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1991 Defender 90 Project

51K views 248 replies 60 participants last post by  SWM 
#1 · (Edited)
In early August I took possession of my 1991 Defender 90 200TDI from Terni, Italy. I purchased it back in May of 2016, waiting nearly 3 months for delivery. I picked it up from the port of NJ.

It took me a while to find the "right" truck, and I hoped this would be it. I wanted a white, LHD, 200TDI Defender. I wanted something with a very clean body, the mechanicals I wasn't too concerned of. After looking at probably 50 trucks, I knew this was the one I had to have.

From what I saw in the pictures and stuff I read on DefenderSource, I knew there were some must have mods for me to do. I started acquiring parts while awaiting delivery those were

Nolden LED headlights
LED markers
Wheels and tires
Rear cargo mat
NAS steering wheel
Front brush guard

Picking it up from the shipping container:




------ Follow up post added September 19th, 2016 09:26 AM ------

Immediately installed some black Wolf wheels and 265/75 BFG AT2's. While I was fond of the white wheels, they offset and width were too weak for me. Instead of sitting sunken in the fenders they fill out the wheel arches now. Maybe ill go back to white wheels one day.

I also installed a NAS steering wheel and Terrafirma knobs






Time to install LED lights




New vs Old

 
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#4 ·
The suspension was pretty shot so I installed a bunch of new parts.

Bilstein shocks
OEM type springs
New upper and lower spring mounts
Steering damper
Super Pro bushing kit





You can see the galvanized front upper mounts peeking through in the last pic



------ Follow up post added September 19th, 2016 09:40 AM ------

First day on the beach!



------ Follow up post added September 19th, 2016 09:42 AM ------

Adjusting LT230 diff lock lever. My diff lock light wasn't coming out. Simple adjustment was all it took to get it working again. Getting to it, wasn't so easy.



------ Follow up post added September 19th, 2016 09:43 AM ------

Mud UK rear speaker installation. I also removed the headliner to have recovered. While it is out I decided to put sound deadener on the roof.




 
#22 ·
Put another hour or so in last night post debate. Still only working with just a drill. I removed all the rivets and spot welds I can get to. The bulkhead is now just a wobbly piece of sheet metal. Tonight I will cut the majority out in one section, using the drilled out rivets as a template . Following that I will work on the edges to get them as neat and tidy as I can.

So far a potential pain point is on the far sides there is 2 spot welds and one rivet that connect it to the side of the truck. The rivet is hidden by the top capping, but the spot welds are visible from the outside. I am afraid of drilling it to far and coming out the other side. I am trying to be very careful. I messed with them on the passenger side so far. I didn't drill the rivet all the way through and the spot welds i guess I haven't gone far enough. I am going to be googling to see what others do in this situation.

I would love to see some close up shots of the edges on a NAS truck. Please post if you have them.
 

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#25 ·
Are you removing this or putting something structural back in its place ? Most of the commercial bulkhead removal kits on the market retain enough for it to be structural or replace the panel with a bar to keep the tub sides together. The MUD UK kit is the cleanest imo but doesn't remove as much of the bulkhead as I'd like.
Have a 90 build here and I asked 3 times about cutting out the bulkhead and got a fuzzy no ea time. I think the owner will be disapointed when his mega buck special order Exmoor leather seats wont slide back far enough or recline
 
#26 ·
intrenal SD roll bar like mine does tie into the tub sides so you can completely remove the BH
 
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#31 ·
For the spot welds, I would pry up the aluminium around them and cut a circle with a dremel and a small cut off wheel, and then grind down what was left. I have never been able to drill out a spot weld without going all the way through or close. Even with the correct spot weld cutting bit.
 
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