Thread: Had to defend my Fender!!.

I met an old man not long ago looking very vagabond and homeless with a sign "retrenched automotive designer"

I was feeling sympathetic at the time and spoke with him while diggin out my wallet. Eventually the conversation turned to what vehicles he worked on and he said

"Landrovers I was on the team that put the body work together in the begining, of course Ive been retrenched , I did it properly... The First time."

Nice work. "If it aint broke, don't fix it" comes to mind

Originally Posted by sumo

And besides when i sit in the fender i can look down on you.

Don't think i will get any more work off him.

Cheers Sumo

Reminds me of when i was up the cape.
A jeep cherokee with a septic in was going on about the fact his truck had a 6" lift. My misses said (infront of him) why has he got a 6" lift when we only have a 2" lift. I replyed it was because his need to go up by 4" just to be the same height as the defender comes out of the factory

it's just impossible to improve on perfection!

My other half was looking through some photos taken on a recent trip to the Avon Wilderness area with a couple of mates from work ( 1 Patrol 1 Disco). She recons our vehicle is the only one that looks the business.
No offence ment to Disco drivers. But the Defender definitely looks meaner than other 4Wd's out there

Originally Posted by MW.TD5 Defender

My other half was looking through some photos taken on a recent trip to the Avon Wilderness area with a couple of mates from work ( 1 Patrol 1 Disco). She recons our vehicle is the only one that looks the business.
No offence ment to Disco drivers. But the Defender definitely looks meaner than other 4Wd's out there

Thats what i like about the defender it looks the mutts nuts and looks like it is ready for business and asking to just bring it on

I have always said that Land Rover built a truck to off road and then put a seat in it
Where as the japs built a car and then made it go off road

Originally Posted by sumo

I said its not old its a 96 mod, 50yr old body design still acepted all over the world, Not like your Jap crap ideas of 50 models in 5yrs!!. And besides when i sit in the fender i can look down on you.


Cheers Sumo

There is another advantage for the shape not changing in 50 years.
Land rover have always worked on the basis that if it ain't broke don't fix it but also. Most countrys car saftey test is done when a cars Bulkhead is changed. But as the defender is still running the same Bulkhead shape and size as in a Seris 2 it means it has not had to be retested. So it is running around on a nearly 50 year old road satey and crash test. Which means when land rover want to change the defender it is going to be really differant to what we know. Because it will have to have Air bags, Crumply zones ( on the car and not what they have at the moment , where a land rover crumple zone belongs to the car you hit ) and all that other saftey stuff.

Sorry guys and gals but in my view the design of the Fender (body wise and internals) should have been brought out of the dark ages years ago. Landrover recognised the need to improve the design long ago when it went to coils etc but should have done the body at the same time. It has had magnificant improvements made to the engines/suspension and drivetrain so why not the body. If we used the attage if it ain't broke don't fix it then we would still be running around in series 3s.

The things only sell 10 a month new - that says something - even Freelanders outsell them - except for a few die hards (and I say that in a nice way cause I know most of them are my fellow formites on AULRO) no one is buying them new.

I my humble opinion a new body and interior should have been designed from the 80s on - one that would be just as functional as the present on, with a modern but functional interior.

I hate pain - so please don't beat me for my views cause I would still buy a Fender over the equivalent toyo.

Garry