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SDO new front grille & other products

29K views 180 replies 52 participants last post by  MonLand 
#1 · (Edited)
I know there's been some unofficial talk/pics/etc in some of the other threads regarding the Series-Defender Outfitters products that were under development, but I wanted to put together a quick snapshot of some of the new products that are officially completed and available for immediate purchase. Details as follows...I'm giving DSource folks essentially first crack at this initial batch of products:

SDO FRONT GRILLE
I finally had a chance to do “proper” photography, and the SDO Front Grille project is officially DONE and back from powdercoat and as mentioned above I wanted to get the word out and start a new thread. Let me just say – I did the first customer install on Friday...and WOW. We stood back and were completely amazed by the transformation - to be honest, the photos don’t even come close to doing it justice (it’s like seeing a picture of the Grand Canyon, versus standing there in person on the rim looking at it). It changed the look of the truck to be off the charts…

Just to recap, it is a stout 3/16” thick solid CNC milled aluminum, featuring 5/8” diameter octagonal beveled vent holes for plenty of airflow (and in the octagonal design to complement the Wingtop Vent hole style). The top 3” of the grill is form-rolled to exactly match the curvature of the Defender grille surround, and finally powdercoated black for a durable finish. As we all know the factory grille is extremely flimsy plastic, yet behind that grill is housed one of your most vulnerable components – your radiator, which if damaged can leave you stranded on the trail or on the road. With our 3/16” thick front grille this will withstand branches, sticks, rocks, etc...essentially "bullet proof". Heck – you could drive a golf ball into this grille at highway speeds and it would barely even dimple it.

I mention above the “curvature” of the grille, and I want to reiterate this. This grille follows the shape of the surround perfectly – fits it like a glove, and really brings the entire fit & finish of the grille to another level.

There will also be an optional add-on of a "Land Rover Solihull" Oval Badge out of cast aluminum. These are a reproduction badge – but are made from the original pattern equipment used to make these initially for Land Rover. It’s essentially the rear NAS plaque/badge without the bottom banner section where it lists the badge number/etc. I will eventually be doing a smaller badge mount for the standard green “Land Rover” oval as well, that will be an oval unit with octagonal stud mounts that pass through the grill (it will be similar in function to the MXC6402, but will accept the Land Rover badge decal DAG100330).

Pricing for this unit is $500 retail, or $450 with the ‘Defender Source’ 10% discount applied. The (optional) retro Land Rover Solihull badge is $60 retail, or $56 with the DSource discount. These units are DONE, in-hand, and ready to ship!

Just use the coupon code "D90" at checkout to get the automatic 10% discount...many more photos/description available here:
https://www.seriesdefender.com/grille/front-grille.html





INTERIOR DOOR HANDLES (set/2)
These are replacements for the interior door pull / grab handle #YGA451L (all years) that will fit any Defender (Station Wagon, Soft Top, etc). They are likewise be CNC milled from one-piece solid bar aluminum, and powdercoated black for a durable finish. A robust upgrade for the interior door panel, and certainly an aesthetic upgrade as well…the “flaps” feature (to cover the screw hole) has been removed and a through-hole mounting point used instead to avoid the inevitable broken/missing flap (which is both annoying and unpleasant).

Pricing (for the set of 2) is $140 retail, or $126.00 with the ‘Defender Source’ 10% discount applied. These units are DONE, in-hand, and ready to ship!

Just use the coupon code "D90" at checkout to get the automatic 10% discount...many more photos/description available here:
https://www.seriesdefender.com/interior/door-handles-interior.html





DEFROST/DEMISTER DASH VENTS (set/2)
These are replacements for the front dash windscreen demister/defrost vent trim pieces, as the factory vents tend to warp/distort over time from heat & sun damage (direct replacement for factory part number #BTR912, which are the 14.5” long vents - please note these will NOT fit the smaller 10.5” #MTC6040 vent).. These replacements are milled from solid aluminum, and powdercoated black to match the factory color and provide a durable finish and are a great upgrade to any Defender, and a durable solution that will last a lifetime.

Pricing (for the set of 2) is $130 retail, or $117.00 with the ‘Defender Source’ 10% discount applied. These units are DONE, in-hand, and ready to ship!

