 | Home > My Defender > Evolving - A New 110 - KG |
 
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| Pickles Member Since: 26 May 2013 Location: Melbourne Posts: 3784   
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Thanks Bastion. I believe that Gracie is the ONLY Keswick Defender to come from the factory with an Indus roof!
We had to go to a bit of trouble to get it done,...something about keswick being non metallic & Indus being metallic etc?! It looks a lot better in the flesh than in photos which really don't show it in its true light! Just think, in just a very few months, no-body will be able to experience the joy we're experiencing, any more! Pickles. |
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1st Jul 2015 10:00pm |
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| Bastion Member Since: 08 May 2014 Location: London Posts: 35 
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Yeah Pickles, i've got to say never seen one, original or made.. sure does work though with all the details.. Regarding the swansong of the Defender, I just don't think it'll go that quietly.. all of a sudden the interest in them has shot up, they're being profiled in everything from Skyfall to Spectre to The Strain, a US zombie show (it's pants) I'd like to think that they'll continue on in some other territory (The India option) or that people will continue to rebuild them... but it surely won't be the same and in a couple years something different will seek to supplant it. |
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4th Jul 2015 7:24am |
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| Bastion Member Since: 08 May 2014 Location: London Posts: 35
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Going intercity in West Africa means being adaptable and frequently self sustaining. Preparedness when faced with power cuts or generator problems can mean the difference between having communications and working gear, and being reliant on the whims of circumstance and the day's capriciousness.
12v socket in back.  Click image to enlarge 2 more up front. Click image to enlarge umm'ed and aahhh'ed about but finally included as it's easy to remove when not in use.. ARB 45L Fridge Click image to enlarge Merlin 700w Sine wave inverter attached to second battery Click image to enlarge Compressor under second row for variable PSI, and sandy terrain management Click image to enlarge Making the biggest difference to the interior.. Corbeau Low Base seats, which manage to feel a little bit racy. Still wish I could raise them an inch or so.. filed under things to do... Click image to enlarge oh and also the cubby box which is big enough to lose a small country in and still have space left over for your knick knacks... Has anyone managed to make theirs more... 'organisable'? Click image to enlarge No I lied, this will surely make the biggest difference to the interior.. Momo Jet Steering wheel. Click image to enlarge Interior finished. Next time, exterior finishing, final lighting options, special sauce under the hood and the grand unveiling.. It's almost done. |
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4th Jul 2015 7:59am |
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| Enid_Puceflange Member Since: 25 Oct 2014 Location: edinburgh Posts: 1172  
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Simply
G My confidence has been writing cheques that my abilities can't cash for years. |
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4th Jul 2015 8:34am |
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| steve E Member Since: 06 Mar 2011 Location: Tenby Posts: 2073 
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Awesome build,
Really enjoying your Thread  |
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4th Jul 2015 11:59am |
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| Supacat Member Since: 16 Oct 2012 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 11018 
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Know what you mean, i have everything I need in their but it was always a faff to find any one item when I needed it. Maybe not a permanent solution but I've group things together and put them in a number of plastic containers used for chinese takeaway food. It's working for me at present. |
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4th Jul 2015 12:55pm |
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| Bastion Member Since: 08 May 2014 Location: London Posts: 35
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Supercat, thanks for that, great idea. I got some of these from Really Useful Boxes. They come in all sorts of sizes, like the take-away packets I think they'll do the job nicely. This is the smallest box they sell (sunglasses for scale)
Click image to enlarge So… to conclude the build for now.. Black Powder coat Side Steps are back. I thought as an aesthetic complement and protection feature that I should add in the chequerplate along the sills and rear corners. Done. Click image to enlarge Under the Hood Traffic in between Ghana - Benin - Nigeria… in fact across much of that band of Africa can be nightmarish. In the other cities i've lived in, in Europe and the United States it's bad but nowhere near apocalyptic. 45 minutes for half a kilometre is not unheard of. This creates conditions in which every inch can matter to you… or the next guy. The vehicle needed to be quick off the mark, free of as much turbo lag as possible but also then capable of opening up onto highways for intercity travel. Things you can't see… Alive Tuning did the ~175bhp tune and coupled it with their 'ultimate intercooler' and 2.2 Billet Hybrid Turbo. The merits and magic of this remain to be seen and experienced but should hopefully be sound and hugely capable. If anyone who's had it done wants to chime in please do. Technically capable of being tweaked to somewhere around 185bhp it's been left in the 170 range for purposes of reliability and for the fact that 15bhp wont make much of a difference compared to the available torque range granted by the VGT. Security features [redacted] Wind Deflectors. I have no idea how much of a difference these will make but apart from the wind, it's the rainy