new to all this

Well-Known Member
Good afternoon.

I just wondered if you had any views on the fully built replacement doors sold here https://www.sp-4x4.com/product_p/jwp5051.htm

£800 sounds a lot but then I thought about what I need to replace:
1) door as completely rotten at bottom which for a galvanised one is about 400-500.
2) new runners, seals and regulator for window. I have seen a complete pair of seals and runner kits for both doors at 90£.
3) door link rods and clips as mine is missing the latch rod.
4) new latch mechanism around £50. Mine doesn’t work properly as often when opened the striker hits the bar and I have to manually flick up with a screw driver.

my point is that after adding all that up you quickly get a parts bill which is more than the fully built door.

as I am a newcomer I want to make sure that I have not missed something.

I have searched for second hand doors on eBay but often they are just as rotten as mine or worse and people still want £300 for them!!
 
Doors are expensive as they do rot away.
There are sections that you can get to repair the doors (the bottom frame for example).

Buying the SP doors will take a lot of the pain away as they are bolt-in replacements and as you say come with everything.
A new bare skin door costs around £350 and you should beable to get it all together with some time/effort and around another £100.

There are a number of scrapies/recycling centers where you can buy a door from, it will probably be damaged but you should be able to recover the bits you need to get your doors into usable/working condition.
Owning a defender is all about fixing it up and keeping it as original as possible (IMO).
 
I can't comment on their built-up doors but I bought a pair of (bare) galvanised front doors for my 90 in 2019 and the quality was very hit & miss and the customer service completely non-existent.
SP4x4 has been covered at length on here (and other forums) and unfortunately for everyone who is happy, there is at least one more who is very disappointed (as I was).

The main issue for me was that one door was ok (poor finishing where the skin is folded over the frame which resulted in more work for the paint-shop to make a good finish) but the other door was a disaster from start to finish. The frame was wrong and the skin wasn't bonded meaning it drummed. When I (eventually) managed to get a response from SP4x4 they denied that it was manufactured wrongly as that "just can't happen" so I had to send the door back as no-longer required rather than faulty. When I chased it up a week or so later the guy wouldn't speak to me and it was a lady who apologised and said that the door was indeed faulty.

The lack of progress on the order was also a major problem.
The delay between ordering and delivery was considerable but I was never informed that the doors had been sent (they were sent separately) and the courier they used did not do repeat deliveries meaning as I was at work when they tried to deliver I had to drive 10-miles each way to collect from the depot. This also stood for the return, as it was being sent back as no-longer required I had to pay and then get a refund. I got fed-up driving to that depot!

People used to complain about the way the doors were packed occasionally resulting in damage during transit.
One of mine was very well packed (using thick foam-rubber sheet) but the other not-so, another inconsistency.

When painted, built-up and fitted they are ok.

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Thank you for the full responses.

a lot to think about. I may overhaul the seals and latch first and put runners in (there aren’t any currently which explains the wayward window winding).

Their website seemed to over sell and try too hard which did concern me. If it’s that good you don’t need to.

I will keep you posted.
 
I bought a built up galvanised rear door from them. I have not fitted it yet but looks very good.
The thing for me is they don't send confirmation email when you purchase anything and don't notify you when its coming, although the delivery company did. They don't have a phone number but they always replied to my emails. I ordered a few different items with the door and they came a different times as there was a lead time on a few. I did have to get onto them about this.
 

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