Top90

Unfortunately we had to leave early after my co-driver nearly passed out twice and was violently sick.

I particularly liked this sentence: "Many of his expeditions would have had to been abandoned if it were not for the Defender."

There is of course a way round all of this..... A pre-73 109 station wagon. Historic vehicle so no LEZ, congestion charge or road tax. Plus as over 9 seats you can drive in plenty of bus lanes too. Rich

The show stated it had the 'transit' engine and the heater and seats were better. That's about it. Did not mention the folding rear seats, 6 speed box or other changes. Just a good excuse for a presenter to go for a play in Iceland really. I mean, not many of us will buy them with 38 inch tyres and all the other stuff..... that comes later. Seen loads more info on landrovers sites. For you that will be: www.landrover.ru Happy shopping. Rich

From October 2010... No it won't. (possibly) Edited to add. Legislation says diesel engined vehicles over 1.205t(Large vans). It does not specify PLG, Light goods or whatever tax class yet...... A transit van/escort van and a disco or defender of this age will be tax class PLG. How will they tell which to include?

An awesome achievement. Well done !!!

It states over 1.205 tonnes and diesel engined. Rather strange. So a 4.6 V8 is fine because they only care about particulates. I suppose we need to see this for what it is. Just another stealth tax.

Of course.

I feel that a more open policy would encourage more entrants to events. Did an event with the Essex club a few years ago. To be fair to them I couldn't win a trophy or get points, but I was allowed to compete to see if I liked it and it was a good day out. They particularly didn't like the dislocating suspension. RIch

If you get stuck I'll take a picture of how mine are fitted. Yes, I did mean bolt them horizontally. There is a plate running behind the sill. Rich

The two holes should already be in the sills. (hidden behind the sill panels) So when fitted the mountings go up behing the sill panel. Mine is a 2005, but I'm assuming they all have the mount holes for them. If you can't find the holes what year is yours? Rich

The list says you need my address, but I've already sent it. Now sending again. Rich

Hi Nasher I have the disco gears in my 110, with a slight ECU tune. I don't need to turn the stereo up. Gets noisy over 80ish, but we are talking about a vehilce the same shape as a brick, so if you are considering a Defender I guess you don't want to go everywhere at warp speed. It's only a cog or two in the transfer box, so also undetectable to dealers if the car is under warentee. Easiest way to explain it is the engine will be revving as fast at 70mph as it used to at 61mph. I've done 43,000 miles since the tune and gears ungrade and never had any problems at all. This will raise the gearing in high range by 15%, but mine still pulls fine in high first with a 3 ton trailer as the anti-stall does all the work, even pulling away up hill it's fine. If you get decent tyres they should not be too noisy. BFG Mud Terrains are my favorite and they don't make much noise. All terrains (BFG) are as quiet as road tyres in my opinion and I would not use another make of tyre for general use as I've never even had a puncture. (even after a three week trip in Morocco) I can talk to passengers normally, even at 70mph, so ZZ top should be no problem. My 110 is now 18 months old. (48,000 miles) Rich

If you choose to run those tyres I'd gather refinement is not a top priority. That's why Taz travells any great distances on a trailer. Rich

Too late..... Les has woken

What did I miss?

I had the disco Q gears in my defender from nearly new, 15% gearing increase reduces motorway noise. Also fitted a lead lined engine blanket and that helped too. Mine now cruises quietly up to 75 ish before getting a bit noisy. Does 30mpg too. After a while you get used to the 'elbows down' driving position as there is no elbow room. The only thing I still don't like is the sore shoulder from it rubbing on the B post constantly. I'm 6' 2" Rich

£16,250 plus VAT (Just over 19k!!)

300 TDi 90 staton wagon. In my opinion the best off road / on road combo with a simple to fix design that you can still use everyday. (for people without too many kids)

I thought this was normal when somebody mentioned Scorpion.

Foleys are very helpful for that kind of thing. Have access to an amount of stock I believe and do a lot of preperation work for serious expeditions.

Well, it was ok. You can get good buys, but fantastic ones don't exist in my opinion as there are plenty of dealers who sell defenders on for sensible money. I've had better buys on ebay..... at least you can test drive them first. (there are lots of dodgy ones there too!) If you don't bid they will refund the £500 when you hand back your bidder details/number. So it's a free day out.

Most important thing is decide a price and stick to it. (I'm sure you know this) I got a 90 there a few years back, and the owner was trying to bid the price up.

I was talking about road tax, not company car tax.

Of the two I'd go for the 110 DCPU. Still a Light Goods (unlike the station wagon) vehicle so you won't fall foul of the new road tax hike. The extra distance between the axles does give it a better ride than a 90. Plus the extra windows give better visibility than a 90 HT. I agree a 110 is a little more tricky to park, but the fuel economy difference is hardly noticable. Unless you are going to go serious offroading (as in trials etc..) or live in a busy town where parking is hell, then keep with a 90. Rich