Help - Land Rover Defender instant expert training required!!!!!

[Clanger]

How does it work if you bought something interstate that turned out to have the wrong engine? 200Tdi into defender for example? Would it just be impossible to register?

Each state has its own rules regarding vehicle emission standards - so yes,it is feasible that you may get a cross look if you bring certain vehicles from one state to another - especially if you are talking about grey market import stuff of a recent vintage.

 

Generally speaking if you have owned your US market vehicle in another state for a while and it has over a certain mileage you can register them in another state. California for example didn't allow the V10 diesel Touareg when it came out (actually they did for a while, then they didn't...) but, you could buy them next door in Nevada. Most dealers wouldn't sell you a new one if you only had a California address but, if you had a Nevada residence and then you put 7500 miles on the car you could then register in California.

 

My experience with importing Land Rovers relates to California. As it stands you can legally import a 25 year old Defender into the US so, no problem at the federal level. But, California requires all vehicles from 74 onwards to pass a regular smog check. A 25 year old Defender would not meet the smog requirements for similar vehicles of that age. Even if it were the same engine as the Defenders imported in 1993 - 1996 it would still be subject to a smog referee because there was no Rover V8 approved for that year. The test to bring the car up to scratch is mega $$$$$ and includes a sealed room to measure the evaporative emissions. At the very least you would need to change the fuel tank, filler hose, gas cap, fuel lines and add whatever smog equipment the referee deems appropriate.

 

The good people of Minnesota will most likely have different safety and smog standards.

 

You can fit a galvanized chassis after you have successfully imported the thing and got it registered in your local state. On the left coast we don't worry about rust - in the snow belt just below Canada they probably do.

 

Spiders in Land Rovers? Nasty fuckers is the answer to your question. Black widows and brown recluses. Your experience may vary by state.

[Guest Hooli]

Land Rover spiders are factory fit aren't they? I believe the webs are built at the correct speed & location to re-enforce the structure as it rots away.

[Roobarb]

It's true, Minnesota is way behind on smog - there is no annual inspection for anything!!!

We do excel in the area of rust though. My three year old Subaru is just starting to show signs of being a through winter daily driver.

[Dead_E23]

I wouldn't be too keen on poisonous spiders living amongst all the crap in my Defender.  

 

It was bad enough catching a false widow in my office the other day - it briefly crossed my mind that I should do something about all the stuff that has accumulated in there, but I do quite like having one cluttered room where tiny screws can live safe from dusters and vacuum cleaners.  The false widow was not happy about being imprisoned in a 35mm film can all morning and fairly zoomed off when I released her outside.   I expect she made a bee line for my Defender to set up home in there.

 

Seriously though, I wonder what it is about Defenders that spiders find so attractive?   None of my other cars fill up with cobwebs if I don't drive them for a week or two.

[somewhatfoolish]

I wonder what kind of spiders live in American Land Rovers?   Mine is like a haunted house inside.

It's 'Murica so the wildlife probably wants to eat you or kill you then eat you. My 110 has several resident incywincies, one lives in the headlining.

 

Do the fun police really outlaw galvanised chassis? Even jen-you-wine solihull steel dipped after the fact?

 

19Js are a bit shite, so should really be favoured here; they do like to frag themselves though, especially if not cared for.

 

 

 

Seriously though, I wonder what it is about Defenders that spiders find so attractive?   None of my other cars fill up with cobwebs if I don't drive them for a week or two.

It's the panel gaps, close-fitting doorseals and complete lack of random holes in bits of the seat box. Like the old gag goes, a Landrover engineer visiting Mitsubishi is intrigued by a quality test conducted on random Shoguns off the assembly line, they are taken to the test shed and a cat is shut inside with the ventilation on recirculate; if the cat shows signs of asphyxia within 24 hours it passes. The scion of Solihull takes this scheme back to the factory and a Defender is put in a shed and a factory mouser found to put in it with the flaps shut and gaffer tape over the wing top vent; the next morning the cat is found to have escaped.

[scruff]

Buy one over here and ship it out. I've sent a few over the years, only had one issue when a particularly anal officer at NY wouldn't accept a couple of ex army 110s because they had bright green reconditioned engines in them. 

 

Got a corking red, G reg 90 County Station Wagon V8, ex-Land Rover demonstrator, with air con, recon LT85 gearbox and just had the carbs rebuilt... coming up for grabs soon...?

[scruff]

The TD - I liked mine, it went ok but was absolutely crap on fuel - around 20mpg at best. Push it along at 70 and it would get warm. It did burn and breathe oil so you had to keep an eye on it. What killed mine was that it chewed the keyway out of the bottom crank pulley and rogered the crankshaft in the process. 

 

Here's another one we killed earlier

 

 

[somewhatfoolish]

The TD - I liked mine, it went ok but was absolutely crap on fuel - around 20mpg at best. Push it along at 70 and it would get warm. It did burn and breathe oil so you had to keep an eye on it. What killed mine was that it chewed the keyway out of the bottom crank pulley and rogered the crankshaft in the process. 

 

Here's another one we killed earlier

 

 

225773_7160802795_5647_n.jpg

TADTS; at least mine did, the crank pulley was held on with faith, threadlock compound and OMGTORQUES!

[somewhatfoolish]

Like all good lamp swinging there's as many versions as there are people telling it.

[Guest Hooli]

TADTS; at least mine did, the crank pulley was held on with faith, threadlock compound and OMGTORQUES!

I had a mk3 Escrote like that. I could reset the crank timing in 5mins by the side of the road when it started to slip...

[Felly Magic]

I suspect quite a few stolen Landies have gone stateside too as of late. I would want to know everything about it's recent history tbh