170 http://www.4X4australia.com.auWORDS
DEAN MELLOR
A
FTER throwing a heap of money at
my old Defender, I reckon it’s finally
mechanically sound (knock on wood);
although, there are still a few little
things to sort out, such as the still-leaking
auxiliary fuel tank.
When new, the little 2.5-litre four-
cylinder turbo-diesel engine only made
a claimed 111hp (83kW), and I reckon a
few of those ponies may have got out of
the gate in the last 23 years, but on-road
performance is still acceptable. The
Defender will happily cruise at 100km/h
on the highway and I can even stretch
it out to 110 clicks on the freeway, so
long as the terrain is flat ... or pointing
downhill. It struggles a bit on inclines
and often needs a shift down to fourth,
but I try to leave early for appointments
so I’m never in too much of a rush. The
upside of that modest output is excellent
fuel economy, the Defender averaging
just 10L/100km over the past 1000km.
The best thing, however, is how the
Defender now rides and handles. There’s
minimal play in the steering, ride qualityis good and cornering is predictable with
well-controlled bodyroll ... relative to
other Defenders, that is. The new Xtreme
Outback clutch has bedded in nicely. It
offers a progressive feel and is only a
little heavier than I remember the old
clutch being.
To say I’m impressed with the BF
Goodrich A/T KO2s would be an
understatement, both on sealed and
unsealed roads. On the blacktop they
offer plenty of grip and are particularly
confidence-inspiring in wet weather.
Are they quiet? Well, that’s a hard one
to answer, but I can assure you they’re
barely audible over the wind noise and
mechanical cacophony that the Defender
generates at highway speeds. Off-road
they bag out nicely with pressures
dropped to around 25psi, which you’d
expect of a high-profile LT235/85R16. I
haven’t had the chance to drive them in
muddy conditions as yet, but I’ll let you
know how they go as soon as I find out.
As any Defender owner knows, too
much chequer plate is never enough, so Iwas pretty stoked when the oldies bought
me a pair of wing-top chequer plates for
my birthday. I reckon black highlights on
a white vehicle look fantastic, and these
plates are no exception. I’ve also spent
a fair bit of time trying to remove the
worn Defender decals down each side.
Using a heat gun, I managed to get the
stickers completely off the driver’s side,
but there’s still some adhesive residue
that won’t budge. I’ve only just started
peeling off the stickers on the passenger
side. If anyone has any tips on easy decal
removal, I’m all ears.
I’ve put some new mud flaps on the
back (the old ones went AWOL) and
a new catch in one of the sliding rear
windows. I sourced these items out of the
UK as I struggled to find them locally.
My next job was fitting an ARB winch
bullbar that I spotted on Gumtree for
$750. I called the seller one morning
a couple of weeks ago, whipped up to
Sydney (from the ’Gong) to buy the bar,
whipped back home and spent the arvo
in the shed fitting it. My wife RenataDEANO STARTS KITTING OUT HIS DEFENDER.
1700 http://www.4X4australia.com.auBLACK & WHITE
1994 LAND ROVER
DEFENDER 300TDI4X4 SHED
078
DATE ACQUIRED: FEB 2017
PRICE: $10,000
KM THIS MONTH: 1000KM
AV FUEL: 10.0L/100KM2315009 KM