tiddler

I bought my Mk7 250S new from Foers as a "kit" in May 2003. It was SVA'd on 1st August 2003 and I built it all in my single garage at home using basic amateur mechanic's tools. I took 2 weeks off work then everything else was done in evenings and weekends. The only job I outsourced was the paint - I took it straight to the paintshop after picking it up from Foers. I later regretted this as I should have fettled it and trial fitted a number of parts first but it wasn't a great error. I already had a V8 90 that I used as a donor car. If I did another I'd probably start with a Disco for the axles, engine, gearboxes, props, suspension, radiator, steering box etc. All you really need from a Defender is a dashboard, steering column and bracketry, pedal box and wiring loom. Particularly with the price of Defenders now it doesn't make sense to scrap a good one and Discos have a fruitier range of engines as standard. Having said all that, the world is your oyster if you fancy Dynatrac D60's front and rear, and a gas turbine power plant Dave Foers would do his best to supply the frame with all the correct bracketry. Mine was fully trimmed, carpet, sides and rooflining using templated supplied by Foers. Again I did this all myself and it was satisfying but a pain in the rear end and took weeks to do (after SVA). Regarding fabricating things, all mechanical components just fit as they would on the donor except getting the props shortened/lengthened and the exhaust shortened (on a V8 at least). The frustrating thing withan Ibex is that there is no aftermarket so skid plates, winch bumpers, roofracks, cubby boxes - anything that you would just buy for a Defender has to be either made or adapted to fit the Ibex. Not a great issue, and if you plan ahead when you order it most of these can again be built in by the factory at construction stage. I was careful building mine to make it as good as it could be for the money and it cost me a total of £11K. £7K of which was the kit, but not including the donor car which I already had (probably worth about £6K back then). I remember Barry Pluckrose built his around the same time using a brand new unregistered TD5 90 truck-cab which you could buy then for around £13K. He recouped a substantial amount of that by selling the immaculate remains after he'd stripped off the parts he needed and it meant he could register his Ibex as a brand new vehicle, TD 51 BEX. That must still be around somewhere. If you like the look of one I suggest you go and visit the factory and talk it through. David and his dad have been making them for years and they really do know what they are doing.

Casings are the same apart from some age or model related brackets like anti-roll bar mounts or shock mounts. Sounds like you're likely to cut off most of that stuff anyway so I think you're good to go.

I am sorry if I offended you Biffer but what I was trying to get over was that the answer isn't a simple yes/no. There are several other factors to take into account and you don't give us much information to go on. 25mm spacers probably will reduce the turning circle on a standard car if you wind the lock stops in as well. Fitting 100mm spacers may well increase the turning circle as the tyres start to describe an arc outside of the arches and could end up hitting the bodywork on full lock. If you've got a bit more detail to give I'm sure someone on here can help you.

All of the following assumes we are discussing a non road-legal vehicle used for trials or purely off-highway use: If you have already removed the lock stops, go outside and put the steering on full left lock - get someone to hold it there while you look under the car where your lock stops would have been on your driver's side end of the axle. If the front of the swivel housing is touching the flange of the swivel ball then you have achieved maximum lock. Now go and have a look at the rearmost inner edge of the nearside tyre. Is that jammed up against or touching the raduis arm? if so, you have achieved too much lock and you need to either put your lock stops back in to stop it rubbing, or fit spacers/rims with greater offset to move the tyre out to stop this happening. It is quite aesy to achieve the maximum lock with a landrover axle and spacers. You can go beyond this by cutting back the front and rear of the swivel housings and running the CV joints open if you are competitive enough, but all of this means you will go through CV joints like water. I suggest you join an actual trails club (not a Facebook or Instagram one) and spend a couple of years getting to know your fellow members, sharing their knowledge and seeing what actually works and is or isn't necessary to get the best out of your vehicle. Tiddler

For what it's worth, John Foers designed this model around 285/75-16's which if fitted to your lovely wide Compomotive wheels would give your Ibex a more beefy look than it has on those 265's without having to enter the world of pain (longer springs and bumpstops, raised gearing, reduced braking, cost, cost, cost etc) that would come if you fitted 35's. Alright it would look monster-truck cool with 35's but in my humble opinion you could spoil a car that drives nicely. Very jealous by the way. Cosibex was a real favourite of mine. Shame it never achieved it's aim of cracking the US market. Giles Just checked and the Ibex 4x4 website has your Ibex in the gallery section.

That is very impressive by the Defender. BUT is it just me or are the rollers set up differently for the G-Wagon - those for the Defender look to be hidden down inside the ramped bit whereas for the G the rollers sit proud up above the ramped part.

It has also been styled to give it "presence" for those who are too important to give way to others.

You're spot on with this reply. It was the body construction and the dashboard/wiring that was so labour intensive with the old Defender. If that aspect alone was modernised then it would start to be a more profitable product.

Simtek can supply most OE loom parts. In my experience very helpful with queries and advice too.

It wouldn't surprise me if the road speed is double checked by gps too, but I do know that if you fit larger diameter than standard tyres to a Jeep built in the last 13 years it will impact on the ESP and ETC due to the incorrect speedo reading. Before too long various dash warning lights also start flashing. Google "AEV Procal" for an example of how it can be solved. I think the new Defender will be similar in this respect due to its use of even more complicated interdependent electronic systems. It would be interesting to know how "hackable" JLR have allowed their systems to be.

Very interesting! That's the first reliable person I've heard say it could be possible to fit larger tyres. If the factory has found that 33's or 35's fit (I'd love to believe they designed-in customisation from the outset, like Jeep did with the JK/JL) the question is will they release a software fix to compensate when you do, or will they partner with an aftermarket company to provide this? One or both of these would be necessary to avoid it screwing up the electronic control systems. Jeep have a number of trusted partners such as AEV to fulfil this function. Who would JLR use?

Dave at Ashcrofts sorted mine out a few years ago when I supercharged the 4.6 and wanted the 4L converter I was using to be a bit less slippy. He explained it was a bit of a dark art and he couldn't be sure how it would turn out but mine ended up just how I wanted it to be.

Built by a very good mate of mine in 1992 to a very high standard, before all the fuss of IVA etc. Very normal to build a hybrid in those days when 90's were still out of reach financially. Several owners later I know he's shocked that someone would think they could get more than a couple of grand for it. As nice as I know it is, it's still just a bitsa!

Good to see they sent a tow car out behind it in case it broke down

MJA 4x4 gets my recommendation. They are all Landrover enthusiasts, proper engineers who understand the marque and my good friend Simon works there!