season here now… and hopefully they'll help keep occupants a little bit more dry… let's just leave out mention of any other kind of water ingress shall we.. Click image to enlarge Oversize mirrors. I was concerned they'd look like dumbo ears on the vehicle but they don't look out of place at all. I could maybe have done with one of those convex extras on the mirror but still the field of vision is bettered. Click image to enlarge Bull Bar I wanted, wished and prayed for the wraparound but they haven't been sold by most stockists since about 2008. I checked with a contact in Russia, called around, but between the fact that it's got A/C, and I didn't want to start trying to fit something not really designed for it on, i ended up checking with Foleys and they did the original style Camel Trophy bull bar. Not strictly necessary but the side protection it affords in traffic coupled with the mounting for the lights meant it was a good option for me. Also, though it looks it, it doesn't stick out past the fenders, essential! Click image to enlarge Full Crystal LED indicators and reversing lights + Flatdog 21' LED Bar These are lovely. In terms of the LED bar its output is somewhere in the region of 9k lumens with very little draw, they'll do a good job of backing up the trucklites at times when out in the dark. Click image to enlarge Trucklites on low Click image to enlarge Full beam Click image to enlarge Full beam + LED Bar Click image to enlarge And just like that.. she was done.. So what does a 3 ton truck fully prepped for a 21st century Africa city dream of? Well, the open road of course, or the closed one, or even the one that doesn't count as a road… In effect.. it dreams of being driven... Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Codename: Bastion She left England last week… I'd like to take this opportunity to send my thanks to Flatdog and the fantastic team there, Ben, Barry, Anne and the engineers. It's taken a moment, but it's been worth it. My every trip to see them, fantastic, their attention to detail, knowledge and experience almost peerless. Thanks to all those who chimed in on the thread and gave advice and recommendations. This is of course just the beginning, and I hope to see you on other parts of the forum. James. |
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9th Jul 2015 12:56pm |
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| Roz Dev Member Since: 09 Dec 2014 Location: East Coast Posts: 72  
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Hey Bastion
That is once great looking vehicle man! You must be very pleased with her, love the stance from them shocks, some great additional mods too. Well done! |
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9th Jul 2015 2:40pm |
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| bluebottle Member Since: 08 May 2015 Location: Not in my Landy enough! Posts: 705
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What a cracker - hope you enjoy her!
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9th Jul 2015 3:15pm |
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| jk84 Member Since: 17 Feb 2015 Location: Wherever my Defender takes me... Posts: 720 
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Now that is not a Defender, it's a Tankender
 Looks amazing, a very unique truck you have there Bastion. Looks like it can conquer the world, not just Africa! All the best with her and may she serve you well and never dissapoint MY15 Aintree 110 SW - for sale - https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic82781.html
MY16 Santorini 90 HT - sold |
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9th Jul 2015 3:20pm |
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| Pickles Member Since: 26 May 2013 Location: Melbourne Posts: 3784
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Bastion,...Well done, you have a classic looking Defender there with some very sensible accessories.
Did you fit rear bumperettes? Pickles. |
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9th Jul 2015 10:07pm |
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| AndyTunn Member Since: 10 Jan 2015 Location: Auckland Posts: 313  
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Fabulous go-anywhere do-anything truck!
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10th Jul 2015 3:07am |
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| Bastion Member Since: 08 May 2014 Location: London Posts: 35
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Haha... Andy, BB, thank you.
Roz - one day hopefully they shall meet and cast a silent eye at all the generic self driving robots on wheels... Jk, You know... it's a close run thing... Defenders on this side of the world still retain something of an association with military use, most civilians having gleefully poured themselves into Land Cruisers. This is true especially in green (even if not this green). Alternatively they're vehicles for overlanding travellers, who are always welcome. I was always going for functional, functional, functional.. I think the only thing that's for mere looks on it is a 'Defender' badge on the rear corner (put on last) - As a result it's ended up the way it has through necessity. As some of the work i do with with NGOs, it means having to interact with people, getting them to trust but also possibly having to diffuse less positive elements at a distance. It's a bit of a balance but like I said, all functional really. I guess i'll have to smile when exiting the vehicle or tip someone a curt nod Pickles.. I didn't... at some point i'm sure i meant to.. but hey, we've only just begun.. |
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10th Jul 2015 11:32am |
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| Harry.O Member Since: 25 Jul 2014 Location: Warwickshire Posts: 713 
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I can echo sentiments on Ghanaian traffic, we have a fleet there that includes a D4 and 4 2.2 110s alongside lots of Jap 4x4s, they come back with new dents and scrapes every day
Lovely 110 you have there  |
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11th Jul 2015 10:50am |
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