OFFICIAL Land Rover thread.

[Wschnitz]

Worried its going to be a high end expensive offroader like the G Wagen instead of a utilitarian go anywhere truck.

[LateFan]

https://www.caradvice.com.au/751865/2020-land-rover-defender-testing-almost-finished/

"A Defender prototype wearing camo will experience life at Kenya's Borana Conservancy towing heavy loads, wading through rivers and carrying supplies across unforgiving terrain over the 14,000-hectare reserve."

"By the time the new Defender makes its public debut later this year, JLR reckons it will have passed more than 45,000 individual tests "in some of the most extreme environments on earth".

"Engineers have taken the test fleet to the 50-degree (122F) heat of the desert, the sub 40-degree (-40F) cold of the Arctic, as well as up to 10,000ft altitude of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado."

"In addition to the extensive simulation and rig testing, we've driven new Defender 1.2 million kilometres across all terrains and in extreme climates," said JLR's engineering chief Nick Rogers."

"The incredible opportunity to put it to the test in the field, supporting operations at the Borana Conservancy in Kenya, with Tusk, will allow our engineers to verify that we are meeting this target as we enter the final phase of our development programme."












I just want it to be good, and solid, and reliable. And have a rubber floor mats and roll-up windows version. If they're decent, maybe they'll be affordable used in 5 or 10 years.

We'll see.

[LateFan]

So I'm really interested to see how much they drew from Series design heritage - that would be cool in my view and would make it more popular with skeptics who want to continue making rickety Defenders forever. It's a very difficult thing to do without making it a cartoon or a mess - see retro T-Bird, retro MGB front wheel drive convertible, or a bit better example retro Mustang and retro first gen BMW mini cooper. The LR3 did this well, in a very modern way - there are a lot of Series clues in it.

So obviously I come from the design world and the car world, so here are some elements I MIGHT see in that Tusk prototype.








(The bumper / exposed frame rail essentially stops and tapers up at the door line - I didn't mean the hitch)


So sweet, so functional.

[LateFan]

The Defender mules were out field testing at Moab for two weeks and a few people caught them. Seem to impress most people, and on street tires. Probably testing systems and cooling while crawling and chassis stiffness and everything else. Some videos show that very very short cobbled up RR Sport, which is likely an early D90 mule. There's also what looks like maybe a RR Sport mule, which is likely the same chassis underneath - I think they're building them on the same line. Others show the long wheelbase (110?) Defender and the short, some with a tailgate spare carrier. The departure angles on the Defender look quite good. Some videos clearly give away a 4 cylinder diesel which is cool - will we get those here? Perfect low speed crawling engine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MDFeQXPtyE

And, there was some marketing slip-up and this Defender image without the foam cladding was leaked. A LR partnership with the Tusk conservation organization. I think my son said it was leaked on redit, then pulled quickly. He sent it to me.

So - the big square hood box cladding is gone and the hood is much lower and rounded on the front, the flares seem to be the real thing, the roof slopes up similar to a Series truck, curving in / ("tumblehome") high hip line all along the body side like a Series truck, even a little flat vertical before the door glass. The thick side cladding on the rear quarter is gone, showing the side glass flush. Rear spare carrier to get it out from underneath (there is NOTHING better than dragging a rusty muddy spare out from under there!) or inside. That shiny cover has to go.

Don't know if the wheelbase is actually 110", but very short overhangs. Swinging rear door with a beefy handle. I like that the bumper is just the width of the door - very minimal. Two stacked marker lights outboard front and back with the headlights inboard like a Series truck - some nice nods to the past.

Very LR3-ish windshield and frame I think. I doubt those are flush glass on the doors - I think there's a frame hidden under the wrap - seems too vulnerable to getting whacked. Other pics show a long glass roof like an LR3.

It seems to have a high lift rock mode with good articulation on adjustable air springs, which are getting to be pretty reliable. Speculation that third world markets don't need that complicated shit - but the LR's they sell in these areas now already have it and they function fine.

