 | Home > Pictures & Video > ICON D90 Land Rover LS3 V8 |
 
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| X4SKP Member Since: 29 Nov 2013 Location: Berkshire Posts: 2295   
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Hi All,
Worth a look...IMO done really nicely too.  SKIP
https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic83242.html |
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12th May 2014 7:23pm |
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| JR Member Since: 07 Dec 2012 Location: Auchtermuchty Posts: 532  
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Quality finish!
Looks like it's a part time 4x4 system, the front hubs look like they have free wheeling hubs! Rather like the air con fitment too. |
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12th May 2014 9:19pm |
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| Cheshire110 Member Since: 26 Jul 2013 Location: Cheshire/London Posts: 2762
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^ couldn't disagree more!!!
The beauty of a defender is that it can be whatever your vision for it is, and there's no denying the engineering/design work that's gone into it is top notch, even if not exactly to everyone's taste (not a fan of the bumpers) Think the interior is really good, looks like how LR should have made it to be honest! Cheers, David Land Rovers of all shapes S3 onwards… Daily is a 110 V8. |
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12th May 2014 9:26pm |
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| Cheshire110 Member Since: 26 Jul 2013 Location: Cheshire/London Posts: 2762
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JR, I agree, you jumped between my post and the one I was replying to Cheers, David
Land Rovers of all shapes S3 onwards… Daily is a 110 V8. |
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12th May 2014 9:27pm |
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| charliebaja Member Since: 05 Aug 2013 Location: Surrey Posts: 211 
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Looks ok, not sure about the large front bumper and the side skirts. I bet she roars loudly and comes at a hefty price!
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12th May 2014 9:28pm |
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| BigM Member Since: 12 Nov 2011 Location: Nairobi Posts: 36  
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I don't want to offend anyone. But re. your conclusion, the opposite is my point. The Sollihul engineers could not use the better design and materials they knew well. If they had as they wanted too, then their vehicles would have been more expensive than they already were at the time.
Twenty five years ago, I ran a 35 One Ten fleet in Darfur, Sudan. There, fine sand and a lack of everything thousands miles around, "ate" at my Land Rovers, especially the diesel injectors failing one by one. So much so that two LR technicians were sent to me. When they finally reached me in Nyala, a little concerned with the civil war, they enquired if my workshop manager was using the recommended Land Rover "R & R" policy. I asked if they meant "Rest $ Recreation" - which my team and I were in great need of. They replied that it meant "Remove & Replace". At US$ 800 for each fuel injector pump assembly reaching me in Darfur and with these new parts failing within months in the unforgiving Sudan desert, I wondered how a company could get its design so wrong until I realized it was all about economics. I spare you the rest of the conversation ... IMO, it is not a question of design or workmanship but one of financial resources. Hence my points re. Ward and his comments on LR poor design. This just for the sake of debate. BM |
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12th May 2014 10:19pm |
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| ericvv Member Since: 02 Jun 2011 Location: Near the Jet d'Eau Posts: 5816  
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Whether you like this conversion or not (I do), you must admit that the USA really is the country where just everything is possible. For a one off conversion like this one, there is not much that you can call amateuristic or tasteless. This is pure class in my opinion. Only in California...
 You never actually own a Defender. You merely look after it for the next generation.
http://youtu.be/yVRlSsJwD0o https://youtu.be/vmPr3oTHndg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GtzTT9Pdl0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABqKPz28e6A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLZ49Jce_n0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvAsz_ilQYU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8tMHiX9lSw https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dxwjPuHIV7I https://vimeo.com/201482507 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSixqL0iyHw |
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13th May 2014 4:06am |
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| LR90XS2011 Member Since: 05 Apr 2011 Location: bickenhill Posts: 3650 
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Personally I like it and Id love the engine and axles in a truck of mine DEFENDER 90 TDCI XS,
I hope everyone is well and your land rovers make you happy |
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13th May 2014 5:33am |
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| pob1968 Member Since: 20 Apr 2014 Location: uk Posts: 239 |
I like it, I bet it goes like stink
 110 Hardtop |
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13th May 2014 6:34am |
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| Cuthbert Member Since: 26 Oct 2013 Location: Up North Posts: 1535 |
In design terms - vulgar - don't think they quite get Defender evolution. California is better at producing high quality prunes to keep things moving in the desired direction.
