Newbie Seeks Advice

Hello from a complete newbie.
Having long been a lover of the Defender I have deceided to take the plunge and swap my Golf R32 for a 90. Having 2 dogs a the plan for little feet in the not too distant future has persuaded me to go for something slower and more practical.
I have two questions and hope the knowledgeable out there can advise.
1) I have got used to the luxury of air con. However all the 90's I can afford don't seem to have it on. Can it be retro fitted with parts from a breakers or are there companies out there who will do it. If so how much are we talking, it won't be needed until next summer so gives me time to save up.
2) Can the back seats be turned the conventional way round with a dog guard behind with normal seat belts not lap belts. If not can you just change the belts from lap to normal and is it a hard job to do.

Looks like a quality site here. Hopefully will get to meet some of you soon when the new motor arrives.

Good going, it does depend a little on the year as to some of the prices.

1. 90s can be retrofitted with aircon, though the cost and trouble of installing, gassing and changing the dash for the aircon type may be the same or even more than paying that little extra for the aircon model. As for companies and prices im sure other people have a better idea than me ...

2. New forward facing backseats can be bought that fold down to the same style as the front and can be used with normal seatbelts, this is definatly the best idea if your thinking of using carriers/carseats for the littleones ?

There are LR dog guards that fit the space between the bulkhead and the roof, or you could get an aftermarket one which can fit anywhere along the length of the rear, although with the bulkhead there is no easy access to the back seats when the guard is behind them.

As for the inwards facing seats you cannot legaly use normal seatbelts with these as people may break their necks in a head-on crash.

Hope this helps.

Hi there daffy32

Looking at your current situation i would be tempted to go for a 110, so you get a boot space as well as seating and proper belts! I Had a 90 and loved it but when my little one came along and the girlfriend was banished to the back with the shopping and anything else i was carrying it became hard work so it had to go for a disco which i love but still want a 110 cause you cant beat a real landrover!! As for air con there are some about but they are quite rare in this country and as sam said retrofitting the system could be expensive and besides who needs air con its lovery and drafty when you get moving, oh the joys of defenders. As for things like forward facing seats and other accessorys just pick a copy of landrover owner international mag and there are plenty of adverts printed
Good luck and try and buy the best for your money cause there are alot of dogs out there and some are well overpriced as well
Hope to of been of some help, sorry for babbling on a bit
Graham

Thanks for the advice guys, been away for a few days so first chance to catch up.
Don't think I can drive a 110 as they are classed as a 9 seater, even if you only have 5 or 6 in place and being diabetic the largest number of seats I can drive is 7. If anyone knows any different please let me know.

Hello,

depending on the age / what the seat layout is in the back it could be up classed as up to a 12 seater,

However im sure you could take the very back seats out and then it would be a 6 seater at the most, and as long as its changed on the V5 it should be fine, however you would need to look into this a bit more as im not too sure.

Scott.