Used 90

Michael White ( snipped-for-privacy@mindspring.com) wrote on Sunday 08 May 2005 12:48 am:

Sorry for the follow-up to my own post, but one other question: can you remove the top and doors on all of the Defender 90 series? Or are some fixed in place, like all of the other Land Rovers here?

Thanks.

so Michael White was, like...

I would guess that in a free market economy such as the US, Defenders are overpriced for a reason, ie people think they are worth the money. Don't just consider it, do it. And welcome to the group.

AFAIK there isn't much to choose between these years - an expert will be along any minute now.

Yes.

As with all vehicles, a lot depends on the way it's been treated. Both diesels and V8s will go on for ever if properly looked after. A full history will give you peace of mind.

Easier than most.

No - a standard tookit will do just about everything, and most of the special tools needed can be made up in some way. You will find a lot of help on this NG.

You sound well-qualified.

It all bolts together, so you can remove what you like. You'll need a couple of big buddies to help with lifting off the hardtop, otherwise it's just a big Meccano set (UK kids' construction toy, don't know what you have in Texas - Erectaset?)

BTW, your sig line puts you right in the spirit of this group already.

Indeed.

Apart from detail, these years are essentially the same.

Yes - 4 Tons with a fully-braked trailer (in the UK anyway, legislation may rear it's ugly head elsewhere).

The Tdi's are bomb-proof, as long as the oil is changed regularly, and the cam belt changed at the specified intervals. It is VITAL that the engine oil is not overfilled.

The V8's are very good, but replacing the cam shaft at something like

70 to 120,000 miles should be regarded as a servicing thing.

I suspect the first person to work out a fully legal way of doing this will be be very wealthy indeed!

As in the other post - nothing special is actually needed except a bit of lateral thinking on occasion. Defenders were designed with bush maintainance in mind originaly.

Stick at it - there's quite a lot of info out there, but it's spread a bit far and wide.

Welcome to the club - it sounds like Landroveritis is setting in, unfortunately a terminal wasting desease ;-)

Richard

I found this site half an hour ago, quite detailed diary, photos and a conversion from hard to soft top...

Michael White blabbed to everyone:

First, head over to d-90.com and browse the forums. That's where you'll find a very good concentration of NAS D-90 owners, myself included.

94 and 95 are essentially the same on the exterior. 95s came with a better gearbox, the R380, but a lot of 94s have been retrofitted since then. 97 were all automatics. 94 were all softops except for a few experimental softtops. 95 and 97 were a mix of soft and hard tops. If you want a softtop, buy one of those. It is very expensive to convert a hardtop to a softtop. You can buy a fiberglass hardtop for the softtops.

Never towed so I can't comment.

NAS D-90s were never fitted with diesels. 3.9 V-8s in 94 and 95. In 97 they were bored to 4.0 liters.

Don't try it. It _will_ be taken away and chopped up, unless you have lots and lots and lots of money to make it legal. It's cheaper to just buy a legal one.

I've done all my own work on mine. It's never been to a shop as long as I've owned it.

My baby just took Best in Class in the company car show:

Tony

?

Tony Hi,

3.9 and 4.0 engines share the same capacity but have some differences regarding mainly the ignition system. But LR chose to market it as a different name.

Take care Pantelis

Pantelis Giamarellos blabbed to everyone:

That sounds right. Temporary amnesia I guess. I drive a '94 so I never really paid attention to the 4.0s. Thinking of doing a swap to a 4.6 in the next year or so as my engine is getting a bit long in the tooth.

snipped-for-privacy@nowhere.nu ( snipped-for-privacy@nowhere.nu) wrote on Wednesday 11 May 2005 01:46 pm:

Thanks.

What's the issue that makes the conversion to softtop expensive? Something with the tailgate or rollbars? Can I remove the hardtop and go topless? Or is that not recommended for the hardtops? Is there a bikini top available? I usually take the top off for the entire summer season, so I don't need a quick conversion.

Then someone must have been importing them on the side. I've been searching for D-90s for sale, and have found at least two diesels, one a private seller in California, one a dealership in Florida. Both are 97s, and both

5 speeds. In an email exchange with the seller, he mentioned the speedometer is in km/hr. The one I'm looking into most has a hardtop (hence my earlier questions about the top).

The only thing preventing me from taking the dive is my need for an open air bed for work around the house - hauling rock, dirt, fence sections, etc.... It would be replacing my Scrambler. I'm looking into trailers, but I'm not quite sure where I'd store a trailer yet. Anyone familiar with a collapsable setup? Man, I hate living in town...

Thanks for all the input everyone.

Michael White blabbed to everyone:

Hardtops have no rear safari cage. The cages run around $1500 or so to retrofit. If you plan on ever going topless you're better off getting a hardtop to go on a softtop than the other way around. Bikinis are available as are the more popular surreys that cover the entire truck from front to back like mine has.

They've been retrofitted then or are greymarket imports. I'd strongly advise staying away from any non-NAS 90s in the States. Check around the forums on d-90.com for a better explanation as to why.

With a softtop it's a fairly simple process to remove the rear cage if you need that out of the way.

snipped-for-privacy@nowhere.nu ( snipped-for-privacy@nowhere.nu) wrote on Thursday 12 May 2005 11:46 am:

Given the low miles on the one I'm looking into, I may bite the bullet and not go topless for a year or two.

I did a quick search on the d-90.com site, and the biggest issue seems to be titling. According to the seller, though, it's a clean California title. Of course, I can say lots of things in a on-line ad, too :). That's something I'll double-check on though. Is there some technical problem, e.g. parts availability?

Actually, I need a trailer anyway - I've been -way- overloading that Jeep, both in weight and volume.

The NAS 97's are all automatic transmission and 4.0L vs 3.9L V8's on the 94's and 95's.

the 3.9 and 4.0 litre engines are exactly the same capacity I believe.

Regards. Mark.

Now keep up, please! Pantelis has already been here .....

oh bugger, so he has..

Regards. Mark.

In message , MVP writes

The 4.0 litre is 3947cc. Biggest difference is the ignition - no distributor. A 3.9 burbles - a 4.0 litre purrs.

hmm, think I like the burble...

Regards. Mark.