Thread: doors for a 110

Originally Posted by scrambler

.......

Reads. don't forget that the original plan was to steer from the centre position - that would have solved any elbow room problems immediately.

I doubt that elbow room was a real concern in the original design, for two reasons.
1. It was a utility vehicle, and people driving utility vehicles in the 1940s did not expect to be comfortable, and in any case it would mostly be driven with the door tops off. Even widening it slightly for the Series 2 did little to change it.

2. People in general were markedly smaller in the 1940s than they are today - and I am not talking just about waistlines, although after the depression and war, and with food rationing still in place, there were few fat people in Britain (or most other places) in the forties. Try driving almost any car from the forties, even the Holden 48-215, remembering it was designed as a six seater.

The original Landrover (and this influence is still there in the current Defender) took its dimensions from the Willys Jeep, designed by Bantam, who took their dimensions from the Austin Seven.

John

Originally Posted by mox

My Defender 130 tray door linings are permanently off. Gives 40mm more elbow room. Also removing unnecessary plastic rubbish inside door lockers stops nuisance accidental locking.

County or especially Series 3 doors especially would be better in this respect. Also, they have striker plates that are less inclined to rip belt loops out of your pants and more sensible outside door handles.

Has anyone put County doors on a Defender? Probably unusual - too expensive and hard to get.

I wonder if Santana doors fit and if so, what the landed price in Australia would be. From website illustrations,some have frames that can be folded down outside when windows are down.

Santanas could possibly be described as Spanish Series 4 Land Rovers - without coil springs or constant 4wd. Apparently severed their ties with Land Rover in about 1990.

I would be surprised if Santana doors did not fit, although since they have apparently dispensed with the seat box, it is possible that they have frames that will conflict with that.

As you say Santana severed their ties with Landrover in 1989 with the introduction of the 110, as they could not afford the changes to coils - Landrover already had the production experience and most of the tooling to do this as most new parts were either the same as or similar to Rangerover parts. Freed of the need to retain commonality with Landrover, they have spent the last seventeen years or so making what they see as improvements to the Series 3, and as you say, it can be considered a Series 4, although the differences are quite large, including changes that Landrover have not made even with the current Defender, such as the seat box and the rear tub.

John