Just use the coupon code "D90" at checkout to get the automatic 10% discount...many more photos/description available here:
https://www.seriesdefender.com/interior/vent-trim-14.html





Other New Products available in the next week or so...
Because of the size of the production run, essentially the powdercoat runs got broken up into two batches...the first including the above grilles, door handles, and defrost vents. The second batch should be wrapped up from powdercoat *hopefully* this week (and available for purchase shortly thereafter), and will include additional products as follows:
NAS & ROW Lower Dash Switch Plates: these are the lower switch panels by the drivers’ knee, and on the ROW trucks house the interior & dash lights, hazard switch, etc (ROW original part #MTC2640). On the NAS trucks, this is where the infamous dash light 2-way switch is (which essentially means it can be set to “low” and “barely visible”….the switch is also better known as the “don’t EVER touch that!” switch). These switch plates are custom made for both the NAS & ROW locations, slightly enlarging the switch plate (but still fitting to the space allotted) and configured to hold (3) Carling switches instead of the factory ROW & NAS switches. This upgrade may not be for everyone, but frankly after discovering the astronomical price of the ROW Hazard Switch and the shoddy construction of the interior & dash light switches – going Carling and never looking back has been a blessing and I’m sure others will benefit from this upgrade as well.
NAS Rubbing Strip/Seat Bracket: these are the plastic strips that screw to the back of the seats in the NAS truck, but I believe in most other model year Defenders as well (original part #MWC6106PCB). It essentially keeps the seat back material from rubbing/tearing on the NAS cage or anything else behind when in the fully reclined position. This falls into the “more of an annoyance” category since these tend to break/crack at the screw-hole mounting points over time, so are likewise replicated from one-piece solid bar aluminum and CNC milled / powdercoated black.
Deep Winchline Fairlead: most winch fairleads for synthetic line run approximately 1/2"-3/4” thick, this is a custom 1.5” thick version of this winchline fairlead for those that want a more gradual angle on their winchline and want to get it out “away” from any of the components on the front of the truck (brushguard, auxilarily lights, etc). As an additional bonus, it’ll have a bottle opener milled right into the bottom of it as a secret “feature”! These are being Type III hard anodized black, and this process is adding a little bit to the turnaround time but should be available for purchase hopefully the week after next.


Other Current Prototypes...
There are still a few other products sitting in "prototype mode" at the moment while the above were being wrapped up, but now that the majority of the production run is finished will be turning to getting these finalized as well. Namely the Dash Grab Handle (this is the right-hand grab handle / passenger side for any LHD or NAS truck , original part #MTC6142), Headlight Surrounds/Finishers, and some other interior and exterior accessories. I'll keep everyone posted as progress is made with these as well.
 
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#17 ·
drdread - no problem, so essentially a set of Door Handles and a set of Defrost Vents (so 2 "units" of each, not 2 "sets" of each).


Jason - save a pair of vents for me. Will purchase tomorrow sometime. Those are going to look bitchin with my leather covered upper dash pad!
don - likewise no problem at all, I already had a set "put aside" for you anyhow :). I did my install today as well (on the 130), and I agree they look damn good on there with a refreshed dash pad (I had just installed a new upper dash pad last week too).
 
#23 ·
Can the badge be mounted anywhere on the grille?
 
#24 ·
Paul:

That is correct, the badge can essentially be mounted anywhere on the grill (though most opt for the top center). There are 2 through-holes in the badge for mounting (similar to the round-style grille bages). A couple of close-up pics below of the badge so you can see what I mean:
 

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#29 ·
So I did pen out some stuff on the hinges actually...it sort of got tabled because of the actual pin in the hinge. While I'm just not a big fan of "moving parts" (would much rather go single piece whenever possible to avoid possible failure points) that's obviously not feasible with the hinge. That said, it's actually still on the list and something I'd like to circle back on for prototyping in the not-too-distant future (though there's a few other things that need to get wrapped up first). So I'd say yes it's still possible that you'll see that down the road :).

Excellent. I have an A-bar which would cover the badge if I placed it top centre.

Very interested. Order incoming shortly.
Sounds good, anything that comes in before 5pm should actually still ship today I'd say....otherwise it'll go out tomorrow. Let me know if you have any questions.
 
#30 ·
Grille ordered. Thanks!
 
#38 · (Edited)
Don - received, and will ship today!

I'll take a set of door handles and a set of vents, can I pay pal you or do I need to go to your site to order?
Eric - I'll send you a PayPal invoice shortly and will get these packaged up as well...same billing address and shipping address as last time?
 
#41 ·
Got my swag bag/boxes today!!! What a way to end a shitty week! This is high quality ****!!!! Only thing I unwrapped was one of the three yes three grills Shayne... Sucka!!!! Quality is second to none!
 

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#45 ·
Ok, sorry for the delay...was gone this weekend to Vermont doing a little "product testing" on the new grille and a few other parts :). Any orders that came in after mid-day Thursday will be shipping today....
 

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