In late December I posted about my plan to get a modified Defender to move into, so I could reduce my outgoings / save money for the race and other travel.
Little did I realise just how quickly things would move after that … I can’t believe it has been over two months since that post!
Long story short … I now have a Defender 110 (as you might already have seen from Instagram posts) and I am working on making it a bit more comfortable to live in until the Clipper Race starts.
Where did you get it from?
First, let me go back a bit …
I’d had this idea for a while and early in the Summer 2024 I spotted a vehicle at Nene Overland (a specialist for Defenders and overland prepped vehicles) that looked interesting …
It was expedition prepped and had been used by an adventure explorer and his family for about 5 years and thousands of kilometres of travel around the world and had featured in Land Rover Monthly on its return in May 2024
It had what I was looking for in terms of an Alu-Cab pop-top, plus demonstrable use in expedition touring and as a liveable vehicle. The enduro bike on the bike might have been a bit of a tempting distraction …
However, the asking price was too high, but the advert said they had just taken it in, would give it a health check and make it ready for a new owner so in that context it seemed reasonable.
I kept an eye on it for a bit, as I was waiting on the outcome of a few other things going on in my life before I could make a decision on what might come next for me … and by late September / early October, once those had played out, I was back again and looking more seriously.
Back at Nene Overland, several months had passed and the price had dropped about 10% and was now just about in my budget. I asked about the health check and works they had done … and after about a month of chasing, it transpired they hadn’t even done a health check …
After more chasing … I finally received a laundry list of things that needed to be resolved and a message that they had decided not to do the work to make it good …. contrary to the advert … but would further reduce the price. The price reduction was nowhere near enough to cover the parts and labour required …
I understand that they are one of the largest providers in the UK, and that they were selling the vehicle on consignment for the previous owner rather than from owned stock … but I was genuinely shocked at the poor service both to me … and frankly to the current owner!
They seemed utterly disinterested about selling it …
Fortuitously, at around the time I was given this news, a family run dealership in Somerset called Coopers Cars South West listed a very similar spec vehicle, at a much more reasonable price and in better condition.
Same age and mileage, complete with the same Alu-Cab ICARUS pop-top, Alu-Cab awning, same Puma 2.4 TDCI, similar expedition provenance in Europe and the US and similarly prepped for long term touring.
The service from Coopers was worlds apart from Nene Overland. Within a day of enquiry, I was on site for a test drive and we spent a good couple of hours going over all of the kit and testing it together, and within a few days a deal was agreed, at a fair price … and about 25% cheaper than Nene Overland was proposing …
That additional capital buffer has provided me with financial scope to work on the new Defender and make it a bit more suitable for what I have in mind.
I also had the vehicle checked out by my friends at Surrey Auto Works … Kaz has a background working on Land Rovers as well as his passion for all things VW … and the Defender was given a clean bill of health, other than replacing front discs and pads.
I got really lucky that this car came along when it did … it’s a single owner vehicle from new, has had thousands of pounds of extra kit added to it for touring and overlanding, has been serviced every year with Land Rover for the last 12 years … just in October had an entire new wiring loom fitted at a cost of about £3k!
Coopers were great, and the owner has a similar adventure spirit … he’d just come back from a motorbike trip in Vietnam with a bunch of his mates!
The more time I spend going over the car, the more comfortable I am with the decision.
It’s already 80% to 90% of what I need and is absolutely liveable as it is currently … so it has saved me a huge amount of time and money already.
My planned upgrades are mostly therefore relatively minor and cosmetic / comfort oriented. This is because I not only a) plan to live out of it for 4/5 months before the Clipper Race, but b) will also be looking at handing it on to a specialist company that rents out camper spec’ed vehicles / Land Rovers while I’m away.
The hope is we can reach a deal wherein they store, maintain and insure the vehicle and we can share in any excess profits after those costs are covered … then when I get back, I can pick her up again.
Needless to say … Nene Overland still haven’t sold the other one … and the price has dropped again …
So, what work have I been doing to the Defender?
The previous owner was obviously quite handy with metal work … most of the interior appears to have been self-built, modular metal cabinetry, including customised cubby box and a few other bits and pieces.
It was definitely functional and solid, but not exactly comfortable. In early January as I started work on, it was evident that the aluminium plate cabinets were extremely cold, and a lot of the metal work was quite sharp.
It’s also a Utility Station Wagon, meaning it’s like a panel van … it has no insulation at all in the back. The plywood floor that had been added was also mounted direct to the metal floor.
Don’t get me wrong … the previous owner has made some really clever modifications … mostly as a result of his own experience using the vehicle. Lots of simple things which he has clearly learnt and found solutions for to make life easier.
For example, he had:
- installed extended hinges to allow the second row doors to open a wider angle to load / unload kit and cabinets
- added gas struts to heavier parts of the vehicle to make opening and closing easier e.g. the rear door which has the spare wheel mount on it, plus I think he customised the bed in the ICARUS with small gas struts to create a pop-up head board / back rest …
- it has 12V cigarette and USB adaptors all over the place for easy use of electrical appliances
- custom table installed on rear door to use the vintage Coleman Dual Fuel (can run on camping white gas or unleaded petrol), triple burner stove that came with the car … which is fun in itself!
My plan is to do a temporary re-trim / re-fit and slowly bring it up to a more comfortable standard and also so it is suitable for hire while I’m away.
