1989 Defender 110 Td6 Soft Top
Available Soon
Inquiries: contact@DawnOfTheDogs.com
This 1989 Defender 110 arrived in a pathetic state of being. Not much was salvageable outside of the bulkhead (amazingly), most of the rear tub and the axle housings. This Defender is now effectively new from the ground up, every bolt and fixing is new and mostly stainless steel. We were featured in Rovers Magazine for this build, you can find the article HERE. The highlights of the upgrades and improvements for this rig are:
Powered by Td6 (BMW M57) Engine
This is the engine Land Rover should have put in the Defender, plenty of horsepower and torque with BMW reliability. The engine was sourced from a German 2005 Range Rover L322. It has been fully rebuilt with new bearings, new injectors, reconditioned and tested cylinder head and a stage 1 remap of the ECU. The turbo is an upgraded Falcon turbo, radiator and intercooler are upgraded from AlliSport, exhaust is 3″ stainless from Demand Engineering.
R380 Gearbox Built by Ashcroft
The gearbox has HD output bearing to handle the higher torque from the M57. The fifth gear ratio has been improved to 0.732 to take advantage of the more powerful engine and for better highway speed. The gearbox is also connected to an external oil cooler to protect the unit during heavier use.
LT230 Transfer Box Built by Ashcroft
The LT230 is strengthened with a HD cross pin differential, sleeved casing at the intermediate gear pin and a HD output shaft to handle the heavier torque load. The box also has a high capacity sump to keep it running cooler.
Two Sets of Front Doors
The standard Land Rover doors fitted to this Defender are new genuine doors from Land Rover with all new internal fixings. A second set of doors fitted are custom tubular Rally doors. These doors provide an excellent open air feeling when driving off road. Both sets of doors are set on special slide-off hinges that make change-over easier.
Fully Rebuilt Final Drive
The front and rear differentials have been fully rebuilt to factory specs. The front Rover diff has received an Ashcroft HD center pin. The front axle shafts are upgraded with new Ashcroft HD 4340 alloy shafts and new Ashcroft CV joints. New hubs and swivel balls as well as new Timkin bearings are fitted to all 4 wheels.
Galvanized Chassis, Powder Coated Suspension
The chassis was replaced with a genuine Marsland 300Tdi chassis (brackets and ancillaries are also galvanized). The chassis was then coated in epoxy primer for extra durability. The axle tubes, radius arms, trailing arms and A-frame underneath have been stripped and powder coated for a durable finish.
Extreme Upgraded Disc Brake System
The front brakes are LOF EXTREMEspec 4 pot calipers for added safety with the more powerful BMW engine. The rear brakes are LOF POWERspec stainless pistons fitted to the Salisbury axle. All discs are drilled and vented.
Rear Tub Wood Decking
The rear tub has ben treated to a custom wood deck. Made from Iroko (African Teak), this species will naturally resist the elements and is tough enough to withstand abuse from all of your overloading gear. While the wood is naturally weather resistant, the seams are caulked to provide extra durability against water.
Leather and Wood Front Cabin
Front seating is brand new from Exmoor Trim. Bespoke leather on the Elite MK-II heated seats is matched on the door cards of the standard Land Rover doors. The dash has been covered in natural leather and is trimmed in Iroko wood to match the rear tub.
Upgraded Electronics
The gauges are all new from VDO including a digital speedo (if you know the original LR speedo, you know this is an upgrade). The sound system has no head unit to ruin the esthetics of the dash, simply connect via Bluetooth with your phone or iPad for full control of the amp, 6 speakers and sub woofer.
Secure Roll Cage
To be honest, no Defender is completely safe when compared to modern vehicles. This is especially the case when it’s a soft top. However, one essential upgrade is a quality roll cage. We installed a genuine (i.e., not cheap) Safety Devices external roll cage for the best protection available on a Defender. Don’t ever use it, but if you do, you’ll be glad it’s there.
Many other upgrades…
such as custom rock sliders, Warn winch, LED internal lighting for the front and rear cabin, external light guards, chequer plate body protection, brand new Defender wiring loom, LED headlights and warning lights, Rugged Ridge roof-mounted LED lights, genuine Land Rover Wolf wheels, and more…
