This article appeared in the January 2002 issue of "Land Rover Enthusiast" and the text and pictures are reproduced here by kind permission of the copyright holders.
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Dave Barker went to visit TJC Land RoversI remember the problems I had finding just the right vehicle when I wanted to buy a Defender 90. Many I looked at were total sheds, rusting all over with corrosion on most of the body panels. Then there were the ones that looked very good, all tidy and neat but had millions of miles on the clock. The pools of oil on forecourts or owners' driveways told tales of mechanical problems and some of the prices people were asking for old 90s made no sense at all. I got lucky and found a nice Defender with full history at a main dealer and at the right price. Not everyone is so lucky and you can end up paying a lot of money for someone else's discarded pile of problems. |
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However there is another way to buy a good Ninety or Defender 90, especially if you are more concerned about getting the right vehicle at the right price than about the age betrayed by its registration number. And if you worry about what the neighbours will say of your 16- year-old number plate, a cheap Irish "personal" plate for under £100 hides age very well! Rebuilding and refurbishing older Land Rovers is nothing new. Many of the well-known independent Land Rover specialists started by rebuilding and are still doing it today. A number of new specialists have now started refurbishing vehicles, either to customer's individual requirements or to satisfy a growing demand for quality vehicles. |
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But the rebuilding and refurbishing game has changed. Rules and regulations on rebuilding vehicles are now much tighter than they were, and the Vehicle Inspectorate is strict on what constitutes an original vehicle, a kit car or a vehicle of undefined age. This is a good thing: with Land Rovers, it's probably easier to use stolen parts or hide the identity of a stolen vehicle than with almost any other vehicle on the road. The owner of a Land Rover once told me that his vehicle was a Series IIA which was over 25 years old and so tax-exempt because it said so on the logbook. He explained that the original chassis had rotted away and he had replaced it with a second-hand 90 chassis he bought. Rather than cut it down to 88 inches he left the wheelbase unaltered. Then to make life easier he fitted the 90's bodywork in place of his old panels. Next he decided to leave the 2.5 turbodiesel engine and gearbox in rather than refit his old 2.25 petrol engine. He did say that he had fitted his old set of black and silver number plates, and this was still his IIA which was tax- exempt! |
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There are a number of Land Rovers out there that are not just what they should be, but many of them are in fact just what they seem -rebuilt and up-dated to current specification while remaining legally "old" Land Rovers. Down in Norfolk, TJC Land Rovers are selling Land Rovers that at first glance would have you saying, "that's not as old as the registration suggests". Tony Cable of TJC explained that his company has found it difficult to track down Land Rovers to meet his customers' requirements. So they now specialise in rebuilding and refurbishing older examples, up-dating them to current specifications to meet demand. |
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Customers from all over the country contact TJC looking to buy a quality vehicle. Many of the 90s and Defenders the company sells following extensive work are able to retain their original registrations, so they have the registration of an old vehicle but look like a new model. Other vehicles have a Q registration because they have been made up of parts from a number of vehicles.
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Tony showed me two Defender 90s they had recently finished, both built to customer requirements. Both looked very similar with a high level of specification, and both had been rebuilt to the same high standard of quality. However, one had its original C-prefix registration while the other was on a Q- plate. The Vehicle Inspectorate uses a points system to score a vehicle that has undergone a major rebuild, to see if it qualifies as the original vehicle or if it's now another vehicle altogether. Each original major component scores a number of points, and a total of eight out of a possible 12 qualifies a vehicle as "original". The chassis scores five points, original axles two, original suspension type one, and original engine, gearbox, bodywork and drivetrain score one point each. |
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After its rebuild, the C- registered Ninety scored exactly eight points and was therefore classed as still being the original vehicle. Tony took me through the work they had carried out on it. TJC had bought it in as a 1985 petrol Ninety, and had stripped it down to the bare chassis in their workshop. As this was in good condition, needing only minor repair work, it was galvanised and retained.
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The original axles were stripped down and rebuilt, while the diffs were updated to the 24-spline type and new halfshafts were fitted. Disc brakes were fitted to the original rear axle; all the brake callipers were overhauled and rebuilt. The original engine was replaced, in this case with a 3.9-litre V8 that had been rebuilt in-house by TJC; this was mated to a rebuilt five-speed Santana gearbox. Other upgrades included fitting Polybushes, de Carbon dampers and Scorpion Racing springs all round, adding a rear anti-roll bar plus a Janspeed exhaust system and K&N filters. A new fuel tank and fuel lines were also fitted as well as new brake pipes throughout. The Ninety was also converted to run on LPG, with an 85-litre tank fitted in the back behind the bulkhead. |
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The bodywork and interior were also upgraded: body panels from a 1997 model were fitted and the interior upgraded to 1997 County spec and fully carpeted by an in-house fitter. The rear has only two seats because the gas tank takes up the space behind the bulkhead. In went a full soundproofing kit, central locking, an alarm system and a high-quality radio. Then to finish, the Ninety was re-sprayed in bright South African-spec yellow and fitted with XS alloy wheels on BF Goodrich All-terrain tyres.
It's a very fetching motor and a real head-turner, with the rasp of the V8 echoing through a couple of sleepy Norfolk villages when Tony took me out for a test drive. Yet despite all this upgrading, the vehicle is still the original Land Rover as scored on the points system: it gets the required eight points by a five for the original chassis, a two for the original axles, and a one for the original type of suspension.
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The second Defender I saw at TJC had a similar specification, but was on a Q-plate because it had been built up with parts from a number of vehicles. Its basis was a new galvanised chassis, while the axles and body panels came from accident-damaged 1998 models. The 300 Tdi engine and gearbox came from yet another damaged salvage vehicle.
Before this Defender could be registered, a whole process of inspections and checks by both the Vehicle Inspectorate and the Police had to be completed. TJC had to produce documents on the purchase of all the parts, and the Police checked to ensure no parts used were listed as stolen. When these checks were completed, a chassis number and VIN plate were issued and the chassis was stamped. Next came an application to the DVLA for Single Vehicle Approval, after which the vehicle had to be taken to a Ministry test station for a major inspection and MoT. Once all this process had been completed, the DVLA issued a Q-plate and the Defender could be taxed.
If either of these vehicles had been around when I was looking to buy, I would certainly have been very interested. The asking prices were very good, and at the end of the day I would have bought a vehicle that was completely reconditioned, came with a guarantee and would last.
Prices obviously depend on the extent of refurbishment carried out, on the type of engine required and on other factors. But next time I'm looking for a Defender, I know TJC will be one of the places high on my list of where to look.
For further details, contact Tony Cable at TJC Land Rovers, by telephone on 01328 838484, the fax number is 01328 838883 and the web site is at www.tjclandrovers.co.uk