Rekindled love affair
Land Rover engineer Greg King rekindles a lost love affair when he tracks down his old 90, and discovers that his passion runs deep
Land Rover engineer Greg King tracks down his old 90 and sets about on the perfect restoration
THERE are many memorable milestones in life but, for the petrolheads among us, the day we passed our driving test is among the best. Some of us carry fond memories of the car we learned to drive in and even hanker after tracking it down years later, or at least one like it. Sadly I’m not among them, because I have no ambitions whatsoever to find the Austin Metro I passed my test in, let alone own it, although its insipid yellow paint job and blue British Telecom stickers probably have a certain retro appeal these days. Things might be different had they handed me the keys to the 110 in the motor transport yard, but they didn’t. One enthusiast who has no such doubts about the desirability of his first car is Land Rover engineer Greg King. But then his was a Defender 90.
“The story starts back in 1993,” says Greg. “We had a two Defenders on the farm in Devon where I grew up, including a 1991 Pennine Grey 90. It was one of the first few 100 facelifted Defender models, fitted by the factory with the 200Tdi from the recently-launched Discovery. It had been very highly specified by its first owner, a security company in Northampton. Although County Pack
hard-tops didn’t arrive until the 1992 model year ours had all the gear of a County including cloth seats, a cubby box, sunroof, radio, side steps, Rostyle wheels and full headlining. It also had bulkhead-mounted spot lights fitted by Hartwells, who were the supplying dealer, presumably because of its initial security duties. It was a fine machine, a really happy truck, one of those cars where all the tolerances were just right. It felt exceptionally brisk, the gear change was slick, and the steering just so. It was just a really fun drive.
“And I was a lucky lad. I had just been fortunate enough to win an apprenticeship at Land Rover starting in September 1993, the same month that I had my 17th birthday. And that’s why I needed to pass my test as soon as possible, so I could travel between Devon and Solihull without using the coach or train. Dad took me out in the 90 on L plates and I passed my test in the 90 a week later. Dad gave me the 90 on loan and I used it to drive up and down the M5 to the factory. Life was good. I’d got my dream job and I got to drive to work in my dream car!
“I soon realised that the rearward three-quarter visibility on slip roads was very limited, so we fitted aftermarket sliding side windows to help with this, and add light into the rear of the cabin. Although the Tdi was nippy enough I thought it was rather short-geared for long-distance motorway driving, so I replaced the 205 Michelins and fitted 7.50 tyres. These increased the rolling radius which upped
the gearing by around 16 per cent. The Trac-edge tyres also improved the look of the vehicle, and changing the speedo pinion ensured the dial still registered correctly.
“Almost every weekend, the 90 would cover the 400-mile round trip from Solihull to Devon, back to the family farm. It was certainly happy to munch the miles, with fresh oil and filters going on every 5000 miles. We fabricated a set of seat rising rails, long before these were available off the shelf, to make the driving position more comfortable, and a Clarion CD player replaced the original Philips unit. Other than that, the vehicle stayed standard, save for some extra soundproofing and carpeting in the rear. Any maintenance over and above basic servicing was done at Roger Young Land Rover, including a new cambelt at 52,000 miles and a new clutch fork shortly afterwards, which was a fairly common fail on early Tdis!
“I did over 50,000 miles in two years, but at 72,000 miles we decided to part-exchange it at Roger Young for a new 300Tdi with my employee discount. But the Grey 90 didn’t go far, because one of the technicians at the dealership took a shine to it and bought it for himself, and that’s pretty much the last I saw of it. My career at Land Rover was progressing well, and in due course it made sense to relocate closer to the factory. But I never forgot that grey 90!”
Fast forward to 2018, and Greg had just completed an assignment as the lead engineer on JLR’S Defender Works V8 programme, and had decided to take a six-month sabbatical from the company. He was looking for a project to keep himself busy and had decided that an old 90 or an early Defender would be ideal – something from the mid-80s or the early 90s that hadn’t been messed around with too much; something that he could get up and running fairly quickly and have fun with.
“That summer we were on holiday in France camping on the Atlantic coast,” recalls Greg. “We were enjoying the evening sunshine and a glass of wine, my wife reading a novel and me, as usual, flicking through the cars for sale sites on my phone. And up came a new listing for a 1991 Pennine Grey Defender 90. The strange thing was it had the same style of aftermarket sliding windows that I’d fitted in 1993. My heart skipped a beat. Surely it couldn’t be my old truck, could it? The numberplate wasn’t visible in the main picture, and so I scrolled down to the others.
“Leg Before Wicket. That’s how I always remembered the last three letters of the number plate. And there it was, LBW, my old and much-loved Land Rover! I called the seller there
and then and explained that his Land Rover for sale was my old one, and that I’d love to have it back. Probably not the sharpest of negotiation tactics, but I couldn’t help myself.