Also speculation on the big white mesh covers on the lower front bumper cover, and that there's an intercooler in the wheelwells etc. I don't know what that's about, because in some light there appears to be a much smaller intake opening behind there - more square, more vertical. Maybe it's a decoy for fun, maybe they're planning ahead for a supercharged Jag V8 soccer mom version, I don't know. We should assume there are utility versions with rubber floor mats and vinyl seats, and lux versions for Suburbia. A metal-sided Defender 110 in the UK is taxed as a commercial vehicle.

We'll see!

oh, PS....a video comment shows 20" wheels, yow. But apparently that's to cover big rotor diameter. And apparently there are tall sidewall 20s available - I don't know much about that.

[LateFan]

^^ Impressive!

Neo Defender mule video here.... where it belongs, out in the trees and cold...

https://www.motor1.com/news/314013/land-rover-defender-spy-video/

I've looked at close-up pics of these, and that whole boxy hood is fake. The hood, windshield cowling, and door glass are all several inches lower. The "hat" on the roof is fake as well. It'll be interesting to see what it really looks like. LR generally has some of the better designers, so we'll see. Really hard to update an icon and make it modern at the same time.

[BlackSpeed66]

So I picked this weekend to try my hand at servicing the EAS valve block and compressor assembly on the P38. Nothing terribly wrong with the suspension, but I’d like to actually get it off pavement this year. Not sure when the whole deal was last serviced, so better safe than sorry. Had also started to notice when the temps got into the teens here that the front new would start to drop if I parked it for a few days. The process isn’t all that hard.... just a bit tedious since it’s the first time doing this. Mostly just taking apart stuff, cleaning it, and replacing O rings...


Compressor assembly with the “head” off...


Compressor piston. Uses a Teflon “piston ring” which gets replaced.


Valve block assembly.... and disassembly.



All clean and back together! Wanted to get this out of the way before something stupid decided to happen with the EAS and eliminate another point of failure. EAS jokes aside, mine has not been the nightmare it’s made out to be. If you put off maintenance on anything long enough it’s going to give you issues.


With the cold snap here the next few days it will be a good time to see if any leaks show up!

[James]

^ defendersource seems to be the most active these days

nas-row.com Chris Snell is a good guy.

[LateFan]

Parts:
Rovers North
Atlantic British
Roverland Parts
British Parts of Utah
Bearmach Parts

https://www.johncraddockltd.co.uk/land-rover-defender/defender-90-and-110/

Rovah Farm
Paddock Spares in UK
http://www.lamornagarage.com (friend of ours in Seattle)

[wworm]

^ defendersource seems to be the most active these days

[LJ851]

^

I would rather have your IH if given a choice.

Thanks, I agree with that statement.

[mrsleeve]

^

I would rather have your IH if given a choice.

[LJ851]

This is the truck I was asking about in the last post.





[IMG][/IMG]

[LJ851]

I'm doing some work on a 1986 Defender 110 pickup from South Africa.

Anyone know of the best places to buy parts and also info sources like a good forum?

[LateFan]

orrrr......

You could do this - a BMW V12 Range Rover Classic, for a fraction of the price. Where's that slammin when we need him?!

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1991-rover-range-rover-county-classic/

[LateFan]

Not me. I'd buy a sports car.

I like this.....
110 (NOT a Defender or an NAS limited edition or anything special).
2.5 diesel NA (slow. torque.)
Manual
Cloth seats
Dents and wear
Worked in the orange fields - prolly has some rust
Carries 5 people, or 10 people on jump seats, or a lot of stuff.
You can fix it with a rock and pliers.


The only things I think have any real function are a 2-seat sports car (or a sporting hatch city car), a single cab pickup with an 8' box, and a wagon (Volvo, E91..). They take care of anything you need to do. But if I had to drive across Africa, or crawl some rocks up a mountain while carrying some radio equipment, or I lived in really deep snow, I'd want this. I'm not gonna race it or take it to the opera or da clubs.

Kind of worthless on the highway, so I have to fall back on my list of three.
My son loves his Land Rover. He's a Land Rover guy, that's all he wants.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1985-land-rover-one-ten-11/

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