Hi guys

I really like the above Defender and wondering what’s involved with taking a Defender 90 and extending the front chassis by 400mm to achieve this look?

I’m trying to decide whether to start with a cheap donor vehicle or buy a newer Defender 90 and build something similar to this.

I’ve seen companies that can build a custom chassis. Might this be a good way forward?

more money than sense

Unless you have copious amounts of cash to **** away, money that you'll never get back, don't. You'd be better off buying a late super-dooper Land Rover, ideally where a previous owner has ****ed away their cash on the many over the top upgrades. There are many LR's out there in the £30k-£60k price bracket that'll give you all the cachet of a super LR but without the £100k-£200k Kahn cost. If you're intent on making a home brew special, then don't...you'll be losing money quicker than you can print it.

In a VERY uncertain car market the last thing one should be doing is pouring silly cash into old bangers.

Of course, it's your bank balance...

I agree with both the above comments BUT as a technical exercise only, could you begin with a 110 chassis and mount a 90 tub and cab so that the rear wheel arches sit correctly over the rear axle. Could the bulkhead be attached in the new position? Using the 110s engine and transmission on their original mountings you would need to fabricate new gearbox and transfer lever linkages to account for the fact the engine is further forward relative to the cab. The steering column would also need extending and numerous chassis to body mountings moved.

This is just about whether it is possible, not advisable. Any thoughts?

mikeinthemidlands said:

Hi guys

I really like the above Defender and wondering what’s involved with taking a Defender 90 and extending the front chassis by 400mm to achieve this look?

I’m trying to decide whether to start with a cheap donor vehicle or buy a newer Defender 90 and build something similar to this.

I’ve seen companies that can build a custom chassis. Might this be a good way forward?

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Really??? Not the looks appeal to me, rather unbalanced in the visuals.

In the UK it wouldn't be legal unless you IVA it. So more than likely end up on a Q plate.

The principle of making it would be fairly easy, and a number of approached. But to get a fully finished article to the same spec would likely cost quite a bit. Are you thinking a few grand, tens of thousands or more as a budget? Can you weld and will you be doing the work youself?

Didn't know what a Kahn 105 Longnose Chassis was, what a crock of 5hit!!!
Why would you want to?
What advantage is gained?
It would need IVA testing in the UK, it would end up on a Q-plate and very very difficult to insure.
If you are intent on ruining a Defender, I assume that they start with a 90-Defender and cut and shut it in front of the bulkhead, presumably somewhere around the thinner part towards the front of the chassis. I imagine the engine and box remain in the standard position. God only knows how they lengthen the steering column.

Thanks for the responses.

I was interested in the longer nose but not all the other things on the car.

How do they get around the Q plate? I assume having a replacement off the shelf chassis from Richards or similar wouldn’t get around the issue?

mikeinthemidlands said:

Thanks for the responses.

I was interested in the longer nose but not all the other things on the car.

How do they get around the Q plate? I assume having a replacement off the shelf chassis from Richards or similar wouldn’t get around the issue?

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I think they may avoid the Q plate by starting with a brand new vehicle and using new parts for the conversion, still going down the IVA route though, just guessing.

mikeinthemidlands said:

Thanks for the responses.

I was interested in the longer nose but not all the other things on the car.

How do they get around the Q plate? I assume having a replacement off the shelf chassis from Richards or similar wouldn’t get around the issue?

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tbh I'm not sure they do. If they built the car from completely new parts and registered it as not a Land Rover (would need to be another make), they could get type approval as a brand new car. If they are using a donor and 2nd hand parts then it would end up on a Q plate. And of course there is the possibility they are aren't actually road legal to the letter of the law.

Just checked the reg of one off Google images and it is registered as "KAHN LONGNOSE". So it isn't registered as a Land Rover and is likely for all intensive purposes either seen as a kit or a very small scale auto maker. If the later I suspect they are at risk of copyright infringement from JLR.

I'm assuming the 105 in the name means 105 inch wheelbase. If this is the case you could maybe use a p38 as a starting point at 108 inch and simply put a Defender body on it. But mount the bulkhead further back and extend the front bodywork. You could probably achieve a similar look with a 100 inch Disco 1/2 or RRC chassis. Both of these could be vaguely legal ways of doing it, but would remain registered as the original vehicle with just a body change. Assuming you didn't alter the wheelbase nor the chassis structure.

That said, such a long nose would be of benefit to either fit a really long engine in (straight 8 or Merlin V12 type of thing) or to move the engine back, so that it is front of the rear axle. But this would be a lot more work.

Guys, IVA info here https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-approval/individual-vehicle-approval It would not end up on a Q plate as Kahn will most likely be using the low volume car manufacturer application process.

As @300bhp/ton , a RRC chassis with a bit of front wings and bonnet stretch would be the way to go

OP, what's your project budget?

Thanks for the responses guys. Really helpful.

Budget wise I guess it would be a replacement for my RR Sport worth about £30k. However taking advice above I don’t want to dump shed loads into a car if it’s worth nowt if I have to sell it in future. Part of the reason of having a D90 is the timeless look and ability to mod it so I could in theory keep it forever or at least a v long time.

If I built it without selling my daily RR then maybe £10k to kick it off and I could add cash along the way. I really only want a standard ish Defender with maybe a respray and some wheels and the longer nose. In the future I might consider an engine conversion and keep the car as a weekend toy.

mikeinthemidlands said:

Thanks for the responses guys. Really helpful.

