Hello everybody, my name's Donald, I'm 27 and currently live in the Belgian Ardennes. I've been a LR fan since I was a kid. My grandfather had 1953 Series 1, and as far as I can remember, it's the first car I drove, from the laps of my dad.
We still have the Series 1, but it requires a complete restauration job... Chassis and bulkhead are completely rotten. Has a Peugeot 404 diesel converion as well.
I was first looking for a Defender (200 or 300 Tdi) but couldn't find a decent one in my price range (£ 5000 max), but that's not gonna stop me from getting my first LR! So I went on to search after a Disco II TD5. Nice car, but all those electronics will, sooner or later, be an issue. So, quite naturally, I decided to look after a Disco 1, 200 or 300 Tdi. Heard those engines were basically bulletproof, and as I'm already a little into cars (big fan of the Mk1 and Mk2 VW Polos, currently own one of each), I think I could be able to solve most minor issues by myself. I'm at least willing to learn and certainly don't mind getting dirty.

So, that's about it on me... Hope I'll meet as many people here as I did on Polo forums!

Welcome, good luck with your search - maybe a series 2 or 3 would fit your budget?

Hi waldamar, I think I forgot to give one big precision, I'll be using the car as a daily driver.

Saw Ant.7's Disco 1 300Tdi for sale, looks nice!

Howdy folks,

It took longer than expected, but I'm finally the proud owner of a Land Rover product that runs and drives: a 2006 Defender 110 TD5, covered about 110000 miles.
I bought it from the original owner, and the car has been maintained by a friend that works at a reputable Land Rover specialist in Belgium, so I think it's fair to say it has been somewhat decently well looked after.

That being said, it's still far from perfect, it has clear signs of use (couple of scratches and dings... how do we say again... ya, it gives it character!). It wasn't a garage queen either as there is some rust starting to creep here and there (doors and other aluminium panels seem fine, thank God), but still far from the "point of no return". Nothing shockingly bad for the age, I'd say.

Here's the fat girl!



It was a bit of a compulsive buy, I was gonna go for a Land Cruiser J76, but here I am, I guess! The opportunity was too nice to let it pass... and it's a car I'd always wanted anyways.

No specific plans other than making sure she runs fine, and replacing some bits here to get her to a standard I'm happy with (seals, mainly).

It's gonna be my daily driver, and I drive quite a bit. I'm sure it's gonna be a lot of fun... or at least that it's gonna be interesting.

I love a happy ending. Good luck with the fat girl I hope she’s a keeper

It'll be a properhappy ending when the Series One will be back on the road!

In the meantime, I'm pretty sure she's a keeper... I had a Lada Niva as a daily driver, in a way they're comparable, I think.

Same utilitarian approach. Probably not so good for towing lol

Hi and welcome back

Welcome back! Nice Landy too! Well worth the lengthy search!

kermit_rr said:

Hi and welcome back

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Thanks!

Knappster said:

Welcome back! Nice Landy too! Well worth the lengthy search!

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Well, that's the funny part. I wasn't even looking for one... It just appeared in my life! A friend working for a Volvo dealership told me a client was selling his 110 via them, initially I kind of ignored it... Then one night at his place, after what was probably too many beers, I asked him about it again. Next day, we went to see it, and here I am, the proud owner of this car that literally came to me

RangeRoller dt said:

Same utilitarian approach. Probably not so good for towing lol

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That's exactly it, it's a Russian lightweight version of the Defender.
There's a saying for Ladas "always broken, never broken down", I must say, it's been pretty true so far!

Hello and welcome
Nice looking motor there.

Hi folks,

Not many updates to give you, I've done around 600 miles, then I dropped it off at a friend's place who's looking after it for me. I simply don't have the time, space or tools to undertake heavy maintenance.

Here's where I'm at:
- 5th gear was loud... Learned the hard way that the rear support bearing was a weak spot on the R380, so went to Ashcroft and got a refurbished R380 with reinforced rear support bearing and a V8 ratio 5th gear pinion (I'll be doing a lot of motorway driving).
- fuel tank would leak when full, still trying to pinpoint where that came from.
- it rides like a worn out tractor, I know it's characteristic of a Defender but I'm trying to improve that best I can. I got an OME kit, which combined with new bushings here and there, should hopefully make it feel less like it's about to disintegrate at the slightest road imperfection. All new galvanised/stainless hardware to acompany that.
- since the gearbox is out... new rear main seal and, might as well, a decat.
- various seals around the car are gonna be replaced (the vents are as air tight as the Titanic)
- headlights replaced by Wipac Crystals (they were LED, but that's a no-no at Belgian MOT)
- all other lights replaced by Wipac standard OEM replacement
- new front bumper with A bar, and eventually some driving lights (all ears for recommendations)
- foldable sidesteps
- rear foldable step
- light grills either new or powder coated (I'll for for the ladder style in the back)
- Nakatenga trunk door strut (damn thing nealry killed me a couple of times already)
- MUD seat rails (I'm average height, but it's tight in there, with the AC and all)
- blower motor
- heater matrix
- at some point, but not urgent, condenser and AC system check

I'm trying not to go overkill as it's very easy to go crazy with these things... I'll see how it's like to live with and improvise from there.