Difference Between "County" chassis and later Defender wrt Winch Bumper Mounts

[the_preacher1973]

I believe there are some signifcant differences between the chassis of the earlier "County" 110's and later TDi Defenders. As such, will a winch bumper for a Defender fit an 85 County and if not how much modification is required?

I'm specifically wondering whether a winch bumper such as this TF002ACW Defender commercial winch bumpers - sydney4x4accessories (http://www.sydney4x4accessories.com/defender-commercial-winch-bumpers/85-tf002acw.html)

will fit.

Cheers.

[RVR110]

If the bar just uses the existing 6 factory bolt holes on the chassis (4 x vertical for bumper bar and 2 x horizontal for tie-downs) then there is an excellent chance that it will fit. The photo in your link appears to attach only at those 6 points, but it is difficult to be sure just from that image.

The main "gotcha" is likely to be air conditioning. Because your County has factory air conditioning the radiator grill sticks out further than on a County that doesn't have factory air, leaving less room for your winch. Also, you may have to drill out the two holes for the horizontal mounts because (I think) the County had a slightly larger horizontal bolt than the Puma. Half inch vs 10mm IIRC.

I had a Rovacraft tubular winch bar on my 1985 County (no factory aircon) that I later installed on my 2010 Defender. The Rovacraft bar fit perfectly on both models.

[JDNSW]

I agree with RVR110 - the difference is not the chassis, but the protruding nose or not.

John

[the_preacher1973]

Thanks guys. The bar in question has an option for either with or without AC. I guess the question is does the AC heat exchanger stick out further on the County than the later Defender. I'll run my tape measure over some TD5 Xtremes at a dealers yard to work it all out.

[isuzutoo-eh]

The fibreglass nosecone on TD5s and aircon Counties is the same or at least has the same dimensions.