1985 Land Rover Defender D90 300 Tdi & R380 gearbox, left hand drive.

I bought it from an individual 2.5 years ago and don't know anything about it before that. I think that the engine swap, from the 200tdi to the 300tdi, was done within the last 5-10 years and I don't believe it has that many miles on it.

The vehicle has undergone a moderate restoration before I owned it. The body was painted with truck bed liner, new bumper, new led lights in the front and back, new grill and vent covers on the hood, new cloth seats, new billet aluminum shift knobs, new rear side seats, new headliner, and new Waxoyl rust preventer on the frame. I replaced the turbo in it when I bought it as well with the stock turbo.

List of maintenance/upgrades:

-300 Tdi engine and R380 gearbox, I'm guessing 5-10k miles on the new engine
-Flat black Rhino liner paint job
-Heavy duty front bumper
-KBX front grill and exterior accessories
-LED light kit
-Goodyear Wrangler tires, 50% life
-New turbo
-New power steering lines
-New pitman arm
-New oil pan and oil pickup
-Fresh under coat of Waxoyl

The main body was painted with truck bed liner. You can see the texture in the photos. It was painted before I bought the truck.

Known issues: The windows are not air tight and will whistle 45mph+ if you don't roll them up all the way. From the engine swap, the bell housing is positioned close to the floor pan and will rattle when in reverse. One window crank currently clicks. General rattles from a Land Rover. The door cards, the interior side of the door, are a little ratty on the bottoms.

The front bumper is starting to show small bubbles on the lower lip for rust, visible when you get on your hands and knees. Can't see the rust but you can see the bubbles starting. It's a newer bumper so that is a little surprising. I put Waxoyl on the frame when I bought it. I pressure washed and wire brushed it up on the lift and then coated it all inside and out of the frame and underbody. Waxoyl is wax based and self healing with rock chips and such as opposed to a thick paint product. There were no noticeable areas of concern. This is not a daily driver and sleeps in the garage. It's been driven a handful of times in the winter with a car wash afterwards. It's pretty babied. 

I haven't done much to it in the few years I've owned it. Mostly becasue I don't put many miles on it and it's been a reliable truck when I do drive it. I always run Redline 85 diesel conditioner in the gas and haven't had problems with it. I have a box of this stuff that can come with it.

The best part about this truck is that it’s never had a problem starting. When I want to ride it, I haven’t had to worry about it running. It’s also a head turner, people can’t believe that it’s an 85’. I love all of the updates that have been done to it. They clean it up but don’t take away too much of the character of the truck. Most of the dash is still original, you can even see 35 year patina on the orange paint in the gauges. It’s a truck, we call it a school bus sometimes. This old guy has his rumbles but that’s all part of owning a vintage truck. It’s currently registered as a collectors vehicle in MN.