The Defender thread

Although some people might call me crazy I use my Defender as a daily driver (it's either that or the Nissan Skyline!) as it's pretty practical in its own way.

Anyway I've got time to show a bit of the project history so far:

As you can see the back and front bumpers are pretty rusty looking and faded. The rust isn't deep though and is mostly surface stuff.






So with a grinder and a smooth disc I set about grinding down the worst rust bits and sanding down the rest.



This done I used a few coats of rust eater. Once this had dried I started applying black hammerite paint. This stuff is quite expensive but it is specifically designed for metal application and doesn't need any undercoats. You just slap dash it on. You know the saying 'If you can p&ss, you can paint' Only kidding there painter-folk



I took off the towing array and gave that a good going over too.

Well said Sean.

When I first got the defender the first thing I did was get underneath it and have a good root!

Under the arches and the nooks and crannies. Lots of mud stuck underneath there!
I got it all out and thankfully all the rust is just surface rust.

From my army days I'm glad I got used to the 'unique experience' of driving on day to day. They may seem like a cumbersome war-horse compared to the 'gazelle-like' swiftness of a 'modern' car or SUV but they'll still be driving around long after they've gone to junk (in most cases). But once you've adjusted and like the style of driving one you won't be that bothered by the difference.

The towing array I remounted.



I also used copperslip on the split-pins, locking pin and swivel. There's nothing worse when you're about to recover someone than having seized-up parts on your tow-bar.

While on the move to work I had a blowout. I steered safety over to the hard-shoulder and tried self-recovery.

Out came the 2 tonne jack I’d bought from Halfords but no dice. It wasn’t big enough and kept slipping off the lifting point. It’d be too dangerous to continue with that.

I called out recovery and learned my lesson, next time I’d have to get a bigger jack.
My tyres were pretty worn too and I vowed to get a full set of new tyres.
So once at the nearest tyre place I got myself some all-singing, all-dancing ‘Grabber’ All terrain tyres.
Although it wasn’t the tyre wear that caused the blowout I learned that it was from running over a roofing bolt. These, I’m told by the mechy, are the leading cause of blowouts on the motorways.

Here’s one of the new tyres.



The spare tyre mounted on the bonnet is the real deal, a proper one and not a space saver either.

Now a bit of a niggle with Defenders is that they are prone to leakage. Mine was no exception. On the inside of the passenger door and the drivers side along with the cargo door it leaked. Drip, drip everytime it rained hard.

If you left the vent flaps open and it rained there’d be leaks from their too but closing them prevented that.
It was time to fix the leaks.
The drivers side leak I fixed by treating the metalwork where the rubber weather seal joined with some rust eater and touch-up paint.
The roof was where the real work was needed though and I needed something to match the white roof.



My local mechy Tom advised me that the best stuff was the window sealant used by double glazing firms. Car accessory places also supplied it.
After a few sagas I sourced some of the stuff – Tiger Seal!



I was warned not to tarry when applying it. Once it the stuff dries, it grips like a tiger and there’s no going back.

Well I attached the grease gun frame and it didn’t work. Not good as it means I’ve no way of applying the sealent to the roof seam 
In the end I just cut the neck off and stuck a big ole thin rod in and pulled it out. Then with some rubber gloves on I just finger applied it into the groove.
Took a while let me tell you but after about an hour I’d just managed to get both sides plus the cross groove done when the stuff set hard!
No leaks from the roof now, just a little bit from the door seal near the ground. But that’s nothing really.