The latest project for the club is a ‘94 Land Rover Defender 90 NAS (#1317). Follow our adventure as we keep this iconic rig on the road and trails.

up next

  • Soft Top Mods

  • More Lights

  • New Transmission and Stuff

  • LED Exterior Bulbs

  • New Drive Shafts (maybe)

  • Subwoofer (maybe)

  • Lockers (maybe)

  • Micro Camper Pod (maybe)

  • Tire Carrier (maybe)

  • Engine Swap (pending the GM LC9 getting approved)

Service

  • replaced clutch master cylinder

  • replaced front brake pads and rotors

  • replaced idle air control valve

  • replaced radiator

  • replaced battery

  • replaced catalytic converters

  • throttle switch rewired

  • replaced starter motor

  • replaced ignition module

  • replaced ignition rotor

  • replaced spark plugs

  • replaced distributor cap

  • remove front and rear sway bars

  • replace thermostat

  • replace radiator upper hose

  • re-core radiator

  • replace oil cooling lines with aftermarket kit

  • replace signal and marker lights

  • replace throttle switch and adjust idle

  • air intake boot replaced

  • front wheel dust boots replaced

  • replace MAF

  • replace fuel filter, regulator, pump

  • fix dome light

  • adjust TPS voltage and timing to resolve code 19

  • adjust idle to resolve code 48

  • replace belts

  • replace AC unit

  • replace brake primary cylinder

  • replace primary and secondary clutch cylinder

  • replace clutch, resurface flywheel

  • adjusted doors and installed door sill seals

  • re-riveted the soft top side channels

  • replace transmission

  • front swivel kit

  • CV kit

  • new front brake rotors and pads

  • new oil pan seal

  • new cross seal

  • replace O2 sensors

  • new crank seal

  • replace floor pan bolts

Parts

  • Old Man Emu shocks

  • Old Man Emu steering stabilizer

  • OEM heavy duty springs

  • 30mm wheel spacers

  • 1” spring spacer for front

  • BFG AT KO2 (305/70/16)

  • Rovers North front aluminum skid plate

  • Rovers North wingtop black chequer plate

  • Rovers North rear corner black chequer plate

  • Warn VR EVO 8-s Winch

  • Factor55 FlatLink E

  • MGI Speedware relays and Blue Sea fuse box

  • Hella 4000 compact driving lights

  • MUD UK Carling switches

  • SDHQ battery terminals

  • Vice Design winch control box relocation wiring kit

  • Exmoor Defender seats with heaters (NAS style)

  • Exmoor seat risers

  • Rovers North rock sliders with tree guards

  • Kicker KS Series 6-1/2" 2-way Speakers

  • Kicker 4 way amp - Key200.4

  • Kicker mono amp - Key500.1

  • Bass control knob

  • Hi-Lift X-TREME Jack

  • ARB CKMA12 air compressor

  • Mobile Storage Systems locking boxes

  • Wavian 5 gal NATO style jerry can

  • Front Runner jerry can holder

  • Exmoor soft top

  • Series Defender switch panels

  • Raptor Engineering binnacle

  • Terrafirma black steel wheels (wolf style)

  • Classic Car LEDs for dash lights

  • Warn solenoid remote power switch

  • Blue Sea kill switch for Aux systems

  • MUD locking storage under cubby box

  • MUD center dash DIN mount

  • Rovers North AC unit

  • Midland MXT575 GMRS radio

  • Hella 500 amber driving lights with rock guards

  • Derek Chase custom roof rack

  • Terrafirma HD half shafts

Past Owners

  • Originally owner (unknown) had this truck in the ID and WA area as there are DMV records from both states. Based on records I believe the owner then moved to Southern California in 2006. In Feb 2007 I believe they sold the truck in SoCal to a private party.

  • The second owner (unknown) had this car from 2007 until 2012 and lived in SoCal as there are records from various SoCal cities. I believe they sold it in March 2012 to a private party.

  • The third owner (unknown) had this truck from 2012 until 2017 and lived in San Luis Obispo. They had it serviced with British Sports Cars in SLO and based on Bring a Trailer records it looks like British Sports Cars in SLO sold the car to someone named ImagineLifestyles in 2017.

  • ImagineLifestyles bought the truck on Bring a Trailer in May 2017 and perhaps this buyer worked for Imagine Lifestyles Exotic Car Rental out of Miami FL. The truck was moved from CA to FL and was barely driven between 2017 and 2021. In Jan 2021 it looks like the car was sold in auction to a dealer back in SoCal.

  • Specialty Car Collection, a dealer out of West Hollywood CA, bought the Defender and did some light work to it before putting it up for sale. When I say light work I mean no work. They sold a car that was in good shape but needed a lot of maintenance to get it in excellent mechanical condition.

  • I bought the car from Specialty Car Collection and moved it to the Bay Area CA in May 2021. I am in the process of restoring it while also modifying it with an eye on keeping it authentic and in the spirit of the Defender. All of the modifications are bolt-on and thus can be reversed. I drive the car on a regular basis as well as use it the way it was designed to be used (light off-roading). I have heavily invested in this car to do preventative maintenance and the highest quality mods. Nearly all of the problems I have run into were smaller systems and parts that simply wore out. Had the prior owners kept up with the scheduled maintenance and replaced parts as they wore out this would have been an easy project……but nothing worth doing is easy so here we are basically doing a full refurbish part by part.

D90 Gallery

This is the progression of the build from the day I bought the truck to today. The early photos show how I received it while the later photos show what I made of it after hundreds of hours and tens of thousands of dollars. Only Defender enthusiasts see the logic in this project :)