Nugget's 110 Defender

[nugget]

I will start my build right from the beginning. Some may have seen part of it on X but more has been done and there is plenty still in the pipeline so hang in there.

When choosing a new truck my criteria were..diesel, not ISF, manual and it had to be a ute. When you plug those parameters into the thought box in Aussie you are really on left with 2 choices. A Toyota ute or a Defender. I looked at the Toyota but it was 25K dearer and I just knew that after the H3 which was such great value for money, that every time I started the Toyota I would feel that I had been ripped off so badly that I may as well have dropped the strides and spread the cheeks.

And so a 2010 model 110 Defender Crew Cab 2.4L turbo diesel, 6 speed manual landed in the drive way.

The sea anchor said no more major engine mods..yeah I know…boring!!!!...and it had to stay street legal….luckily sho isn’t too conversant with Department of Road Transport Queensland regulations.

It started out like this, more stock than Gunner45’s letter box except for the number plate….

 

[nugget]

Couldn't handle the cheese cutter tyres so a set of Mickey T's filled out the original rims a bit better.

 

[nugget]

Then I thought that some slightly wider rims and bigger Mickey T was the go...almost legal too but don't tell the sea anchor...






































At this point I decided that there was enough clearance as it stood. Getting in was harder than the H3 with the Rancho lift plus 35's.

Whilst almost legal from a height perspective, the wider rims/tyres were hanging out of the guards a bit but a set of wider flares soon fixed that.

 

[M22KLARS]

Sea Anchor... :asoff: That's a good one.

Man you build some cool ****! I'm lovin' this Defender!

 

[Bigunit]

....I would feel that I had been ripped off so badly that I may as well have dropped the strides and spread the cheeks.


....The sea anchor said no more major engine mods..yeah I know…boring!!!!...and it had to stay street legal….

.....more stock than Gunner45’s letter box except for the number plate….

...Whilst almost legal from a height perspective, the wider rims/tyres were hanging out of the guards a bit but a set of wider flares soon fixed that.

That's some great stuff right there - all in your first 2 posts! :giggle: I love the logic and problem-solving in the 4th quote above. It's going to be fun having you here! Oh...and great looking rig!

 

[j3jackson]

Wow that thing is cool.

 

[alrock]

I wish we had these "real" Rovers in the states.

 

[08SolarFlareH3]

I knows the H3 is gone but it would be cool to have a write up on that here someday if you ever get time! Look forward to seeing your Defender build.

 

[H3slate]

:corn:

Can't wait for more!

 

[06 H3]

that is really cool! How heavy is it? It looks like its bomb proof

 

[Hans3T]

I've never seen much about Defenders here in the US. This is going to be very interesting! :corn:

Cool truck!!

 

[Ron B]

I've never seen much about Defenders here in the US

it's a pity they only let the 110 in for one year and the 90 for only 5 (?) years...and of course the diesel wasn't allowed. These are great trucks.

 

[Hans3T]

Why is that?

 

[3Hummers]

Great trucks and prices have gone through the roof on them.

 

[nugget]

The 2.4 turbo diesel engine is the same as in the Frod Transit van and the 6 soeed is proving very reliable. The Service Manager for the dealer lives in my area and I have gotten to know him pretty well. Never had such great service..he pick my truck up, drives it to work and then drops it back at my house when it needs anything done! But talking with him he was saying that they have been seriously impressed and had very very few problems from a warranty point of view. This was re-assuring given Land Rovers have not had a good reliability history in Australia.

The earlier models...like the last 60 odd years that they have been building Defenders...the joke was not to try to over take as you will only give yourself ulcers and a bad heart. That is certianly not the case with this and I happily over take triple road trains.

Off road it is very very capable and has an anti stall that is amazing when just crawling along. Very impressive.

 

[nugget]

Having just bought a small turret mill, I decided to raise the diff breathers and to machine a manifold from billet. Slight overkill…maybe …but it was a good learner project and it felt good!

Sorry if the sequence is a bit out but I am still coming to grip with the posting on this forum which is a bit upside down...me being in the colonies and all.

You might also notice how straight the "wing" on top of the mud guard was fitted by the dealership....This was how I came to meet the Service Manager and he has looked after me every since.

 

[M22KLARS]

That is ****in' cool Wayne! Nice work on that! Please tell me you still have the "I beat Anorexia" .... We need a pic with that on in front of the new rig.

 

[nugget]

hahaha...certainly still have the "T" and I'll work on getting a pic in front of the 110...for now I only have one of me working out on a recent trip in it...lot of arm curls on this trip to build up "the guns"..

 

[M22KLARS]

Hahahahaha! Gotta love 12oz. curls.

I myself prefer 20oz curls. :wink:

 

[HUMMER INVESTMENTS]

Great build so far! Cant wait for more!:corn:

 

[Ron B]

Why is that?

there are so many cool vehicles available around the world we can't get here (some are made here and we still can't get them!). It's also especially fun to see these for sale in other countries for a fraction of the price of what it would go for here. Just go onto Expedition Portal and start drooling at some of the really cool rigs around the world.

Excuses range from DOT safety issues to smog compliance to competition with US brands.

 

[nugget]

I should have explained at the start what my longer term plans for the truck were...unfortunately the memory is about as good as gunner45's once the cork is out of the bottle but that is another story.

Basically I wanted a 2 person tourer which didn't have to lug all of the touring gear around all of the time which was what I did with the H3..it was pretty much a 2 seater. With the 110 I will chop the crew cab off turning it into a tray back which can then have a removable/slide off unit which will hold all of the touring gear, water, dual batteries, fridge beer..you get the idea, as well as have a roof top camper on top of the unit so it also comes off with the unit. You will see later that the roof rack is a bit higher than normal and that is why..the roof rack was designed to hold the spotties, a spare tyre but most importantly, to protect the roof top camper from branches etc.

For those not familiar with a 110, the battery is located under the passenger seat and is about the only place to fit a 2nd battery. Given my longer term plans, I needed a dual battery set up which would suffice for immediate trips so a small 40 amp/hr battery was enough as long as I did a bit of driving each day....I don't need much encouragement on that one!

Even more important was some leg room as the standard seating position is pretty close to the steering wheel, even for a short ass like me so a set of seat rail extensions for each front seat miraculously appeared in the post one day...clearly a present from heaven as I promised the sea anchor that I hadn't been spending money on the truck...again!





Much better...amazing how much easier it is to drive when your testicle aren't in your top pocket.

Dual Battery you ask..well as you see, there isn't a heap of room...



The actually dual battery controller has already been fitted here. Turned up a couple of stainless steel posts, a couple of nutserts and Houston, we have a securing system.

 

[Timgco]

OUTSTANDING! do you have any pics of the dash, seats, etc. I''m sure a few of us are curious as to what the interior is like as well ans the undercariage.

 

[SolidusJ]

Jesus I found one in Afghanistan and I tried my damn nest to get it in a ISU to bring it back home but I couldn't make it happen :sigh:. The poor thing seen better days but nothing that couldn't be fixed over time and given lots of TLC! Post up more pics and keep up that damn good work!!!!!:cheers:

 

[nugget]

The Defender was in dire need of a decent rear recovery point. There are none provided as standard, only shipping tie down points....must be something about Pommy stiff upper lip optimism about never requiring recovery. In the colonies we are a bit more realistic....OK reckless but what the hell!!!

Decided to make my own based on a South African design I saw on the net. Pretty happy with the way it has turned out..