Projects | 1992 Land Rover Defender 90

This LHD Defender was imported from Belgium and arrived at our shop in good condition. It was mechanically sound and was lightly restored several years ago by the original owner. The vehicle spent most of its life as a utility truck that a sportsman used to transport his hunting dogs, but due to the vehicle’s age and use, it required a hefty amount of service and restoration to meet our standards. Our friends at a reputable Land Rover shop here in Colorado Springs helped assess the vehicle’s condition and serviced the vehicle to ensure worn belts and bushing were replaced, and driveline components were overhauled or replaced as needed. Because most of the driveline components were stock equipment, a 2” Old Man Emu lift was also installed to provide more ground clearance and to increase the vehicle’s offroad capabilities without compromising ride quality.

Interior Restoration

We then stripped the interior and thoroughly detailed the inside of the truck. We lined the roof and tub with Dynamat sound deadening material and we installed a newly upholstered headliner to decrease cabin noise when driving. The dashboard was in need of repair, so we replaced essential components and we updated electrical features on the dash to include new OEM switches, a 12V charging port, dual-USB charging ports and Carling switches for auxiliary lights with the capability to install future electrical accessories. Interior nuts, bolts and components were replaced as needed, or sandblasted and repainted to give the interior a clean and updated look.

Undercarriage Protective Coating

The underside of the vehicle had light surface rust on the chassis and axle housing, so we thoroughly cleaned and removed grit, grime and rust before completing a three-stage POR-15 rust treatment and protective coating on the entire underside of the vehicle. Meticulous detail was given to this process, to ensure components would move freely and that nuts and bolts could still be removed for future service and repairs. The POR-15 protective coating refreshed the underside of vehicle, giving it a clean new look and increased the life of the chassis and driveline.

Undercarriage Protective Coating

Exterior and Wheel Restoration

The exterior paint was in good condition, but the hood required paint-less dent repair and a new coat of paint. The checker plate on the truck was oxidizing from sun exposure and the door hinges were showing signs of rust and wear. We repaired and repainted the hood to match the body, gave the checker plate a fresh coat of single-stage paint and we sand blasted and powder coated the exterior door hinges and window pillars to match the exterior trim. We also replaced the old hardware on the hinges and installed the checker plate with new rivets to give the truck a fresh look. To ruggedize the exterior, we applied ProCote truck bed liner to the roof and to the fender flares. We also installed a Front Runner roof rack and auxiliary lights on the bumper so the vehicle would be ready for its next adventure. The original white steel wheels were sandblasted and repainted in grey metallic flake, tying everything together nicely and giving the truck an updated but rugged resto-mod look.

Some of the Upgrades

Before shipping the vehicle to its new home, our customer wanted to upgrade it with modern features and accessories before it left our shop. These accessories included: LED headlights and exterior LED lights all around, a new winch-compatible bumper and a-bar with a Superwinch Tigershark 9500 winch, Rigid Industries LED auxiliary driving lights and skid plate. Interior upgrades included: Alpine Bluetooth stereo with hands-free calling, Rockford Fosgate speakers, LED dome light, a Tuffy Security Products locking center console, after-market A/C, Viper car alarm, a NOCO smart battery charger for long-term vehicle storage and an Optima dual-battery bank. We carefully researched and selected each upgrade on the vehicle to ensure it met the customer’s expectations while form, function and compatibility were aligned with the style of the build.

Custom Fabricated Power Plant

To ensure the customer had a bullet-proof electrical power plant, we fabricated a custom battery plate that secured two Optima deep-cycle batteries in the box under the driver’s seat, with room for a battery isolator, smart battery charger and a resettable circuit breaker from the aux battery. This configuration will allow the customer to install additional accessories that require large amounts of power from the batteries.