Vehicle Description
1986 Land Rover Defender 90 - 2 Door Wagon - 3.9L V8 FI Conversion
from LR Disco 1 - Automatic Gearbox and Axles from Disco 1 too -
$20k for NAS Running Gear Swap - Runs and Drives better/faster than
original - 4WD - Left Hand Drive - Rear Jump Seats - 18k Kilometers
(Please note: If you happen to be viewing this 1986 Land Rover
Defender on a website other than our Garage Kept Motors site, it's
possible that you've only seen some of our many photographs of the
SUV due to third-party website limitations. To be sure you access
all the more than 135 photographs, as well as a short start-up and
walk-around video, please go to our main website: Garage Kept
Motors.) Hagerty Media: By 1983, the original Land Rover 88 and 109
models were showing their age. The company therefore decided to
develop a new aggressive model utilizing the technology that had
made its Range Rover such a success. The 110-inch wheelbase model
was chosen for the first new vehicle, as the original 109-inch
leaf-spring model accounted for 70 percent of the company's sales,
and the old leaf spring models were phased out over five years. The
year 1984 (continued into '86) saw a new short-wheelbase version
(of the 110), the Land Rover 90 (Ninety), to replace the old 88.
The wheelbase was actually 93 inches, but all of the improvements
of the 110 were added to the new model, including a stronger frame,
bigger windows and larger payload. Axles were located by radius
arms and a Panhard rod up front and trailing links at the rear.
Approach and departure angles also improved. Offered here is a
re-powered 1986 Land Rover Defender 90 in white-and-dark-gray over
tan-and-black. The truck's odometer shows 18,642 kilometers
(roughly 11,600 miles). More than $20,000 was invested in upgrading
the engine, transmission, and running gear. The Defender's overall
condition is very good with signs of appropriate use, but not
abuse. The exterior, dark-gray-metallic paint is in good condition
with signs of selective fading across most body panels. The
windowed white roof shows neither damage nor fading. Textured
steel-plate panels on the lower body and fender tops (a Defender
design tradition allowing Army Defenders easier maintenance in the
field) are unscathed, as are black fender flares. (To best assess
the quality of the paint and trim finishes, please be sure to view
the close-up photographs of the car in the accompanying gallery.)
The classic Defender front grille is protected by a black,
tubular-steel bumper and brush guard. Cabin glass and lighting
lenses are clear and uncracked. In classic uber-reliablility
fashion, the truck's spare tires include one (protected by a
Land-Rover-logo cover) mounted on the hood, and a second on a
swing-away rear carrier. Factory, 16-inch, 5-spoke alloy wheels
with Land-Rover-logo center caps are mounted with Cooper®
Discoverer AT 265/75 tires. Inside, the theme is classic Land Rover
spartan functionality. Long-wearing, tan, tweed-weave, fabric
upholstery (accented with brown vinyl) on the front bucket seats
and four, center-facing, rear jump seats has been generally
well-maintained with some signs of light damage (especially on the
front seats) and light staining elsewhere. Black-soft-vinyl door
trim panels are in very good condition. The left-side-mounted,
4-spoke, Land Rover-branded steering wheel frames the simple yet
functional black dashboard. Gauges and controls are straightforward
and easy-to-use. The center console hosts the transfer-case
selector adjacent to the t-bar shift lever for the automatic
transmission. Under the hood, a 3.9-liter V8, sourced from a Land
Rover Discovery 1, commands a properly organized, but not overly
detailed engine bay. The engine swap was clearly performed by
professionals. Viewed from below, the truck's chassis is complete
with no signs of any damage as might exist from too-aggressive
off-roading. The 4WD components and the automatic transmission and
axles (also sourced from
