Countys for Beginners

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Originally Posted by isuzutoo-eh

Most of a County's mechanical bits are stronger/heavier duty, except the three bolt steering box.
The Counties that I have seen have all had a bench rear seat rather than split fold like Deffer 110s. They also had the rear side facing seats, albeit most removed by now. In that glorious brown colour that Defenders owners are glad to miss out on.

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Tha change to 4-bolt box happened about the same time as the 5-speed change.

The 1991 110 couinty I mentioned above would be identical to a 200Tdi defender (AU) wagon if you changed:

Side decals
Engine, box and t-case ratio
Dash/AC/vents
Trailing arms
Swapped all carpet and cloth for vinyl.

County's (aka 110's) also had plastic vent covers under the windscreen, rather than metal like Defenders, and Series. I'm pretty sure it was something to do with the aircon.



Oh, and they're also Very Cool! .........:)

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Originally Posted by copba

Oh, and they're also Very Cool! .........:)

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But only in Winter!

The plastic vent covers are only on air-con fitted Counties, non-air Counties had vents like most Landies.

The aircon in a County is mounted in the dash, leaving plenty of room for the front passenger's feet. TDI 110s had the aircon in the front passenger footwell.

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Originally Posted by copba

County's (aka 110's) also had plastic vent covers under the windscreen, rather than metal like Defenders, and Series. I'm pretty sure it was something to do with the aircon.
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Yes, but only when fitted with factory air, as noted above. Metal covers were fitted to all Landrovers without factory air right up to the Tdci Defenders.

I think the point that should be emphasised is that there is no "difference" between "Countys" and Defenders, only the sort of changes that have kept being made during production ever since the first Landrover. The Defender was not a new model - it was a new name for the existing Landrover 90/110. The distinction is accentuated in Australia by the break from local assembly to import with a long hiatus, but even given this the differences apart from the new engine are less than those that changed either before or after 1990.

John

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Originally Posted by isuzurover

Yes - but the later 110 (countys) got that too.

"County" models were sold until 1991 AFAIK. As mentioned there were lots of changes along the way. A friend has a '91 county which has push button doors, painted (non-galvanised) cappings, the "defender position" seat which is also split-folding, etc etc...

My 1987 county has painted and galvanised cappings.

These vehicles also have thicker/stronger trailing arms.

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Certainly in Melbourne in 1990 the 110 was not available, and I was told by the distributor that there were no plans to import Defenders - if I wanted a Landrover I would have to get a Discovery. (I bought a 2a instead)

John

Whilst the plastic covers may give that distinctive appearance that the air conditioned County has, they are fastened from behind and, certainly on my 85 County, the plastic breaks. It's then out with the middle panel on the dash to get at the screws to release the covers, glue the plastic lugs back on and screw the covers back on. The air conditioning was always woefully inadequate in this vehicle although it helped make summer trips a little more bearable. Sadly it died about 10 years ago so we now use spray bottles, wet washers and open the windows like back in the good old days.

Our County has a very handy storage locker within the left, rear guard. The little bench seats came out soon after we bought it. The seat belts and anchor points have been very useful for securing tool boxes and our Engel fridge.

Helmut

One thing that I really like about our V8 County is the relative simplicity of the vehicle and it's reliablity. It's all mechanical and fixable by someone of modest ability. Over 26 years and 345,000km we've only been halted in our tracks twice (apart from the odd puncture). Once the Facet fuel pump gave up the ghost and was easily replaced with the spare (about $150) that I always carry. The other time was when the Luminition control module died (after 20 odd years) and I had to reinstall the old points. I still run Luminition ignition but, for only a couple of hundred dollars, I simply carry a spare module nowadays. Yes, I've done the heads, cam, water pump, clutch, suspension bushes and other bits that wear out but it's never been broken and the car gets regular maintenance and comprehensive trip preparation.

I recently spoke to Peter Haylock (All 4X4 in Newcastle) and he mentioned that the Countys and early Defenders were the least expensive to maintain. I reckon that we can buy a fair amount of fuel and do a lot more trips with the money I'm saving by keeping our old truck (I came very close to parting with $50K+ earlier this year for a new Puma but settled on a Tvan instead).

Helmut

Everyone seems to have forgotten the Salisbury diff in the County. The County is generally a sturdier vehicle than the Defender that followed.

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Originally Posted by JDNSW

Certainly in Melbourne in 1990 the 110 was not available, and I was told by the distributor that there were no plans to import Defenders - if I wanted a Landrover I would have to get a Discovery. (I bought a 2a instead)

John

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I always thought they finished in 89/90 until I saw this one. It is definitely the genuine article. Sold new in WA AFAIK.

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Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

Everyone seems to have forgotten the Salisbury diff in the County. The County is generally a sturdier vehicle than the Defender that followed.

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All defenders have the salisbury diff bar 90's and late model td5's and pumas as far as I know. I know my 96 has one.