Budget wise I guess it would be a replacement for my RR Sport worth about £30k. However taking advice above I don’t want to dump shed loads into a car if it’s worth nowt if I have to sell it in future. Part of the reason of having a D90 is the timeless look and ability to mod it so I could in theory keep it forever or at least a v long time.

If I built it without selling my daily RR then maybe £10k to kick it off and I could add cash along the way. I really only want a standard ish Defender with maybe a respray and some wheels and the longer nose. In the future I might consider an engine conversion and keep the car as a weekend toy.

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But it isn't just a longer nose, it is a longer wheelbase compared to a 90.

If you took a 90, you could cut and extend the chassis at the front. But you'd need to decide to either keep the engine near the bulkhead or move it forwards. Either way it is quite a lot of work with bespoke parts you'd need to make. Doing this would automatically require an IVA and a Q plate. So would probably destroy the value and sell-ability of vehicle.

If you took a Disco (1 or 2). You could remove the body and fit the bulkhead in the place to suit your visuals and then the rest of bodywork. So long as you don't need to cut and weld into the chassis apart from mounting locations, you would probably be ok IVA wise and retain it's Disco registration and logbook (this is open to debate and there are no fixed guidelines, only opinions on if this would or wouldn't be legal). The D2 is worth less, so you would have less money to loose in it.

However I'd say, if you aren't doing the work yourself, you could quite easily spank £20K+ into doing this. And I suspect the reality is, the vehicle would likely be worth £5-8k at the end of it (again open for debate).

Excellent budgetary optimism

Neither of the budgets would work. £10k is a non starter. £30k...with you doing all the work, every last bit, just might get a what you're after. And the only engine worth installing would be a proper V8, a Dodge Viper V10 at a push. A soon as this happens costs go skyward as the whole driveline gets into serious mode...and then there's suspension and brakes. But, how would you get insurance on a heavily modified vehicle even with theoretical IVA? Re' budgets, ask me how I know - I've built many classic cars and am currently refurb'ing my D90 SoftTop - I won't tell you how much the final cost will be...read a lot...with me doing all the work except for the engine...which Turner Engineering have completed supplying me a brand new block, all new internals, modified head...+++

new copper radiator
AliSport IC
Gwyn Lewis HD steering components all round
Terrafirma dampers
OMU steering
Diesel Bob Bosch VE pump
new brakes all round
new brake lines
new master + slave cylinders
upgraded clutch components
new master + slave cylinders
new bushes all round
full refurb & chassis repaint in bedliner
rebuilt TurboDynamics turbo
new exhaust
redesigned and rebuilt heater
new YRM footwells, inner sill rails +++ all new st/st fixings and fasteners throughout
Dixon Tree/Rock Sliders
refurb'd front and rear trailing arms
refurb'd A frame
new front electrics
new Alternator
new front light
Mazda RX8 seats
Leather Chubby Box
refurb'd bonnet with Dynamat
cockpit and door soundproofing
Raptor Dashboard
new gauges
original Wolf Wheels
a whole host of consumables + smaller parts...the list goes on and on...

The objective to the above is a a superb condition underside, running gear and underhood/engine bay...with a 'nicely used' but clean bodywork. Admittedly the old girl will be mechanically perfect and super strong when finished but all these things cost money [and don't ask how much I spent on the MGB V8 Sebring Roadster, again with me completing all the design, component specification, bodywork and full mechanical build...this would have cost £60-65k if completed by a Fisher Services type Co]

Good luck with whatever option you choose...and if I can offer one word of guidance...complete a thorough project.xls budget before you start, then at 15-20%...then have a stiff whisky

Thanks guys

Is anyone able to help me with a broad list of costs put a D90 body over a P38 rolling chassis? I’d like to keep all the running gear standard for now and focus on getting the body extended to match and resprayed. Later on I could always look at an engine upgrade and drivetrain etc.

Any recommendations of anyone in the West Midlands who could undertake such a project would be awesome.

Cheers

So, take a 90 that’s really easy to work on, draughty, noisy and utilitarian and put it on a range chassis. So you lose the benefits of the fender then gain all the p38s issues that really are only worth the headache to have the luxury Range Rover vehicle. I just don’t get it??
If there’s money burning a hole in your pocket that bad, buy a p38 and a 300tdi 90 and run both?!

resto_d1 said:

So, take a 90 that’s really easy to work on, draughty, noisy and utilitarian and put it on a range chassis. So you lose the benefits of the fender then gain all the p38s issues that really are only worth the headache to have the luxury Range Rover vehicle. I just don’t get it??
If there’s money burning a hole in your pocket that bad, buy a p38 and a 300tdi 90 and run both?!

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There are a few people using the p38 as a basis. You don't need to keep all the electrics. In fact without the body, most are redundant anyhow. Which leaves you with a good chassis, good basic suspension design (coil or air) and a choice of engines and gearboxes.

Mounting another body on it, such as a 109 would be fairly easy. No harder than making an 88 coiler, which people have been doing for donkeys years.

For this project though, you'd need to make some design decisions up front on where the engine would be in relation to the bulkhead and body. As this will then dictate which controls would need moving or not.

That makes sense. But I still don’t get the point of It? What’s the benefit of doing such a thing like the gains from the end result?

god that looks ****e.

gymmaniac said:

god that looks ****e.

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it looks like the kid at school who never grew into his giant flipper feet