Top off of the 1986 90 now -

   I have half doors (new) to install,   for now not sure if I will run with these shabby full doors,  or go without doors at all?   

   I think it looks a lot better now, like this!   Hard top is in excellent shape, and all headliner/ trim pieces are present and in good condition.    I may or may not keep the actual hard top itself,  as it takes up a lot of room to store here.       

    Next step is going to be to give it a good cleaning inside while I have roll bars/  heavy duty canvas hoops made for this.    I am also going to pull the axles out from under a Discovery I have here for this too to get better brakes and newer parts underneath.    I'll keep posting as it comes along.


   

Another 'Defender' 90 County Station Wagon for me! On its way soon. Super-nice original truck.

  I purchased this low-mileage, one-owner 1988 CSW for myself about a month ago, and here are a few pictures of it headed off to the container facility in Southeast England.  Will be making the journey here soon...    Very original,  19J turbo-diesel engine is more than adequate,  but once here I may install a 200tdi if I feel I need more 'push'.       I may just keep this one as a hardtop 'Station Wagon'   for the family as it is VERY nice inside -  Maybe I'll add air conditioning to keep Missus Mosieur & Squeaky happy though.   

    Looking a little shabby outside,  I already had rear bumper replaced,    If I get it painted this one will stay white and definitely keep the 1980's style side decals.  

    Excited to see this one too.    I hope the Mrs.  likes it. 

 

     

1986 D90 has 200tdi now and new shoes! (Boost Alloys) - Top off next ...

  I got that 2.5 DT / Diesel Turbo '19J'   engine out of there and this truck now has a Disovery 200tdi fitted and running great.         What a difference the Boosts make to the way it looks, no?         I have other work to finish in the shop this week   (See the 110 going back to Montana,   I just finished a 200tdi Defender-version engine and LT77S transmission swap into that!)  so may not get to this grey truck again for a few days... Dying to get the roof off and start fitting its rollbar/ soft top hoops!

    Here are a few new pictures of how it looks now,  and a couple of the 110 200tdi conversion :

 

1986 Land Rover Defender 90 - Online journal of conversion to 200tdi / Awesomeness - Accepting VOTES for color

  Howdy. 

    So,  that troublesome shipping container has finally made it to me,  and has been unloaded, sorted,  and I am beginning to breathe normally again after the shakedown I was given by DHL.    If anyone wants to know more about that,   hit me up,  I can talk about it for hours.

   The good news is I have a lot of product in stock again!   Plenty of engine kits,  transmissions,  seats, new parts,  etc etc  -  But THIS POST is dedicated to my 1986 Land Rover 'Defender' 90   -     As I type this I am already in the process of converting from 19J turbo-diesel to a 200tdi Discovery engine kit.    I typically do this with most trucks I get in,   and this particular truck...   I am going to use as an experiment to see if I have the patience to 'Fix Up Proper' and make into a badass convertible road/ off road machine. 

    The frame has been made 100% solid on this truck, and I bought it because the bulkhead was also rust-free.   The doors suck on this truck though,  at least the bottoms,  and I already have NEW 1/2 doors for it,  and have new whole-doors on the way.   The rear door is in equally shitty condition at the bottom,  and I have a replacement for it headed over from the UK now as well.

   MY PLAN is to remove the top and take everything out of the interior of it this coming week,   I will then pressure wash & steam clean everything inside,   and then put back together for the time being to drive for a few weeks as a top-off D90 with 200tdi power.    I have a set of Boost alloys for it here that already are changing the entire look of this thing.      I have a brand-new soft top kit for it here,  and also have a truck cab on the way too.      I want it to be a Defendabot.   County Station wagon in Winter,  convertible in Summer,   A truck when the occasion demands it,   doorless for the beach, etc.