So far, I’ve tackled the following:
- constructed some upholstered and insulated boards to mount on the underside of the ICARUS to a) make it a bit more comfortable / make it appear a bit more luxurious and b) hopefully make it a bit warmer
- I’d never done this before so it was a new learning experience for me, but seems to have worked out OK, at least for now … lots of measuring required …
- I had some excess fabric so decided to make a top for the cubby box, and do the front door trim as well … although that was more of a test as had taken the trim off when doing hinge bolts …
- I also created some new pull handles … the leather means they can push flat against the panel when loading kit vs the old solid plastic handles
- Removed the old heavy, metal cubby box and replaced with a smaller, lightweight lock-box, but will eventually add some additional storage to it as well, which will bring the height back up to arm rest level …
- Fitted a new rear door sill plate to replace old one which was a bit corroded
- removed the old plywood floor and temporarily removed the old bench seat so I could clean out the surfaces to plan for a new install of sound deadening, insulation and flooring
- lined the metal floor and wheel wells with sound deadening and insulation (Dodo Mat DEADN DUO Pro … easy to use and both in one roll)
- trimmed excess metal work off the striker plates for second row seats
- purchased a new marine plywood floor and jig-saw cut to shape for install and fitted
- ordered, but not yet fitted, some vinyl flooring to cover the marine plywood
- fitted a new leisure battery … a monster Odyssey PC1800 214 Ah 60kg beast that I had to ask the team at Surrey Auto Works to fit … no way I could have manhandled it into the space on my own … plus I hate messing with electrics!
- I chose this battery as the previous owner had planned to install it and had already purchased the mounting rack, which came with the car – worth about £125 as is …
- It’s also very slim, and space is at a premium in a Defender Camper … it’s also used for marine applications, which I thought was quite interesting!
ordered … but not fitted as not yet arrived … an Optimill Quick release steering wheel and lock system plus a new Mota-Lita leather steering wheel
- new security screws for door hinges with a custom bolt head
- The Defender’s simple build architecture unfortunately also makes it quite easy for people to just pinch the doors!
- These are great but were an absolute nightmare to install alone … I’ve lost about 5 captivated nuts in the bulkhead which I’m going to have to get out at some point …
- had a new tap fitted to the water tank as the old one was leaking and emptying the tank
- ’m going to need to remove the tank as I have sterilised and cleaned as best I can, but I need to give it a proper inspection, plus it could do with a new shield plate (the tank is in the rear wheel arch and the old one is pretty corroded)
- ordered some insulated blinds for the windows from MUDD-E
- Sadly after 6 weeks and no response from the company (owned by Car Mats UK) I’ve had to cancel that order and will have to find elsewhere … they didn’t even respond to my emails …
- Lined the remaining metal cabinets with felt material to partially insulate
- purchased, but not yet fitted a Vitrifrigo 20L slim, top loading fridge unit
- started the design work for re-fit including:
- Plan to swap the bench seat to the other side and make convertible into alternative sleeping in addition to the pop-top
- The left side where the bench is now will then become the cook station with a small sink and induction hob (just so I can use in palces where fire / naked flame isn’t appropriate). It also already has a Front Runner 36L water tank installed on that side
- Add Explore Glazing gullwing windows. On the left side, this will open out under the awning and allow food service for al fresco dining! On the right side, I’ll use a storage box for recovery gear etc.
- Design for a slide out storage system under the bench seat that will house two Wolf Boxes from Tuff Trek
- Design for a modular cabinet system that will allow for retention of the second-row seats, with the option to remove the single in the 60.40 split
- I’ve taken the seats out a few times, and removing and refitting the double / 60 on my own is hard work. I’d rather just leave it in place …
I have no experience with any of this, so it’s taking a lot of research and thinking about designs from first principles and a bit of applied problem solving.
I’ve always been quite mechanically minded, and I like to think I can “MacGyver” a fix for most solutions …. rarely is it perfect, but it usually does the job!
This time I’m trying to be a bit more diligent … for example, the cabinet design is going to make use of L-track / airline rails, plus extruded aluminium, to make it extremely flexible and easy to adapt or remove, but also to be extremely structurally rigid whilst lightweight.
As an off-road camper, this is a bit more important than the usual van conversion … or at least I think it is … and my experience driving it so far has shown me that if it isn’t properly bolted down … it’s coming loose!
My house is currently littered with tools, components, test / mock-ups and sketches of designs etc …
When I stand back and look at all of that, I’m quite proud of the progress made … especially considering a) I’ve been away from home for 3 weeks of the last 7, and b) when I’ve been working it’s usually been in near zero-degree temperatures, rain … or hail as it turned out to be one day …
Have I used it properly?
If you’ve seen my Instagram posts, you’ll know the answer …
In the first 7 weeks of ownership, we’ve done about 4,000 miles already …
I took it up to Scotland for a week whilst visiting friends (as they are also adopting / rehoming my dog) and then took it into France for 10 days for a ski / snowboard trip … which I’ll cover in more detail in another post in the next week or two.
What’s next for the Defender?
I need to finish off the temporary re-trim, plus use the car to move stuff from home down to my storage container, but I’ve only got about 3 weeks before Level 1 training, so the reality is I’m not going to be able to do a huge amount of work on it over the next few weeks. I need to focus on some prep work for the Clipper Race as well …
When I get back from L1 training, I then only have a couple of weeks to leave my house, so the next phase of work is likely to be done out of friend’s garages and workshops etc.
I don’t have a firm plan for travel … just some vague ideas at the moment … Devon, Cornwall, Wales and Scotland … and then maybe into Europe … France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and Germany …. Whatever I can fit in around training obligations for the Clipper Race.
Like much of my life at the moment … I will just wing it and make the decisions and solve the problems day by day!
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