Thinking about getting back in

p m

Administrator
Staff member
Apr 19, 2004
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La Jolla, CA
www.3rj.org
Relativity is gold :ROFLMAO:

edit: As is sarcasm and understatement :)
Well... The total of my D1 and Classics' flatbed rides - 184+48 miles. The total of my LR4 flatbed rides is inching close to a thousand, despite less than a quarter of combined mileage I put on the other trucks.
 

jymmiejamz

Well-known member
Dec 5, 2004
6,008
361
35
Los Angeles, Ca
If you want a Defender I would definitely go for a Perentie with your budget. Personally, I don’t like the military trucks and the Perenties have too much goofy stuff on them. You could spend a little more a get a South African Hi-Line spec 110. The ones I have seen come with a galvanized chassis, ac, extra oil coolers, and maybe even auxiliary fuel tank and water tank (those may have been aftermarket). They come with a Carbureted 3.5L Rover V8, but that can easily be upgraded with any form or rover fuel injection, or even something like a Holley Sniper. If you need more power get a 4.6L and throw it in there.

My old manager from the Land Rover dealership in Richmond now imports Defenders from South Africa, I can see what he has coming in
 

chris snell

Administrator
Staff member
Aug 15, 2005
3,020
152
Holy cow. I‘ve seen a ghost!

Welcome back, Rob. I don’t know if you heard, but Sheki got himself an ex-Mod and has started building it up. It’s a lot of fun, the Defenders basically being LEGO trucks and easy to rip apart and put back together. The PA salt has eaten my truck and I shudder to think what would happen to a LR sitting out on the Pittsburgh street, especially a RRC.

If this were me, I’d look for an ex-MOD 110 and consider galvy-dipping the original frame and as many of the steel parts as you can manage. Ben Little and I both imported our trucks by ourselves, without the help from an importer. There’s a mild risk involved (you’re essentially buying sight-unseen if you don’t fly over first) but it wasn’t too complicated or hard.
 
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nosivad_bor

Well-known member
Mar 27, 2004
6,059
63
Pittsburgh, PA
Hey guys. I think I’m committed to the RRC at this point, and as much as a defender would be fun to build, I don’t think I will like driving it nor will my wife.

I do have a garage but it has swing out carriage doors which look cool, but are a pain , but i recently found they make automatic openers for them , so given how often I drive I may keep it in there and be vigilant about rust proofing.

And for Peter, in the 20years I drove coil sprung RRC/Disco’s. I never had a tow. They broke time after time, but with help from friends and parts ordered online I always fixed it and got home. The Rover gods definitely took mercy on me.
 

benlittle

Well-known member
Jul 18, 2005
4,086
7
Draper
Damn Rob, welcome back indeed. We knew you’d get tired of how boring and reliable Toyota’s are.

RRC is obvious nice choice. One thing about a defender though; the windows always work (open AND close) and the seat will never stop working randomly after you move it all the way forward to get your keys that you dropped between the seat and cubby while at Home Depot.
 

nosivad_bor

Well-known member
Mar 27, 2004
6,059
63
Pittsburgh, PA
Let’s see if this FB link works:

Surprisingly that worked, without a FB account.

thats rougher than I’m looking for, plus I hate that particular blue , and hate grey interior on RRC. I actually had this same thing as a parts car around the turn of the century.
 

nosivad_bor

Well-known member
Mar 27, 2004
6,059
63
Pittsburgh, PA
Damn Rob, welcome back indeed. We knew you’d get tired of how boring and reliable Toyota’s are.

RRC is obvious nice choice. One thing about a defender though; the windows always work (open AND close) and the seat will never stop working randomly after you move it all the way forward to get your keys that you dropped between the seat and cubby while at Home Depot.
these are facts.
 

DiscoHasBeen

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2016
1,171
262
Indy
damn those red wheels are fugly
Hey, they're original, with raised lettering....LOL. But yeah, I think I'd have to take a can of spray paint to them before I got close enough to home that someone might recognize me. And, I'm not sure "$4,218" and "extensive restoration" should be used in the same sentence, but that's just me.
 
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Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,043
856
AZ
Don’t forget, they “invested” that $4k into the extensive restoration.
 

Blueboy

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2004
3,205
459
Back in the USA; Rockwood, PA
Definelty pull the fuse!
Don’t forget the RRC money pics for rust:
- driver and passenger side floor especially if frt mud flaps present
- cargo area floor
- rear wheel wells
- rear window frame; changed mine to aluminum and has lasted over the years

Know you know yet as a reminder they rust from the inside out. The steel support frame was only primed so the panels can look great yet underneath the steel is rusting. Dry, salt free location is well worth any premium.
 
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Aug 20, 2007
2,727
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Nashville TN
Don’t forget the RRC money pics for rust:
- driver and passenger side floor especially if frt mud flaps present
- cargo area floor
- rear wheel wells
- rear window frame; changed mine to aluminum and has lasted over the years

Know you know yet as a reminder they rust from the inside out. The steel support frame was only primed so the panels can look great yet underneath the steel is rusting. Dry, salt free location is well worth any premium.
X2. It took me too damn long to fix my passenger side. It ended up taking most of my fall to fix. I had the driver side left to do but ended up selling it to fund my disco project. I didn't lift the carpet up before I bought it and I definitely regretted it. I didn't mind fixing it, but That was months I couldn't drive it and time away from my kid.