Description

1985 Land Rover 90 4C

Completely rebuilt with a new 'Richard's galvanised chassis', rebuilt n/a diesel engine; new Ashcroft LT77 gearbox and hood; fantastic example that's been kept as close to original spec as feasible and is ready to be enjoyed

Looking like what can only be described as a ‘brand new’ 1985 Land Rover 90, this outstanding example has been rebuilt as close to as possible with only a few choice changes to the original spec.

Dating from February ’85, this 90 hails from the time before the ‘Defender’ name and still features some late Series III bits such as the pedals. Our lady owner oversaw the project which was undertaken by a local Land Rover Specialist (with her close supervision) and a certified Land Rover technician.

The body was stripped, a new galvanised chassis from Richard’s Chassis installed and immediately wax oil protected. The body panels were chemically stripped inside and out before being prepped, repaired and re-painted. The tailgate is the only body panel that was deemed to far gone to repair so was replaced with a period correct new item.

The bulkhead was checked on a jig and refurbished, the axles were refurbished, the engine rebuilt to standard tune with a new Ashcroft LT77 gearbox fitted while the input/output shafts and transfer box are all original items.

Inside, the interior was freshened up with new seat covers, some colour injected with red seat belts and the gauges/instruments all tested, repaired and cleaned as necessary. The original truck cab was ditched in favour of the canvas top with bespoke internal roll bar installed for safety, along with standard wheels and tyres fitted rather than the usual monster wheels and tyres found on many resto-mod Landies.

Within the history file we find the V5C, a tome of documentation detailing all the parts used and although there are no figures on there, we know it cost c.£20,000 to complete. There is a clean MOT valid until July 2022 showing the vehicle to have covered 2 miles since its 2020 MOT and only c.1,200 miles since 2006 when it had covered 148,617 miles. Since completeion it has been trailered to Land Rover events and shows where it has received considerable interest - a smart hard back photographic record of its restoration and USB stick of further images is also on file. The vehicle was featured in Issue 78 of The Landy magazine (copy article included in the file).

Buyers please note, unbeknown to the vendor, we discovered the vehicle was registered Category-C in April 2000 – although how relevant that is given the extent of its restoration only you can decide – it wouldn’t put any of us off thats for sure.

The result is a wonderfully thorough and carefully measured restoration project which succeeded in preserving the authenticity, integrity and heritage of this early 90. Ok, the naturally aspirated 2.5 4C diesel isn’t going to win any speed awards, but they cruise well and are super dependable. Its nice to see one which hasn’t been ditched for the usual 200/300tdi conversion and highlights the difference between what the 90 was, and what the later Defender became - we love and respect it for that.

For more information contact - will.daniels@brightwells.com