“The seller turned out to be another passionate Land Rover enthusiast who completely understood my excitement. It turned out that he was selling the vehicle on behalf of his employer, who owned a large farming estate where the Defender had been used as a support vehicle on their shoots. The chap described it as ‘honest but in need of tidying’, but if he’d told me it was a complete shed it still wouldn’t have dampened my enthusiasm! He agreed to take down the advert and hold the car for me until I got home, on the condition that I’d drive straight down to Devon to view it. The old 90 hadn’t moved more than a few miles from home since I’d sold it!
“Back in the UK, I arranged a date to visit the seller and also called my insurance broker, Ian, to arrange cover for the Defender should I decide to buy it. Ian laughed as he gave me the quote. ‘It doesn’t matter if it’s a crumbling heap, I guarantee you’re going to buy it’, he said. A day or two later I was pulling into a cobbled farmyard near Yealmpton and there sat my old Defender. The paint had faded, it was muddy, and it was certainly crumbling quite significantly in places, but it was unmistakably my old truck!
“The vendor had told me it was honest and original, and I have to say I was delighted to find that it hadn’t had any modifications other than those I’d made in the early 1990s. It retained its original chassis, engine, gearbox and axles, but it was considerably dirtier than it had ever been during my ownership. ‘Yes it could do with a bit of a clean’ said the vendor, with masterful understatement!
“It ran and drove brilliantly, and it still had a little notch on fourth gear that had been on it from new, something I had completely forgotten about until I drove it again and all the happy memories came flooding back. It was really like being with an old friend. Money changed hands, I called Ian at the insurance company who happily said ‘I told you so’, I then arranged tax via the DVLA, and I was soon on my way up the M5.
“That first drive for 25 years was quite emotional and very satisfying, although there’s always the underlying terror that
“I explained that his Land Rover for sale was my old one. Probably not the sharpest of negotiation tactics”
something will fail catastrophically, but it was completely drama-free save for an indicator flasher unit ticking constantly, even when they weren’t on. Once back home I had the truck up on ramps and gave it a thorough powerwash, and then had to shovel-up two barrow loads of red Devon mud. And it was immediately clear that the chassis was going to need rather more than a can of Waxoyl as my screwdriver holed three outriggers, a dumb iron and the bottom of the main rail!
“The good news was that in all other areas it was remarkably sound for a vehicle of that age, but the chassis was the immediate priority. I entrusted the repairs to Ross and Steve at Bourton LR, whom I have been using for over 15 years now. It was a case of wanting it done properly, with every last bit of rot removed, and repairs done with welds in the original positions where possible. To finish this off, the chassis was rubbed back, and Dinitrol used in all cavities and the exterior of the chassis.
“The next problem was the electrics. Back in 1993 I’d had a Laserline alarm installed, because the vehicle was parked in on the road during the week. Although Defender thefts were nothing like as frequent as they are today, it was still an easy target parked out every night. The alarm was no longer active but after investigation it was clear it was driving a number of electrical issues, including a flasher unit that had back-feed, making it tick constantly and blow fuses! The alarm was removed and I took the decision to strip out all the accessory wiring that had been put in at the PDI by the supplying dealer. It was going back to factory spec!
“I sourced a set of Rostyle wheels, which the 90 had originally had as part of the factory exterior pack, but made the decision to pair these with 7.50 Michelin tyres to maintain pleasant gearing on the road. The wheels were blasted, zinc primed and powder-coated in Alpine White. All suspension, steering and brake components were checked and renewed where needed, and the vehicle was fully serviced including replacement of the timing belt, as I didn’t know whether this had been done since I’d had it replaced 90,000 miles earlier. I didn’t find any horror stories, which is always a relief!
“Next to tackle was the bulkhead, which on the passenger’s side was in an appalling state. Thankfully, there are a number of companies that do complete repair sections for the vent panel area. Again I wanted this done properly, so the wing, door and windscreen frame was removed, and all bad metal cut away. After many hours of work the repair section was welded in, taking care to ensure that it was dimensionally accurate. New doors were sourced and fitted, although I used later doors for improved corrosion resistance. The interior was stripped, cleaned and refitted and a donor seat set was bought so I could build one good set from two bad!
“The aftermarket side windows I had fitted in 1993 now leaked and rattled badly, so they were removed and the apertures enlarged to allow the fitment of original factory sliding windows. Wing outer skins were changed for new items and a rear body capping was replaced for the same reason. Side steps and mudflaps were replaced. It drove brilliantly and was now rust-free, but it was undoubtedly a car of many colours – my own Paul Smith Defender! Time to visit the paint shop for a fresh coat of Pennine Grey, which was set off by the replacement Defender 90 side tapes that Philip Bashall managed to find for me.
“I now have a beautifully-restored Defender 90Tdi that’s just as it was when I passed my test in it. It brings a huge smile to my face every time I drive it and it feels just like home. It should be good for another 29 years!”