Retroanaconda

They have no rear locking diff so didn’t go for the off road pack, they just have chosen the off road tyres option separately like I did. It was also their choice to have a P400 which can’t take the smaller wheels without modifications to the brakes. Likewise you can specify the front skid plate which exposes the front recovery point if preferred, or just take the trim off before you go off roading. Why make the rear recovery points standard when most people won’t need them, and you can make some extra money charging those who do for them as an option?

I looked up the Bronco tow rating, it seems to be 3,500lbs or around 1,500kgs. Other than that the specification list is great. You can have up to 35” tyres, front/rear diff locks, integrated terrain mapping, disconnect-able sway bar - it looks like a great toy. Interestingly I hadn’t realised it had independent front suspension.

You’re right, the sidewalls are slightly shorter. I just measured my 110 and it has a sidewall of 155mm compared to 165mm on the old 90’s tyres. So there’s only 10mm in it - the 18”tyres are not a low profile by any stretch. On paper a 255/70/R18 is 10mm bigger in overall diameter compared to a 235/85/R16, in reality different brands of tyres will be slightly different as we all know. You can fit slightly bigger tyres if you want to, same as on the old one, though how far you can go without further modifications is more limited. In any case it is not really the depth of the sidewalls causing the issue with the factory Goodyear tyres as much as the complete lack of reinforcement. When I trashed mine it wasn’t pinched on the bead but simply cut on a rock, not helped by the wider track of the new car operating in rust almost exclusively made by old Land Rover sized vehicles. I’ve no doubt that the Bronco will be comfortable and probably even fairly practical. And to be fair I don’t know what it’s towing capacity is, I know the Jeeps have always been poor in the past but it may well be better in which case it would make it a more useable vehicle. I don’t think there’s any reason to worry about doing 1,200 miles in a new Defender any more than any other car?

Duratracs have been available for months. They’re dealer-fit not factory but that’s no difference as far as the buyer is concerned. Same for the rear recovery points - they can be specified from the factory as per of some kind of fancy option pack for a silly price, or you can buy them for a £60 and have the dealer fit them for you before delivery for a few hundred quid. Or do it yourself and save the cash, which I will do when I get around to it.

To answer that question you’ll have to ask TFL as they’re the ones who chose the car/spec, or rather accepted the car they were offered when their original one went back. You can spec on your car from the dealer the rear recovery points (front one is already fitted on all models) and ‘professional off road tyres’ which are Wrangler Duratrac, though my preference would be BFG’s.

I’d not necessarily say so. If I wanted a vehicle purely in which to play off road and drive that kind of track then the Wrangler or Bronco are clearly the pick of the bunch, they’re pure recreational off road vehicles. Very capable, and very cool. If I wanted a good all rounder that could ferry me around for work, tow heavy trailers without breaking a sweat, run 1,200 miles to the south of England and back to visit family, carry five people in comfort and safety, and drive that kind of track if I needed to (with the proper tyres) then the Defender is the obvious choice. Except they clearly do, hence why they offer an 18” tyre option with as much sidewall as old Defender ever had. Just a shame the factory fit tyres are rubbish, no doubt driven by the drive for improved fuel efficiency and emissions, but that’s at least easy to change. The majority of old Defenders left the factory on road tyres and nobody batted an eyelid.

Yes I’ll send him a PM to see if he can supply one.

I think I’ve found it - the same connector is used on the door looms for the electric window connection. https://www.mobilecentre.co.uk/2-way-female-afu3635-defender-electric-window-connector-with-terminals-and-seals-connects-to-door-loom-wiring-harness

Yes, but I’d rather not modify the loom if I can help it.

Hi all, Can anyone identify the connector on a Td5 diff lock switch? I need to make up an adaptor loom to link a later loom to to my earlier switch. This is the plug I’m after: And this is the socket on the loom that it needs to mate with:

It’s pretty tight under there on the LT77 at least. You might get perhaps a piece of 15mm angle in. I think I’ll leave it in place but will cut down a piece of the removed section of matting to slot inside it for maximum acoustic coverage!

I reckon if I cut the top bit out and fold & secure the front face back over the top of the seat box upper plate then it would add back in some of the lost strength?

Has anybody removed this raised section at the front of the seatbox? I am going to be fitting the weight off road matting and I’d rather not have to cut a hole in it for this section. Not sure if it serves any function?

There should be yes, a purple wire by all accounts. Terminates in the panel behind the rear lights on the offside. It won’t be unfused though, that would be unwise for a long cable run through the chassis!

I used to get two years and about 75k out of a set of BFG ATs so a very small part of the overall cost per mile. Of my 22.2p/mile running costs 18.4p is fuel and only 3.8p for everything else.

Did it rust through? The ones on my 90 are the originals and look very crusty, so I think I’ll add new ones to the list.

Yep - this was the first batch and came in at about £600. I reckon I’ll be in for about £2,000-2,500 by the time the rest is done. So cheaper than a built up vehicle respray as you remove the requirement for them to strip down and mask stuff, but not by much. Plus personally I think it’s a better job getting each panel done separately. I’m sure I could have reduced the cost further by doing some of the rubbing down first, but frankly I’d rather pay someone else to do it!

This is exactly what I am doing. I am neither set up for nor do I have the skills to paint it at home. I could buy the kit and learn for less than the pro-job but that would take time I don’t have. The paint shop is doing a far better job than I could have done and much faster. I’m also not after a concours finish but I want the panels well protected.

Embrace it - 70 miles a day on a dual carriageway will do the 90 the world of good. Alternatively it will hard to beat the economics of a £500 diesel hatchback as above. But the downside is you’ll have to drive a diesel hatchback. When I was doing high miles in my 90 the all-in running cost was less than 25p/mile. Okay I used it for work which offset some of the personally mileage costs but it meant I got to drive a car I liked. A Td5 shouldn’t be too bad on fuel though? Okay it’s not going to be as good as a Tdi but should still give 25mpg or over I’d have thought, unless you’ve got big mud tyres or something. What economy are you currently getting?

Apologies - yes you’re right it should be 0.27% as it was 1,100 miles. Still, not an efficient way to go laning!

I did three miles of lanes, which represented 0.0027% of the overall trip

No idea, not enough! There’s no strength to them at all. Tread and grip fine both on and off road but clearly not a proper off road tyre by any stretch. Goodyear bang on about Kevlar-reinforced sidewalls as a feature of the tyre, but the small print notes that this is featured in all sizes except those used by Land Rover

I would concur that a spare is a good idea, especially with crappy Goodyear tyres 😔

Oh dear Engine strip required or will it blow through?

Mine is with the paint shop now getting painted. I applied the T-wash/mordant solution which does something to the galv to allow paints to stick. They’ll etch, prime and topcoat it.