August 2023

Unloved, beaten and battle scared. This Land Rover Defender 90 TD5 is the project of our Apprentice, under supervision. The aim of the project is to turn this Defender into, “Better than New”, standard spec with improved engine performance.

The whole vehicle is taken to pieces, every last nut and bolt has to be removed. Every item will undergo examination, re-used where possible. Anything made from steel is blasted, repaired if necessary, galvanised or electroplated.

The bodywork is stripped right down, and given to our local bodywork specialist. At this point many hours of preparation lay ahead, new replacement panels are used if absolutely necessary. The start of the rebuild is at the point where the new Galvanised Chassis is placed on the vehicle hoist. The first thing that is placed on the chassis is the bulkhead, hot dipped Galvanised can distorted panels, these are carefully checked.

On this Defender we have galvanised the axle casings, these are exposed and suffer from corrosion, galvanise will prolong its life. Once the wiring is in, fuel tank and pipes, the rear body can be mounted in place. This will give us the datum pint of the bulkhead, making sure all the door gaps are millimetre perfect.

To be continued