Anyone here with Defender 130 driving experience/owner

[texrover]

You can't actually buy a 25 year old 130. You could get a 127, but the 130s weren't available until I believe late 1990, which would be illegal. Originally 127s were made by welding in an additional 17" to a 110 chassis, so maybe you could do that

Well yes, good point Photo; sorry for the vagaries and lumping them all under 130--which is similar to folks calling all 110's "Defenders"

I was just curious if the vehicles being confiscated was b/c they were 'gray market' and didn't meet safety requirements, or if it was due to newer body parts being used in the build up, or something else?

[Maryland 110]

look over at d-90.com in the forum sections, this is a frequently discussed topic over there. Doug from Dividing Creek Rover Imports drives one, he might be able to answer any questions you might have.

-Rob

I do and have for years. I actually have two @ the moment, a Defender 200 tdi, and my 300 tdi. There are no differences between a 127 and 130 other than what land rover called them-ie nomenclature, no physical /mechanical differences. These early trucks were UK registered as 110's as they used 110 VIN's and were all built by the special vehicles division to order-they were not production vehicles. I have made sure that when I title them here the title reads 130. I'm doing a full frame off restoration on the 1987 and will be galvanizing the frame, bulkhead, t posts etc. Truck is being built for sale if anyone's interested. Happy to discuss legal importation with interested parties having done hundreds.

Doug@
DividingCreekImports.com

[derekchace]

Doug can we see some pics of the 130 being built? Also any idea on price range so I can pass it along if any one calls looking for one.

[greenroverguy]

I am in British Columbia and have a 127/130 single cab with the 2.5 diesel turbo and an "Autolift" brand dumper box. I find that it is a very handy, general duty truck and I drive it a couple of times a week. The tipper box is great for hauling firewood and rover parts so if you are considering importing a regular cab I would recommend that dumper box addition. It isn't really fast but will cruise at 55mph without trouble and the ride is very smooth. It doesn't compare to Disco or RRC smooth but with the long wheel base it is a comfortable ride. I find the truck is quiter than any of the old series rigs I've had in the past and the small cab is easy to keep warm. Off-road it does alright as well. I took it out a few weeks ago up into the mountains along with a D90 and other than one tail-dragging session it went everywhere the 90 did without problem. The 2.5 turbo has lots of torque and has been a good engine for me but it has very low miles... if it were a high miler I would look at a 200 or 300 TDI swap as the 2.5 turbo was not the best rover diesel but for now my plan it to maintain the 2.5 and enjoy the ride.

Cheers, Rob

[Maryland 110]

Doug can we see some pics of the 130 being built? Also any idea on price range so I can pass it along if any one calls looking for one.

Not yet still pulling it apart. I'll start the pictures when I have a pile of freshly galvanized oarts.

[PH4]

What type of mileage can you expect out of the TD5? 300,000? 400,000?

[Maryland 110]

They aren't known for longevity,especially if you coax more power out of them. Read up on them on a couple of the UK forums

http://www.defender2.net/forum/

http://forums.lr4x4.com/

and the fellows in Oz
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/

[koltonstanley]

i drive a 130 TD5
its my daily driver and so far i LOVE it........
my only issue so far was really the starter.....replaced it once with a refurbished starter that lasted about a month....now i got a new one in and so far so good.
if your in a cold climate my only other creature comfort issue would be the heat........there is no heat unless you are driving at highway speeds....then heat is great.......once i slow down the air cools right off......
my truck is just over 180,000 Km.........

[kellymoe]

I have owned my RHD 130 crew cab for about 10 years now and for the last 8 years it was my daily driver here in Los Angeles. It's a 3.5 litre V8 with LT85. I love driving and the only complaint I have is that in the summer it can get pretty hot without AC. I sound deadened it soon after I bought it and it help a lot with engine and road noise. The window mechanisms were shot so I rplaced them with a power window kit off Ebay for $90, it was an cheap easy solution to and expensive problem. All in all I still love driving it but now it seems to only get driven on long vacations, I need to start paying more attention to her.

[kellymoe]

What was happening with the starter? Did it just give out or did it give out slowly over time?