You will be lucky to find either 90 or 110 crew cab much below new price as they have only been sold here in the current model (except for a few 110 crew cabs in 1987 and a small number of 90s a few years ago).
The 110 was introduced in 1983 (followed a year later by the 90, not sold in Australia until much later). Basically an update of the Series 2a introduced in 1958 (itself an update of the original Landrover from 1948), but with coil springs instead of leaf, and full time four wheel drive, it was offered in Australia with either a 3.5l V8 or the Isuzu 4BD1 diesel. This continued until 1990, with minor changes including new doors (1987) and five speed gearbox (1986). The Isuzu engined models are much sought after, but all are at least twenty years old!
When the Discovery was introduced in 1990, the 110 (and 127 and 6x6 derivatives ) were dropped in Australia, to be reintroduced as the Defender 110 (and later 130) in 1992. This came only with the Tdi200 2.5l intercooled turbodiesel shared with the Discovery and based ultimately on the 1956 2l diesel. About 1995 this was replaced by the Tdi300 engine, superficially with identical specification, but actually a complete redesign, and rear discs appeared in, I think, 1993. All models have been subject to continuous development.
In about 1998? the engine was replaced with the Td5, a five cylinder 2.5l intercooled turbodiesel of advanced design.
In 2007 the engine was replaced with a 2.4l Ford diesel (Tdci or Puma), with a six speed gearbox. At the same time the dash was redesigned and the below windscreen vents introduced in 1949 disappeared. For the first time airconditioning appears to be effective. There were also numerous other body modifications. This is the current model.
When contemplating buying a Defender, you need to realise that it is in some essential points different from anything else you can buy. The first of these is that in terms of dimensions and to a large extent ergonomics, it is a 1950s design! And people are bigger today, plus in the 1950s, workers were not considered to need driving comfort, so, particularly if you are on the large side, you can expect to be cramped. Secondly, the body is largely bolted together by hand, not welded. This makes for a wide range of possible body types - hence the ease of converting a wagon to a crew cab, but also means it tends to rattle and leak dust and water. The aluminium body won't rust, but the bulkhead, door frames and chassis will. (Late models have steel doors and tailgate). On the other hand, flat floors with no sills make for an easy clean interior. All models have a 3500kg towing limit, but don't expect to get anywhere fast with this. On road handling is good for the vehicle type, but they tend to be noisy, and rear seats are not the most comfortable.
In standard form, any 110/Defender will outperform offroad anything else you can buy, and aftermarket offroad enhancements are largely unnecessary. The downside is that dealers are few and far between, and many mechanics are frightened of them. Properly maintained, reliability is probably about the same as anything comparable.
There are a few specific faults - Tdi 300 timing belt (should all be fixed by now), Td5 oil pump bolt, injector harness, early R380 gearbox output gear, late grease lubricated wheel bearings, but most owners have few problems - don't forget that in forums such as this the people who post are largely the ones with problems!
Hope this helps
John
John
JDNSW
1986 110 County 3.9 diesel
1970 2a 109 2.25 petrol
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