1993 DEFENDER 110 AMBULANCE
LISA CORY AND NILS BONNERMANN, BERLIN, GERMANY
How did you find this project? We bought the Defender from a farrier on ebay after searching for one that we could turn into an expedition truck. Ironically Nils said that we’d never find a good car on ebay – but not only did we find a Defender but an ambulance! Tell us a little about yourself and Nils
I’m a university student and part-time bartender, Nils works as a health nurse. What’s the story so far?
Nils has been dreaming of travelling the world for more than ten years now. Then he met me and together we threw aside all sense and reason, listened to our hearts and bought the ambulance the day we saw it. We
named him Ervin! He’s the perfect car for off-the-grid travels and offroading. Importantly Ervin is long enough for the 6 ft 4 in Nils to sleep in. The coolest extra is the vending window, which is where we’ll build our accessible kitchen. Does it have a sound engine?
The previous owner upgraded it from a 200Tdi to a 300Tdi. We think it might be EX-RAF, though its previous owner said it was a NATO vehicle in Bosnia, but we haven’t yet found evidence of this. Maybe LRM military expert Bob Morrison can help us with this?
The engine runs fine. We drove it from North Rhine-westphalia to Berlin on a rainy day without any issues. Though the passenger door opened by itself and there was water dripping through the roof on the driver’s side. There’s much to fix but little is engine-related. What are your plans with it?
To transform it into the best travelling Defender that the world has ever seen, plus it must be able to go anywhere of course…
What have you done so far?
We’ve spent two months on the chassis and frame of the cabin, removing surface rust and repainting. We’ve inspected the engine and decided on what to replace. We’ve painted the chequer plates, hinges, stabilisers, rails and removed loads of dirt. What next?
The engine is next. Pipes, hoses and filters will be replaced (because they look brittle) and we’ll do some general maintenance. After that we will soundproof the front cab, retrim the seats, fit a new floor in the sleeping cab, touch up the paint and then do a step-by-step rebuild on the interior. What is the hardest part of this project?
We are the fifth owners and everyone before us has had their fun replacing bits while using the widest array of materials. The hardest physical work would have to be the rust removal. We had no way of lifting the Defender and so we had to crawl underneath it to reach all the hidden spots. Lots of sore muscles and broken fingernails ensued. When will it be finished?
The basic equipment will be finished by May. We’re then taking him to Croatia for a month. In a year or two we hope to have saved enough pennies to kit it out as our expedition truck. Who is helping you?
Our fathers have helped us here and there. One is a mechanic, the other a railway engineer. But most things we do by ourselves. We teach ourselves by watching Youtube, reading online forums and the good old Defender and Haynes manuals. Any other projects on the go?
We have tried to grow our Instagram followers. We might start a Youtube channel once on the road. How can our readers follow you?
Follow @ervintravels on Instagram and keep an eye out for us on the road. If anyone knows more about our Defender and its history please mail us on ervinstravels@gmail.com.