone on the internet. But this Defender is not a stock one, so I have to give some information about it. The brand Defender came out in the 1990 and this one is a 1991 vehicle. The Defenders during this period came fitted with the ultra reliable 200Tdi engine and LT77 gearbox. But somewhere down the line this Defender was fitted with the Land Rover Defender community's most loved engine, the 300Tdi along with the R380 gearbox. This is a highly sought after combination in the Defender world.

The vehicle has been heavily modified and the list is a very long one. I will try to write them down if I can remember them all.

1. ARB air lockers for front and rear differentials

2. Warn 8274 winch with Bowmotor 2. 8274 is a competition winch and one of the most winches in the world. The number 8 stands for 8000 pounds, 2 stands for 2 way winch and 74 denotes the year it first came out.

3. Heavy duty winch bumper

4. Heavy duty rock sliders and rear corner protectors

5. 33" (255/85/R16) BF Goodrich KM2 tyres on heavy duty steel wheels

6. Pegged differentials

7. Heavy duty shafts and flanges

8. Ashcroft front CV joints

9. Heavy duty steering bar

10. Raised air intake (snorkel)

11. Hybrid turbo

12. Momo steering wheel

13. CB Radio

14. Double din JVC headunit

15. High lift jack mount

17. Front and rear differential guards

18. Heavy duty steering guard

I will add later if I have missed anything.

Initial Experience

Immediately after getting the vehicle we went for a greenlaning tour in the Peak District. Peak District is around 240 Kilometers (150 miles) away from our place and we started very early in the morning in order to be able to reach there by 8:30 am.

On the way to Peak District. It was cold and foggy.

\

Waiting at the spot for others to join

Look at the ground clearance, I can crawl under it easily

We did the greenlaning there for around 60 miles throughout the day and came back in the evening. Overall it was more than 600 Kilometers on that day and the Defender performed flawlessly. The lanes were too easy for the car of its capability. This Defender has a strange amount of comfort that we did not feel any fatigue after such a long day. I will not be able to describe it, but driving the vehicle is like meditating, it soothes the heart and calms the mind. The sound of the 300Tdi engine is beautiful.

Continue reading BHPian BlackPearl's ownership report of his Defender 110 for more insights and information.