Thread: What to do with my rolled 1998 Defender

Earlier this month my daughter rolled my 1998 Defender. The good news is that she walked away unscathed - remarkably so - and I think the cargo barrier can take some credit for that.

So while my daughter being unharmed was the main thing the Q is what to do with the car. It was a very low mileage car and having done some work on it the engine is fine and the chassis seems pretty well unharmed except where the steering arms meet the chassis. The biggest problem is the firewall and I'm looking at options to have it repaired.

So the options are:

1 Scrap it. I really don't like that idea as while there are a lot of salvageable bits it seems a shame to wreck what was a good vehicle

2 Rebuild it with a new body. This is an option and I'm fortunate enough to have access to Tim Vinson at Landrovers only who may have a body I can access and who has the skills to do the work while I do the unskilled work. [Coincidentally the mine I work for is on a quasi care and maintenance state so I'm on gardening leave!]

3 Rebuild using the body off my 1984 V8 County. Now in some ways this is an attractive thought - I prefer the County bodies (better door handles!) - and the body of my county is pretty good (except for the bonnet). But is it ethical to murder a County to keep a 1998 Defender going? To be honest keeping the fleet running is getting expensive - the rego and 3'rd party for the County is >1000 bucks in Queensland so there is a case for taking the vehicle off the road and she does have some rust in the rear chassis member.

Assuming the rebuild happens (and I'm pretty certain that's what I'll do), I'll take the opportunity to do the vehicle up - insulation on the engine side of the firewall, full replacement of cooling system, timing belt while it's accessible, and do up anything looking worn. It'll cost a few bucks, but I'll end up with a car that will probably see me through to the nursing home.

Assuming a rebuild happens, I'll provide updates - but I'm no photographer.

The irony is that I'd only had the Defender for 9 months - bought it from a Aulrovian in Gove - and have not even updated my signature. When it's back going I'll add it to the signature for protection!!

Michael

Rebuild it

or as Alien says a coiled series is a conversation piece.