Thread: South African 110s build quality - better or worse or same

They don't have the salisbury rear diff for starters (I think they stopped mid way thru 2002).

Greylandy's is well put together, although I have seen some Suid Afrikan 90s which had really poor (very patchy) paint jobs.

At the end of the day they are Defenders (read Mercano Sets for adults), so they will be variable depending on the mood of the guy/gal putting it together whether they are in Solihull or Jo-Berg.

With your 'Meccano' comment, do you mean that they are all manufactured in UK, and just shipped to SA for assembly?

The SA Defenders are put together from 'Knock-down' kits shipped out from the UK. They are assembled, painted etc in SA and then on-shipped. As far I know there are no pressing or casting facilities in the SA, just assembly of kits.

The reference to Mercanno was simply they are hand built/assembled and as such have greater differences in build quality due to the 'human' influence, unlike most other cars which are built using robots.

Hi David,

Don't confuse conditions and trade practises in Africa with how things are done in South-Africa. Engineering and trade is generally of a high quality in South-Africa and regarded likewise around the world. Many Australian companies especially in the mining industry import various products from South-Africa because of the high standards in engineering. So much so that they are preferred over American made.

Back to the point .. I've got a 2004 Defender built in South-Africa and the quality is fine. Haven't had any issues apart from the usual leaky door seals but you'll get that with most Defenders. I also agree with Noddy, the whole thing basically bolts together so I don't see how there might be significant differences between SA and UK builds.

Also, from mid-2002 Land Rover South-Africa was awarded an export contract to build 3000 RHD Freelanders and 216 Defenders for shipment to Australia in Nov 2002. The Defenders were 110's and 130's so I suppose the one your are looking at would have come from that batch. The point is they were made at the Ford Motor Company's plant in Silverton, Pretoria and having seen that plant firsthand I can tell you quality control is very strict and I don't see any bodge jobs coming form there.

Hope this helps,

Henry.

Mines a SA build had it for nearly three years from new, still waiting for the first oil leak, buy it and be happy.

Build quality of British built cars has always been an issue (only recently LR production line staff went on strike to preserve their right to eat, drink and smoke while working, explains the cheese sandwich I found inside my door). So the quality will probably be better.

As far as the Salisbury diff is concerned I reckon it's a good thing. The new diff may not be quite as strong but it is stronger than the old 2 pinion Rover diffs and is much better for ground clearance. If anyone wants to swap theirs for my Salisbury I would be happy, it's the main impediment of the vehicle off road.

Thanks for the replies. I was living in Kenya, so I am sure it was a lot less sophisticated for manufacturing than SA.

I'll try and put some links to a couple of photos. Photos are 400-500K so not good on a dial up line I imagine.

The bodywork looks good, but I am concerned about what is underneath.

It looks like the car might have done some beach work, as there is a bit of rust. Do you think the rust is anything to be worried about on a 3 year old vehicle? My 1997 Discovery looks better from underneath!

Front axle view. Bit of rust on some components:
http://www.gestalt.net.au/Defender/IMG_0896.JPG

Underbelly:
http://www.gestalt.net.au/Defender/IMG_0897.JPG

Bullbar/winch. Lots of rust on winch fairleads:
http://www.gestalt.net.au/Defender/IMG_0915.JPG

Steering:
http://www.gestalt.net.au/Defender/IMG_0926.JPG

Rear end:
http://www.gestalt.net.au/Defender/IMG_0918.JPG

Is that the normal parking spot for it in the last pic?

If so be very wary, looks like lots of rust water has been dripping out the rear crossmember 8O 8O

I would say the previous owner was a bit thick and was under the impression of an aluminium body means that it wont need to be cleand or hosed off after a beach trip 8O 8O 8O 8O

I'd be more worried about the rust than whether or not it was built in SA or the UK.

I would tread carefully with this one :wink: