Restoration of 1993 Land Rover Defender #215/500

[Jon_Winningham]

Restoration of 1993 Land Rover Defender #215/500 (http://s328.photobucket.com/albums/l360/Jon_Winningham/NAS%20D110%20215%20of%20500%20Restoration/)

[tommyd]

Nice work!!! Looks amazing. Black is so sexy. Some of the best rover porn in a long time . . .

[JimC]

Wow, looks great. We need to move a bunch of those pix to this thread.

[Mighty]

Amazing!! Nice Work!!!

[bjf]

Looks good. Why did you change the number?

[Jon_Winningham]

I have the original #215/500 plate stored safely with the title. I just thought that it would be fun to put the 1/500 plate on. It is about a 15 min. job to switch it back...

Thanks for all the nice comments.

[JimC]

Did you punch the new plate or have it engraved?

[Jon_Winningham]

Did you punch the new plate or have it engraved?I had it engraved

[Firemanshort]

Didn't that truck used to be decked out in Tennessee Land Rover Stickers and have a roof tent and all that?

(Photo is from 2004)

[Jon_Winningham]

Yes. I bought it from TLR in November 2006. TLR bought it from the original Oklahoma owner.
I was told that the original owner's house was hit by a tornado. All of the left side body panels had dents, but the right side was nice. The hood and roof had some hail damage too. We found a lot of glass during the disassembly.
The title is clean, and I am listed as the second owner.
Before the tornado I believe that this D110 was a 9.5/10. The original owner took very good care of it. I wanted a nice rust free D110 that I could change the color on. This D110 was a perfect candidate for a color change. At one time I wanted to restore it to factory, but I do not like white (sorry fellow Alpine White owners).

Follow-up Post:

Kyle Caskey and Kermit Krantz did most of the work. I helped where I could, but my main job was the logistics of the project. Ordering parts (genuine LR parts only), scheduling each step with third parties, ect.
Lindan Auto did the paint work, and High Performance Coatings powder coated the cage, sliders, and a few other bits. The owner of Lindan Auto is a good friend of Kermits, so special attention was given. But, they do top notch work on restoring classic cars. Lindan Auto works on all Land Rovers, and is a great independent shop alternative.
Kyle had just built a very large, very well equipped shop. Kermit's NAS D110 (#73/500) was parked in the shop next to mine the whole time as live a reference guide during the project (the parts book and shop manual help too). Kyle and Kermit have been around, owned, and worked on NAS Defenders since 1993. They are both very particular about their work.
We had a lot of fun with the project.

[specops1526]

Nice work and nice truck.

[James Pierce]

Wow where were the final pic's taken? Beautiful place...

[Jon_Winningham]

Wow where were the final pic's taken? Beautiful place...

That was where I grew up. We called it the "Farm". We had Arabian horses and a few barn cats, which was about as close to a farm as we got. When I went off to college my parents sold it. The guy who bought the place from us sold it a few years ago to Johnson County Parks. It is now a 600 acre park in Kansas. When we owned it, it was only 90 acres. Johnson County Parks bought a few farms around the place expanding the property to 600 acres.

[cwilder]

Jon,

This truck is awesome! I know this is an older thread but WOW! I plan to do this one day. I have a white 90 but I always wanted black. Couldn't find a nice one in my price range. The white has now grown on me with black trim. This is still the cream of the crop IMHO.

[mattarm]

Jon,
Is this recent update?

[Jon_Winningham]

Jon,
Is this recent update?

Yes. Yes it is. :)

[Jon_Winningham]

Update:
All work done by Kevin Curtis of RoverTechs of Scottsdale, AZ.
Kevin is a Land Rover trained tech with over 15 years of experience working on Defenders. He moved to the US from England about 10 years ago. He worked as a tech at LR Scottsdale and now an independent at his shop he shares with another LR tech.


1. 4.6 LR block new
2. Hydraulic Lifters
3. Heads overhaul, port, and polish
4. Manifold ceramic coat black
5. Fuel Injectors new/overhaul
6. New R380 Transmission, and V8 Bell-housing R380 shift knob, and oil lines
7. Clutch, throughout bearing
8. LT230Q rebuilt kept the transfer case’s 1.4 ratio
9. Motor and Transmission rubber bushings
10. Radiator www.rondavisradiators.com (http://www.rondavisradiators.com/) Glendale, AZ 800-842-5166 aluminum
11. Water Pump Genuine LR
12. Thermostat
13. Hoses All (oil cooler, coolant and new hose clamps)
14. Belts (saved old ones for emergency back up)
15. Tensioner Pulleys
16. Oil Cooler Lines (trailhead4x4.com)
17. Power Steering hose Lines
18. Swivel Balls fix leak/seep completely rebuilt/over hauled
19. Insulate Pipes, hoses, and wires (protect from heat) (Summit)
20. Tighten/Check suspension bolts
21. Suspension Bushings new install
22. Shocks, and Steering Damper Bilstein
23. Tie Rod End new install
24. Tint Windows
25. Anti-Seize spark-plugs, and all bolts

[bjf]

How's it drive?

[Jon_Winningham]

How's it drive?

Like it should have all along.
I pass other drivers now, and there is zero drive-train slack.

[bjf]

Only bad thing is the bilstein steering dampener. Heard it is bad for the steering. Would switch ome.