   THE BIG QUESTION IS :  WHAT COLOR SHOULD I PAINT IT?      I think the gray is pretty boring,  and although it is a shame to take off thos original decals and bastardize the thing,   as long as I am doing it..... I am tempted to go with one of the more popular colors the US trucks were painted : Bright Red or Yellow -      But part of me thinks if I am going to do this, I may as well go with a color I really like , which may not be a original Land Rover color - Mustard yellow?   Orange?  Leaf/ Avocado green like my 2- door Rage Rover?       I would appreciate any input you may have,  and may make this an interactive build if there is enough interest in it.

   I have a local fabricator who is willing to make a roll cage for this too,  my plan would be for the roll cage to double as the canvas top hoops -   But still be able to fit under the hard top if I want to put the hard top on.    Would like more-or-less like the US 1994-1997 trucks,   but probably without the windshield part of the rollbar.    But maybe with?

   I may upgrade the interior too, to Range Rover seats, new carpet/ mats. etc.    We'll see how interesting this is.

    Here are some 'BEFORE'  pictures of the start of the job, truck here with me in Portland now, at my shop.   These were actually taken AFTER pressure-washing a bunch of mud and moss of it.   The headliner and hardtop are perfect! The rest of the interior is pretty shabby.

    I'll update this weekly,   so save this page and revisit to see the progress.    If I don't update fast enough for you, please remind me to do so!    You can email me at zombiemotors@earthlink.net  or call 503-810-4713 -    Thanks -  Zak

  

Range Rover P38 'New Generation' 2.8 turbo-diesel engine kit w/all conversion pieces for sale - $5500

    Well,    I have finally received my most recent 40' container which caused so much offense,  and I have unloaded and cataloged everything,  and will be offering up some items for sale here in the next few days as well as beginning a NEW Defender 90 project that will be an 'Ongoing Work'  to be documented on this blog. 

   First of all,  here is a very cool Mitsubishi engine conversion kit tailor-made for the P38 generation of Range Rover -  Will require no cutting or welding and you will keep  your existing automatic transmission.   These are common swaps in the UK as the engine is more robust &  more powerful -  Would be a hoot.   Will also fit RR Classic and Discovery 1 and 2 ,   but I imagine some minor mods to wiring harness would have to be made.

    My CL ad :

I have here a COMPLETE engine conversion kit to get rid of the gasoline V8 engine in your Range Rover 'P38' / new generation 1996-2002 Land/ Range Rover. Will also fit Range Rover Classic and Discovery models, but this kit is custom-tailored for the P38 application.

Kit includes very nice, complete, Mitsubishi 4M40 2.8L Tdi inter-cooled turbo diesel engine. Has about 140 HP, and 250 ft. Pounds of torque, and will return 22-31 MPG depending on how you drive.

There is an adapter plate to go from this engine to your Range Rover automatic transmission. There is a custom flex-plate to mount your torque converter to. Also included are custom motor mounts that allow this engine to be bolted in place of your V8 engine - with no welding! Also in the kit are the radiator, intercooler, and all pipes and wires to drop this engine in a P38 chassis with no modifications. The wiring harness is ready to plug and play into your truck, so no special wiring skills should be necessary. Includes Land Rover to Mitsubishi harness, so it is plug and play for the P38 Rovers. Very hard to find, and you get to keep your old transmission in place.

Basically, everything is here to remove your V8 engine while keeping your existing automatic transmission. You get everything to drop in place, bolt everything up, plug in and after draining gasoline out of your tank and putting in diesel, you'll have a Tdi Range Rover! Dramatically increase the value of your truck while saving money with every tank of fuel.

I bought this for myself for a P38 I had a few months ago, and am tempted to keep it around for another one in the future, but I have so many engine kits on hand now I need to sell a few things to make room. Speaking of which, if you need a 200tdi or 300tdi engine kit for your Land Rover, I have those too. Installation available as well.

    Send me an email to zombiemotors@earthlink.net or call me up.   Please do not text however,   my screen is shot, and my thumbs are weak.