Hi guys. I've been looking at Defenders for years and finally bit the bullet and bought an early TD5 110. Please don't feel like I'm expecting anyone to read all of this, I'm just dumping my mind here. I've still got loads of googling to do.
So it's a TD5 with the 10P and all that comes with it. I'm probably not going to offroad it so much as take it to bits and fiddle with it all the time. I love stuff that's designed to be repaired and taken to pieces at home. I've been reading about Defenders for a long time but there's only so much information I can absorb and process before I just have to get my hands dirty, since I don't know anyone who actually has one I just had to do the best I could. I largely bought based on the condition of the bodywork and chassis. It mostly has surface rust on the chassis and the C pillars are shot. It has been resprayed at some point but not for a while so I trusted it wasn't hiding too much corrosion.
Here's a few random questions I have if anyone fancies helping:
I'd always just assumed the rear upper body was just a frame with a single panel over it. It looks like mine has an inner panel and an outer panel. I'm guessing this is normal? Will this basically return it to Station Wagon or is the outer panel on a Station Wagon different?
My rear door is pretty rusty at the bottom so I was just thinking about replacing it. I see the doors are about £200 on lrparts.net. That seems cheap, is there reason to be concerned? Mine also seems to have an old style rear door, can I replace it with a newer one or would it not fit? Should a 10P Defender have the new one?
Lastly for the questions, can anyone point me towards info about the alarm? It went off in the middle of the night and I'm concerned. Are those little black button things on the door frames to do with it or are they for something else like the lights?
Stuff I've already noticed needs fixing:
C pillars need replacing
Engine temperature indicator not working
Front passenger seatbelt broken
Rear door not locking
A few locks are a bit dodgy
Going into 3rd is a bit grindy
I was always planning on having something with windows in the back and camping out of it. Since I didn't want to pay the premium for a Station Wagon I bought what was advertised as a Utility. I suspected that it might have actually been a Station Wagon originally and confirmed it when I got it home. The side panels, upper rear quarter panels, and the rear door all don't have windows. With my limited knowledge I thought this was just because it was a Utility but getting it home and doing a little more research I realise that all the panels must have been replaced. It had a partition at the bulkhead and in the back there was chipboard over everything (presumably it had been used to hold animals). When I got the chipboard off I could see inner panels where there had been windows previously, I guess this makes my life a little easier as I just need to cut from the inside out, around this template.
Thanks for reading. I'll try not to pollute the forum with too many stupid threads.
So it's a TD5 with the 10P and all that comes with it. I'm probably not going to offroad it so much as take it to bits and fiddle with it all the time. I love stuff that's designed to be repaired and taken to pieces at home. I've been reading about Defenders for a long time but there's only so much information I can absorb and process before I just have to get my hands dirty, since I don't know anyone who actually has one I just had to do the best I could. I largely bought based on the condition of the bodywork and chassis. It mostly has surface rust on the chassis and the C pillars are shot. It has been resprayed at some point but not for a while so I trusted it wasn't hiding too much corrosion.
Here's a few random questions I have if anyone fancies helping:
I'd always just assumed the rear upper body was just a frame with a single panel over it. It looks like mine has an inner panel and an outer panel. I'm guessing this is normal? Will this basically return it to Station Wagon or is the outer panel on a Station Wagon different?
My rear door is pretty rusty at the bottom so I was just thinking about replacing it. I see the doors are about £200 on lrparts.net. That seems cheap, is there reason to be concerned? Mine also seems to have an old style rear door, can I replace it with a newer one or would it not fit? Should a 10P Defender have the new one?
Lastly for the questions, can anyone point me towards info about the alarm? It went off in the middle of the night and I'm concerned. Are those little black button things on the door frames to do with it or are they for something else like the lights?
Stuff I've already noticed needs fixing:
C pillars need replacing
Engine temperature indicator not working
Front passenger seatbelt broken
Rear door not locking
A few locks are a bit dodgy
Going into 3rd is a bit grindy
I was always planning on having something with windows in the back and camping out of it. Since I didn't want to pay the premium for a Station Wagon I bought what was advertised as a Utility. I suspected that it might have actually been a Station Wagon originally and confirmed it when I got it home. The side panels, upper rear quarter panels, and the rear door all don't have windows. With my limited knowledge I thought this was just because it was a Utility but getting it home and doing a little more research I realise that all the panels must have been replaced. It had a partition at the bulkhead and in the back there was chipboard over everything (presumably it had been used to hold animals). When I got the chipboard off I could see inner panels where there had been windows previously, I guess this makes my life a little easier as I just need to cut from the inside out, around this template.
Thanks for reading. I'll try not to pollute the forum with too many stupid threads.