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13th May 2014 3:29pm |
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| CR Member Since: 28 Jan 2010 Location: Ireland Posts: 947  
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I followed this build from the start and I think he has brought a fresh design approach to the 90. He is the only one in the world that has not been a sheep and has actually designed new components and has looked for better solutions.
We have all seen 1000's of defenders but never to this quality. With all due respect to all the other custom companies in the UK all they do is purchase different wheels, front grille a bit of leather maybe paint the bonnet and fit a new stereo ! what Mr Ward does is on a whole different level, he is an artist and a genius, when I win the lotto he will be my first phone call CR Click image to enlarge |
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13th May 2014 3:35pm |
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| X4SKP Member Since: 29 Nov 2013 Location: Berkshire Posts: 2295
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Hello All,
Improving the Defender... The Defender works for me because… a. it’s basically strong enough. b. it’s remains simple enough to allow hands on involvement. c. it’s adaptable enough to be fit for purpose. I would argue the ‘Defender’ has survived as a concept because of the fact it was essentially right at its market launch and has been adapted, sometimes ingeniously, often by its owners, to go in numerous directions ever since, hopefully, retaining in most cases, its core attributes, and without diluting the ‘Land Rover look’. The ‘Defender’ has been my main drive for 25 years now... as an industrial designer, there have been numerous times, that I have been frustrated at the slow pace of the Defenders NPD (new product development) and have been forced to take matters into my own hands, to make up the short-fall, water ingress, sound proofing, lighting, corrosion prevention, security...it’s a long list 
One area I had to wait for... the Defender is supposed to be a go (almost) anywhere, four season vehicle, and good visibility I would argue is a must have requirement, why did it take Land Rover so long to get a reasonable level of heating, air conditioning and demisting sorted in the Defender 
So I would argue a more ‘evolutionary approach’, taken by other car manufactures, would probably have been a better route to take for the Defender. If true, Land Rover is now in the position where there is just too much to change to keep the Defender (we love) viable and legal. To make (keep) the Defender a credible internationally sold vehicle it now needs, it would appear, a full redesign. I would hazard a guess that what current Land Rover-Defender owners are concerned about is that the Defender replacement will be... a. too complicated and therefore too expensive. b. less adaptable for anyone other than LR and ‘specialists’ to get their hands on. c. the evolutionary visual step taken will not be judged correctly. The DC100 may end up as no more of a ‘step change’ as the ‘evolution’ between the Series III Land Rover and the Defender... time will tell. The Defender (for its numbers) has supported a large aftermarket ‘modification’ industry that provides a tailored solution for everything from overland expeditions to trialing, from work-horse preparation to just ‘sorting’ a more comfortable-adventurous long distance explorer (my fit for purpose ).
When altered its true aesthetics play a factor here too, and there are some poor examples out there that demonstrate, the basic style, I would say beauty, of the base Defender has been lost. This ICON bespoke build will always be judged both objectively and subjectively by the likes of us, but what I like, when done well, by skilled craftsmen, is a fit for purpose, quality ‘alteration’. This took real effort, I love the interior in particular, I’d give it room in my garage
It needs the Californian weather to be really useful though...
Land Rover need to continually improve the base offer, but for Defenders in particular LR should 'allow' even encourage the custom preparation of their vehicles to fit the multi-purpose uses their owners require. SKIP https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic83242.html |
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13th May 2014 5:00pm |
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| mk1collector Member Since: 17 Sep 2009 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 6771  
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Standard front bumper and it'd be great.
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13th May 2014 5:27pm |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 20549
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Or D44 front bumper.
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13th May 2014 5:36pm |
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